Chapter 06
 

…Sitting quietly in the corner of the bar, Taeyeon tapped her drinking glass silently while she glanced at her cellphone several times. It had been couple of days already but her benefiting partner did not contact her at all for the next appointment. Then another younger girl approached her and sat down right beside her chair.

“Hey~ Why are you sitting here all alone?”

“…Shut up Moonbyul.”

“Jeez…you’re mean.” The young girl turned to the handsome bartender and asked for her usual order. She’s still a growing girl and was taught well to not drink any alcohol by Yuri. “I’ll have my usual drink~”

“Here you go Moonbyul.”

Sae passed her a glass of fresh milk and Moonbyul enjoyed every single taste in . As for Taeyeon, she didn’t respond to anything and swirled her finger around the corner of the glass to create this sharp sound.

“Are you waiting for someone?”

“…Again, shut up Byul.”

“Fine…I’ll be heading to the orphanage! Come join me later.”

“…”

Maybe Moonbyul was right after all. Taeyeon seemed to be waiting for Tiffany’s reply without realizing it. She felt quite uneasy and couldn’t come up with an explanation to explain this at all. Even she tried to shake out this funny feeling, she couldn’t seem to get rid of it completely.
 

-

A young officer came to the office to work as usual. However the first thing she did was throwing her glance to the table close by to hers. She did not see the figure there at all…and it’s making her worried about her beloved unnie. Irene couldn’t help but to wonder where did Tiffany went…after she had not been coming to the office for couple of days.

“Where did Tiffany-unnie went…”

It was unusual for the unnie that worked together in the same team as her went absent without any early notice at the slightest. Therefore, Irene decided to drop by to talk to the head of the department…who also was Tiffany’s father as well. He would obviously know what’s going on and could give Irene an answer to answer her doubts. As paid Mr. Hwang a visit at his office, she saluted at him before she questioned him about Tiffany.

“Mr. Hwang…do you know where did Tiffany-unnie went? She didn’t leave an early notice for anyone in the team…”

“Ah, Tiffany suddenly got sick so I didn’t make an early note about that. Sorry for inconvenience Miss Kim.”

“Not at all sir. I hope your she get well soon.”

“I’ll pass your words to her.”

Irene left the room, but she didn’t feel that answered her doubt at all. She went back to her table and continued her work with her clouded doubts about her missing unnie. However, without further ado she was called by Jessica to go out to the field to patrol around the area.
 

-

Within the dark alley, the young black hoodie girl arrived back into her dark room. The usual strict officer would always make an appointment with her ahead of time due to her tight schedule…however this time was unusual. Tiffany didn’t call nor text her. That made the thief wondered and decided maybe sending her a message would do. Taeyeon sighed softly before she pressed sent the text to Tiffany. She lied down on the bed and decided to take the day to relax. Which she decided to take a nap on her bed…she slowly drifted off to sleep and had a dream regarding her past memories…

 

-///-

“U-Ugh…!!”

I’m squirming in pain as the old scar was aching once again. I’m lying on the bed breathing hard while this older woman my head and gave me a pill to reduce my pain. She my head and tried to calm me down as much as she could…

“You’ll be alright Unnie…okay?”

“Seo..Hyun..”

“Shh…you’ll be okay.”

I bid my lips as tears started to stream down my cheeks. For some reason I started to miss my family…I recalled my father and mother got shot and collapsed on the floor listlessly. The scar on her head that was given by the murderer could only reminded her of that tragic night. Back in those days…when I’m a young teenager, I would have such a hallucination and terribly traumatized with my parents’ death scene.

“J-Joohyun…Juhyun…!”

“Taeyeon, calm down!”

“N-No!! D-Dad!!! Mom—!!”

I yelled out to the top of my lungs and resisted against Seohyun grip. She was trying to hold me still on the bed but was traumatized with that death scene replaying countless times. The sound of the gun…blood spattered all over the floor and on my leg…the listless body on the pool of blood…it’s horrifying. Then suddenly, this gallant lady entered the room and slapped hardly across my face…it snapped back my conscious and I turned my eyes to her…

“Yuri-unnie…aren’t you taking it too wildly?”

“Not for her, this girl needs it.”

She gripped tightly onto my collar shirt and pulled me so my face was so close to hers. Her glare penetrated deeply into my subconscious and I was amazingly calmed down instantly. I finally had a proper breathing before Yuri spoke to me.

“Life is harsh. World is cruel. Will crying do any better?”

“…”

“Answer me.”

“Unnie! She’s still a child!”
 

Seohyun argued back against her but it seemed she wasn’t budged by it at the slightest. However for some reason…her words reached me and I didn’t know when since I stopped crying.

“If she wants to live. Then she needs to get over with it.”

“…”

“You need to stay strong. I’ll teach you everything you need to live on top of this ecosystem. Even it means you have to face your fear.”

“…”

Without a word, it seemed as if Yuri could see that I understood it. She my head and allowed me to have a rest from the concussion I was having. However…it’s not as painful as I thought anymore. Maybe I made it so hurtful because I always used to remind of my parents’ death. If it wasn’t for Yuri…I wonder I would have this day.

 

-///-

“…”

A young raven haired girl sitting in the squared room covered with darkness. Only this small light bulb hanging form the ceiling would give a light to her. At least it was more than enough for her to see her own limbs and the locked door in front of her. She sat on the bed all alone and stared onto the floor without silently. It was that quiet that she could hear her own breathing. At least she was fed 3 times a day and given all the supplies she needed to have a leisure life in the room. The bathroom, clothes, all bathroom products were provided as well. However, the only thing she wasn’t allowed as to go out from this room. She still couldn’t understand why her father locked her up in this place. She did not know how long it went ever since she was locked in here. She began to think whether she made a good decision to reject her father or not… the reason she did so was because she didn’t want to betray Taeyeon.

“Taeyeon…”

Maybe Tiffany was subconsciously pleading for Taeyeon to save her? However when she thought about it again, she had a feeling that it wouldn’t happen. Someone like her wouldn’t come save her. Especially when she’s the daughter of the man that was responsibility behind Kim’s massacre. Her father killed Taeyeon and Irene’s family…abducted Taeyeon to become a test subject in the newly introduced human experiment. She had the feeling the thief knew about this all along and that’s likely to be the sole reason behind those hatred eyes of hers. The feeling of guilt started to develop within her chest and she just wanted to apologize to Taeyeon…her father ruined their whole life. If Taeyeon knew all of this to begin with…it’s high likely that the thief was using her to revenge on Hwang Steve. But a part of Tiffany didn’t seem to be able to blame her for that.

“…Now I wonder, where is ‘true’ justice?”

If such thing were to exist, Tiffany wondered where would it be based upon. On the police officers whom had their hands dirtied with blood of innocent victims? On the criminal that got everything shredded off from her life and living on hatred? As Tiffany began to doubt…she didn’t know what’s the best solution anymore. Siding with her father or Taeyeon? This was the first time she had to think about it.

“What should I do…I don’t know what to do anymore.”
 

(Taeyeon: …I-DI-OT)

Suddenly, she felt like hearing Taeyeon’s voice echoing inside her ear. It was one heck of a hallucination to have at this moment when she’s locked in this room covered with grey walls. She laughed to herself softly and believed that if Taeyeon saw her right now she would probably say that. Would that thief show any heart towards the young innocent officer? Tiffany doubted it.

“…I wonder why I rejected my father.”
 

(Taeyeon: …Why are you doing this? What are you gaining for helping me here?)

She recalled the scene that Taeyeon was bleeding from the gunshot wound. She treated her wounds and could feel that tiny body flinching every time her fingers brushed against her skin. It must’ve be so painful that made the thief utterly sensitive with any slight touch. Taeyeon didn’t deserve such a treatment like this…to be hunted and shot down…when it's the officers themselves that took everything away from her life.

“…I want to help her.”
 

(Taeyeon: Why…Why do you want to help me?)

Her inner thoughts made a guess on what the heartless thief would argue back to her if she were to say that she wanted to help her. She talked with Taeyeon often enough to predict what would she reply…thinking about it made Tiffany felt like a creep somehow.

“Because…you’re not a heartless person.”
 

(Taeyeon: When I’m out there killing your friends and colleagues?)

“…You’re human. Just like me…you have a heart too…and I hope you will open up to me…I really want to help you, Taeyeon.”

The voice in her head stopped as she finally found her solid answer to her doubt. It didn’t matter whether the thief would help her or not…she decided to help Taeyeon on her own behalf and wouldn’t regret what she had done. She wanted to stand firm on the justice she believed…that everyone do have kindness within them. It’s a matter who would put that effort to trust that dim light. As for the officer, she wanted to trust in that subtle kindness she witnessed. Even just a little, it gave her hope.

“…Taeyeon, can’t we just work things out together?”
 

~XXX~

The exhausted young officer finally returned back to the office after her patrol with her team. However, she couldn’t shake the thought regarding her senior’s sudden leave. As she approached her table after making a cup of coffee…she heard a cellphone ringing in the room, but the music was oddly familiar to her.

“Wait…Isn’t that…”

Irene rushed to Tiffany’s table and could hear the sound clearer. She pulled the drawer out and saw her cellphone giving out such a familiar ring tone. She was more than surprised that Tiffany left her cellphone behind. She saw the incoming message but what surprised her was the name of the sender on Tiffany’s contact list…it’s from Taeyeon. Without further ado, she opened the text and read it without permission.

[Subject: (Not Titled)]
At the usual spot tomorrow, same time.

Young Kim didn’t understand the message that clearly and the only one that would understand it would be Tiffany. However, she had disappeared and the only person that Irene could run to right now was her older sister. Irene wanted to meet her…she wanted to meet Taeyeon. That was when she decided to make such a difficult decision and replied back to her sister using Tiffany’s cellphone. How lucky the battery was running very low after it was left untouched for several days, and likely to be ever since she’s gone. Coicidently Irene used the same cellphone version as her senior; she plugged it at her table and left it until it’s fully charged. It just reminded her of old times…how when she used to have a fight or a problem with anyone she would always went to Taeyeon and seek for advices…it was indeed a déjà vu. Back in those days, Taeyeon would always her head roughly and made an eye contact back at her. She would always know what thoughts were running in Irene’s head and was able to give the answer she wanted the most. Every time she asked her how Taeyeon was able to read her minds…she would reply the same old answer.
 

(Taeyeon: …because you’re too easy to read, Joohyun.)

However, those were the old days that could only just be a memory. Things changed especially throughout these 20 years they were separated and lived alone without a family…she went through a lot of conflicts and hardships, but Taeyeon seemed to go through more than her. Part of her was excited to meet with her sister once again but she’s also afraid that she wouldn’t be the Taeyeon she knew anymore…

“Unnie…”
 

~XXX~

A young woman walked through the dark alley between the buildings wearing her sunglasses while heading to her destination. This time it was unusual that Tiffany sent the text back to meet in front of this coffee café that was close by to Seohyun’s pharmacy store. As she arrived there…she saw this woman standing in front of the shop wearing a long black jacket with the hood on. Taeyeon didn’t understand with the sudden change in plans but she walked up to the woman whom she believed to be Tiffany. It’s just obvious that she was waiting for someone.

“This is the first time you’re here before me.”

The moment Taeyeon uttered out. The woman flinched and caught the thief’s attention immediately. That was when Taeyeon started to realize how Tiffany was oddly shorter than usual. She finally turned to her and their eyes met…obviously Taeyeon was expecting it and before she could even utter a word, those arms were thrown around her tightly. Her face was buried onto her shoulder and it sounded like she was having a little sobbing.

“…So you’re the one that replied my text. No wonder it didn’t sound like that woman.”

Taeyeon spoke up and made the fake Tiffany released her grip. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked straight back to Taeyeon. The thief was right, it wasn’t Tiffany that replied her but it’s her younger sister. They looked into each other’s eyes silently before Taeyeon decided to talk in somewhere else that it would rather be more private than the coffee café. As they went into the dark alley between the buildings, that’s when Irene took her coat out and revealed her officer outfit.

“It’s really you… Unnie.”

“…”

However, Taeyeon didn’t utter a single word and only but stared at the young nervous girl. As Irene didn’t know where to start at all, she held tightly onto her outfit until the older thief sighed out softly.

“…What’s bugging you?”

Irene flinched as if Taeyeon saw through her eyes. It gave her an opportunity to make a conversation regarding about her senior just disappeared out of blue. She began to tell Taeyeon about how Tiffany was absent without any notice. Despite she asked the head of the department whom was her father…she couldn’t buy that after she discovered Tiffany’s dying cellphone in her drawer. If she was actually sick then she’s supposed to be carrying that phone close to her…or ask someone to get her phone for her. Irene felt uneasy and didn’t know whom to ask…

“You found the phone because I texted her, didn’t you?”

“…Yes.”

Taeyeon sighed softly as she realized it’s partially her problem that made Irene found Tiffany’s phone in the drawer. Maybe it was a good thing, or maybe not. That was when the thief began to muse silently before she turned to her younger sister once again.

“…You wanted me to help find her, am I right?”

“E-Eh?”

“She disappeared the day after she gave you my letter…so I met her before she disappeared.”

“How did you know…what I was thinking?”

She sighed again and suddenly patted Irene’s head roughly, catching her off guard. She threw her glance up to Taeyeon and stared into those dark orbs. That instant, Irene swore she saw a vague hint of a smile across Taeyeon’s face before she replied back to her question.

“…Because you’re too easy to read, Joohyun.”

Her eyes grew wide with surprise as those sentimental words rung inside her ears. She couldn’t hold back her tears as she realized the kindhearted sister that she dearly loved was still alive in Taeyeon. Tears of happiness streamed down her cheeks and left her older sister in silence. The thief approached and gave her a hug with a soft pat on the head.

“You’re such a crybaby…ever since then.”

“Taeyeon…Unnie…”

“…I believe it’s partially my fault as well.”

Her speech made Irene confused, but Taeyeon didn’t plan to explain what she said at all and continued where she left off instead.

“So, I help you find her. Then will you stop crying?”

“Unnie…!”

“But I would need your help…will you give me a hand Irene?”

“O-Of course! I’ll do whatever you asked me!”

They seem to come to an agreement with each other. Even though Taeyeon could easily see through Irene’s thoughts like a book, but not vice versa. The thief had a feeling that the reason of Tiffany’s disappearance was due to her provoke for the officer to hack into the department’s database to learn the truth. No one knew whether she did it or not…but everything seemed to be too much of a coincidence to Taeyeon. Furthermore, she didn’t understand why she actually gave her words to Irene to save the daughter of the murderer. Why she had sympathy for Tiffany? She sighed softly and couldn’t understand why couldn’t just ignore Tiffany like how she usually did with everyone around her.
 

(Tiffany: Because…I guess I want to believe in you.)

“…Tch.”

Taeyeon hissed under her voice, as she was annoyed with how Tiffany’s words replayed in her head. When was the last time someone said that to her with those honest eyes? It would be such a difficult task to find this officer who was likely to be grounded by her own father. She sure did had a way to find Tiffany, but its one of the ways she didn’t really prefer to do so…but that was her only choice.
 

~XXX~

It seemed another day went by as Tiffany woke up form her bed. She glanced over at the clock and its late afternoon. After she was done with getting ready for the day, she looked around and hoped to make a move in order to get out from here. She approached the door and it seemed to have several locks on it. They would serve her food through this bottom hole on the floor in order to prevent every possible escaping mechanism that could happen. She came up with several plans to get out from here and it just reminded her of Taeyeon…if the thief were to be in her position right now what would she do? But as Tiffany thought about her, she recalled the first time she met with Taeyeon…it was one heck of a first meeting as she was stabbed in the arm. Thank god no scar was left behind but it really did took a heck of a time to recover from that. Then her first kiss was stolen…and another one in the park…she treated Taeyeon’s gunshot wound… witnessing Taeyeon’s hatred when talking about her deceased parents… Tiffany didn’t understand why these memories were replaying in her head. But after she had been thinking about Taeyeon every single day… she started to miss her a little. She hated to admit it, but she actually did for some reason.

“…Taeyeon.”

The reason she was stuck here was because of Taeyeon running inside her head. She slid her body down against the door onto the floor. She curled up into a ball and sighed to herself. Tiffany didn’t know how long would she be kept in here and what would her father to do her. Everything was too unpredictable and anything could happen. She questioned herself why she’s no longer hated Taeyeon when she really did despise her into the deepest core of her bone. She used to swear to herself that she would definitely hunt down the girl. However, everything changed…in the end she had feelings for Taeyeon. She cared for her, she wanted to save her, she wanted to protect her. It’s such a turmoil going on inside her heart. She couldn’t understand the whole situation, especially about her feelings.

“Ah! I’m starting to get insane after being locked in here and doing nothing!!! What am I going to do!?”

Tiffany yelled out from the top of her lungs and obviously she wasn’t expecting anyone to hear or reply back to her…but someone did and it gave a huge embarrassment to her immediately.

“Being locked up turns you in a real psycho? Genius…”

“E-Eh? T-That voice…”

Tiffany recognized hat voice immediately and it’s right behind the door. She stepped away and stared with misbelief until this mysterious savior slammed it widely opened. That’s when their eyes met…those dark strong eyes met with Tiffany’s and it made her heart beat faster and faster… She recognized those eyes, face, body, and voice very well. However, she couldn’t believe that she’s actually seeing one right in front of her.

“…Didn’t know officers can be a big idiot, but I guess it’s only you.”

“T-Taeyeon…?”

The thief approached her and took off her black coat immediately before she put it over on top of Tiffany’s shoulder to have her wear it. Taeyeon observed her from top to bottom and realized how she was dressed in such casual clothing while being held in here like a prisoner. Tiffany was sure a VIP prisoner after all. However, she didn’t look that bad in her shorts and white long sleeve shirt though. This funny feeling inside Tiffany’s stomach started to run wild as she could see Taeyeon’s face so close to hers and those eyes staring at her. But then her curiosity seemed to be distracting her quite well as she wondered how did Taeyeon even manage to find her here.

“Taeyeon, how did you—”

“Shut up, we have to leave now.”

“E-Eh??”

“Hurry up you idiot.”

Taeyeon held her hand tightly and ran out from the prison with her. Those warm hands holding onto her so tightly made her face flushed harder. Such harsh and rough words coming out from Taeyeon, yet her actions expressed so much kindness she had. She recalled the moments she shared with Taeyeon in the park about how the cunning thief bought her drinks and protected her from the thugs that approached them. She could feel that kindness that was hidden behind the fake mask Taeyeon was wearing, and she could only hope that she could express it out clearly. Tiffany was indeed old enough to realize what was this funny feeling developing inside her…it’s the deadliest poison called love. She hated to admit it, but maybe she was actually falling for the thief now… If she really did, Tiffany had no clue what to do from now on…
 

-

They ran through the corridor and Tiffany saw all the guards on her way were unconscious on the floor and believed to be all of Taeyeon’s work. The thief was leading the way and they turned at the corner in order to escape from here as soon as possible before they would be caught. If Taeyeon were to be caught here…only death would wait for her. She hurried and contacted her friend whom actually came with her to assist her mission to kidnap Tiffany out from the enemy’s main headquarters. Taeyeon was wearing an earphone that allowed her to communicate with her friend directly without being a hindrance to her.

“Oi, where are you now?”

[Did you get the princess back?]

“Shut up, I’m heading out now.”

[Good, I’m already in a tight situation now…]

“Get out from there, and meet at home…stay safe Moonbyul.”

[I know, you too…I bet the security camera is on right now…be careful.]

The contact was cut off and Taeyeon turned at the corner once again. She had remembered her path out after she had passed by just once. Tiffany realized that there was another friend within this place with Taeyeon and both of them were risking their life to take her out from here.

“T-Taeyeon…I’m so sorry to drag you and your friend into th—”

“Can we just talk later and just run!?”

“…!”

Taeyeon realized that the officers including Tiffany’s father would probably saw them escaping from their base. They needed to hurry if they wanted to get out from here alive…and uninjured.
 

-

The security camera was hacked by Taeyeon and Moonbyul when they had began their infiltration plan. As Steve was sitting at the security room and observed all the cameras within the whole building…he could see his very daughter running away along with this anonymous girl in black long sleeve shirt. She looked oddly familiar as if she resembled someone he once knew in the past. His men came up to him in order to ask for his orders.

“Sir, what do you want us to do with them?”

“…Capture them alive.”

He ordered while staring at the monitor, directly at his beloved daughter whom seemed to betray him and his trust for her. At least he wouldn’t want to finish his very own daughter off with the result of his own short temper. “If they resist, shoot them…make sure Tiffany won’t be dead.”

“Yes sir!”
 

-

Turning at the corner once again, Tiffany was getting exhausted with running but she’s attempting her best to keep up with Taeyeon’s speed. She wasn’t surprised that none of the officers managed to catch her at all…that speed was just ridiculous. Then they finally saw this door at the end of the corridor and then Taeyeon told her to keep running.

“Don’t stop running, trust me!”

That moment, Taeyeon let go of her hands and sprinted even faster. It’s such insane speed and the young thief swung her feet forward and kicked the locked door and made it flew off into midair. Such inhuman leg power that Taeyeon possessed and the thief landed safely on the ground. Tiffany ran after her and finally came out from the building she was locked. That’s when she realized that she was locked within the main headquarters of the Crime Investigation department, which was a separate building from her usual office. After they successfully got out, they had finally met with another younger girl whom had just come out from the air ventilator pathway at the same time as them.

“Moonbyul!”

“Taeyeon, let’s use our last resort escape plan.”

“Right, let’s go.”

Taeyeon turned to Tiffany and held her hand tightly. However, the thief could see that she was exhausted from the constant running within the building. It’s not surprising that no one would be able to catch up with Taeyeon and Moonbyul’s stamina…they were special after all.

“Just a little okay? We can’t stop now.”

“I-I know…”

Tiffany held onto her hand tightly and then they kept running as Moonbyul led the way. It was the first time that she heard such encouragement words from the thief. Everything about Taeyeon seemed rather surprising to her today and everything she had done made her heart raced even more. They ran into the alley between the abandoned buildings that were behind the headquarters even it was likely to be the most dangerous path they could’ve picked. But if they arrived at their destination then they would successfully escaped from the officers. As they were running, a hoard of armed officers was running after them. They began to shoot at them in order to intimidate them.

“Stop right there! Surrender and you’ll be safe.”
 

~BANG~BANG~

51. 
    hell we’re going to believe that… We need to separate.”
    
    “It’s far to dangerous for us Moonbyul—”
    
    “We don’t have a choice right now, you have her with you so you’re vulnerable than I do!”
    
    Moonbyul gave Taeyeon a push and turned at another corner in order to act as decoy instead. There wasn’t any moment for Taeyeon to say a word, only but to keep running and hoped to meet with Moonbyul at their destination. The sky was getting darker as the sun was about to set. Furthermore, weather was getting cloudy as if it’s going to rain as well. It could be beneficial for escaping, but her priority at the moment was to make sure Tiffany wouldn’t die from any misleading gunshot. She could tolerate few shots…but not this officer she was kidnapping.
    
    “Keep running, don’t stop!”
    
    Even Moonbyul acted as a decoy, but there were few officers following after them. They were well-trained ones and were directly from Steve’s command. They were well prepared for situations like this and they were all armed with weapons that could kill them instantly in a single shot. As they were so focused on running, Taeyeon didn’t see another officer coming from hidden corner from the right and he slammed his metal baton onto Taeyeon’s head. It struck right on the spot that she had her old scar on and caused the young thief to flinch. Tiffany’s eyes grew wide with shock as she could hear the sound of a bone fractured from that. But before she could react, Taeyeon threw Tiffany forward and got back onto her feet. She swung the knife from her hidden pocket to slash the officer’s throat without hesitation. The young thief knew that the officers were well armed with weapon and armor, and the only spot that wasn’t protected was their facial area. Then she kicked him in the stomach and sent him flying to block other officers from pursuing them. She sprinted and caught up with Tiffany while she’s starting to have a blurred vision from the officer’s preemptive strike. Hwang threw her glance back and saw blood trailing down the side of Taeyeon’s forehead.
    
    “T-Taeyeon, you are—!”
    
    “Don’t turn back, just RUN!!”
    
    She didn't say anything further and kept running. She held onto Tiffany’s hand tightly and continued running. The scene that Taeyeon slithered the officer’s throat had burned into her eyes, but she was able to get over with it amazingly quickly. It was a life-or-death game they’re in right now…it’s either Taeyeon would be killed, or that officer. It was the first time she was experiencing the actual moments of life or death…the moment that she could live or be killed within a slight second. It was indeed scary and it’s making her trembling without realizing it. She held onto her hand tightly and Taeyeon responded the same back to her. From that grip…she immediately had a feeling that the thief was trying to indirectly cheer her up. Then again, they turned at the corner and came out to this wide area that seemed to be a main road. It was dirty and abandoned while being surrounded by old haunted buildings.
    
    Taeyeon glanced around quickly and finally spotted this huge opened drain on the road. That’s their escape mechanism that both Taeyeon and Moonbyul prepared…if they were able to get into the drain; it’s likely those officers would catch up with them. They knew the whole drain pathways as if it was a back of their garden. However, as they were heading towards the drain…the officers came out to surround them with guns.
    
    “Stop right there or else we will shoot you two!”
    
    “…”
    
    Taeyeon let go of Tiffany’s hand and stood firm onto the floor. As she observed her surroundings there were about 4 men around them and she could manage it so easily, but without Tiffany around. She must finish them all in one go before any of them could fire the gun. She took a deep breath and stared at her first target with full intimidation.
    
    “…!”
    
    The moment he flinched was her opportunity. She ran in and stabbed him right in his throat and swiftly swung her knife out to slash another man’s throat without hesitation. Such precise within a blink of second, she moved so swiftly and executing a kick into another man’s solar plexus despite the armor he was wearing. She knocked him out instantly before he could even react.
    
    “You—!”
    
    Another armed man was pointed the gun towards Taeyeon but then she finished him off by throwing her knife right onto his forehead. She killed 3 men instantly and knocked out one. Tiffany only stared at the scene with shock. Within just few blinks, the criminal slaughtered 3 elite officers. There was blood splattered onto Taeyeon’s cloth and she did not show sign of hesitation at all. Tiffany never knew that she could possess such dexterous skills. Normally Tiffany would be terrified to witness such a heartless act…but surprisingly she wasn’t at all.
    
    “T-Taeyeon…”
    
    As the thief turned to her, her eyes grew wide with surprise as she saw a red laser dot on Tiffany’s body. She picked the gun from the floor and run towards Tiffany immediately with hope that she would reach her just in time before the officer would be shot down. Just when the sniper pulled the trigger, the rifle was aiming at their boss’s daughter since he wasn’t given a choice after watching a single girl killed three of his colleagues instantly.
     

~BANG!!!~

Taeyeon felt the sharp pain running in her brachium to take the bullet instead of Tiffany. She glared back at the hidden sniper and pointed the gun at him with confidence before pull that trigger. Even within that darkness, the thief could tell how she managed to catch him off guard and landed a headshot on him. His body fell off from his hidden spot on the building and landed onto the floor listlessly. As Taeyeon realized things were safer now, she took a deep breath before she stood firm on her feet. Tiffany eyes grew wide with fear and she was completely terrified. She couldn’t believe that Taeyeon took the bullet in her place and she could see blood streaming down her arm.

“A-Ah…!”

“Hurry to that drain—!”

Right after Taeyeon pointed where the drain was located. How unfortunate other officers had heard the sound of the gunshot and rushed over to their location immediately.

“They’re over here!!!”

Taeyeon bid her lips to suppress the pain aching in her left upper arm and pointed her gun towards the officers immediately. She pushed Tiffany towards the drain with her injured arm before she distracted them with the gun in her hands. She pulled the first trigger and landed right in the middle of the throat of the that was standing in the front line…but before she could pull another trigger, she suddenly had a double vision that caused her to miss the shot.

“S-…!”

She ran with all her strength towards the drain where Tiffany was heading. Glad that she had that speed to prevented those officers from aiming at her properly but then one of the bullets deflected on the floor and landed right in her calf. Obviously she flinched with the surprise pain but she endured all of it. Taeyeon kept running in full speed and finally caught up with her hostage. She wrapped her arm around Tiffany tightly and dragged her down so they slid across the floor until they fell right into the hole that led them to this huge drain tunnel underneath. It was one deep drain. The officers wouldn’t be able to see the bottom of the drain from above unless they insanely followed after them down here. At least it guaranteed half of their safety for landing in this place.

“U-Ugh…”

They handed on the floor roughly but at least they managed to have the escape from the officer’s pursue… As Tiffany recovered from the hard landing…she could see Taeyeon lying down beside her body breathing hard with pain. Her calf and brachium were bleeding from the shot. It felt as if her heart was ripped from inside out as she watched Taeyeon in this much pain. Everything seemed to happen so fast that she couldn’t process anything…everything happened just because Taeyeon tried to take her out from that prison.

“T-Taeyeon!!”

“We still have to run…until we reach the hideout…”

“But y-you’re—!”

“They can still follow us! Do you want us to die here!?”

“…!”

Taeyeon struggled to stand up and Tiffany gave her a hand. She wrapped Taeyeon’s arm on her shoulder and supported her to walk. The silent thief pointed forward towards the direction they needed to head on in order to return back to the hideout.
 

~CLICK~

Both of them heard the suspicious sound from behind and saw this flickering red light dropped from above and landed on the floor. Those officers must’ve thrown in down the drain and it was a mini time bomb… Taeyeon couldn’t believe that they were that desperate to kill them this badly and tried to sprint away as fast as she could but the leg she got shot just sent another spark of pain through her nervous system.

“A-Agh…!”

“Taeyeon!!”

“God dammit…! Just throw me into the water…and run.”

“HELL NO!!!”

Tiffany yelled back and completely rejected Taeyeon’s order. She carried the thief up in the bridal style and ran forward despite her legs were so exhausted from all the running. She was losing her breath but she rather hyperventilated than leaving Taeyeon behind. The sound was beeping faster as each second passed by.

“We will survive. We will…!”

It was about to explode and both of them were still in the range of the explosion…as the time was running out, Taeyeon felt her body being hugged tightly by Tiffany as she jumped into the drainage water. She could feel that fragile body trembling against her and that warmth that somehow comforted her. That officer was planning to use her body to shield the explosion for Taeyeon…but before she did have the time to say anything further… everything seemed to black out immediately with that huge explosive sound and rung her ear drums so badly with a strong water wave tackling them.
 

~BOOM~

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there you go. sorry if you find mistakes. i haven't double check. 

Btw, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR SHIKSIN, CHOI SOOYOUNG !! SORRY I AM LATE.

Bye~