My apartment was dark the moment I stepped inside. I half-expected Jaejoong to be fast asleep on my bed. But when I entered my room, it was empty and dark as well.

I quickly went towards Jaejoong’s apartment unit and barged in, without even knocking. It was open anyway.

I saw Jaejoong sitting on the couch with a bottle of alcohol on his hand. I walked towards him and pulled the bottle off his grasp. He looked up at me. Then he looked at the bottle on my hand. He tried reaching for it but I dodged his attempt and hid the bottle behind me.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

“You didn’t tell me that you broke up with Tiffany because of me.”

He just rolled his eyes. “Shoo…”

“What?” I asked.

“Get out, dammit! Let me forget about you even just for one night! Is that too much to ask?!”

I grinded my teeth. He was waving his hand to shoo me away, causing me to catch a glimpse on his bleeding knuckles. I remembered that he was punching the wall a while ago. And he didn’t even care to tend to the wound.

I stepped away and went towards the kitchen to get the first aid box. When I came back, Jaejoong was already unconscious on the sofa.

“What am I going to do with you now?” I asked to no one in particular while I tended to his wound.

I hesitantly entered Jaejoong’s café as I inhaled and silently prayed that Jaejoong wouldn’t be here, and that other agent I saw working here too.

The café was still lacking customers since it was still early in the morning. A while ago, Jiyong called me that he went ahead of the students and the teachers since he missed me that much. That’s why I rushed to come here immediately.

At the farthest end of the café, Jiyong waved at me. I smiled as I walked towards him.

I sat across him and there was an awkward silence.

“Um… welcome back?” I asked.

He chuckled. “I brought something,” he said as he grabbed something from his pocket.

It was a gold bracelet with details around them which looked like screws .Jiyong reached towards my wrist and put it on me.

“What’s this?” I asked as I was intently looking at the details of the bracelet. There was something carved on it. it looked like  L⊝Ve.

He pulled something from behind his shirt and there was a necklace with a screw driver as its pendant.

“That’s a screw driver,” I said matter-of-factly.

“Actually this symbolizes th key to that bracelet,” he said as he leaned closer to me and grabbed my necklace. He then unscrewed the O of the word L⊝Ve.

Oh, so they come in pair. How cute.

He put the bracelet back on me again.

“Cute,” I said. “This must mean that I belong to you only.”

He nodded.

There was an awkward silence after that.

“So…?” he urged on.

He sighed heavily as he slumped back to his seat. What now? Am I missing something?

Ah! I know!

“Anyway…” I started as I reached for his hand and entangled it with mine. He straightened up on his seat and he listened. “…we’re back to the present now, are we?”

I waited for him to answer. I watched his face as several emotions passed by quickly one after another. Then he nodded.

“What do you want to know about me, then?” he asked.

I smiled at this. “Your age?”

“I’m 23,” he said.

I gaped. “You’re just 23? Omo, I’m 5 years older than you.”

“They’re just numbers. I don’t care about the age.”

I frowned. I can’t believe I’m older.

“So? Your next question is…?” he urged on.

“Oh, um, your birthdate and birthplace?”

“I was born on August 18, 1988 at Seoul, South Korea, ma’am,” he answered playfully.

“How about your height and weight?”

He chuckled. “What are with your questions? I don’t even know your height and weight.”

“Fine, well, I weigh 40 kg and my height is 162 cm.”

“Wow, you’re so light and short,” he teased. “Well, I weigh 58 kg and my height is 177 cm. Next question please.”

“Blood type?”

“Yours first.”

“I’m A.”

“Me too,” he said, smiling. He started to play with my fingers.

“Where did you finish your studies?”

“Seoul Korean Traditional Arts Middle and High School and Yale University,” he answered. “And you were homeschooled, you mentioned it that night.”

I thought first at the next question I was going to ask. Maybe something that he already knows about me? “Oh, um, who else composes your family?”

He suddenly stopped playing with my fingers.

“Is there something wrong?” I asked carefully.

He looked up at me. He smiled and shook his head. “There’s nothing wrong.”

“Then…”

“Our family used to be composed of my parents, my older sister and me,” he answered truthfully.

I gaped at his answer. Used to be? What does he mean by ‘used to be’?

As if he read my mind, he answered. “They all died.”

“They did?” I asked, before even stopping myself. I bit my lip.

He nodded. I was waiting for him to continue but I guess he doesn’t like this particular topic.

“Um, it’s okay if you-“

“Our family used to be well-known. We were rich. We were respected. But like any other businesses, there will always be rivals…” he paused as if remembering a distant memory.

I was waiting for him to continue but I guess he needed time so I waited further.

“…these business rivals were all envious because our business was successful and we’re getting richer day by day. So they schemed something. One night, when I went home from camping, I just found my family swimming in a puddle of their own blood.”

I gasped a little too audibly. His family… his family had the same fate with mine.

He gazed at me and flashed a boyish grin. Then it quickly faded.

“You… what did you feel?”

“Just like what you felt the moment you saw how your father took his last breath. I was angry; I thought I’ve gone mad seeing them there. I wanted to…” he trailed off.

“You wanted to avenge their death?” I filled in.

He looked back at me with intensity in his eyes. He nodded.

Who could have thought that we were undergoing the same situation?

I squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile. “Like you said, let’s walk this road together. I’ll always be here with you.”

His eyes were wide, obviously surprised with how I responded. Then he smiled back.

“I’m so lucky to have you,” he whispered.

I shook my head. “I’m luckier.”

The ringing of my phone interrupted us. I pulled my hand off Jiyong’s grasp as I thought that the call might be urgent again.

“Hello?”

“Agent Dara? This is Agent Seungri.”

Oh great. Jaejoong’s totally avoiding me.

I looked back at Jiyong who was curiously staring at me.

“What’s up?” I asked Agent Seungri casually, giving off the feeling that I was just talking to a friend.

“Wha-“ Agent Seungri cut himself off. “Oh, um, emergency meeting. Sajang-nim called everyone to report their findings.”

Crap! What did I accomplish? I left Jaejoong last night.

I hung up my phone and turned to Jiyong. “I have to go.”

“Where? Oh, you’re father’s going to be discharged right?”

Oops. Another detail missed. “He’s already at home.”

“Are you going to visit him now?”

Is he going to insist coming with me? “No. I have other matters to attend to. I’ll call you when I’m not busy.”

I left before Jiyong could protest more.

I reached the glass door of the café and I was about to push it open when someone beat me to it. I looked up and saw Jaejoong’s dumbfounded face.

We were silent for a while. Then he went out.

“Jae! Jae!” I called.

He stopped on his tracks and then he turned to me. “What now?”

“Did you… did you receive the call too?”

“Yes,” he answered and turned to his car.

“Let’s go together then,” I offered.

But he was already inside and was driving off.

Crap! I’m being ignored.

“Agent Jaejoong and Agent Dara?” Sajang-nim interrupted my thoughts as I was staring at Jaejoong the whole time that the other agents were reporting. I was waiting for him to look at my direction but he was obviously avoiding doing that. So I decided a while ago not to look away in case looks my way. But he didn’t. Not even once.

“What?” I asked, turning to Sajang-nim.

“Well? Your findings? Any time today?”

“Well, I wasn’t-“

Jaejoong stood from his seat and handed Sajang-nim some files.

“Last night, I found these information. Senator Noh Seunghwan had once been a loved mayor in his hometown Gyeongju. Everyone once loved him until there was a scandal that broke during his reign,” Jaejoong explained.

“And that scandal was?” Sajang-nim urged.

“That’s what we’re going to find out today,” Jaejoong answered.

“What did the two of you do last night?” Sajang-nim asked.

Uh-oh. That is NOT a good question.

I remained silent on my seat.

“Agent Dara and you shall be working. I bet you two were-“

“I slept all day when we got home from the meeting yesterday,” I instantly said.

“You were what?” Sajang-nim asked.

“I was tired from the Jeju trip with my students. So, I rested”

“You should not be irresponsible, Agent Dara,” Sajang-nim said, pounding his fist on the table.

“I’m sorry, I said as had my head bowed in shame.

Today, Jaejoong and I were on a trip to Gyeongju. And I must say this is really awkward. We were both silent and no one dared to open up a specific topic. We didn’t even talk about the mission on hand.

When we arrived at the place, we went towards the local government hall. We showed our NIS badges and they willingly let us enter. We asked for the files containing the history of the mayors who have served in this city. When we finally found Senator Noh Seunghwan’s documents, we scanned through the history of how he worked as the mayor.

Apparently, many of his people loved him because he was giving and always considerate. He never lost supporters from his people every time he ran for the position. He ran thrice, and he won twice.

Suspicious, I looked over the information when he lost the position.

But before I could read further, we heard an explosion.

Jaejoong and I immediately stood with our guns firm on our hands.

“Grab the documents, I’ll go check outside,” I ordered as I ran.

The moment I arrived outside, the car we were driving was already on fire. I looked from left to right to see who did that. I caught a glimpse of someone turning a corner. I ran towards that corner. When I arrived there, he already had his motorbike engine started.

I mentally noted the license plate.

With the gun firm on my hands, I fixed it towards him. I shot him on the shoulder and the motorbike he was driving became unsteady. I smiled inwardly as I ran towards him. But he regained his stance and was able to drive again. I saw him grabbing something from inside his leather jacket.

He turned towards me as he was still driving. I could not see his face because the helmet he was wearing was covering his face. Then he stopped. It looked like he was hesitating or was lost in the world. I held the gun firmly on my hands as I prepared to shoot again but he threw the thing towards me.

Then there was another explosion.

The next thing I knew, I was already on the ground with Jaejoong on top of me.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

I blinked rapidly as I stared at Jaejoong. What just happened?

When I finally recovered, I pushed Jaejoong off me and ran towards the guy who threw the grenade. But the street was already empty. Dammit! He escaped.

I turned to Jaejoong. He was trying to stand up but I saw that there were broken shards of glass stabbed on his back. That was when I realized when the explosion happened we were in front of a store with glass walls. And the glass broke.

“Jae! Let’s go to the hospital.”

Jaejoong was being treated in the emergency room. As for me, I only had a cut on my face.

I stepped out of the emergency room when they finished treating me. Jaejoong was still inside being treated too.

I exhaled as I remembered how Jaejoong saved my life again. It always happens, especially on missions. And because we’re partners, he always had my back.

I headed towards the comfort room to freshen myself up because I know I looked haggard from what just happened. But from the corner of my eye, I thought I saw someone I knew. So, when I turned my head towards the direction, I realized I was right.

------

poster credits to jiyongsfuturewife