They entered the third and last town with renewed determination. There were only two shops to check in this place. Hyukjae has got to be in one of them. If he's not… Lily shook her head, not wanting to even think about it. 

A few minutes later, their worst fear has come true.

Lily stepped out of the shop first, fighting to keep her tears at bay. Siwon took over the courtesy buying. This was the last shop on their list and Hyukjae wasn't there either. She looked up the black sky, silently begging God to please, please, PLEASE just beam Hyukjae to her right now. PLEASE. She won't ask for anything else. She'd even give up all hope of ever finding love (she did belong to the forever alone club) if only He'd give her Hyukjae right now. She had the urge to just run around the streets screaming his name.

With trembling hands, Lily took her phone out and dialed Henry's number. How she wished she had better news to tell him. She held up the phone to her ear, hearing it ring, but the sound of loud, rapid footsteps made her turn her head just in time to see someone crash into her. They both toppled to the ground, Lily's phone flying from her hands. The impact knocked the wind right out of her, making her cough. The weight of the guy on top of her wasn't helping her breathe.

"Mianhe mianhe mianhe mianhe mianhe," he said hurriedly, scrambling to get back on his feet. Lily was still sputtering when he grabbed both her arms and pulled her roughly back up.

"Gwenchana?" he asked, still holding her arms and looking her over, probably for injuries. She didn't quite understand what he said but she assumed that he was asking her if she was alright so she just nodded. At last, Lily recovered, and only did she get a good look at the guy. Her eyes widened. But before she could do anything, several running footfalls approached. 

"Aish!" the guy exclaimed, looking at the direction of the footsteps anxiously. With an apologetic look, he let go of her and ran.

But didn't get far.

A few steps and he tripped on a crack in the pavement, sending him to a too-soon reunion with the ground. His shoe flew off his foot and hit him on the head. Lily didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or freak out at what just happened. She didn't have time to think about it because three big, burly guys appeared round the corner, the source of the running footsteps.

"Hey you! Yeah, we got you now, you punk!" the one in the center said, pointing at the fallen guy.

Lily reacted right away. Stooping, she grabbed the guy's arm and pulled him with her. And they hauled . 

"HEY! Come back here!" the big guy called out , giving chase.

Lily tightened her grip on the guy's arm and urged her feet to move like they've never moved before. She was far from athletic but the burst of adrenaline pushed her to shift to a gear she never knew she had. She didn't know where they were going. She only knew that they had to lose these guys somehow. She risked a fleeting glance behind. The three men were right at their heels. They were tall and seemed to be covered with muscles. 

Oh god, we're being chased by three ugly versions of Thor, Lily thought, panicking. 

They were gaining on them. She didn't know what to do. She tried to run faster but her legs responded with a threat of cramping. She glanced at the guy beside her. He looked just as panicked as she was, and tired, very tired. She needs to get him to safety. If only she knew how to beat three Thors.

Wait a minute.

Yes she did. She had Superman.

Quickly assessing the general direction of the store they came from, she made a sharp turn into an alley, yanking the guy with her. A mid-sized gate stood halfway to the other side, blocking their way. She pushed him in front of her, pointing to a bin against the gate, gesturing for him to climb it and then hop over to the other side. He said something that could either be a protest or something like, "You go first." Either way, she shook her head firmly and pushed him onto the bin.

"Just go, Hyukjae, okay?!" she commanded. 

Hyukjae did a double take, suddenly realizing that she just said his name. 

"Eh? Ottoke---" he started to say but Lily cut him of by screaming, "JUST GET OVER THE DAMN GATE!" 

He may not have completely understood what she said but her outburst scared him enough to do as she said. The three Thors ran past the alley but doubled back upon spotting them. Lily looked over and was relieved that Hyukjae has safely landed on the other side. The relief was short-lived though, for a hand soon grasped her shoulder. Lily yelped, twisting away. Luckily, she was able to. She scrambled onto the bin as Thor #1 swiped to grab her once more. He missed. Thor #2 and #3 were fast approaching.

"Palli! Palli! Palli!" Hyukjae was yelling with alarm, waving her over. 

Lily heaved herself  over the gate. She got one leg across when the other one was grabbed by Thor #1. She kicked at him with all her might but he held on. Hyukjae was bouncing up and down, arms outstretched, ready to catch her. She searched for something to use as a weapon. Having no other option, she grabbed her other shoe, a trusty Chuck Taylor, and repeatedly beat Thor #1's hand as hard as she could. He finally let go and she threw the shoe at him, hitting him square in the face. Thor #1 growled, covering his face with his hand. The other two Thors just arrived in the scene and went straight to him to see if he's okay. 

Quickly, Lily threw her other leg over and jumped down, crashing into Hyukjae. The Thors were already making their way over the gate. With a groan, she got up quickly, took his hand, and pulled him with her again. They've got to make it back to that store. 

Criss-crossing and zig-zagging along what seemed like hundreds of alleys and sidewalks, Lily finally saw the bright red-and-white signage of the last store. Three figures were standing outside. She wanted to cry with relief. She looked back and was told that no, it wasn't time for relief yet. The group of Thors was still hot on their heels.

"SIWON! SIWON! SIWON!" Lily screamed as she ran towards her team.

"Lily!" he exclaimed, catching her as she stumbled into him. "Where have you--?"

"DONGHAE!" Hyukjae cried out, surprised to see his best friend standing there.

"Hyukjae…" Donghae said, not believing his eyes. 

After staring at each other for a few seconds, trying to make sure that what they're seeing was real, Donghae, with tears in his eyes, clasped his arms around his best friend as tightly as he could. Hyukjae half-laughed half-cried as he returned his friend's embrace.

"Big--big--THORS--chasing," Lily panted, pointing across the street where the three men were crossing. 

Soon, they were only a few paces away. Siwon gently moved Lily behind him, hiding her from the approaching problem. The Thors slowed to a jog and halted in front of them. Thor #1 had a bloody nose.

"Step aside, man. I don't wanna hurt you. I just want that who did this to me," he said.

"You shouldn't talk about a lady that way," Siwon replied, all serious, standing his ground. 

Wow, his English is pretty good, Lily thought, then mentally kicked herself for thinking that when they were facing this trouble.

"Wha--you dare lecture me?! Huh?!" Thor #1 said, ing his face an inch from Siwon's - a move for intimidating.

Siwon didn't budge, his jaw set. But his hands behind him carefully pushed Lily away. Donghae saw this and pulled Lily towards him, depositing her beside Hyukjae before moving to stand beside Siwon. Kyuhyun quietly slipped back into the store.

"We don't want any trouble," Siwon said calmly.

"If you don't move aside, you ARE gonna get trouble," Thor #1 threatened. His cronies nodded behind him.

Siwon remained quiet and gave the bullies a look that said, "Bring it on."

Thor #1 pulled his arm back for a punch but before he could throw it, Siwon grabbed his arm and twisted it around to make a chicken wing. Thor #1 cried out in pain. Thor #2 made a move to help him but Donghae stuck out his foot and made the big man kiss the ground hard. Thor #3 approached. Hyukjae put Lily behind him. 

"What the hell is going on here?!" a stern voice demanded, accompanied by a loud cocking of a shotgun.

Everybody froze. The shopkeeper exited the shop, followed by Kyuhyun.

"I have already alerted the police," the shopkeeper said. "Get away from my shop or I'll start shooting and tell them it's self-defense."

Siwon let go of Thor #1. Thor #3 picked up Thor #2 and with dirty looks, walked away muttering angrily.

When the bullies were at a safe distance, Kyuhyun turned to the shopkeeper and thanked him. 

"It's no problem. Those three cause trouble here often. I'm glad you found your friend," he said. With a bow, he went back into the shop.

"Look who I found guys…" Lily said, nudging Hyukjae toward his friends.

The three converged and enveloped him in a group hug, with Donghae pulling Lily in to join them. 

"It's so good to see you guys," Hyukjae said. "But who the heck is this girl?"

---

Tired, disheveled, yet in high spirits, they finally made their way to the bus stop. But the night just didn't want to end yet. Lily's face fell when she checked the schedule. They missed the last bus by a mere 2 minutes. The next one arrives in 3 hours. As if that's not enough, rain started to fall, one of those sudden, brief, yet hard downpours that made this cold winter morning close to unbearable. The five huddled close to each other under the bus stop shelter.

They talked about the whole ordeal to pass the time. It turns out that Hyukjae, preoccupied with a Nintendo DS, mistook another group of Korean guys for the rest of Super Junior when they lost him. 

"I just followed the voices," he explained. And the next thing he knew, he was on a train sitting beside four complete strangers who were looking at him weirdly for sitting with them. He asked them how to get back to the hotel and they told him, but he missed the connecting train to Olympic Park and the next wasn't due for another hour. He decided to go look for some strawberry milk. There was, apparently, another Korean convenience store all the way across town. It was small and hidden so it wasn't very well known. It was also already closed. That's what he found after wandering around for a long time. That's also when he realized that he didn't have his phone nor wallet with him. He hung out at the sidewalk in front of it for a while, not knowing what to do. He hoped for someone to come along so he could ask for directions but the streets were deserted. 

He decided to just see where his feet would take him. That's when he bumped into the Thors. It was an accident. He was rounding a corner and Thor #1, drunk, walked right into him. He apologized (the image of Hyukjae singing Sorry Sorry to the Thors suddenly popped into Lily's head and she suppressed a giggle) but the guy started blabbering in English and he couldn't understand the accent so he just walked away. Then they started following him, which made him run. They were chasing him for a good 10 minutes when he crashed into Lily.

"What happened to your shoe then?" Donghae asked.

Lily laughed. Hyukjae blushed as he reluctantly recounted what happened. An hour later, Lily was sitting beside four knocked out guys. She let them sleep. They've worked hard. If only she had a blanket to cover them with so they wouldn't get cold. Even though the rain has stopped, the chill still seeped through her bones. She was glad that Kyuhyun was leaning on her, helping her keep warm. 

She was about to drift off to sleep herself when she saw a glint from afar. She squinted and realized that they were headlights. Headlights! Lily sat up straight, watching the headlights grow bigger. Soon, an electric signboard appeared that said "Olympic Park". She jumped up, sending Kyuhyun toppling down on the bench with the others. Lily rushed to the post, stuck out her hand, and vigorously signaled the bus while shouting, "Guys, guys! Wake up! The bus is here! The bus is here!"

"Careful!" Kyuhyun suddenly called out. He reached Lily and spun her around just in time. The bus screeched to a halt, sending a shower of puddle water to the sidewalk. 

The bus door hissed open. "Sorry about that," the driver called out. 

"Th-thanks," Lily stuttered. Kyuhyun just gave her a forced smile and turned to enter the bus. His coat was dripping wet. 

Looking back at the other three, she motioned for them to get on before doing so herself. It's a precaution. Donghae and Hyukjae sat together and fell right back to sleep. Siwon sat a row behind them and did the same. Kyuhyun settled a few rows ahead. He removed his coat and placed it over a vacant seat. Lily saw him shiver.

"You didn't have to do that," she said softly as she took the seat beside him. "Your coat got ruined."

"Buy me a new one and we'll call it even," he replied dismissively. He crossed his arms on his chest, tucking his hands under his armpits. Then, he leaned his head on the window and closed his eyes. He shivered again. He opened his eyes when he felt soft fabric rubbing against his face.

"What are you doing?" he questioned.

"Drying your hair," Lily answered simply. She was using her scarf to do so. It smelled nice. The massaging motion her hand was doing to the back of his head was soothing. Kyuhyun stifled a satisfied groan.

"I'm fine," he said, moving away.

"You could get a cold. Or worse, pneumonia," Lily said, continuing what she was doing. "Did your back get wet? Let me see."

"I said I'm okay," Kyuhyun insisted. Lily ignored him and pushed him forward, her hand roaming the back of his shirt.

"It's a little damp. Here, this will help."

She pulled out a spare scarf from inside her bag and stuck it down his back. Her hand grazed his skin for a second and they were cold. He let out a soft gasp. 

"Sorry," Lily apologized. Tugging here and there to even out the scarf, she was finally satisfied but didn't let him go. Instead, she pulled him towards her and let his head rest on her shoulder while her hands rubbed his back and his arm.

He wanted to protest but she felt soft and warm and nice and he was oh so tired...

______________________

I've always wanted to see a Super Junior action movie. ;) Action-star Siwon is really lovely to watch. Have any of you seen Athena and/or Poseidon? Yeah… 

And YEY! They've finally found Hyukkie! ^^

I'm so sorry for the long wait, you guys! It's just… it wouldn't come out, this part. You know what I mean? I had the general idea in my head right from the start but I just couldn't type it out. What's funny is that I already have most of the future chapters completed, including the last one! Haha.

Again, a million thanks to everyone who read and commented and subscribed to this story. It's been really fun writing it (and it's slowly taking over my life, lol!). I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I did my very best to write action scenes. Lol!