http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17Dl2pugrOs

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Exo-M arrived back at the hotel. They gathered in Lay’s and Luhan’s room.

Tao shut the door behind him and locked it just in case anyone decided to barge into their conversation.

Lay whirled around. “Mind telling me what the heck was that back there?”

Kris silently sank into the armchair with a deflated expression. *I can’t believe that was Zico. Jungah’s friends were the one behind this mess. . What am I supposed to do now?*

“We almost had them, Wu Fan. They were right in front of us. We couldn’ve caught them and be finished with this mess by now. Are you even listening to me? KRIS!”

“Lay, calm down. You can’t talk to duizhang that way.” Luhan reminded in a low, warning voice.

Lay him, “Well our so-called ‘duizhang’ was the one that ruined our entire plan! You saw him! He tackled me down before I could shoot the enemy! It’s like he’s secretly on their side instead! Maybe that’s why he hasn’t finished this assignment already. Because he became a double agent and is working for them instead.”

“YIXING.” Luhan gave him a frightening glower, “Shut your mouth. I mean it. That’s enough.”

“Yeah, Yixing. That wasn’t very nice of you to accuse duizhang.” Xiumin frowned, “Duizhang has a reason for everything.” He looked at Kris, “Don’t you, duizhang?”

Kris didn’t reply. Xiumin faltered, “Duizhang…?”

“I can’t do this.” Kris whispered. Everyone stared at him.

“You can’t do what?” Luhan carefully asked. “I can’t…I can’t take them down.” Kris slowly shook his head.

Lay threw his hands up in the air, “What did I tell you?! He suddenly got cold feet at the last moment. Damn it, Kris, if you won’t, I will!” He grabbed his gun and headed towards the door.

Instantly, Kris was on his feet. He was blocking Lay from reaching the door.

“Move, Wu Fan.” Lay ordered. “No.” Kris sternly replied.

Lay narrowed his eyes and studied Kris’s face. “Why not?”

“I said no, Yixing. That is my final answer.” Kris said in a low, daunting tone.

Lay shoved past him. “I SAID NO!” Kris grabbed his shoulder and pinned him into the wall by his throat.

“WHY NOT?! GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON WHY I CAN’T GO BLOW THEIR HEADS OFF RIGHT NOW!” Lay snarled with a struggle.

“BECAUSE THAT’S HER STEPBROTHER!” Kris snarled.

Lay’s face fell. “W-what?” “Stepbrother?” Tao asked in confusion.

Kris dropped his gaze to the floor, “The man second in command you saw next to Cho is- was- Jungah’s stepbrother.”

“Was? So they’re not anymore?” Xiumin asked. Everything was still for a couple seconds then Lay moved, “Then there isn’t an issue then-“

Kris pushed him into the wall again, “He still means a lot to her, Yixing. If you kill him…you’ll be killing her. And I won’t let you do that to the girl I love.”

Lay stared at him, stunned. Luhan looked to the floor. Xiumin rubbed the back of his neck. Chen sighed, and Tao uncomfortably squirmed. They were at a loss what to do.

“So that’s it? You’re choosing her over our task?” Lay asked.

Kris gave him a sharp look, “This is just business. She’s a person-“

“WE WERE GIVEN AN ORDER!” Lay barked. He poked Kris hard in the chest and hissed, “And you were chosen to fulfill that order. As ridiculous as it seemed, you were supposed to go undercover as a high school student, find more demanders, and come back with the culprit of this mission dead and gone.”

Kris’s eye twitched at the last three words.

“And you failed. You failed as Liang’s scout, and you failed as our leader.” Lay vehemently growled.

Luhan began, “Lay-“

Lay shook his head as he stepped back. He whirled around and snarled, “And when were you so concerned about killing someone?! You never looked twice when you had to murder anyone!” Kris fell silent because that was the truth. He had been a cold, careless killer until Jungah had entered his life. Now that he found a precious life, he wanted to protect it forever.

“You changed, Kris. You changed. You’re not the Wu Yi Fan we once knew. I knew she was bad news.” Lay shook his head in disappointment. He threw his gun onto his bed and walked out of the room.

“Lay. Lay! Come back!” With an exasperated sigh, Luhan ran up to him. Xiumin uncertainly glanced at Kris then left the room also. Chen turned around and went into the restroom. Tao was the only one who confronted Kris directly. “Gege, what are you going to do now? You have to make a decision.” He softly chided.

*I know I do. I hate it that his life is in my hand now.* Kris thought glumly.

Tao squeezed his shoulder, “Whatever you choose, I’ll support you to the end, gege, because that’s what brothers do. I’m here for you.”

Kris gave him an appreciative thwack on the arm. Then wearily, he left the hotel with a frenzied mind and a heavy heart.

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Kris pulled into the parking lot of his condo with a sigh. He turned the engine off and lowered his head in resignation. He thought back to the events of the long night. He still couldn’t believe what he had seen. Kris crossed his arms on the steering wheel and rested his forehead on his hands. He closed his eyes as the doomin silence overwhelmed. *I wish I could wake up and everything could be a dream. Or I wish I could fast forward time, and just be happy with Jungah. No more drugs. No more gangs. No more killings. I’m done with this life.*

Suddenly, he grew weary of everything. He just didn’t want to deal with anything anymore.

After five more minutes of pained silence, Kris pulled his key out of the ignition and stepped out of the car. He made his way across