Darkness is a strange thing, Baekhyun realized as he sat alone in a chair just outside the room where his former fellow agents were held hostage.

Darkness. Many things happen in the dark, like murder or lovemaking, but even though these two usually occur in the unfathomable blackness, they do not belong to it.

It is not for murder or lovemaking; in fact, it is for the lonely.

Baekhyun shifted in his uncomfortable seat as he looked around him, surrounded, as well, with pitch black. It was the first time in a long time he felt the solitary feeling of being in the dark, the feeling of isolation and curiosity, wondering what’s out there and when the light was coming back.

He hated the dark, naturally because he was a soldier of light, though ironically there wouldn’t be light if there wasn’t darkness. This was the reason why he had been thinking so hard about it, whether he was dark or light, neither or both. He was both, but he couldn’t stand the sight of nothing, so he would much rather think he was light.

As he blankly stared down on the floor, Baekhyun lightly snapped his fingers together, emitting a little spark of light then disappearing as quickly as it came, similar to turning on a lighter to smoke though it didn’t really turn on, just lighting up from the friction of metal against metal.

He snapped his fingers again, releasing the same spark. The room was too dark for him.

He clasped his hands together, slowly making circular motions until a little wisp of translucent electric blue light started forming in between his palms. It grew bigger and bigger, and when it transformed into a little ball, Baekhyun tossed it up into the air, gently hitting the low ceiling above and casting the room the light that it so badly needed.

Baekhyun then realized now with his sight back, that he was with four other men in guard duty. At the very end of the room to the right, two Immitis gang members had their heads leaned back and mouths open wide as they slept. To the left, one of Jiyong’s black-clad Xinths blinked furiously, obviously startled by the sudden appearance of light. Lastly, right across from him a couple of feet away, TOP also sat in a chair, awake and alert as ever, as he had his eyes directly on Baekhyun, not flinching even once from the blinding brightness.

Baekhyun blinked at him a couple of times. “Sorry.”

“Leave it,” TOP muttered in his low, gruff voice. “Why aren’t you asleep?”

“I’m not supposed to,” he replied. “I’m on duty.”

“Good,” he commented. “If you were, I would have slit your throat. Lucky for these two bastards I haven’t killed them yet,” he said, talking about the two gang members fast asleep at the corner of the room.

Baekhyun nodded, mentally reminding himself to never close his eyes for more than a minute in front of TOP.

“What about you?” Baekhyun started. “Why aren’t you asleep?”

“To keep guard, as well.”

“But I’m already here.”

“I’m not here to watch over them,” TOP deadpanned. “I’m here to watch over you.”

Baekhyun was left speechless as TOP continued. “As someone who just switched from the other side, naturally everyone would keep an eye on you.”

“I would never betray Jiyong,” he said in his defense.

“But you were able to do it to your friends.”

“I had no choice. I was forced to or Jiyong would kill my whole family and then kill me. I would like myself and my family to live longer and if that’s what it takes then so be it,” he explained in one breath. “And they’re not my friends.”

“Are they not really?” TOP raised a brow. “That’s not what I saw when you were on that date with that girl.”

Baekhyun’s eyebrows furrowed. “You were spying on us then?”

“Jiyong’s orders were to get as close as you can with the girl, yet when I saw you in there, sitting at the table with her, there were tears. Tears of rejection and heartbreak,” he continued. “I don’t remember Jiyong telling you to reject her. As a matter of fact, he even said to go as far as being with her. So tell me, Baekhyun,” he smirked, “which side are you really on?”

“I…” he trailed off, not knowing what to say. “I…”

After a few seconds of silence, TOP shook his head. “Never mind the question,” he dismissed, taking off his fedora and running his large hands through his white hair before looking away.

But Baekhyun could never not mind the question, because something tells him that no matter what he would say, the people he was with right now would not believe nor trust him, ever. It was a mutual feeling.

With a slight graceful motion of his hand, the light in the ceiling slowly crawled in the middle and formed into its original ball shape, carefully descending from above and disappearing inside his palm.

The room was, once again, full of darkness.

---

Like a sly fox, Kim Jongin made his way through the bushes, briskly yet carefully making his way closer to the old trite storehouse where his fellow agents were held captive. It was a challenge to find his way around, but after some time, he figured it out.

He was lucky enough to not be one of the others inside that warehouse. It was so fast when it happened; since the early afternoon, he never left his spot outside the balcony, sharpening his already sharp knives for hours despite the others calling him out for it.

Everything was fine after that, especially when Baekhyun was finally out of his hair but of course, he had to make things worse when he came back with two guns in hand, pointing it at Lay and Xiumin like some deranged son of a who didn’t know what he was doing.

But no, he did. He knew exactly what he was doing, and it was sickening to the core.

He remembered hiding behind the silk curtains hanging over the balcony’s glass door, watching as Baekhyun gave silent orders to cuff Lay and Xiumin while he went to deal with Kris and Chen next. Before that though, Kai was sure; he was sure and he swore on his life and his family’s life that Baekhyun turned his head to where Kai was hiding, clearly seeing him crouching and covering himself up.

He remembered them holding each other’s gaze for at least three seconds – three seconds that felt like an eternity as if giving Kai the luxury to wordlessly ask Baekhyun with his squinting eyes, what are you doing? And why? And with a knot in between his eyebrows, all this time?

“All this time?” he mouthed.

Baekhyun did not answer but instead, looked away and headed over to the kitchen where Kris and Tao were. Baekhyun let him escape, but that only angered him more.

He thought he was doing him a favor of letting him go, but he wasn’t. Not even freedom could make Kai forgive him for what he was about to do. Kindness did not and never will fix things that were purposely broken, and unfortunately, Baekhyun will learn that the hard way.

Kai made his way through the bushes and overgrown grass, crawling on his knees silently as he reached the storehouse after easily sneaking up behind a couple of guards and slitting their throats. He got to his feet and pressed his back against the wall, carefully peeking inside through the cracked windows.

There it was. Inside were his friends, propped on their knees and hands cuffed behind them as they slept with their heads hung low. On the other side of the room, gang members sat on wooden chairs, heads nodding off into sleep. They had big guns in their hands and if Kai was quiet enough he could snatch those weapons and kill them instantly, all the while saving his brothers.

Kai took in deep breaths, thinking about how he was going to do this. He was mentally figuring out his escape plan when he noticed one of his teammates scuffling in place.

It was Chen. He blinked a couple of times, groggy from sleeping probably, as he looked around the dark room. He lifted his head up to meet Kai’s gaze on him, both surprised and relieved to see that the boy was in fact alive and not dead, contrary to everyone’s belief.

His eyes were wide as he gestured at his handcuffs. “Help me get out of this,” he mouthed.

Kai nodded, glad that he had someone to help him with this. Without waiting any longer, he teleported inside, and Chen, seeing the boy disappear, silently woke the others up from their uncomfortable sleep.

Kai appeared behind one of the guards that had the keys to the handcuffs, and as quietly and as carefully as he could, he took the keys from the man’s hand without breaking a sweat. He then teleported behind Chen and released him first before moving on to the others.

While Kai did this, Chen already started with the guards. With quick hands, he snatched the guns from two guards, and when they woke up startled, he smacked their heads with the of the rifle. It sent them to the floor unconscious, waking the other two. They jolted up from their seats, only to see their feet frozen to the ground courtesy of Xiumin and his powers. With the two guns at hand, Chen flipped them the right way in his hands and began shooting the two.

“ing Chen. I was planning to make this a quiet escape!” Kai exclaimed, grinning at the boy as he took off Kris’ handcuffs.

Chen tossed each of them a rifle. “Sorry,” he said without sounding sorry at all.

“Little ,” Kai laughed nervously as the others outside the door finally came barging in. Without any kind of hesitation, Kai started shooting them while Kris carried an unconscious Tao over his shoulders, escaping first through the window. He shot the glass and gave it one hard kick before jumping out.

It was not long before Baekhyun and a couple more gangsters came filing into the room, to which they acted upon immediately.

It was raining bullets. Around three of the thugs died, one hit on the shoulder as well as Kai who got shot in the leg, courtesy of Baekhyun who was much too fast for Kai. Seeing this, Lay insisted on escaping immediately to which the others agreed on.

The agents ran towards the window where Kris was still hiding, firing a couple of bullets to help his comrades. One by one, they jumped out, all the while blindly shooting behind them.

Kai let the others get out first as he staggered to escape, thoroughly distracted by the pain in his leg. He was halfway out the window when one almost pulled him back in again if he didn’t shoot him in time. Just when he was almost out, he looked back once again, seeing TOP standing at the far end of the large room, unmoving.

He was just staring at Kai, doing nothing to stop him. Kai raised his gun to shoot the man in the head, but before he could even pull the trigger, a sharp pain in his head refrained him from doing so. A blur of green passed his eyes, and if Chen hadn’t forcefully pulled him out, he would probably be a goner right now.

“What the hell are you doing, man? Let’s go!” Chen shouted, a trail of blood from his scalp dripping down to his eyes.

Kai dazedly nodded, struggling to get back to his feet before breaking into a run, though he didn’t know where he found the strength to do so. He looked back at the storehouse again, catching a glimpse of TOP in the same position with Blue beside him, pulling at his wits and shouting angrily after them.

---

“Should we send people to Hong Kong to go look for them?” Chanyeol asked worriedly. The agents were gathered around the table, waiting for a call from the others in Hong Kong while Agent M and Agent Zero were busy at the other office, trying to track where they were.

“Should we?” Luhan wondered.

“But if we did, where would we find them?” Sehun asked.

“It would be too complicated. Hong Kong is a big place. What do you think, Suho?” Kyungsoo asked, turning to Suho who was blankly staring down at the table.

“I…I honestly don’t know. I’m sorry I just-” he sighed, burying his face in his palms, “I just can’t think straight right now. They’ve gone missing in a foreign country and I have no idea if they’re alive or dead. And if they are alive, what if they don’t know how to come back?”

“It’s okay, prez,” Hyerin hushed, rubbing the boy’s back. “I’m sure they’ll find their way.”

“I’m sorry. I’m supposed to have my together but I just can’t stop worrying,” he said, finally sitting properly in his seat. “It’s the only thing I’m ever good at.”

“Don’t say that,” Hyerin whispered for only him to hear. “You’re only human. You don’t have to strive to be so perfect all the time.”

Suho smiled down at his shoes before looking up at her and saying, “And you don’t always have to be so reckless especially when your life is at stake.”

Hyerin scoffed lightly. “Let’s not go there.”

For the next twenty minutes, all they did was sit inside the office, not uttering even one word as they waited for any news about the others at Hong Kong. It was only when the phone in the middle of the table started to ring did they start to stir in their seats.

“It’s from an unknown number,” Luhan said, before picking up the phone. “Hello?”

“Hello? Luhan?” Kris called in a hushed tone. “Luhan is that you?”

“Kris!” Luhan exclaimed, making the others sigh in relief. He put the phone on speaker before asking, “Where have you guys been? We’ve been so worried about you!”

“So much stuff happened. We were kidnapped by Blue and TOP. They’re also here in Hong Kong.”

“What!? Then how are you calling right now?” Chanyeol asked.

“Telephone booth. Me, Lay, Chen, and Xiumin ran away because Kai managed to escape before we got kidnapped. He followed us to the storehouse and freed us. We also got Tao with us.”

“Tao?” Hyerin asked desperately. “How’s Tao?”

“He’s conscious, though barely.”

“What about the others?” Kyungsoo asked. “Are the others alright?”

There was a brief pause. “The others are fine but,” he hesitated, “But Baekhyun, he-”

The line turned silent, not even a mere scuffle or sniff was heard. For a moment, they thought the line already went dead.

“Kris?” Suho raised a brow.

“Baekhyun, he,” Kris sighed before continuing, “he was in on it. When I was talking to Luhan on the phone the other day he put a gun to our heads. Baekhyun’s a traitor. He has been all this time.”

It was their turn to be speechless. Chanyeol and Sehun looked like they were about to cry, while Luhan and Suho covered their mouths in shock. Kyungsoo’s jaw hardened, his hands clutching the table so hard it was starting to form cracks. He turned to look at Hyerin.

Her face was pale and indescribable, like he didn’t know if she was going to faint or break into a fit right then and there. She was trying to keep shut so hard that the veins in her neck started to pop out.

“That’s-” she hesitated, “that’s impossible.” She chuckled weakly. “I…Baekhyun, he’s…he’s a good person, he’s-” She bit her fist and looked away, unable to finish her sentence.

“I’m sorry, Hyerin,” Kris mumbled quietly.

That was all it really took to make Hyerin tune out the conversation and get immersed in her own thoughts. The idea was so surreal, so impossible. Baekhyun was a good guy, he always had been and that couldn’t have changed overnight. It wasn’t possible. It just wasn’t possible.

She was in denial and she knew it. But she would rather deny it than face the awful, awful truth that he betrayed them. That he betrayed her. It felt like a nightmare.

“Just excuse me for a moment please,” she whispered, getting up from her seat and walking out of the room.

She felt her heart pounding so hard against her chest she could almost feel the blood rushing through her veins, along with the painful revelation that all Baekhyun told her were lies, lies, and lies.

She remembered the first time she met him, how he was so annoying and temperamental and how she couldn’t stand him even for a second. She remembered the first time she walked inside his old apartment, inside his old room full of his paintings, and thought how beautiful they were. She was scared that he would get mad, but instead he let her stay.

And that moment he explained to her the meaning behind that one painting he made right after he joined M-LX, the one with a man alone in the forest. When he said he couldn’t have survived if it weren’t for them.

There was also that one time when she first heard him sing, and she remembered how beautiful and sincere he looked performing on that stage. Those moments of sparring with him at the gym, talking about nothing in his room, asking about that sketch he made of that woman, him fixing her bowtie that one time, and then the other when he gave her chamomile tea and smiled at her.

She remembered him holding her hand. She remembered it so well, along with his warm brown eyes and his heart-melting words.

“Everything is going to be alright,” he muttered softly. “Me and the others will always be here for you, especially me. I’ll protect you no matter what.”

Lies.

It was at that moment that Hyerin realized her life was made up of just that. Lies. It made her wonder if she’ll ever escape such a filthy sentience, if she could ever run away from all this and surround herself with goodness, and only goodness.

Unfortunately, it was far-fetched for a girl like her, who, in the first place, lived in a world full of deceit and cruelty.

Frankly, she didn’t even know if she deserved to be granted the truth anymore.

---

After ditching the meeting at M-LX and collecting her thoughts, Hyerin decided to get on her motorcycle and drive to Jonghyun’s place. She knew the others would be worried like always but there were things she had to handle herself. Family related things.

She parked her MV Augusta somewhere hidden and made her way inside the building, going straight to Jonghyun’s unit. Although she had keys, she knocked on the door instead.

After a couple of seconds, the door finally opened, revealing Jonghyun in a white T-shirt and pajamas.

“Hyerin!” he chuckled, giving her a big hug. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey,” she mumbled, pulling away. “Mind if I come in?”

Jonghyun snorted. “Do you need to ask?” he said, opening the door all the way.

Hyerin stepped inside, looking around the clean condo before turning around to face her older brother. “How’s work?” she asked.

“Stressful,” Jonghyun sighed tiredly, leaning back on the kitchen counter. “Everything’s just so busy lately and it doesn’t help when you’re surrounded by ty looking people with equally ty attitudes.”

“Sounds fun,” she mocked.

“Shut up,” he chuckled lightly. When Hyerin didn’t laugh, his eyebrows furrowed together. “What’s up?”

“What?”

“Why did you come over?”

“Nothing. I just,” she shrugged, “I just missed you. That’s all.”

“Is there something wrong?” he questioned. “What’s the real reason you came here?”

Hyerin pressed her lips together in a grim line and lifted her head up to meet his brother’s eyes, tastefully identical to hers. He raised a brow, urging her to speak.

“What?” he whispered.

“Jonghyun, you-” she stopped to grit her teeth out of frustration, “you need to get out of here.”

His eyebrows rose. “What?”

“You need to get out of here, away from here. You need to stay somewhere safe where nothing can hurt you.”

“Hyerin, what the hell are you talking about-”

“There are things that are happening, Jjong, that I – things that I can’t explain to you. The only thing you need to know is that no one will be safe once it comes and I don’t want you to get caught up in that.”

“Wha-”

“No one is safe, Jjong.”

“I don’t understand. What are you talking about, Hyerin, you’re scaring me!”

“You don’t have to understand anything. You just have to trust me on this,” she pleaded. “I’m begging you. Don’t question it, just trust me.”

Jonghyun looked confused for a moment, as if he didn’t know if he should believer her, but after looking at her long enough, he knew she wasn’t lying. He had never seen her this scared before.

“Where…” he mumbled, “where am I going to go?”

“I know some people who are leaving Seoul as well. You’re going with them. Pack your things as quickly as you can, bring food, and I’ll call you when you’re leaving. Take Hyeseul with you too and don’t come back.”

“W-What about you?”

“I’ll be fine,” she reassured, giving him a weak smile. “I’m a big girl now.”

“Hyerin, I-I…I don’t know what’s going on but I don’t want you to get in trouble. Can’t you at least tell me a little bit about what this is?”

“You’ll know eventually,” she muttered. “Now is not the right time.”

Jonghyun gave her that look he always had whenever he was acting like a real big brother to her, that look that made her feel loved, before releasing a deep sigh and hugging her.

He closed his eyes tightly. “Come with me,” he murmured into her hair.

“I wish I could,” she said. “But I can’t.”

He let out a raged breath. “I love you. Take care of yourself.”

“I love you too,” she whispered before pulling away.

Hyerin never looked back at her brother that night and just headed for the door to leave. She took the stairs instead of the elevator to distract her from her thoughts before walking to the parking lot and abruptly stopping in her tracks when she realized she was going to walk past her motorbike. She was breathing heavily from rushing too much, and she leaned against her bike to catch her breath.

“Rough night?”

Hyerin’s head snapped up, surprised to see Kyungsoo standing beside his expensive car with his arms folded and eyebrows raised.

Her expression turned from startled to calm before chuckling humorlessly. “Always.”

“Always…” he repeated in a whisper, as if he was trying to make sense of that.

“How did you find me?”

“I know how your mind works.”

“Are you mad at me?”

“Mad at you?” Kyungsoo frowned, slowly walking over to her. “Why would I be mad at you?”

“For leaving at such a short notice.”

Kyungsoo didn’t say anything until he was exactly right in front of her. “I’m not mad, Hyerin,” he said. “You had to do what you had to do. Why would I be upset about that?”

“It’s just that-” she hesitated, scratching her head frustratingly.

“It’s just that…what?” he asked quietly, craning his neck to search her eyes.

She let out a shaky breath, finally lifting her head up to look at him. “Goodbyes are just really hard, aren’t they?” she mumbled, eyes glazed with oncoming tears.

Kyungsoo blinked slowly, eyes turning solemn before nodding. He brushed his thumb against her cheek in a gentle manner before enveloping her into a warm hug.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “They really are.”