I try my best to remain motionless. With my limbs bound in thick ropes and a handgun pushing persistently into my back, I decide that it’s best if I don’t provoke my kidnappers. I lift my gaze slightly to observe the two men in front of me. They don’t look like the men the mafia usually hires to do their dirty work. Those men are thugs who are forced to do crime to make a living – they are both greedy and extremely stupid. These men look polished with their suits, earpieces and masks. They aren’t going to be an easy bunch to deal with.

 

I notice that the man on the left seems to be a little nervous; he is constantly tapping his leather shoes and touching the golden watch on his wrist. He looks up and meets my gaze. “What are you staring at, ?” he growls, and starts towards me. His partner stops him with an arm and commands softly, “Leave the girl alone.

 

“But…” the man protests slightly, but goes silent when he sees the other man’s sharp gaze.

 

“Why am I here?” I pick up the courage to ask. The gun at my back pokes a little harder into me, causing me to flinch slightly.

 

“You’ll know in due time.”

 

I raise my voice a little, “I’ve done nothing wrong. What do you guys want from me? Why do you even work for?” Obviously, this is just an act – I know exactly why I’m being held here. I actually half-expected this to happen.

 

Nobody answers. The two men turn away and walk out the door, motioning the person behind me to leave as well. I hear the click of a lock and I am alone. Looking around freely, I see that I am imprisoned in an obscure cell with decaying concrete walls and a single ceiling lamp that fills the room with an uncomfortable bright white hue. A security camera perches on the ledge that runs around the four walls, pointing menacingly at me.

 

I sigh and lean against the wall. I doubt that my training as an intelligence offer and a few years of compulsory martial arts can save me this time. My only option is to wait for my superiors to send in a rescue team. I suppose I’ll just have to hold out until then.

 

The next few hours are quiet. There were no sign of activity from them until I hear the sound of footsteps. Three men storm in and roughly drag me down a long hallway into another room. I curse instinctively, as they shove me onto a chair. This is all too familiar; they are putting me into an interrogation room. As expected, the two men from just now try to make me tell them what kind of leads the government have on their boss and the mafia.

 

The shoe-tapping man, who appears to be more anxious, approaches me first and forces my head up, so I am staring at his partner. He is clutching a knife in his hands and I notice that it is trembling.

 

I turn to stare into his eyes and whisper, “You’re scared, aren’t you? What do these people have on you?”

 

“Shut up,” he hisses, positioning the knife at my neck.

 

“What did she say?”

 

“Nothing, she said she doesn’t know anything.”

 

“They all say the same thing at the beginning,” his partner chuckles and taps his fingers on the table.

 

“You don’t want to hurt me, do you?” I say once more, a little louder this time.

 

“Tell me what you know or I’ll make it so painful for you that you wish you were dead,” The knife presses into my skin, slicing it open.

 

“Do it,” I whimper with pain, daring him to hurt me more. There is no way I’m going to leak any information to these people. The mafia has hurt so many people and if their boss discovers what I found out, it will make it so much harder for us to capture him.

 

“Do you not believe me?” His eyes flash with sudden, intense anger. He lifts his hand and drove the knife into my thigh, causing me to cry out. I bite my lip to keep myself from passing out.

 

“Say what you know or I’ll –“

 

Suddenly, the door crashes open and I hear multiple gunshots being fired. There are the sound of organized footsteps and then the shouts of men fills the room. A masked man approaches me and quickly unties me from the chair with trained hands. He takes off his mask and I see my childhood friend and co-worker, Siwon, staring back at me, eyes filled with concern.

 

“Siwon,” I breathe out, “Thank god.”

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“I think so,” I grit my teeth and try to stand up. My left leg is limp from the wound, so Siwon puts his arm on my waist to support me.

 

“I got the package,” he speaks into the mic that is hidden somewhere underneath his bulletproof vest.

 

“Take him,” I point at the shoe-tapper, who is laying motionless. “He will be useful. He is nervous and impulsive – an easy egg to crack. We will be able to get information out of him in no time.”

 

Siwon nods and directs one member of his team to grab him.

 

“We have to go now. There are more men coming your way. Two dozen from the east and some more from the north entrance.” Someone shouts to us. I recognize his voice – it is Sungmin.

 

“Tell backup to head to the north entrance. We will have to fight, but it’s the fastest way out of this labyrinth,” Siwon shouts back.

 

Despite the pain, I limp as fast as I can, doing whatever it takes to not slow the team down. I have field experience, so I know that every second counts. The path is clear through the twisting hallways and maze of stairs, but once we hit the car park, the fighting commences. Sungmin throws a grenade at the incoming men and then charges across the field, signaling the rest of the team to follow under the cover of smoke.

 

I follow, but stumble on an enemy’s dead body and fall to the ground.

 

“Get up!” Siwon hollers at me, as he points his rifle at more suited men running towards us. His aim is excellent – he mauls down mows down everyone he sees, causing them to drop to the ground in seconds.

 

I scramble to my feet, ready to run when something catches the corner of my eye. The rearview mirror of a nearby van is reflecting the sunlight… and also revealing the reflection of a man hiding with a gun ready in his hands. Without thinking, I run to Siwon and grab the handgun in his back pocket. Immediately, the man fires and I feel something hit my shoulder with a force that causes me to fall backwards. Searing pain follows, but I manage to take two shots and kill him before he can shoot at Siwon.

 

At that moment, the van that will take us to safety screeches to a stop next to us. Siwon hauls me up onto it and covers for the rest of the team as they clamber on. In seconds, he climbs on as well and slams the door shut. Instantly, the sound of gunshots dulls, but I don’t feel any safer – the thuds of bullets against the vehicle remind me that the enemy is still close. However, as the van drives away in full speed, everyone seems to relax. They then focus on me.

 

“Emily,” Siwon quickly turns his attention to me. When he realizes the shot wound on my shoulder, he curses and starts to help stop the gushing blood. I whimper and moan in pain as he presses a clean cloth on my wound.

 

“Thanks,” I speak softly, grabbing onto his arms.

 

“She is losing a lot of blood,” Sungmin points out. He is trying to bandage the gash on my left thigh.

 

“Drive faster,” Siwon pats at the back of the driver’s seat loudly. He seems frantic.

 

“Siwon,” I rub his arm gently, trying to soothe him.

 

“I’m sorry we came late,” Kyuhyun takes off his mask and I can see tears in his eyes, as he scans my wounded body.

 

One by one, they reveal their faces to me – Ryeowook, Kangin, Yesung and Eunhyuk. They are all there; all those I care about since the very beginning of our training. I should’ve known that they would send them here to rescue me. After all, these guys love me too much to fail this mission.

 

“We couldn’t protect you for hyung,” Sungmin hangs his head.

 

With the mention of Leeteuk, the tears that have been b in my eyes fall slowly down my face. Leeteuk, my fiancé, still haven’t come back from a mission that began two years ago. They say he has gone missing and is probably dead. Yet, I believe he is still alive, because he promised me that he will come back. He said he will come back for me.

 

“No,” I shook my head. “It’s my fault for getting caught. I wasn’t careful enough.” It is getting difficult to speak and I lean against Siwon, breathing heavily.

 

Siwon lifts me slightly and holds me in his strong arms, lips pressing to my forehead. He whispers, “I love you, okay? Please hang in there. We’re almost there.”

 

He is lying and I know it, but I nod anyway. I know I won’t die, because I can’t. I promised Leeteuk that I will wait for him and I promised that I will help him take care of his team. Hence, enveloped in their friendship and Siwon’s warmth, I will myself not to sleep… and I don’t.