sorry about the really late update. I've been so busy lately >.< but anyway, enjoy!

“The council meeting?” I clarify.

“Yes. Immediately.”

I don’t like the way he says that. “What for?” Jongin inquires and the official regards him with an indifferent stare.

“My orders are only to her to the meeting. Not to inform her of the reason she is going.” He replies. Jongin scowls in distaste.

The official on the left, the skinny one with glasses, heaves a sigh. “You have every right to know why, Miss Daeun. Our leader is just a bit detail oriented. A few hours ago, the council received another anonymous letter. Inside held very...interesting information. Information that involved you. I cannot say exactly what, though, because that was not revealed to us.” Glasses guy steps forward, arm motioning towards the door. “Now if you’d please follow us.”

I make a move to comply to their requests, and so does Jongin. “Only her.” The leader barks and I can see that Jongin is fighting back a growl.

“If she goes, then I go.” He retorts stiffly. It’s the official’s turn to hold back.

“Stop.” I mutter, placing a hand on Jongin’s shoulder. His eyes shift to me, and I can feel his shoulders droop a little. From the bond, I can feel that he isn’t too pleased with the thought of me going alone, but I didn’t need the bond to figure that out. “I’ll be alright. I’ll be back before you know it.”

I offer a slight smile that he doesn’t return. Turning to leave, the officials file out of the room but stop as Jongin pulls me back into a hug. “We leave today.” He whispers quietly against my ear before releasing me and urging me forward. In a confused daze, I start to walk, one official ahead of me, and two behind me. 

Along the way, Luhan and Sehun exit the Open Room, laughing and joking around until they spot me. Sehun’s about to say something to me, but I quickly shake my head. I don’t want to cause anymore unnecessary commotion. Luhan’s already halfway down the hall I just came from with Sehun close by before I can even turn my head back to face the direction that I’m walking.

Fifteen minutes later takes us to a dimly lit, oval shaped room. It isn’t that big; there is an open space in the center, an elevated platform where three people can sit, and a few rows of seats behind that. I can distinctly see the outlines of people filling those seats, but the light is so dim I can’t see their faces.

The council, I guess you could say, is a branch of the government. They deal with the ethical human sorts of things that the government doesn’t really bother with. Any decision concerning the well being of humans overall, is made finally by the council and not even the government has a say in that. 

I’m ordered to stand in the middle of the open space. “Oh Daeun. Do you know why you’re here?”

I’m sure you’re going to tell me whether I know or not anyway, I want to say but instead I settle with, “No, I don’t.”

The voice resonates in the air, bounces off the walls and makes it hard to discern who is speaking. “You are here because we have been informed that you are a danger to humanity.”

“A human like me, is a danger to humanity?” I clarify. My statement does not sit well with the council and a few hushed murmurs rise.

“I’m very sure we both know that you aren’t just a regular human.”

Because as soon as the council find out about you, they’ll hand you over for the promise that everyone else will be left alone. There’ll be a price on your head, and you won’t be safe anywhere.

So this is it, huh? I’ve been caught. And I’ve been caught by the very people who handed me orders, ran the place that I worked in. It’s a strange feeling.

The voice goes on. “We’ve been told that if you are given up, whoever is sending these letters won’t harm the civilians.” 

“How do you know they’re serious about hurting anyone? And if they mean what they say, how do you know that they’ll even stay true to their word?” I question.

“The first letter that informed us about the Pure One, was found crumpled in the hands of one of our best leaders. He was found dead. Him and his twenty five comrades.” There’s a slight pause and I think the temperature in the room drops. “We will take no chances.”

Whatever light that the room had, suddenly diminishes to black nothingness. I can hear people start to wonder what’s wrong, chairs are scraping against the floor. I back up against the wall behind me and start to move my way towards the door. I think I’m almost there when an arm slides around my waist and I almost start to panic before I realize that it’s familiar.

“Jongin?” I murmur and a hand touches my cheek.

“Let’s go.” He says, and I feel a slight tugging on my stomach before I see the colors. They fly past me, until everything fades and then comes back into focus as a different location. We stand in the middle of Danmi’s living room, and Woomin’s excited laughter grabs my attention.

“You guys are a bit later than I hoped,” Woomin starts as he takes both of our hands and guides us towards the kitchen. We settle down into the dining table; Danmi is cooking and waves slightly when she sees us. “From what I saw, that means you don’t have a lot of time.”

Jongin tilts his head to the side. “What does that mean?”

“Woomin saw two things: if you got here at exactly six, you’d be fine to stay here until tomorrow evening. But,” Danmi settles two plates of steaming food in front of us. “If you arrived any later, you’d only have a few hours until SHC arrived here. I’m sorry that we can’t hold them off longer.”

The clock says it’s 6:03. I take a bite of the food and my stomach groans in pleasure; it tastes wonderful. “You don’t have to be sorry. We don’t want to cause you any trouble.” I say after swallowing. She looks unsettled, and I reach out a hand to hold hers. Danmi has helped us all so much, I don’t want her to worry. 

“We’ll be alright.” I honestly don’t know if I said that to reassure her, or myself.

After we finish eating, Danmi sends us off with some money crushed into our hands. I hug her, and Jongin follows suit. We both thank her, then wave good-bye to Woomin who smiles in return. 

“I took the basics.” Jongin says as we head off the porch. He motions towards a duffel bag that he carries on his shoulder. “Clothing, money...yeah.”

“Jongin.” I call out, and he turns to face me. Slipping my hand into his, I step closer until there is almost no space left between us. “Are you okay?”

“Daeun, I’m fine.”

“No, really.”

He laughs. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you if you’re alright? I mean, they’re after you.”

I notice the tenseness in his shoulders, and the way he clenches and unclenches his jaw. “But you’re the one who’s upset.” 

For a moment, nothing reflects in his eyes. Then he pulls me even closer and wraps his arms around me. “I just want you to be safe. I’m worried that I won’t be enough to protect you.”

“I trust you. Believe me, you’re more than enough.”

Slowly, a smile spreads on his face and he’s back to being his playful self again. “You think so?” He leans forward.

“I know so.” I close the final distance between us.