Yongguk’s POV:

 

I returned back to the lair to be greeted welcomingly by DaeHyun.

 

“Come inside. Someone is waiting for you,” he smiled dubiously at me.

 

DaeHyun knocked softly on the door.

 

“Come in,” an extremely familiar voice dismissed.
 

No, it couldn’t be…

The door swung open, and Jin was sitting on the couch.

 

“Long time no see, Bang,” he smirked.

 

 

“Great day huh,” Daehyun asked as he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it up, standing right beside me.

 

“Yeah, but I didn’t think Jin would be released that quickly. What about the plan you told me to think of? I got some—“

 

“ChangJo found someone with connections. Don’t worry about it. It’s over. Now that Jin’s back, everything will fall back into place,” he interrupted before exhaling a puff of smoke into the air.

 

I nodded in agreement before throwing my cigarette on the ground and stomping it out. “I’ll be going in first,” I announced.

 

Things are going to get a lot harder before they get any easier…

 

 

Natalie’s POV:

 

I woke up to find myself back home.

 

My head began to spin nonstop as I struggled to sit up.

 

The events that occurred last night began pouring back into my memory and I began to wonder if what I experienced was even real. I looked around my bedroom for any traces of Yongguk when my eyes landed on the sticky note placed on my nightstand. Next to it was a little pot with a small stem sprouting out from the soil.

 

It read, “Happy Birthday. I know this isn’t much, but I promise to be back by the time this little plant blooms into a flower. Take care. –B”

 

I smiled to myself as I caressed the little pot in my hands and placed it on my bedroom windowsill. Slightly opening the blinds, I allowed just enough sunlight to illuminate through my window and down onto the sprout.

 

Maybe this plant didn’t hold any significance to others, but to me, it was a symbolic representation of a new life awaiting me.

 

Jin’s POV:

 

I sipped out of my glass before beginning the announcement.

 

“We will be holding the first examination tonight in celebration of ChangJo’s great work. Please give him a round of applause,” I stated, eyeing ChangJo proudly as the room filled a chain of applause—causing him to flush shyly. “Because I suspect that the traitor must be hidden somewhere among us, I want to first eliminate those who are innocent. Those who do not attend tonight’s examination will immediately be considered a traitor along with those who are unable to complete the mission I have set up. Tonight, at exactly midnight, I want all of you to meet at the cemetery at Gangnam— in uniform. Clear?”

 

“Clear!” all the members replied in unison.

 

“Good. Dismissed.”

 

“Ah—wait!” I hesitated. “Everyone else may leave but Bang.”

 

DaeHyun’s POV:

 

“Ah—wait!” Jin commanded. “Everyone else may leave but Bang.”

 

I glanced over to find Bang looking back at me. His eyebrows were creased with worry. I patted him reassuringly on the back and nodded towards Jin. Although with a skeptical look painted on his face, he nodded back at me.

 

I turned my heel and began to leave when I unintentionally overheard Jin consulting through the small space left open by the door, “I wanted to talk to you about your position. For the past few years, you’ve been one of the most obedient and loyal members in this group, and therefore, I think you deserve a promotion.”

 

“No, it’s fine Jin, I-I honestly don’t deserve it—,“ I heard Yongguk deny.

 

“No. You’re getting bumped up to ‘T’ whether you like or not you er,” Jin insisted.

 

I heard Yongguk chuckle in flattery as I began I fuming in jealousy.

 

Why the hell is Jin giving him a promotion when I’ve been doing all of the damn work? I’ve been working my off for years and I’ve been stuck in the ‘S’ position along with the majority of everyone else. All he’s been doing is getting himself hurt and causing dragging the team down and yet he gets ing rewarded—

 

The door opened behind me, disrupting my bubble of thought.

 

“Hey Dae, you’re still here?” Bang placed an arm over my shoulder. “Wanna go get something to eat?”

 

I smiled artificially at him and replied, “Sure.”

 

Bang grinned genuinely at me before walking outside.  I stared at his back, wishing my eyes were able to burn a hole through him.

 

There’s no way I’m going to settle for this. I'm not letting him take what I worked so hard for.

 

Yongguk’s POV:

 

I had a feeling DaeHyun was eavesdropping, and I was right.

 

His bitter complexion suddenly lightened up—a bit too much—when I came into sight, and when I left outside, I could feel his ferocious eyes on me.

 

But that was the least of my worries right now.

 

The only thing on my mind was the examination tonight. I had no idea what Jin had planned for everyone, but I knew there was no way I could hide from it this time. To make things worse, Jin had just given me a promotion as another token of his trust. I couldn't just turn away at this moment.

 

I didn't know what was coming for me, but I just prayed that God would be able to forgive me for the sins I was going to sooner or later commit tonight.

 

Natalie’s POV:

 

“Your grandfather’s condition hasn’t—“

 

“Improved, and there’s nothing you can do until he wakes up. I know, I got it,” I forced a chuckle, implying that I’ve heard it all before.

 

Doctor Kang cleared his throat, embarrassed, and nodded before leaving me alone with my grandfather.

 

I pulled my seat closer to his bed and began massaging his arms and legs, hoping that it would improve blood circulation or help in some sort of way. After working on it for a while, my hands began to feel sore. I allowed myself to stop.

 

Resting my head onto my grandfather’s hospital bed, I found myself looking at the family photo displayed on the small table next to his IV stand.

 

In the photo, my mother and father were sitting with me on their lap—all three of us smiling gracefully. Behind us stood my grandparents, who too were smiling—their eyes crowfeet crinkling up happily.

 

I sat there, observing things I never noticed in the photo—like what I was wearing, and how my mother’s hair was done, the patterned wooden framed that embraced the photo. And before I knew it, I feel into a deep slumber.

 

I’m oh-fficially missing you, officially missing you~ ~ ~

 

I opened my eyes to the sound of my ringtone and quickly picked up before whomever was calling hung up.

 

“Hello?” I mumbled sleepily.

 

“Natalie? Are you coming to work today?” HimChan’s voice rang out on the other line. I could hear loud chattering and utensils clinking and clanking against each other.

 

I looked up at the clock hung on the hospital wall and realized that I had only ten minutes left before work started. By this time, I was already supposed to be changing out of my normal clothes.

 

“Ah crap! Yeah, I’ll be there. Thanks for calling!” I shouted frantically into the phone before getting up to leave.

 

But of course, being the clumsy and uncoordinated I was, I accidentally swung my arms as I got up and knocked over my family photo. As it came in contact with the floor, it made a loud, piercing crash as the piece of glass completely shattered into millions.

 

My heart suddenly stopped.

 

A nurse came running into the room.

 

“Are you okay, miss?!” she asked.

 

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. Just accidentally knocked over something,” I stuttered as I began to pick up the broken pieces of glass along with the photo.

 

As if things weren’t already ty as it was, I carelessly pricked myself on one of the sharp edges of the broken shard.

 

“,” I cursed under my breath.

 

Coming back to my senses, I realized that I had no time left to spare. Quickly placing the photo back on the table, I quickly asked, “I have to run. Can you please do me a favor and clean the mess up? Sorry…”

 

The nurse nodded sympathetically before I dashed out of the door and began driving off to work.

 

During the entire car ride, I couldn’t find out why I suddenly felt at unease and discontent when I dropped the photo. My heart kept pumping at an abnormal speed, and I felt myself sweating although I wasn’t do anything other than driving.

 

Maybe I was just worried that I was going to be late. Yeah, that was it.

 

“Probably just the nerves, Nat. Calm down,” I muttered under my breath, hoping that some pep talking would do the trick.

 

When I arrived at the club, I felt a bit better, but the discomforting feeling still lingered within me. I took in a deep breath as I began my shift, diving straight into takings orders.

After a hours of hard work, I allowed myself to check the time. It was midnight. I smiled tiredly, realizing that I only had about an hour left until I was able to go home and catch up on some sleep. With my mind completely lost and focused on work for the rest of the night, I found myself beginning to believe that everything was really going to be fine.

 

However, I was completely wrong.