DaeHyun’s POV:

I ran as fast as I could, pumping my legs as quickly as they could possibly go until the pain in burned me to the point of collapsing.

By the time I arrived, I was crouching on the ground, panting viciously.

“Dae, is that you?! Are you all right? Is boss all right?” ChangJo whispered.

Unable to speak due to lack of breath, I nodded quickly. ChangJo nodded at Minho, who cautiously pushed open the wall of the abandoned house—which acted as a disguise for our entrance—revealing our secret lair.

I opened the doors to find Bang lying comfortably on the couch, switching between television channels to find something suitable to watch. He was still recovering from his last injury from the brawl with JiYong and his men.

“Bang,” I wheezed, still trying to catch my breath. “Jin, he—he was captured along with the other hyungs. Luckily, I was able to sneak out the back room of the storage room without getting caught, and I ran all the way back here. The girl got away again… Some man named GiKwang came to save her… Someone must’ve told him about her whereabouts…”

Bang’s eyes widened in shock as he attempted to sit up, but failed to due to his unhealed wound.

“It’s okay, just stay there,” I assured him. On my way over to the couch, I picked up a small stool in the corner of the room and sat down on it.

“Who could it be?” I muttered under my breath.

Bang shrugged worriedly, “I don’t know man. It’s been years. I don’t think we’ll ever find him… Maybe we should convince Jin to give up.”

“We can’t. It’s our number one mission. You know Jin… He’s hardheaded as hell; once he starts something, he’s not going to give up on it until he finishes,” I argued.

Bang sighed.

We watched television for a while, although I could tell that neither one of us really paid attention to what was going on.

“The girl got away?” Bang suddenly asked.

“Yeah, she got away,” I replied, a bit irritated that he was worried about something so stupid at the moment. “We need to find a way to get Jin out of custody.”

Bang nodded.

“Just call me if you need anything, although I won’t be much help until this guy fully heals,” he chuckled before pointing at his wound.

I laughed with him, feeling the mood lightening up a bit.

“Alright man, I gotta go let the other hyungs know. Lemme know if you need anything,” I stood up and squeezed Bang’s shoulder lightly before leaving.

Natalie’s POV:

“Natalie, come here to Appa!” my father smiled heartily at me before opening his arms out wide.

I giggled happily before running into his arms. He pulled me into a big bear hug and squeezed me tightly.

Emerging from the kitchen was my mother.

“Umma?” I called out.

“They’re here,” she whispered as her face turned pale white.

A swarm of men dressed in black barged through the front door, all of them pointing a gun directly at my mother and father.

Thousands of gunshots rang out from every direction. My mother was shot down first, and then my father.

“UMMA! APPA!” I cried painfully.

Suddenly, I found a shocking pain slowly spreading throughout my body.

Looking down, I found blood flowing uncontrollably out of my chest. It was then that I realized that I too, had been shot.

I sat straight up on my bed, panting. My heart was hammering right out of my chest and I was sweating bullets. Tears were running down my cheeks.

I slowly reached my fingers up to my chest and gently touched it. I felt nothing, but yet the pain felt so real…

I laid back down on my bed and grabbed my phone. Checking for messages, I found one from GiKwang.

Natalie, you’re off today right? Please come see me at the CheongDam Park tonight at 8PM. I will not go home until I see you.

GiKwang’s POV:

I stopped by a local flower shop and picked up a fresh bouquet of red roses before leaving to the park.

When I arrived, the sun had already set, and the moon had come out to greet me.

I sat down on an empty bench and waited. Eyeing my watch, I noticed that I came half an hour early.

Letting out a big sigh, I began rehearsing the lines I was going to say to Natalie in my head.

I’m sorry so sorry about my mother, Natalie. Will you please—No, that’s too cliché. Mmm, how about—Natalie, I apologize about my mother. Please ignore her. This is strictly between us—No, UGH…

I felt frustrated with myself for not knowing what to say.

Maybe when she comes, everything will piece itself together…

Yeah, that sounded good.

And so I waited.

But I shouldn’t have.

Because I knew she wasn’t coming.  

Natalie’s POV:

What should I wear…?

I looked through my closet only to find casual looking t-shirts and few pair of old jeans. I gave up on looking for something presentable, knowing that I probably had nothing like that, and picked out a long pink and white t-shirt with a happy face printed on it along with a pair of simple black leggings.

Since CheongDam Park was pretty close to my house, I decided to walk there like usual.

I began making my way across the street when a bright light blinded me from the side.

A car was coming, and by the time I realized it, it was too late for my mind to signal my body to move. I stood there, confused, scared, and somewhat glad at the same time. I was tired of living. I was tired of being hurt. I was tired of being lied to.

Maybe it was time to see my parents again.

That thought made me smile. I closed my eyes and waited for everything to end.

Something rammed into my body, causing me to lose all my balance. I fell onto the concrete ground and scraped my elbow and hands.

“Aish… WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING YOU ING BASTARD!” I hollered at the car, but it was too far away now to be able to hear me.

ing hit-and-runs…

It was then that I realized I hadn’t been hit…

Daehyun’s POV:

I slammed my hand on the steering wheel.

“Damn it, I was so close,” I cursed under my breath.

The girl would’ve died in an instant if it weren’t for that traitor…

What a shame… He was masked too… Looks like it’s not going to be easy trying to figure out who this bastard is…

But those eyes of his… I’ve seen them somewhere before.