From the corner of her eye she saw a silver wrench being passed from over her shoulder and into the man’s hand.

“What are you doing with that?” Namjoo asked.

The man shot her a mischievous smile before tapping her shoulder lightly with the wrench. Then without a word he circled Luhan until he was about five steps in front of him; adjacent from Namjoo.

“Here,” the man handed Namjoo’s perpetrator the knife to keep her still.

“One move from you, and you’re dead,” he threatened with a hiss.

Namjoo could feel her head straining back from the pull of her hair and she watched Luhan carefully. He already looked bruised up enough as it was. His well-being was what worried her the most because these guys weren’t showing him any mercy.

“Leave him alone!” Namjoo shouted when he held the wrench toward Luhan.

“Eh…we have a sticky lady here,” the man mumbled annoyed. “Keep her still, will you?”

Namjoo felt the dull end of the blade slide against her skin and goosebumps rose on her arms. Luhan’s eyes quickly darted her direction before turning back to the man in front of him.

“I don’t really have the key,” Luhan told almost breathlessly; his eyes switching back from her to the man behind her. “If you want me; you can have me, but let her go.”

“Are you crazy!?” Namjoo shouted upset that he was willing to trade himself in just to make sure she got out.

“Shut up!” Luhan yelled.

Out of the corner of her eyes she spotted passersby watching curiously, but none of them were lending a hand. They were only spectators who didn’t want to get jumbled in their mess. Because no one wanted to die, Namjoo knew that feeling well.

“Ah…how sweet,” the man mocked them, “but then orders are orders.”

A scream released itself from Namjoo’s lips when he swung the wrench across Luhan’s head. His entire whole drunkenly swept to the side as if the pull of gravity had disappeared. She watched him sway to the side dizzily, having lost focus on everything as his feet stumbled to and fro.

Her body couldn’t conjure up her voice, but a sense of helplessness. With widened eyes she watched Luhan slightly trip toward the brigade around the stream and clutch onto the edge for balance. Nothing, but drums played like a game in her ears; her heart screaming for a release against her ribs, but her feet were as heavy as boulders refusing to let her move toward him. The man let out a ridiculed chuckle and pushed Luhan over the brick wall.

In that instant Namjoo felt her insides collapse. The cold fangs at her neck disappeared and the laughter from behind her disappeared before she heard the men walk away. There was vengeance powering up inside her, but going after them wasn’t as important as going after her ex-husband.

“Luhan! Luhan!” Namjoo screamed running toward the yellowed bricks and leaned over it to peer into the dirty green stream, but she couldn’t see him. “Luhan!”

“Mommy bring daddy home.”

Her lower lip trembled in utter disbelief as her eyes continued to search the surface of the water for any chance that Luhan was swimming toward land. The heart inside her rib cage thudded with full strength and she thought of the empty spot on her left that had recently been filled by Luhan.

She couldn’t lose him like this. She couldn’t go back without daddy…

Lifting her leg over the edge of the brigade she jumped into the water and immediately began waving her legs and arms about to dive further down. Twisting around in circles she peered around for Luhan, but only a silent emptiness met with her.

Taking a loud gasp as she reached the surface she turned around in circles to see that she was suddenly in the center of the current-less stream. Her eyes scanned over the walls, but she couldn’t remember where it was that Luhan had fallen from and suddenly she panicked.

Her lips moved in motion as if to work out Luhan’s name, but nothing left her lips. He was there. He had to be there somewhere. Diving back underneath she swam around in whatever direction and came back up to the surface several times hopeless.

Luhan could be dead by now for all she knew and the thought of it sent her mind spiraling into frustration. She let out a loud cry of hopelessness and twisted around in circles again before going back underneath. This time she spotted a hand from below and swam toward it. Namjoo reached her hand out and felt their fingertips touch, but Luhan was slowly sinking.

Without thought she opened to call out to him, but instead swallowed water and felt the oxygen she’d been holding in fly out. She was running out of breath and she couldn’t go back up to the surface and come back down for him. He might be gone by then…

Holding back her urge to breath she swam further down and grasped his cold hand before pulling him back up to the surface. As she reached the surface she gasped loudly for air before lugging Luhan closer to her. His heavy head inclined back over her shoulder and she slowly made her way to the brick wall where spectators were, again, watching.

“Over here, over here!” a young man called out, arms reached out to offer a helping hand.

After pulling Luhan, who was now a deadweight, up to the sidewalk she knelt beside him and felt her hands shake while checking for his pulse. It was there, he was alive, but his breathing was weak.

“I’ll call an ambulance,” the man offered before stepping away.

Ignoring the relentless water that continuously dripped from her hair she wiped the blood from the corner of his forehead and let out a frustrated cry when more blood seeped out. Namjoo clenched her eyes shut and wanted to cry out ‘WHY’.

Calming herself she parted his lips and leaned forward to give him CPR.

“Wake up, wake up,” she repeated as she pumped his chest with her hands, gave him respiration, and pumped his chest, repeating the cycle for what seemed like five minutes. “Wake up, dammit! You can’t go anywhere. Mi Yun…you remember our daughter, right?”

Desperation soaked her and she pumped his chest with even more strength.

“Please wake up,” she cried before clenching her hands into fists against his chest. “Wake up, dammit…”

Tears were hanging on end and she opened her eyes upon his loud coughing. Straightening up she saw his opened eyes blinking in a daze before releasing a smile of relief. Combing her fingers through his now briskly hair she pulled him up into a hug and heard the roar of an ambulance from far away.

“Oh my god...thank goodness,” Namjoo muttered tightening her hand over his shoulder.

#####

Luhan trailed after the silent Namjoo into their place. Her back was stiff and she hadn’t said a word since the ride from the hospital to the ghostly hotel. He couldn’t read her expression either, which made it all the more difficult to guess her mood.

Namjoo walked over to the drawer and rummaged around for some dry clothes. He ran his eyes over Namjoo realizing how drenched she was from head to toe. It looked like she’d just stepped into the shower fully clothed minus the shampoo and body soap. From any perspective, Namjoo was in worse condition than he.

The urge to wrap her in a towel and just tuck her in bed then soak in the fact that nothing had happened to her ate him up. Luhan couldn’t move though. Namjoo’s eyes were concentrated and he almost thought she was angry.

“Go change, you’re going to get sick like that,” Namjoo held out some clothes to him without turning.

“You’re soaking wet too,” Luhan pointed out.

“I will.” She still didn’t turn his way.

Obediently taking the clothes from her he headed toward the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. A bandage had been taped to the corner of his forehead and another one was plastered to his arm. All he remembered was getting hit and waking up in Namjoo’s arms.

A tiny smiled crept onto his lips at the thought of being held by her.

When he opened the door Namjoo was wearing a dress and was slipping into her shoes. The first that occurred to him was that she was heading out.

“Where are you going?” he asked alarmed.

“To get you some painkillers.”

“Alone?”

“There’s a store nearby.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Just rest.”

“You’re not going alone.”

“Are you planning to get hit on the other side of your head?” Namjoo asked with a depth of heaviness. “Just stay here. I won’t be long.”

She took a step forward and stopped upon his, “Namjoo.”

Namjoo turned to look at him silently before walking out the door.

#####

Almost ten minutes was spent browsing the aisle before Namjoo found the bottle specifically labeled with the side effects of drowsiness. Along with some sandwiches and drinks she walked back to the hotel.

“It was all they had,” Namjoo lied when handing Luhan the bottle. “Your head hurts, doesn’t it?”

“Not really,” Luhan replied as he looked the bottle over.

“Have it anyway,” Namjoo prodded and took a bite of the sandwich.

She eyed him and felt a wave of victory swarm over her when he opened the bottle. About an hour later Luhan was well asleep behind her as she sat on the edge of the bed. Having turned the lights off left the room in a dim glow due to the luminous sun set outside. City lights were coming to life which meant nightfall was near. It gave her the perfect atmosphere to strategize her plan.

Since Luhan was fine now, she was nothing, but angry. She was angry at how hopeless she’d been earlier, how easily she’d been restrained, and threatened while Luhan was almost killed. Never again did she want to watch Luhan turn into a pulp. If she really lost him today she didn’t know what she’d do with herself. And that was why she couldn’t forgive herself.

She was going to go after them, Mario and his people. If they wanted to mess with Luhan, they would have to go through her first.

That key he was after, she would make sure he never got his hands on it.

When Namjoo arrived at the restaurant Tina and her mother was just closing for the day. She’d come just at the perfect time. Tina was throwing the trash out and Namjoo easily caught her before she went inside.

“Care to have a chat?” Namjoo greeted.

The young girl flashed her a look of dislike, but shifted toward her anyway. To be cautious Namjoo held her hands behind her and took off the ring around her finger. Sneakily slipping it into her pocket she brought her hands around to the front and clasped them together.

“I need a favor from you.”

Tina’s eyes overlooked her from her toe to her head. “What makes you think I’ll accept?”

Namjoo smiled, “I can set you up on a coffee date with Luhan.”

Her brow twitched. “Aren’t you married?”

her lips, Namjoo raised her hand relieved. “No ring.”

The corner of Tina’s lips slightly twitched, but she withheld it as if showing a smile would tarnish her pride.

“Well…” she started, “what do I need to do for you?”

Namjoo smiled. This was more like it.

“A dress, preferably one you’d wear on a night out. A pair of heels and makeup I can borrow.”

“Oh that’s all?” Tina smugly smiled and crossed her arms. She looked much rather like an old teenager, a rebellious one who smoked on nights out. She’d probably done so during her earlier years, Namjoo assumed.

“Ok.” She agreed.

Quietly pushing the door open she peered into the room to discover that Luhan was still asleep. He’d barely moved during the time she was out, which meant luck was on her side tonight.

Creeping into the bathroom she stripped out of her clothes and pulled the night dress on only to find herself complaining about how short it was. It didn’t even surpass half the length of her thighs and if she sat her would probably show. Her parents would kill her if they saw it. Luhan would as well.

Covering her face into a blanket of makeup she stared at herself in the mirror and almost didn’t recognize her bare face. It’d been a few years since she’d worn such thick makeup. Ever since she got married, she only used some foundation and sometimes eyeliner and mascara.

Namjoo felt like a doll dressed up to play then would be forgotten about again. There was already the urge to wipe the makeup off and return to being forgotten about. Well, tonight was all she had. She could enjoy herself for a bit then do what she was out to get finished and return before Luhan knew it.

Gathering her clothes she pulled out the ring and stared at it before setting it on the sink counter. Then tossing the bag of makeup and her clothes onto her bags she slipped into the heels and was off.

#####

His hand landed on the cold bed sheet beside him as he turned and his eyes immediately opened. The pillow beside him was untouched as was the cold spot his hand was touching.

Luhan sat up and looked into the dark before calling out, “Namjoo?”

Getting to his feet he turned the lights on and turned to the bed. There were no creases in the sheets, which meant Namjoo hadn’t lain down. Swiveling around he walked passed her clothes on the ground before opening the door to the bathroom and turned the lights on.

It was empty as well.

When he turned he spotted the ring sitting on the sink counter and picked it up. He was unable to break down any reason why Namjoo had taken the ring off. Not until he stepped out and spotted her clothes on the ground along with the makeup bag.

Luhan ran his eyes over the already used makeup and didn’t recognize it as the stuff Namjoo used when they were still together. He spent a long time pacing back and forth in the room debating about the places Namjoo would go to…with makeup on.

“You’re willing to wait until they mob us? Are you stupid?” Namjoo spat. “We can’t be on the defense all the time, Luhan. Have you not learned anything from being a tactical agent? You can’t wait all the time. Waiting can be the worst move you can pull here.”

“And you think going right out onto gang territory will make us any safer?” Luhan retaliated. “We have no way of getting guns or shields to protect us here and you want to walk right onto their dance floor and ask for their gang leader?”

“Did I say that was the plan?”

Luhan lightly gritted his teeth, “Forget the club. We’ll use that as last resort. Mario won’t be around all the time, but he’ll for sure be calling out the orders. Plus, it’s a better guarantee that we’ll most likely run into Mario’s men than find people who will cooperate with us at that club. And when they find us, we just have to at least get one of his men.”

A laugh of dismayed disbelief blanked his mind out and he felt anger tickle him.

Namjoo had tricked him into taking the painkillers to knock him out while she stole the chance to go to the club.

“The club,” he gritted his teeth.

He was going to get her. 

***Another big uh-oh! Their biggest argument takes place next chapter which will all but take them back to square one! - How they acted toward each other when she found him. Their cold war begins and Sungjae finally gets his part in the story.