“So what do we do now?  We’re SERIOUSLY outnumbered and not to mention, they have an incredible advantage with that technology cave of theirs.”  Sooyoung asked.  “Ralph, I found you to me solve issues with Boss, not to have him murder me.”

“Look, Soo, we don’t have a choice anymore.  Gil and Boss are working together.  If we go back to them, they’ll kill us for sure.  Remember their system rule?  When any major changes are made, such as group merges, all the ranks are reset with the exception of the leaders.  Jessie and I are now at the bottom of the food chain.”  Ralph sighed.

“Here’s the best part.  Gil uses his lower ranks as target practice.  If you don’t have good armor, you’re a goner.  Besides, I think we’d have a better fighting chance if we just set off to find Mr. Hwang.  He’s the only one who can help us now.”

“So… where is Mr. Hwang?”

The entire group looked at Tiffany.

“The last time I talked to him, he said he was going away to work on his new project.  I think I went there once but I have no idea what’s inside or what he’s doing.  I just know it’s a warehouse near a beach here.”  She shrugged.

“Oh brother…  I know where it is and we can get there but we have to do it at night.  It’s surrounded by a restricted zone.  Gil and Boss probably have men posted there already.”  Ralph looked at his watch.  “I guess we should just wait for the sun to set, and then we’ll get going.  It’s not far from here.  We can reach it in an hour if we walk.”

“Are we seriously going into the middle of enemy territory?  Guys, they want me dead.  You’re going to walk me into the middle of the ambush circle they set up around my dad’s workplace?  They’ll kill me.”  A look of horror became Tiffany’s expression.

“Fany-ah, there’s no other way.  We can turn the other way and run, but the only way we can actually end this is to get to your dad for help.”  Taeyeon turned to Ralph.  “Alright, take us there when the sun sets.  We’ll figure out a plan when we get there.”

____

Within a few hours, the group was already standing at the fence, marking the start of the restricted area.

“I think there might be enough cover for us to run through the bushes without getting caught.  We just have to duck and try to not make too much sound.”

Without hesitation, the group hopped over the fence and into the grass after hearing Ralph’s plan.  They started making their way across the field in a line with Seohyun in the front and Taeyeon in the back.

“Wait, stop.  Guys, listen.”  Taeyeon turned around, keeping her eyes on the back of the group while everyone kept quiet.

Suddenly they heard a deep voice coming from the end of the field that they came from.

“Alright, Vigils, spread out.  Shoot anything and everything that moves.  You are to be positioned here for six hours, and then the Raptors will take over your shifts.  Do not hesitate to attack even the biggest of men.  With five of you, I’m guessing you could take him.  You’re armed for a reason.  Disperse!”

Taeyeon slowly peeked over the top of the grass.  In the distance, she could make out five men.

“I can’t see any large firearms.  I’m guessing they have handguns.”  She ducked down again.  “Alright, they’re all behind us now.  No turning back.  Let’s keep moving.”

The group slowly continued in getting closer and closer to the end.

Seohyun squinted her eyes to look at the end.

“We’re not far now.  C’mon guys let’s-”

“Hands up.”  Three men pointed their guns directly at Taeyeon from the right hand side.  “Drop your guns.”

One by one, they all dropped their guns and kicked them to the side.  Two men aimed at the group while the third went around removing their backpacks and patting them down.

One man put the tip of his gun to Taeyeon’s head.  “If anyone moves, I’ll shoot her.  Now, you.  Come with me.  The rest of you will stay here.”

Taeyeon gritted her teeth and followed the man who already had his gun to her back.  When they were out of sight, the next man reached for a rope on his belt.

“Get over there.”  He tipped his head in the direction of a set of poles.

“You’ll be here ‘til Boss gets here.”  He shoved Tiffany and Ralph against a pole while Jessica, Seohyun and Sooyoung were tied to another one.

Back to back and hands tied together, they were all unable to move.

“Play nice and maybe you’ll make it until morning.”  He nodded to the other man before they both left.

“Well, crap.”  Ralph sighed.  “I guess we’re going to be here for a while.”

“What do we do?”  Sooyoung nudged her head against Jessica’s.

“Shut up, I’m thinking.  Ugh.  I can’t move my fingers far enough to untie us.”

“So, Ralph.  What’s up with your new girlfriend?”  Tiffany looked at him with a serious face.

“What?”

“Come on.  You and Taeyeon obviously have something going on.”

“No, we don’t.”  Ralph looked at her, confused.

“Then, what’s with all the private consultations you keep having?”

“We were planning out what we could do.”

“And that requires knowing a lot about her?”

“So you eavesdrop on us?”

“I was coming to get you since Jessica wanted to clear things up for us.”

“First of all, I don’t like Taeyeon.  I like Jessica.  And second of all, why do you even care?”

“I…”

Suddenly, the rope around them fell to their ankles.  He held up the pocket knife and shoved it back into his sleeve.

“Hey.”  He playfully shoved Tiffany by the shoulders.  “Tell her.  Okay?”

Tiffany simply stood there, staring at him as he cut the others free.

Tell her?

“Okay, guys…  I think we need to go figure out where Taeyeon is.”  Ralph stretched his arms and looked around.  “I don’t think anyone saw us.  First, let’s make our way to the other end and we’ll go from there."

____

“Keep moving, you idiot.”  The man shoved his gun into Taeyeon’s back, causing her to stumble forward.

“Since we’re being so friendly, mind telling me your name?”

“Call me Brad or Johnny for all I care, I just want you gone.”

“Okay, Brad.  What do you even want with me?”

“Why do you want to know?  I’ll probably be killing you in a second anyway.”

“So it doesn’t even matter if you tell me, right?”

“I guess.”

“Tell me.  I’m bored.”

“Honestly, I don’t know much.  I just want to get my pay and get out of here.  I’m tired of working night shifts with Boss.”  He sighed.

“So your boss just said he’d hand you a stack of bills if you killed me?”

“No, he gave me orders to restrain you and lock you up inside so we’d have more time to figure out what to do with you.  We aren’t blind, you know.  We know Ralph is on your side now and that you killed a few of our men.  We have eyes.”

“Well, they were asking for it.”

“I believe it’s your turn to share.  Why are you travelling with them?  This has got nothing to do with you.  Ralph is supposed to be working with Boss, Jessica’s part of the Raptors, Tiffany is one of our prime targets, Sooyoung is the other one and Seohyun’s a bounty hunter in training.  You on the other hand…  My files show that you’re a kid with no connections or issues with us in any way.”

“I do it for fun.”

“Oh, please.”

“Hey, I like adventure.  Don’t judge.”  Taeyeon smirked.

“What makes you think you can be so cocky right now?  I have a gun to your back.  I could end your life in a matter of seconds.”

“You could’ve ended my life minutes ago.  But you didn’t.  You need me and you know it.”

He tightened his grip on the gun.

“I knew it.”  Taeyeon crossed her arms and turned around, putting her forehead directly on the tip of the gun.  “What do you want with me?”

“We know you’re close with Tiffany.  You’re bait.”

“She’s not going to come after me.”

“And what makes you so sure of that?”

“Because I’m going after her.  I’m escaping and you knew this is a possibility.  Why do you want me?”

“Information.  You of all people could tell us the most about our enemies.  And you alone, will be more likely to crack under pressure.”  He shoved Taeyeon into a dark room with nothing but a tiny ceiling light.  He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.  “Since you’re stuck here and I’ve got a gun, I suggest you start talking.”

“That’s it?  No tying me up in a chair or beating the answer out of me?”

“Sorry.  The ropes were used on your friends.  I do, however, have a razor blade and a chain.  Which do you prefer?  Stinging bruises or gushing wounds?”

“I’ll take the bruises, Boss.”

“You’re smart, kid.  I’ll give you that.  But you’re underestimating me.”

“The fact that you had to ask me what my motives are, tells me that you know nothing about me.”

Boss threw the razor aside and let the chain dangle in his hands.

“Kim Taeyeon.  Born in Jeonju on March 9^th, 1989.  You’re 5’2” and you went to the same school with Tiffany your whole life.  Is that enough information for you?”

“You can get this information by hacking any computer at the hospital.  I’m unimpressed, Boss.  You actually know nothing about me.”

“I know where you live, where you went to school, when you were born and your exact height.  What else do I really need to know?”

“And is that really going to get you anywhere in this situation?  You don’t know me and you can’t predict what I’ll do next.  You need to study your targets before heading after them.”

“I don’t need to study anything!”  He whipped the chain forward.

Just in time, Taeyeon extended out her arm and blocked it, but it left an overwhelming sting in her wrist as it wrapped around it, tightly.

“By the way.  I’m sure my friends have escaped by now.”

“I scheduled for more men to be posted around the area.  They aren’t escaping, unnoticed.”

“Who said they were running?  Maybe they’re off murdering all the people you hired.”

“You’re really getting on my nerves, now.”  He reached for his pocket.

Instantly, Taeyeon tugged on the chain, ripping it out of his grasp as he pulled out the pistol in his pocket.  She whipped the chain at his arm and pulled on it as it was going around his elbow.

“AGH!”

A crack was heard as his elbow was dislocated, along with a loud gun shot.  Taeyeon dropped the chain and ran forward, kicking him over.  As soon as he was on the floor, rolling in pain, she stopped beside him.

“You know nothing about me.”  She kicked him in the head and burst through the door, running through the field.

____

“I don’t think this is a good idea, Tiffany.”  Ralph stated nervously.

“We don’t have any other choice.  They’ve got Taeyeon and I’m not leaving here until I get her back.”

“I don’t know about this…”

“Look, you can leave if you want.  But I’m going to get her back.”

“Wait…  Weren’t those guys alive a second ago?”  Ralph pointed towards the two men lying on the ground behind them.

“…  Maybe we didn’t see them.”

A clear cry was heard nearby.

“Uhm…”

“Shut up.”  Tiffany remained completely still, listening to more sounds of men shouting individually.

“One.  Two.  Three, four.  …  Five…  Six…  Seven…  Eight, nine…”

“I think someone’s murdering everyone.”

“Who?  They’re against Gil too-”

Suddenly, a body fell from above, landing in front of Tiffany’s feet.

“OH MY GOD.”  She stumbled back and braced herself for a fall while closing her eyes.

“Whoa, careful!”  A voice called from behind as someone put their arms around her waist and caught her.  The mystery hero lifted Tiffany to her feet, and kept their arms around her.

Tiffany slowly opened her eyes.  She turned her head to find that it was none other than… Taeyeon.

“Taeyeon?”  She widened her eyes in either disbelief or joy.  She wasn’t sure.

“Hey.”  Taeyeon gave her a dimpled smile.

“You- You escaped!”  She threw her arms around Taeyeon, almost causing them both to fall over.

“Well, it wasn’t as perfect as I had hoped for.  I really hope your dad has bandages where he is.”

“Oh my God, Taeyeon!  Are you alright?”  Tiffany grabbed Taeyeon by the waist, examining her wound on the shoulder.  “You’re bleeding a lot.”

“Well, yeah.  It’s a gun shot.”  Taeyeon chuckled but it was obvious that she was immense pain from the beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

“Stop acting tough.  We need to get you help.”  Tiffany pushed Taeyeon to one side while gesturing for Ralph to stand guard elsewhere after taking his handkerchief.  “Taeyeon, take off your shirt.”

“W-what?”

“I need to bandage your wound.”  Tiffany started ripping Ralph’s handkerchief in strips.

“Okay…”  Reluctantly, Taeyeon pulled of her T-shirt and held it in one hand.

“Tae, it’s just me.  Stop blushing.”  Tiffany giggled and started wrapping and tying the cloth to stretch from Taeyeon’s shoulder to her waist.

“Eheh.”  Taeyeon chuckled nervously while putting her other hand on the back of her neck.

“Okay.  That should do it.”

“Thanks.”  Before Taeyeon could put on her shirt, Tiffany grabbed it right out of her hands and did it for her.  “Oh, thanks.”

“You’re so awkward.”  Tiffany shook her head as they both walked to Ralph’s position.

“Okay, we’re alright.  Where’s the rest of the group?”  Taeyeon looked around.

“They headed off to Mr. Hwang’s warehouse.  They should be inside by now.”  Ralph turned and gestured for the two of them to follow.  “Let’s go.”

____

“Oh my god.  Where are we?”  Taeyeon came to a stop at one of the air vent openings.  She squinted to see through the thin metal bars.

The group had split up at the front of the warehouse.  Taeyeon and Tiffany decided to crawl through the air ducts as they were the smallest of the group, Ralph and Sooyoung went in through the back door, leaving Jessica and Seohyun to the window.

“Are those… are those… people?”

“They’re all different too.  I don’t see any two that are the same.  I think they’re robots, Tiff.”

“Wait…  That looks like you.”  Tiffany pointed to a familiar petite girl standing near the corner of the room.

“Shhh, someone’s walking inside the room.”

The two lay still in the vent while scanning the room.

Dad…?  Tiffany’s eyes widened at the sight of the man walking into the room.

“Position one.”  Mr. Hwang spoke clearly and slowly before every robot in the room stiffened into a straight posture with shoulders held high.  “Position two.”  He spoke quickly but clearly.  The robots lowered their shoulders and took more of a casual stance.  After surveying the room, he lifted his wrist to his mouth and spoke into it.  “Good job, team.  Their reaction and ability to pick up vocal commands have improved.  Looks like they’re good to-”

“Entities detected.  Positions at 180 degrees.  Two humans.”  One robot spoke without moving anything other than its mouth.

“Two humans?  Subject 73, activate pointer beam.  Aim at 2^nd and 3^rd detected presence.”

The robot shifted his head and looked directly towards Taeyeon and Tiffany.  It beamed a red light to their position.  Mr. Hwang walked towards the vent opening and looked up to it.  He moved the ladder which was leaning against the wall and climbed it to reach the opening.  He unlocked the cover and removed it.

“Tiffany?”

“Dad?”

An awkward silence passed as the trio exchanged looks.

“Great, thanks for introducing me, Tiff.”  Taeyeon struggled to stick out her good arm to Mr. Hwang.  “I’m Taeyeon.  It’s nice to finally meet you in person, Mr. Hwang.”

“Ah, so you’re Taeyeon.  My daughter talks about you a lot!”

“Shush, dad!  I do not!”  Tiffany blushed and looked away.

“Haha, yes you do, honey.”  His expression grew serious.  “Taeyeon, your shoulder is bleeding through that material.  Why don’t you both come down here first?  I’ll get my nurse to fix you up.”  He helped the girls reach the ground, safely.  “Alright, Tiffany, go with her to the door on the right.  That’s the emergency room.  The nurse will do everything.

Once inside the room, they sat down as the nurse got right to work.

“Okay, breathe.”

With that, Taeyeon took a deep breath and only allowed for muffled grunts as the bullet was extracted.

“I know it hurts, Taeyeonnie, hold on.”  Tiffany caressed Taeyeon’s other arm while holding her hand.

Within a short amount of time, the bullet was removed and more bandages were wrapped around Taeyeon’s shoulder.  The nurse left the room, allowing time for them to talk while she found more bandages.

“I really worried about you, Tae.  What if something really bad happened to you?”

“Well, then…  I tried.”

“But it would’ve been my fault.”

“I chose to stick with you.  I take responsibility for what happens to me.”

“I’m such a stupid damsel in distress, all the time.”

“Today, the hero wasn’t so lucky.”  Taeyeon chuckled.

“You still escaped.”

“Because I had a princess to save.”  She looked up, meeting with Tiffany’s gaze.  “And there’s no way I would’ve let you get hurt.”

Caught up in the moment, they leaned in closer… and closer… and closer…  They both closed their eyes with their lips only centimeters apart.

“I’ve got the bandages!”  The nurse barged in, startling them both.

____

“So, I’m going to guess that you girls are a little tired, hm?”  Mr. Hwang walked into the room where the group was.  “I’m sorry, that I don’t have any beds here.  This is all I’ve got.  But to make up for that, I brought drinks!”  He revealed a box of assorted alcohol.

“Dad!  Really?  You could think about drinking at a time like this?”

“Well, I assume you’re kind of stressed right now.  So I figured I should give you some time to let loose.  Anyway, I’ll be going to bed now.  Don’t be too loud, okay?  And control your intake!”  With that, he proceeded to his lab to finish up.

Within twenty minutes, all of them were starting to feel the effects of the alcohol.  Ralph, Jessica, Sooyoung and Seohyun were off running around the room while Taeyeon and Tiffany remained in the corner.  Taeyeon took another shot.  At this point, the poor girl was wasted and her mind had left her about five shots ago.  Tiffany on the other hand, was only a little tipsy.

“Did I ever tell you, that you look gorgeous?”  Taeyeon smiled, lovingly at Tiffany.

“Is that you talking or are those the alcohol’s words?”

“Does it matter?  You know that drunk or sober, I still think you’re beautiful.”  A lazy smile spread across her face.

“Well, you’re still as mushy as ever.  That’s good to know.”

“But…  You DO know that in those moments, I’m just being honest, right?”

“Is this a confession that you’re making to me?”

“Well, sure and other than making me unable to walk in a straight line or see properly, alcohol makes me totally honest.”

“I see.”

“Are you disappointed with my lame confession?”

“Maybe a little.”

“What if I sealed the deal?”

“In what way?”

“A kiss.”

“Why would I kiss you?  You confessed.  I never returned any feelings.”

“Let me finish; a kiss to see if I can make you feel fireworks.”

“That only happens in movies, Tae.”

“If you’re so sure that I’m wrong, why are you refusing?”

“Maybe I don’t feel like kissing you.”

“Oh please.”  Taeyeon leaned in.  “You know you’ve always wanted to.”

“What makes you think that?”

“You almost did, earlier.  We were interrupted and you never tried again.”

“You said it yourself, I never tried it again.  How are you so sure that I really wanted to?”

“Maybe you’re just scared that I don’t like you that way.  I mean, hey, you didn’t lean back just now; after hearing my confession.”  Taeyeon leaned closer.

“What have I got to lose, huh?”  Tiffany leaned in as well.

“Exactly.”  Taeyeon leaned closer, leaving only an inch between their lips as they started closing their eyes.

The closer and closer they became, the faster and harder their hearts would pound.  Upon contact, their hearts almost stopped.  To Taeyeon, it was out of nervousness, amazement, and pure bliss.  To Tiffany, it was something she had never felt before.  She was curious, confused, and lost but… she was happy.  Although she had been drinking as well, the taste of alcohol was stronger from the girl she was kissing.  Her brain melted away, taking her heart with it.

I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER CUZ I REALLY DID TOO <3  I spent the whole day working on it because in the next month, I really won't be updating much because I have exams coming up so I decided 2 updates in 2 days would be a nice gift to you guys!  I'm considering it my birthday gift to you cuz I'm turning OLD tomorrow xD  And I feel generous c:

I'm going to be updating this fic more often though because I have more ideas for it after taking a break from it and I have less content to worry about since other major fanfic projects are done!

Happy reading! ♥