(A/N: By now, some of you might be a little confused how easily Woo Young takes things in stride. I mean, there was a well-known singer bleeding in his basement, and then she went to jump off his roof, and then she pointed a gun at him during auditions... and he doesn't ask her questions when he has the opportunity! But trust me, his actions aren't without reason.)

I killed someone.

I killed a human being.

I killed a human being... with three children.

Ji Eun bolted up, pushing her sweat-soaked sheets away from her body.

I'm not getting any sleep tonight.

She swung her legs over her bed and tiptoed quietly out of the Lee Hired Extermination Foundation girls' dormitory; her lungs were craving for fresh air.

She was not the only one who decided to go for a night walk; the Director was staring up at the moon, gnarled hands clasped behind his back, forbidding eyes struck with starlight. She was about to circle around him, but he spotted her first.

"Out for a night walk, Ji Eun?"

Ji Eun halted in her footsteps.

"I suppose you can't sleep because you shot someone."

Ji Eun stepped beside the director, examining the stars. "Why did you lie to me?" she asked quietly.

"If you had known the truth, you wouldn't have shot him," the Director said.

"It was my mission."

"That's what you said before you gave up taking Eun Hee's fortune."

Ji Eun said nothing.

"Everything I'm doing is for your own good, Ji Eun," the Director said softly. "You may not understand my actions at times... but having Woo Young Jang as your target is a major step to becoming the ultimate agent."

The ultimate agent. That was all the Director ever cared about.

"This must be hard for you, Ji Eun. Would you like a sleeping pill?"

"I'm fine." And Ji Eun made her way back to her dormitory.

She felt even sicker than when she'd left it.

Secretary BC drew up beside the Director. "Why didn't you tell her that he didn't die?"

"I never said he did."

"Think of what she's going through."

"She needs to go through this if she's to be the ultimate agent."

"She's your daughter."

"I never said she wasn't."

"Director..."

"Rest up, Secretary. I want you to track her tomorrow when she's with the target."

"Director, the target..."

"It makes things interesting."

"Director..."

"Rest."

"...Yes, Director."

Ji Eun stumbled into the Melodíe Music Shop at eleven fifteen, whereupon an extremely anxious Woo Young raced to her for interrogation.

"Ji Eun-sshi! You're here! Ah, I was beginning to think that you stood me up... Not that this is a date or anything, but—Ji Eun-sshi, are you okay?"

Ji Eun stumbled; Woo Young barely caught her in time. "I... I don't feel well," she murmured.

"Ji Eun-sshi—"

Ji Eun attempted to pull herself up, but she only fell again. Woo Young gathered her in his arms.

"Don't feel well?" Woo Young repeated in disblief. "You almost faint and you just say you 'don't feel well'? Pabo! If you were like this, you should've just cancelled!"

"I didn't know your phone number," Ji Eun said meekly.

"Did something happen?" Woo Young asked, helping her stand. "You look like you're about to faint..."

Oh, nothing. I just killed a man who I thought was a drug dealer but ended up being a father of three children, two of which he saved from the streets. Just an ordinary day in the life, yunno? "I'm okay. Where do you want to go?"

Woo Young looked from the bags beneath her eyes to the slump of her shoulders to the shaking of her hands to the bend of her knees. "Maybe you should just go home and rest. Tomorrow's the day we meet the whole cast, you know."

Ji Eun smiled. "I've been looking forward to this, too. I'm just a little tired."

"But still..."

"Come on." She straightened. "How about going to the coffee shop? Maybe a little caffeine will fix me."

"Ji Eun-sshi..."

"Woo Young-sshi..."

He was obviously reluctant, but one look at her pleading eyes and he was finished. "Okay. But if you still feel bad after the coffee..."

"I'll be fine. Let's go!" And she took him by the hand, quickly reducing his attempted protests to incomprehensible stutters.

"Agent IU has left the Melodíe Music Shop with target in tow," Secretary BC reported. "She is making her way to the coffee shop."

"Good. Keep following," the Director said.

As Secretary BC slipped out of her ebony-black car, she couldn't help but feel a pang of remorse. For once, Ji Eun looked genuinely happy, despite the obvious exhaustion that was taxing her body. Maybe it was because someone was actually concerned about her, or maybe it was because she just needed someone to talk to...

"Update?" the Director prompted.

"They're entering the coffee shop."

"Do not humanize the target, Secretary. Refer to 'them' as 'Agent IU and the target.' Humanizing targets is Agent IU's fatal flaw."

"Yes, Director." Secretary BC made her way to the coffee shop, peering inside. "Agent IU is showing obvious signs of fatigue."

"She should've taken a sleeping pill."

"Woo Y—the target is showing obvious signs of anxiety." Secretary BC couldn't suppress the smile that rose to her lips at the way Woo Young was eying Ji Eun. "I think he has a crush on her."

"He?"

"The target." Secretary BC rolled her eyes. "Agent IU and the target are exiting the shop. Agent IU trips due to exhaustion because she is obviously pschologically affected by a traumatic memory. The target is catching Agent IU. Agent IU and the target are staring at each other. Agent IU is blushing. The target quickly releases her and steps back. The target is scratching the back of his head. Agent IU and the target both begin to talk at the same time. Agent IU and the target both stop talking to try and be polite. May I please refer to the target as Woo Young Jang, Director, before I puke due to the fact that these statement are implying that Agent IU is in love with an inanimate object?"

"I do believe you're becoming impudent, Secretary. Agent IU is not in love. She is pretending to get close to him so she can kill him properly."

"I don't think either of us believes that, Director."

The Director said nothing.

"So I—"

"So I—"

Silence.

"I'm sorry that—"

"I'm sorry that—"

Silence.

"You first—"

"You first—"

Silence.

"I should've just—"

"I should've just—"

Silence.

Ji Eun laughed nervously. "I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have tripped. I guess... I guess I'm a little more tired than I thought I was."

Woo Young looked away. "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to place you in an awkward position..."

"It's fine," Ji Eun said with a smile. "What do you want to do next?"

Woo Young stared at her. "You must be really tired, Ji Eun-sshi. Why don't you just sleep a little?"

"I don't really have anywhere to go," Ji Eun blurted.

Silence.

"WHAT DID SHE SAY?!"

"Director, perhaps you may want to get your ears checked—"

"SECRETARY BC!"

"All agents are locked out of the dormitories after noon, Director..."

"But why did she say she didn't have anywhere to go?!"

"Because she doesn't. Come to think of it, Director, you may want to get your common sense checked as well..."

"Enough with the impudence, Secretary! Tell me what's happening!"

"It's rather difficult, Director. Your voice is making it hard for me to hear..."

"SECRETARY!"

"Ahh, just forget I said that!" Ji Eun said, placing her palms together. "I didn't mean it! Ahahaha! It was a joke. A joke, right? I should be a comedian... ahaha..."

But Woo Young was only looking at her strangely.

"What is it?" Ji Eun asked, feeling self-conscious.

"You don't stay anywhere?" Woo Young asked softly.

"Oh!" Ji Eun's mind began to race. "I, uh, stay in a hotel. And I, uh, have to go in the afternoons so my room can be cleaned. Uh, they always start cleaning my room around this time! So, uh, in a few hours, uh, I can leave, but, uh, not right now."

Woo Young obviously didn't believe her.

"My house has a lot of extra rooms," he said. "Why don't you stay there?"

"W-Woo Young-sshi!" Ji Eun cried. "Wh-what will... What will your parents think?"

He stared blankly at her.

"Y-you barely know me... and I'm a girl! A girl your age... living in the same house as you..."

"I'll just tell him that it's part of a cast bonding project," he said.

And you think your parents won't have a problem with that?! "U-uh..." Ji Eun's gaze whipped around. "Woo Young-sshi! Look! It's a jewelry shop! Let's go!" And she tugged him away.

"Ji Eun-sshi..."

"Come on!"

"They're going inside a jewelry shop."

"They?"

"Agent IU and the target. Agent IU is obviously amazed. Oh, something's caught her eye. It's a crystal necklace... a key and a lock. Woo Young's offering to buy it for her."

"What?!"

"She's saying no. He's—the target's insisting. She still says no. He's—the target's buying the necklace."

"Didn't she say no?!"

"They're saying something. Hold on..."

"Woo Young-sshi..."

"Think of this as a welcome-to-the-cast gift." Woo Young smiled, clasping the necklace around her neck. His hands brushed against her skin; her nerves tingled.

"If it's a welcome-to-the-cast gift, I should be getting one for you," Ji Eun said.

"Then think of it as a thank you gift," Woo Young said with a grin.

"Thank you for what?"

Woo Young's grin faded to be replaced with an unusually serious expression. "Ji Eun-sshi, you know what this necklace stands for, right?"

"A lock and key?"

"It can stand for two things." Woo Young leaned close. "A secret that only you have... Or your heart, which can only be unlocked by the person of your choice." He pointed at the key on her necklace. "You give the key to the one you give your heart."

Ji Eun her necklace. "A-ah... I see." She noticed his close proximity and shied away. "Ah, where do you want to go next? Have you eaten yet? Let's go!" But she quickly stumbled over her own feet.

Woo Young caught her. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." She took a step back.

"I can't have you fainting all over the place. You can rest in our guest room." Woo Young looked at her straight in the eyes. "You have to take care of yourself, Ji Eu-sshi."

"I... I'm fine, I really am..."

"Come on. You're too tired to walk straight," he said. "Let's go. You can rest all you want."

"W-Woo Young-sshi!"

He swept her up in his arms, bridal-style. "My car's not far from here. Let's go."

"HE WHAT?!"

"Carried her bridal style to his car. They're going to his house." Secretary BC grinned. "They look really cute together, Director. Wish you were here."

"Stop them!"

"Why? They're only bonding."

"You know exactly who he is!"

"Who? The target?"

"Go after them! Do not let them out of your sight!"

(A/N: Okay. Apology time... So, I brilliantly put the update of this chapter right in the midst of a summer day camp that I was volunteering at. As a result? Very late chapter and no preview. A thousand sorries!)