“Luhan.” Sarang mumbled his name as she stepped beside him on the balcony. The man was relatively quiet. His thoughts seemed a thousand miles away. It was safe to say the man beside her was totally opposite from the witty ‘therapist’ she had grown accustomed to.

“Moon Haneul. She's Korean but was born and raised in the States. Her father was a double agent for some sort of secret wing under the US government and a secret Black Ops group in the Underground.” Luhan stated while staring out into space.

Sarang stood there and listened, she didn’t say anything because all her questions were already being answered. She could already tell this was difficult for Luhan. It was difficult for him to spill his past to her. It felt like they switched roles because she was usually the one spilling her life to him and he listened to talk.

“What happened?” Sarang asked. She could ask the others, but she preferred asking directly from Luhan himself. 

“They found out about her father. Working as a double agent is dangerous work and when the Black Ops group found out that one of their agent was actually working for the government, they him. Haneul and her father were forced to leave everything behind. They came here to China.”

“How did she find you then?” Sarang asked trying to piece this story together.

“We were hired to protect her.  We were supposed to keep her alive, but somewhere along the line….”

“You fell for her.” Sarang mumbled knowingly.

“I did. I fell, hard. Then the damn Underground got in the way. They found her and her father. They killed her father, so I did the only thing I knew how to do. I sent her away.” He revealed and Sarang’s heart crushed when he spoke those words.

“I was trying to pr-“

“Protect her. You were trying to protect her. Yeah, I know, because that’s what all men do best. They protect their girls, and sometimes they do that by sending them away.” Sarang hissed remembering a time when Kris tried doing that to her as well.

“She was going to die. You know how it is being with us. We’re EXO. With us you’re guarantee to die sooner.” Luhan tried reasoning.

“I know, I of all people should know. But that was a move because once you let her leave you-” 

“I was never going to get her back.” Luhan mumbled knowingly with sadness laced in his voice. He knew that once she got on that plane Haneul was never going to come back. He knew this well, but he still let her go because he knew she was safer away from him than with him.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me this Luhan?” Sarang asked softly.

Luhan ruffled his hair before answering, “Because I was the one who ended up regretting my actions. I let the woman I love go, and nothing I do can get her back. And that’s what hurts the most. It’s not easy you know, being the guy who can’t be selfish enough to keep his girl by his side, instead he lets her go. I hoped that she would start over, so she could be happy. That’s what she deserves.” He answered. This was the only thing he wanted, he wanted her safe, he wanted her happy, even if it was without him.

“Hey, I think Nana found something.” Raina told the two as she stuck her head out the door for a quick second to tell them that before disappearing again.

“One question though, why now? Kris told me it’s been two years since she left. Why did you start searching for her now?” Sarang asked curiosity.

Luhan smiled inwardly, though his heart pain to answer her question, “Because of you. Because you remind me of her.”

Maybe seeing the Dragon fall in love, made Luhan realize that he had to find her and do the one thing he never got the chance to do, make amends, make it right.

-----

“Yesterday morning an American politician was killed by a sniper while he was attending a benefit in Hawaii. An hour after his death it was revealed through an anonymous source that he was secretly giving secret information and funding weapons for a Black Ops group.” Nana told her group as she pulled up information about the shooting.

“What does this have to do with our girl?” Xiumin asked.

“The bullet that killed the politician was shot straight through his heart.” She added with a mused smile.

“That doesn’t mean that it was her.” Chen argued.

“Can anyone guess which Underground Black Ops Group was being secretly funded?” She questioned looking at Luhan with a raised brow. None of them answered for they knew the answer. The same Black Ops Group which targeted Haneul and her father. She was chasing after her father’s killers. How fitting for a pissed off broken-hearted woman with nothing else to lose.

“It’s our girl Luhan.”

“Where is she now? I doubt she’s still there.” He replied trying to keep is cool but inside he was dying. Waves of excitement, fright, pain, guilt, and anger were swimming in him sending him into a less than stable state of mind.

“New York.”

-----

New York City, the city that never sleeps. The Empire State, the great grand beauty home to Madison Square Garden, Broadway, Times Square, The Empire State Building, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rockefeller Center,  Union Square and so many other sights. It was the perfect tourist destination. The rush of the city, the crowds, the culture, it was all exciting for Haneul.

Right now however she was seated in a quiet coffee shop in Brooklyn. Katy Perry’s The One That Got Away, was playing overhead and Haneul felt particularly bitter when she heard the song.  There are times when you hear that song, and the lyrics go so perfectly well with your life. Haneul couldn’t help but think that god had a particularly sick sense of humor.

“In another life I would be your girl,

we keep all our promises be us against the world

In another life I would make you stay

So I don’t have to say you were the one who got away”

“What are you thinking about?” Her husband asked as he took a seat across from her. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t even realized he had walked into the coffee shop.

“Nothing.” She answered meekly giving Jiwoo a small smile. Haneul hated herself for dragging Jiwoo in this mess with her. She hated herself for marrying him when she knew she wasn’t in love with him. Well of course she loved him, but not in that kind of way.

She was just tired of being alone, and he was there for her when she was in a bad state of her life. Maybe she was trying to make those words come true, those words she had said to Luhan before she left him.

 “The payment was wired to an offshore account. It’s been secured.” He told her. She nodded absentmindedly. “Next mission,” he began pushing a tablet towards her.

“There’s supposed to be a meeting tomorrow night. Some sort of trading between two Underground gang leaders. Your job sweetheart, is to bust their asses.” Jiwoo revealed as Haneul grabbed the tablet and scanned over all the details for this mission.

Haneul nodded along as he gave all the details she would need. A small voice inside her head was screaming at her, telling her this wasn’t what she was supposed to be doing, that this wasn’t her. The thing was, Haneul no longer knew who she was. It had been such a long time since she’s taken a good look in the mirror and really analyzed what she has become.

Haneul wasn’t always a killer. She wasn’t always The Queen of Hearts. Once upon a time she was just a simple girl who woke up to find that the world wasn’t as good as she thought and that people weren’t as beautiful as she assumed.

Somewhere along the way that line blurred and that simple girl and the woman today merged into something Haneul has yet to decipher.

Sometimes in the middle of the night when sleep and reality can’t seem to cross she thinks she knows who she really is, and who she belongs to. But by the time the sun rises all those thoughts are gone along with that woman who lays there at four in the morning questioning life.

“What kind of woman are you?” He whined pulling her along as they ran through the streets of a crowded Beijing shopping area.

“You said you needed to get out.” She rebutted, annoyed by the man pulling her like she was a sack of potatoes.

“I didn’t want you to stand up and scream bloody murder. I can handle myself.” Luhan fought back still pissed off that the woman had the nerves to cause such a scene. She was supposed to stay in hiding, be unseen, an invisible force that no one noticed.

“Look, you got away didn’t you, and I’m fine, so let it go. Geez, you’re worst than Kris.” Haneul argued smacking the back of his head playfully.

“Shut up, that’s the biggest insult you can give me.”

Haneul couldn’t help but laugh at his comment. Sure being with Luhan had its cons, but there were some pros as well, like right now. It was one of those odd moments between the two where it felt like they were just them. It felt good to forget that you were being chased.

“Let’s get something to eat.” She suggested pulling his arm with the hand he didn’t have wrapped around him.

He rolled his eyes. He just wanted to get back to base. It was a bad idea taking her out. What if someone saw her? What then. She would be discovered and that meant bad news for Luhan because a furious Dragon was the last thing he wanted on his plate.

 “Please.” She pleaded, hoping he would change his mind but she knew that when Luhan made up his mind, he was set on it. He was headstrong that way. That was one of the few things she liked about him, so far, since her three week stay with EXOM while she and her father hid. Right now however, it was just annoying.

“No.” His answer as cold and direct. He meant what he said, he was taking her back. Haneul pouted because that meant that this wasn’t going to be easy.

“Ah, what are you doing, let me go!” She screamed frantically trying to pull away from him. She screamed and struggled more, cursing at him, screaming bloody murder for the entire world to hear.  If only she had any idea how much Luhan wanted to wrap his fingers around her pretty neck right now.

Her actions apparently had caused several heads to turn in their direction and by the looks they were giving Luhan, this wasn’t pretty. In their eyes, a young girl was struggling to escape from the grasp of a strange man. "What do you think you're doing. Don't touch me!"

“Hey mister, let the young lady go.” Someone shouted and Luhan caught the satisfied glint in Haneul’s eyes before someone stepped in to help Haneul escape from the badbadbad man. He hissed, awarding her Oscar of the Year for her acting skills.

Soon he was surrounded by a crowd of pissed off bystanders. Haneul gave him a lovely teasing smile before she turned around, no one was paying attention to her since everyone was looking at him, and disappeared into the crowd.

“Dammit Haneul, what the hell.” He inwardly cursed hating that Moon Haneul, this whiny little woman with a loud mouth and beautiful eyes had caused so much trouble in his life.

“A trouble maker, that’s what I am.” Haneul mumbled softly to herself.

“What? Did you say something?” Jiwoo asked, she shook her head not wanting to reveal her thoughts to him. It was better this way.

-----

“Where the hell are you going?” Kris questioned following Luhan as he stomped down the hallway and into his room.

“New York. Isn’t that obvious.” Luhan answered without turning around to look at Kris.

“You’re crazy you know that. You think you can find her there, New York City is huge and by the time you get to New York she might not even be in North America.” Kris tried reminding knowing that no mattered what he said, Luhan wasn’t going to change his mind.

“And what if she is? What if we find her?” Luhan retorted knowing that the chances were slim, but after all this time, it was worth trying wasn’t it? “Kris, I need to do this. I let her go, you of all people should know how it feels-“

“I know, I know, don’t start again Dr. Phil.” Kris cut in. “But you’re a total nutcase if you think I’m letting you go alone.”

“Raina noona and the girls-”

“No you idiot, he means us. We’re coming with you.” Sarang’s delighted voice cut in. In her hand was a packed suitcase.

“Come on, let’s go find Haneul.” Kris stated. He didn’t tell Luhan that he had a feeling Luhan was going to be utterly disappointed once they reached New York. Turns out, Kris’s feeling would be proven correct in the next few hours, but they didn’t know that yet. 

-----