In a second, you can exchange a smile with a stranger. In a second, you can meet your lover. In a second, you can become friends with someone. But in a second, you can break up with someone. In a second, you can have one less friend. In a second, you can become someone’s proclaimed adversary.

                Time. It’s something we can’t control. It’s not a tangible thing that we can toy around with. Yet, so many people overlook time. In the gangster world, time is what everybody covets. It’s all about timing. It’s essential to surviving.

                With the dagger lodged into his stomach, Kai pulls the trigger. In a second, Bang Yongguk hunches over on the floor. Blood squeezes out of his chest as he wheezes for air. But even then, Kai is not satisfied. He shoots a bullet through Yongguk’s head, then another time through his heart.

                Not even distracted by the gaping wound on his stomach, Kai manages to stumble outside where Kyungsoo is. Kyungsoo sees his leader in the darkness, clutching at his waist. He hops out of his car, but Kai stops him with a firm voice.

                “Go! Na Hee is being shipped. We need to stop them.” Kai shakes his head. “Go deal with Na Hee. I can take care of my injury, mighty fine. Just go first.”

                Kai’s phone rings in his hand. A message pops up.

                “jfier 23iu 9jdf”

                “We got it.”

                Decoding the message, Kai smiles, satisfied. Upon Kai’s first day as Elemental’s leader, he had implemented a message system that only Elemental members knew. This prevented other gangs from gaining crucial information.

                He calls up Luhan. “I need the ten of you to go to every port in Seoul. If you see girls getting passed onto a ship, make sure it’s Red’s. If it happens to be their gang, stop the handing over of the es.”

                “Well there was actually a van that dropped by just now. We killed the gangsters on the spot, but the girls are here with us,” replies Luhan. Relief floods Kai.

                “Good,” Kai says, “now….will you please bring over a van and Yixing?” Kai’s breathing heightens. Feeling a little dazed, Kai slumps down against a wall. “Hurry.”

                Na Hee is still trembling. Though the front view of the car was blocked, Na Hee could still recall the gunshots in her head. It kept ringing in her ears.

                The other girls, though, appear unfazed. They must have been through this many times, Na Hee thinks. Now looking at the es through a different filter, Na Hee sighs. How pitiful.

                When the back door of the car popped open, Na Hee was aghast by their faces. They looked so youthful, as if they were merely high school teenagers. But clearly, that wasn’t the case. All of them were holding guns.

                “Get out,” says one of them. The es line up in single file. Na Hee is the last to leave the car. “You are no longer controlled by Red. Elemental is now the gang that will be in charge of this e ring. We won’t be selling yet, as we have to finalize shipments. But for now, dress out and entertain the gang members.”

                Na Hee opens to protest, but looks at the gun again. She gulps down her saliva. Kyungsoo is in charge of Elemental right? I can just somehow locate him and then…

                “What are you doing, girl?” Another male growls at her. “Hurry up and dress out!”

                “Damnit Jong In,” Yixing curses at his friend, “can you be anymore careless next time?”

                “I can try,” Kai jokes.

                “I don’t have time for your jokes, Jong In. The knife was rusted. Did you even try to pull it out right after you got stabbed?”

                “...that’s not the point, Yixing,” Kai tries to elude Yixing’s questions. But of course, Yixing can see right through his friend. “It’s if you can save me or not.”

                Yixing stares at Kai a little longer, trying to figure out his friend. “Of course I can,” he finally says, “I saved you last time and all the other times. Just next time, try not to be so focused with killing someone. Instead, go save yourself first.”

                “Alright, mom,” Kai emphasizes. Yixing merely shakes his head as he gets the tools necessary for the procedure.

                “Bang Yongguk sure played dirty,” Yixing mutters, “though I give him applause for a rusty knife. That also means he doesn’t have the money to afford good weapons.”

                Kai is silent as he braces himself for the pain. “Give me anesthesia,” he pleads.

                “Just hold on. Let me finish tearing away your shirt,” Yixing cuts away Kai’s shirt, revealing the wound. “When a rusty metal enters your body, it can lead to tetanus. Rather than having the metal pose as a danger, it’s the bacteria that are dangerous. Fortunately, I made you get all the vaccines. The tetanus vaccination is one of them. So consider yourself lucky. I’ll just stitch you up and you should be set.”

                “You made me worry for nothing,” Kai sighs as he feels the anesthesia get to his veins.

                “It’s not for nothing. There can be even more serious situations,” reprimands Yixing.

                “Can you drive me back to our new warehouse afterwards?” Kai asks, suddenly switching the topic.

                “You mean the one you took from Red?”

                “Yeah, whatever you call it.”

                Yixing bites his lips, clearly frustrated. “You need to rest, Jong In. You’ve lost a lot of b