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‘’Hand over the girl, Xero.’’

‘’Not until you bring Hero right here, right in front of me’’  Xero barked while the latter just grinned, ‘’You are a waste of his time so quietly hand over the girl or you die right here’’                             ‘’So in the end Hero wont come to see his oh-so lovely fiancé die? Is that it?’’ Xero chuckled as he clicked his gun, aiming it right at Jenny’s temple who hurriedly shut her eyes.

‘’You kill her and your life wont be spared’’ The man covered in black spoke while Xero let out a chuckle as he eyed his men, signalling them with a nod and at that moment all hell broke loose.

‘’WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T HURT THE GIRL ALRIGHT?’’ The man barked while his men nodded, loading their guns on spot while Xero harshly dragged Jenny until he heard Sehun, another part had surrounded them and he mentally cursed.

‘’Drop the guns, we have you all surrounded’’ A sudden pause took over with no one moving till Xero let out a laugh before firing shots towards both groups while dragging Jenny off who screamed in agony, the hold Xero had on her arm was suffocating her, when would she finally be left alone?

‘’Kris… what are you going to do?’’ Luhan muttered while Kris shrugged, ‘’I-…’’ he paused as he eyed the sight, Xero’s men firing their guns while dragging Jenny to the exit while Hero’s men did the same.

But If his men were here…. Wouldn’t that mean Hero was here too?

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard a familiar voice echo throughout and his heart leaped in his chest.

She was crying.

She was calling out his name.

He was here.

He could finally catch him.

Her hopeful eyes stared at him while he wrecked his brain, trying to make a decision while Luhan patted him on his back, ‘’We’ll get Jenny safely, you go on ahead. You and I both know he’s here, this is our chance’’ Luhan mumbled as he got in position, ready to head on in the battlefield while Kris eyed Jenny, who continued calling out his name.

But when she thought he finally got through him, his gaze slipped and his back was turned.

He went for Hero.

And at that moment, her heart shattered in to a million pieces as she stared at his back retreating. Was she not enough? Was she nothing to him? But why… did she think so selfishly? Wasn’t she the only one who had fallen in love with him?

‘’Hurry damn it’’ Xero barked as he harshly pushed her towards him before dragging her out towards the car parked in front, while Hero’s man hurriedly rushed out from the other side—too much exposure wasn’t something Hero’s syndicate was fond of.

‘’Xiumin hurry the up, they’re escaping’’ Luhan barked, running after Xero but the random gun shots was getting on his nerve, Xero had a good aim—something he noticed after dodging a few bullets.

‘’It’s dangerous, the guys are aiming randomly and we can’t do the same he’s basically using Jenny as a shield’’ Sehun muttered a few curses while Luhan let out a frustrated sigh, ‘’Aim for the tires, they’re going to escape by car.’’

‘’Roger that’’ Tao nodded, speeding up his pace as he made a run for it but the explosion near him caught them all off guard and just like that, both Xero and Jenny had slipped from them once again. A string of curses left their lips as they made a run for their cars but halted right outside the doors after noticing a weird wire attached to it.

‘’A ing bomb. They planted a damn bomb underneath our car’’ Luhan kicked the door, completely frustrated with the outcome. They were fooled so easily, was this really all the ruthless gang of Korea could do?  He let out a mocking chuckle, ‘’ing pathethic.’’ He mumbled, completely disappointed at the outcome.

--

‘’Did u hack all systems?’’ Luhan nudged Lay who nodded, I’m scanning both number-plates, they might’ve been sighted somewhere along the way in Seoul.’’                      ‘’Hurry up alright?’’           ‘’I’m ing trying-…’’                   ‘’Quiet, just continue the search and be quiet alright!?’’ Kris his voice boomed through out the halls and suddenly it had gone eerily quiet in the hideout.

Not long after Xero had escaped, Kris joined the gang—completely pissed. He didn’t speak about whatever went through but it was pretty clear the other gang had managed to escape and from the little exchange of words with Suho, Kris had heard one of the men talking to their ‘’boss’’ on the phone.

Could that mean that Hero is very much alive?

But from this encounter they had figured something else out too, something a little dreadful for the twelve.

Hero wanted to wipe off Xero and the men that betrayed him.

And, he wanted Jenny.

‘’I think I might have a lead on Hero’s men’’ Lay eyed Suho who nodded, ‘’An address registered from the number plate, I think it’s worthy of checking though I doubt we would find something. Syndicates rely on fake addresses or usually their old ones’’                                ‘’Right, Baekhyun and Sehun, I want you two to check it out’’

‘’Roger that.’’

‘’Anything on Xero?’’ Kris asked sternly while Lay shrugged, ‘’Close to it though’’ he muttered, focusing back on his computer before tapping away while the rest went to different rooms, leaving Kris and Lay in the main one.

--

‘’What do we do in the meantime?’’ Tao asked Suho who shrugged, ‘’We can’t do much at this point’’ he let out a small sigh while the latter frustratedly kicked the seat near him, ‘’I can’t stand this, why are we sitting here doing nothing while Jenny is in danger!? We’re just ing sitting here eating out of our nose-…’’                        ‘’Think how Kris feels right now!?’’ Chen interrupted and Tao slightly flinched, looking away completely annoyed.

‘’All he’s been doing is sitting there quietly with a blank face with two packets of cigarettes already gone to waste. He hasn’t had food since last night, how do you think he feels sitting here!? How do we all feel!? We feel ing usele-…’’                       ‘’That’s enough Chen’’ Suho muttered and the latter let out a groan, ‘’You two should calm your head a little, go get us some take out food. I think something to eat will do us all good.’’

‘’Fine’’ Tao sighed as he grabbed his coat while Chen did the same and just like that, silence took over the place again.

‘’Kyungsoo, I want you to check on Jieun and give a small update, Xiumin I want you to go back to the apartment just to see if everything’s alright and Luhan I want you to go check on Kai and Chanyeol upstairs, see if they need anything.’’

‘’Alright.’’ They all muttered and just like that Suho was left alone and a sigh escaped his lips as he thought about everything that happened so far, the most important thing being Kris. He had changed drastically and Suho didn’t like it, was it related to Jenny? The thoughts he pushed away, was there truth hidden behind it? Did he really get over Feilin and perhaps found someone new?

Suho shook his head instantly, it wasn’t possible nor would he ever let that happen.

But little did he know that Kris was far gone ahead and it was too late for him to retreat in this endless cycle of love.

--

‘’The Xero, did you see how the syndicate fired at us!?’’  The driver barked while Xero simply shrugged, ‘’They’re through with us, they don’t care about neither of us!’’                 ‘’Wrong.’’ Xero let out a small chuckle as he eyed Jenny, ‘’The hesitation was clear, even asking the men to look out for her. They pretty much want her, this exchange will definitely happen.’’

‘’How are you so sure?’’

‘’Try calling them, we’ll arrange another meeting where Hero will show up this time.’’

‘’I already did, and no one is picking up!’’ The driver barked and Xero widened his eyes, ‘’What!?’’           ‘’We can’t get through, do they not want to do this exchange!?’’ The driver let out a panicked breathe while Xero mentally cursed, ‘’We came this far, we can’t back out now.’’

‘’You, do you really not know where Hero is?’’ His eyes focused on Jenny who shrugged in return, ‘’I don’t know’’ she mumbled while the latter groaned, clicking his gun before placing it at her temple,  ‘’You do realize the real one might never come out right? So spill it. Tell me where he is.’’ He eyed her while she did the same, completely worn out from all this.

‘’I don’t know.’’ The moment she finished talking, a click was heard and she shut her eyes hurriedly. ‘’If you don’t talk, I’ll shoot. I won’t be nice all the time Park Bom. I will honestly kill you, and you know if someone like you dies, someone would be very sad, right? So tell me already, these games everything will end the moment you tell us where he is, okay?’’

We will protect you.

So be honest from now on.

Silence filled the air as the driver looked out the window, while Xero eyed Jenny intently who was deep in thoughts. She really wanted this to be over with, but how could she provide him something she knew nothing of? How would she know where he is when the last memory she had was him being killed.

Was he really out there, alive and well?

Would she risk it all?

She pressed her lips on a thin line as she looked away, clearly hurt from earlier. She was nothing  to Kris, would it even matter if she died, right here, right now? Would she really throw away the life they protected with all their lives?

‘’Fine.’’ She muttered, ‘’I’ll tell you, but on one condition.’’

She was going to risk it all.

--

‘’KRIS!!!’’

Heavy breathings echoed through out the room with his heart hammering in his chest. Beads of sweat dripped down from his forehead as he tried to calm himself down from the horrible nightmare he just saw. He would never forget her face, the tears glistening on her pale white cheeks.

She looked so worn out, so tired.

She called out to him yet he turned around to run after the one guy that ruined his life, but at that moment, for the first time ever, Kris hesitated.

He hesitated between Jenny and Hero.

And he was so damn sure he would’ve gone to Jenny if not for Luhan reassuring him that they would safely bring Jenny back home, but he was so wrong. If only he went after Jenny, maybe she would be right here, sleeping soundly in her room. He could never forget her screams and the look she had given him. He had failed her, in all possible aspects. The promise he made was an empty one, how could it have gone so wrongly?

‘’Oh, you’re awake’’ Lay muttered and Kris hurriedly composed himself, wiping the sweat away as he steadied his breathing. ‘’How long was I out for?’’                           ‘’Maybe an hour or so, you looked like you we’re having it rough, everything alright?’’ Lay asked and Kris slightly nodded. ‘’Anything new?’’

‘’Baekhyun and Sehun are still out, while the rest is here around. Its been two hours since they left, I think we should hear something from them soon.’’               ‘’Right, I’ll just check up with them instead’’ Kris muttered as he grabbed his phone from the table, ready to call Sehun but when his screen lit up with an incoming call, he froze.

A withheld number was calling him and his gut feeling told him something wasn’t right while Lay slightly nodded at him to pick up.

‘’Hello?’’

A short silence followed while Lay hurriedly got his laptop, tapping on it as fast as he could while Kris silently listened along, ready for anything until he froze right on spot, his heart hammering in his chest,

‘’K… kris?’’