October was a cold month in Korea. Chuseok passed, the harvest had passed, and the winter was preparing for a long sleep over the land. The cold was not a pleasant experience. Less so if you were without a jacket, in a dress, and perched on the back of a motorcycle. The wind was a .

She gripped his waist like she was begging for mercy. Hell, anything could happen at this point. And she was ready to bury her face in his jacket and pray to everything worth praying to that nothing else happened, she had enough of it.  

He was silent, never offering an explanation.

Why was she okay with that? She had to be. She had no alternative. The night only got colder.

***

Four hours ago

Official meant crowds. Official meant photographers waiting at the entrance. Official meant all eyes were turned towards the family.

Minseok waved and smiled and waved again. Joon Myun looked stoic as always. Sehun tried to be cute, flashing a peace sign as he leaned in towards his older brothers and gave his best photo shoot pose. What a happy family.

Nauen was overwhelmed by the attention, not having seen such a spectacle in her life. Granted there were plenty of photographers waiting at the airport when she had arrived in Korea, but nothing like what was waiting for her at the engagement party.

When she looked a little lost she found Minseok’s arm. It was comforting in as much as having another person next to you can be. They had still never had a moment alone to actually discuss their engagement - what they were gathered together to celebrate.

Inside the main hall the situation was expectant and stuffy. Minseok took her arm and guided her to greet everyone that mattered. Nauen gripped his arm and made the necessary greetings. It was daunting, to say the least.

***

Luhan spotted Soo Man. The royal advisor was across the large hall, speaking to a rather prominent politician. It was now or never.

“Excuse me.” Luhan knew that a certain expression looked better than another, he tried his best to come off as friendly.

Soo Man had no other choice than to bow. After all Soo Man was not royalty- no matter how much power he wielded.

“Prince Luhan.”

“Sunbaenim.” Luhan bowed his head slightly, showing only as much respect as was required given their situation in life, “May we speak in private?”

The politician that Soo Man had been chatting up took his leave quickly. He seemed to be averse to being any part of a chat between the royal advisor and the Prince of China.

“Of course” Soo Man smiled. He had been waiting for the request. It had come sooner than he thought it would.

***

Get him alone. Take him by surprise.

Minseok had directed Luhan on the methods to utilize against Soo Man. If you caught the man by surprise he could possibly become more useful, freer with information if you will. Soo Man was savvy and informed, but he had to have a weakness. Perhaps it was surprise.

Minseok saw Luhan follow Soo Man out of the room. So it had begun.

His attention was directed towards the bustling room before him. Nobles and family and people he didn’t know wanted to meet him and his soon-to-be wife.

“I am nervous” The girl on his arm whispered. It was the first time she had spoken only to him.

“It’s okay.” He smiled back at her. Too bad he doubted his own words. The newly engaged couple went forth to greet the crowd.

***

Jong Dae had found an enormous, gaping hole in the entire function. It was courtesy of the Chinese delegation and it was centered on security.

“You are not checking the list!”

He could be quite fierce when he wanted to be.

Chanyeol translated Jong Dae’s scolding into Mandarin so the security team could understand. Upon the translation they shot Jong Dae dirty looks.

“Hell- there is a list for a REASON!”

Chanyeol was in complete agreement. He had already had to kick one person out and he was not about to repeat the actions.

Zitao, the team leader in charge of security, spoke to Chanyeol in hushed tones. It seemed that the team in charge of the doors was intermingled with the newer security staff. That was the problem, according to Zitao.

“Hey!” Chanyeol waved one of the security team over. He would be damned if the entire event was ruined because of securities incompetence.

“Check the damn list!” Chanyeol repeated the words in Korean and Mandarin.

Kyung Soo nodded a couple of times.

Chanyeol gave him a threatening look.

Kyung Soo smiled. He would check the list. Damn, he would check the list.

***

Three hours ago

Minseok found him alone. It was a monumental feat to pull himself away from a party that was thrown partially in his honor. But he had done it, thanks to a quick interruption from Joon Myun. He walked through the endless halls, walked towards where he thought he would find Luhan.

Luhan was sitting alone, staring at the floor.

“What happened?” Minseok did not miss a beat, he asked the question as soon as he found him.

Luhan threw the packet of photographs with a flurry.

“Look”

Minseok did.

***

Two hour ago

Sweat dripped from Taemin’s brow. He pushed his arm up, wiping off his perspiration with one swift motion.

It was difficult work– cracking a safe.

***

One Hour ago

Jong Dae needed to find him- it had been far too long since his royal charge had been seen in the main hall.

His best guess involved Luhan, which brought him to begin the search with Chanyeol’s help. They went back to their respective employer’s quarters. They went to the gardens, and the offices and the archery range. They went everywhere they could think of. But there was nothing waiting for them.

“We are f-ed” Chanyeol said it, and it was a frustrated and hopeless statement. Jong Dae agreed, wholeheartedly. They were royally F-ed, pun intended.

a/n- Sorry for all of the cliffhangers (and the short chapter), but we are getting closer to the truth! I promise.

And as always, thank you for reading!