Min Jung held onto the man's hand. She did not know him and at first his gruff hands had hurt. She was playing with her friend in the sandbox when he approached, claiming her father wanted to see her. Without thinking, she followed him and was lifted off her feet, her struggle to fight back not strong enough. She wanted to cry, but was too afraid to do so. He entered a different car than the one he came out of, partners surprised at his treachery. The man drove away, skipping the stop  signs. She knows what they're called. In the movie she was watching with her Uncle Baekhyun the other day, the mafia were split and fighting amongst themselves.

 

"There can be only one sun. What happens to the extra? It gets crushed." she recalled.

 

Now they were walking along a dirt path hidden between trees of a very familiar park, car abandoned in a shed. It was near her school. Maybe if she yelled or screamed for help, it'll come. Her dad probably knew by now, she hoped.

 

"Are you alright little one?"

 

She looked up at the man, his serious face becoming welcoming. She was confused.

 

"Yes I am mister. Why did you take...what was the word again..." She thought and thought, her finger on her chin. Before she knew it, she was in a strangely familiar neighborhood. It was close to her school.

 

"Kidnap! Yeah, that word. Why did you kidnap me? You're supposed to be mean to me too! My uncle Baekhyun says that usually they would tie you up with ropes. Do you have ropes?"

 

The man smiled down at her, letting out a hearty laughter as he cautiously made his way through the neighborhood.

"I'm doing this to protect you. You'll be safe." He entered a yard and closed the gate behind him. Four knocks and it opened quickly. He pulled Min Jung in behind him and Min Jung saw the face of a very familiar man.

 

"Hey, you're Lulu's friend! Hi Lulu's friend!"

 

She ran to give Minseok a hug, her eyes beaming at him. "Hey there Min Jung. I hope you weren't treated too rough while getting here."

"No it was okay. Not exciting enough if you want to kidnap someone. If you wanted to spend time with me, you should just ask my daddy. He wouldn't let but when I ask he would."

 

She smiled, jumping up and down. She eyed the love seat and jumped right onto it, bouncing in effect. The man smiled and left the living room. Minseok went over to her, kneeling.

 

"Min Jung-ah, right now, we're going to be undercover okay? You're going to be a secret spy and hide because the bad guys out there are trying to find you."

 

Her eyes gleamed from such a thought.

 

"Yay! So that means you aren't the bad guy?"

 

He nodded. "A friend had asked us to protect you."

 

She nodded jumping to her feet and laid on the ground. She rolled a bit away before getting up on one knee, eyes sharp. "Where should agent Oh Min Jung go from here Captain?"

 

Minseok laughed, playing along as he lined his body against the wall in the same manner.

 

"Agent Oh, you're requested to be upstairs in the attic before you're found. Let's go, I'll capture some snacks for you."

 

She nodded, rolling and hiding unnecessarily before dashing up the stairs with Minseok right behind. They entered the hall, seeing the attic stairs already open.

 

"Go on ahead. Agent Song is already upstairs waiting for you. I'll be up there in a bit." She nodded, trekking up the stairs carefully. Minseok waited until she disappeared before pushing the stairs back up, closing the square up as if it were never opened.

 

"You can come out now! Help me before the police comes!"

 

There was a knock on the door, the sounds of blood hounds barking. Minseok gulped before masking his face in anger. He opened the door.

 

"Took you so long just to get su-" he stopped. Two cops stood in front of him, eyeing the chef up and down.

 

"We're here to question whether you've seen a suspicious man with a little girl? A little girl has been kidnapped right from that elementary school there."

 

"No, I haven't seen anyone at all. My assistant and I have been too busy cooking. We didn't see anyone."

 

The cops gave him an almost annoyed look.

 

"Well, our hounds are picking up her scent around this area. You sure you haven't seen her?"

 

He nodded. "My assistant spilt a whole can of paint polish on my living room floor and I was just starting to clean it up."

 

He stepped aside a bit for the officer to see. He nodded in greeting to the silver haired male behind. He was scrambling to get the polish cleaned, whispering something repeatedly under his breath. The smell of paint was overbearing. The officer motioned for something and in return received a backpack. It was mint green, with the exotic company logo sewn on a patch. Min Jung's, he presumed. The dog smelt it, sticking his head up into the air to take a moment to search. Minseok was nervous, his palm sweating. It'd be over if it can still catch her scent.

It seemed to catch a hint of something, walking inside with the officer trailing reluctantly behind. At this point, Minseok was going to panic, trying his hardest to mask it.

 

The dog walked over to the kitchen where the silver haired male was. He seemed busy searching for something under the drawers. Once reaching the door of the fridge, the dog began to bark, sitting down while at it. Without waiting, the police officer opened it, but was greeted with a plethora of green papayas. They rolled down, crashing onto the dog who still seemed adamant on Min Jung's scent. The officer reached for the freezer handle when he came to a halt. He studied something.

 

"This picture...who drew this?"

 

The silver haired male spoke. "One of my friend's daughter."

 

"Oh Min Jung?"

 

"Y-yes. How do you know?"

 

"My dog traced her scent to this paper. Has she been here before?"

 

"No. But I have spent some time around her a while ago and she goes to school near—"

 

The officer turned to look at him, making his way back to the entrance where his partner stood.

 

"What a coincidence," he began. However, the officer was pulled after the dog, trying to leave the house. The smell was too strong to bear. Minseok let out a breath of relief secretly. The officer seemed glad, wanting desperately to leave the door.

 

"Before we go, what's your occupation?"

 

"I'm a chef sir. Name is Kim Minseok. I will make sure to keep an eye out for her! Please notify me if you've found her."

 

He nodded and went off quicker than he came. Minseok knew it'd be a matter of time before he became one of their prime suspects. He looked up into the sky. It was clear. Soon, it'd be filled with helicopters. They had to leave soon, he thought.

 

Closing the door, he ran to the kitchen, forgetting about getting Min Jung a snack. Minseok ran to his room, holding a ziploc bag of cookies as well as a cold milk box. He had set it on the counter in the kitchen on preparation before. He ran up the stairs, taking off the board and pulling the stairs down. Min Jung's head popped out from the ceiling and smiled.

 

"I heard doggies! I love doggies!"

 

Minseok nodded, handing her the cookies and milk.

 

"Okay Min Jung, listen carefully okay?" She nodded, to which he smiled and continued. "Our next mission is to leave my house and go away from here for a while. Can you do that?"

 

She nodded, unsure this time. Minseok had climbed the stairs, nodding to the man from earlier. She became a bit worried.

 

"Am I coming back home? My daddy is going to worry about me. He's been really sad for a while. He's sad because our Lulu is going to be gone for a long time and we won't see him."

 

Minseok smiled warmly. "Don't worry. We're taking you right now because we know your dad wouldn't have been able to protect you from far away. We'll bring you home once everything is safe."

 

She was about to thank him when a loud knock came from downstairs. The scurrying of the silver haired male went into one of the upstairs rooms.

He quickly closed the attic again before rushing over to the door. He opened, seeing no police but large men. They seemed impatient and in a rush.

 

"Have you seen a large man and a little girl?"

 

He shook his head. He knew exactly who they were. They were driving a small black car, voices heavy.

 

"Are you volunteers to help? I spoke to the police and they went that way'" he said while pointing. They stepped back, his gestures bringing about an air of the polished paints. He had sacrificed his floor for this.

 

"Okay. We'll be going now."

 

Minseok nodded, watching as they jumped into their car and sped the other direction. He waited until they were out of sight before running out, making sure to close the door behind him. He ran in the direction the police had went. Knowing they couldn't have gotten. That far, he caught up to them, the bloodhounds flinching away from the chemical smell he brought with him. He didn't know if what he was doing would help his case any better, but he needed a divergence.

 

"Sir!"

 

They turned around, surprised at his presence.

 

"These two large men driving a little black car came to ask me if I've seen a little girl with a large man. I don't know if they were your helpers or anything. They didn't seem like an authority figure."

 

The policeman nodded, bringing up his walkie talkie and talking through it.

 

"Do you remember which car it was?"

 

He shook his head. "No, but it's wheels were a bit larger than usual"

 

He nodded. "Thank you. Please return home and be under lock down. It's not safe who knows what they would do."

 

Minseok nodded, adjusting the strap of his apron as he ran back home.

 

"Mr. Thao called. He'll be getting here soon," said the large man. He nodded as he rushed to get his shoes. He had run off barefoot to meet the officers. The silver haired man came back, a hoodie and a surgical mask covering his face. Min Jung was sitting on the loveseat, enjoying her cookies and the thrill of being an agent. She was oblivious to the true danger lurking around for her.

 

Minseok noticed the blue car waiting. He nodded at Mr. Thao. "Let's go, he's here."

 

Min Jung brought her snack with her in one hand as she reached for Minseok's. Instead, someone else's hand grabbed hers, gently, and pulled her after him. She didn't even realize he was there at all.

 

"Let's go...Min Jung."

 

They quickly filed into the car, Min Jung sitting in the middle of the back seat. As the car drove off past dozens of police, she continued snacking on the cookies.

 

"These are yummy!"

 

"Thank you Min Jung! Aigoo, you're so cute," he cooed.

 

As she sipped her milk box, she noticed the silver haired man's gaze. He brought his hands up to her cheeks and swiped off some crumbs. She shyly thanked him with her innocent eyes, winding her feet up and down to the beat of a song in her head. She was tempted to start singing, but agents weren't allowed to make noise while on the job. Once she finished, she held the carton in her hands finally realizing her seat belt wasn't on. As a matter of fact, noticed that all five of them in the car were not wearing seatbelts.

 

"Guys guys guys, wear your seatbelts. Hun Hun says that the police questions you when you don't wear them and we're spies so we can't get caught."

 

They all chuckled, Min Jung liking the harmonious sound it made when melded together. The silver haired man reached across her, taking the seat belt and doing it for her. She caught a whiff of his scent. A very weird smell and something sweet. She decided it didn't matter, that she was too tired and didn't get her nap yet. Her eyes drooped, closing and opening slowly. Her head laid on the silver haired man, feeling how he took the empty carton of milk out of her hands and holding it with his own. She felt, safe.

 

Min Jung held onto the stranger's soft hands. They were in the backseat, driving far. She didn't know where they were going, and though she wasn't afraid, she continued holding his hands. Her mind had drifted back and forth between her father and Luhan.

 

"Minnie, do you know what happened to Lulu? You were his friend right?"

 

It was silent before Mr. Thao pointed to Minseok who was sitting in the passenger seat.

 

"Me? Huh, oh yes. I do know. Luhan?"

 

"Yeah, Luhan. Where do people go when they disappear for a long time? How far away is it? Is it as far as we are going?"

 

The hand she held onto tightened slightly.

 

"Usually...they go up. Far up."

 

Her eyes opened wide, wondering how that could be possible. "How do they do that?"

 

"Well, sometimes their body hurts a lot. There's many ways they can go up there. But don't worry about Luhan now. He's safe where he is."

 

"Minnie, when they leave, do they feel pain anymore?"

 

"No, they don't. They heal and feel wonderful."

 

She nodded, relieved. "That's good. Even though I wished he could stay, Min Jung hopes Lulu heals."

 

The car stopped and the five stayed put. The car ride ended but the heavy atmosphere was suffocating them, making their movements lag. They filed out and entered the home, a large oak tree rooted in the front yard. It was far from the city. Min Jung had fleeting desires to climb the large tree. She stopped when she realized that the man holding her hands stopped moving. He stood in front of the yard, eyes shiny and glistening. She wanted to cry as well.

 

"Mr. Thao...you said this is where you live?" came the silver haired man's muffled voice.

 

He nodded. "I moved in a long time ago. The previous owner couldn't pay it off."

 

He looked at the tree. An old wound. His heart began to pump faster as he pulled down his hoodie, his silvery hair glowing in the oncoming night.

He finally let go of Min Jung's hand, her eyes following him as he walked slowly past the group to the porch stairs. It had been remodeled the year before, but it brought every single lost memory back to him.

 

"What's wrong?" asked Minseok.

 

"Sul Yeon used to live here. After she had her child, some of the mafia members watched over her. Her father, our boss was always strict with her, but he loved her to death. He bought her this house, but we were told to not let her know it was him," said the large man.

 

"Who were you?"

 

"At the time, I was just a weakling, a member of the business. They'd call me Big Head, I was the smart one."

 

The silver haired man touched the area right in front of the door. His hands lingered on the floor boards, gathering up the courage to remember that day.

 

"Let's go inside. I'm sure it'd do you some good to remember some good times, at least," said Mr. Thao.

 

"It's been two days since the kidnapping of Oh Sehun, one of the founders of exotic fashion company's daughter. Now, it's been speculated that his daughter Min Jung has been kidnapped for the purpose of getting profit or some sort of reward from an anonymous group. What's also come to light is that the whole company went into a serious lockdown the day she went missing. No information about what happened within its buildings are to be known which leaves the public to wonder, just what was it that the company was involved in. Now we have Wang Jackson at the company."

 

"Yes, the company is still guarded with security at its max and no one is allowed to enter the building unless under special permission granted by the president. I've spoken to the company's Oh Sehun earlier this morning and he's let out the fact that the child is indeed not his blood related daughter. However he fears that the estranged mother who left the daughter may reappear. As of now, it's all just speculations, but he seemed extremely stressed and panicked."

 

"I agree that it would be. Let's hope that there will be some light shed upon this—"

 

Kyungsoo turned off the TV, not one person to protest. Baekhyun sat on the couch, head bent back and eyes closed. A whole day of searching and even then, no Min Jung was found. Sehun had collapsed, running on no sleep and barely any food. Junmyeon and Chanyeol were busy at the company, talking to reporters and running the building. Jongin, the event coordinator was busy canceling events here and there. Junmyeon and his legal team were getting ready to launch a heavy lawsuit against the Liu corporation. It hadn't been made public, nor did he wish for it to do so. Tao was sleeping on the other side of the couch, exhausted from searching through mud.

 

"What do you guys want to eat?"

 

He only received a grunt from Baekhyun, signaling that he had no appetite. He sighed and walked back into Sehun's room. When he got there, the maknae was sitting up and getting ready to leave.

 

"Where are you going? You need to rest," scolded Kyungsoo.

 

"Min Jung. I...I need to find her," he whispered ghostly. He seemed parched, drenched in his own sweat. It was a depressing sight to see.

 

"Sehun. You collapsed today. Rest tonight so you can have enough strength to continue tomorrow." He sat beside him to prevent Sehun from leaving.

 

He began crying, shaking feverishly while his face hid in his palms. Kyungsoo smoothed out his back.

 

"You were brave today."

 

"How? I'm just so afraid. I can't even think straight anymore. I'm not brave," he whimpered.

 

"Yes, you are brave. You let everyone who cared enough to know, that Min Jung is your daughter. That she matters to you and that you'd exhaust yourself to insanity to find her safe. You're brave for continuing your search, whether if it's out of fear or obligation. You are brave."

 

Sehun left his palms, reaching to Kyungsoo for his shoulder. Kyungsoo sat next to him, letting Sehun lean on him. A flood of memories returning.

 

"Remember when she broke up with you? How furious I was. I nearly went insane as well. All through middle school, I liked you. It's so funny to think of it now. We grew up together, knew everything about each other, but when I learned of your secret drawing skills, it made me so happy. When she broke up with you years after, I was still angry because I had lost my chance then. You have no idea how happy I was that Luhan came. I have moved on and I felt that it was unfair of me to do so without you."

 

Sehun continued weeping, every now and then wiping his tears.

 

"It's been years now. She wouldn't stand a chance against the beautiful and headstrong daughter you've raised. Before she could even get to your daughter, she'd have to fight the legal system, and all of us. Not only that, I am damn positive it'll send Luhan's avenging soul back to haunt her."

Sehun chuckled a bit. This was the first time he's ever heard Kyungsoo joke around like this.

 

"Luhan had said he'd go crazy if she did."

 

The both shared a bittersweet laughter.

 

"That's right. So don't ever be afraid of her. If anything, I know that Luhan is watching over our Min Jung. He wouldn't let a thing harm her, I promise. Luhan is a star, after all, he'll be watching all night and even day when we can't see."

 

Sehun nodded, feeling comfort flood in with just that thought. He prayed and pleaded that Luhan would watch carefully over his daughter, a daughter he would've loved to cherish with him. This was the only comfort that came with Luhan's death. That he'd be watching over the both of them.

 

"I'm going to make something for you all to eat. Then get some rest so tomorrow you can search longer than today." Sehun nodded, tucking himself back into his bed. His eyes wandered the empty darkness once Kyungsoo had left. He did not ever know, that Kyungsoo liked him. He felt incredible guilt, but then even more, admiration. Kyungsoo has risen from the darkness, and that was why he was so strong. It's going to be his turn, this time. To rise from the flames and though burnt and cut, will heal. The gravity pulling on humans can only draw one to the ground if they give up on everything they have, or that they are. He couldn't give up, Luhan was providing him with strength even though he no longer existed beside him. Therefore, he had to work that much harder. Once the dead work harder than those alive, life becomes unessential for living.

 

Sehun woke up an hour later, the loud doorbell echoing throughout his home. Kyungsoo who was almost finished with dinner, wiping his hands on the apron he was wearing. Baekhyun and Tao too deep in their sleep to wake up. Sehun had made his way out slowly, scratching the back of his head.

 

"Who is it hyung?"

 

"I'm not sure," he said, unlocking the door.

 

He opened, eyes locking on the old man and woman, standing there with large luggages and smiles. Kyungsoo became ecstatic.

 

"Aunty! Uncle!"

 

He hugged a pair of arms and when he saw them in full view, he quickly walked over. It was his mother and father, whom he hadn't seen for almost three years.

 

"Mom, dad!"

 

He hugged his father because his mother was busy bombarding Kyungsoo with kisses.

 

"We heard about what was going on. We took a private jet here," said his father. They stepped aside so the elderly parents could enter, Sehun and

Kyungsoo dragging their suitcases behind them.

 

"There's reporters prowling around here waiting for you to leave your den." Sehun nodded, fully aware of the media focused on him. His eyes followed his mother as she made her way towards Baekhyun and Tao's sleeping forms.

 

"Omo, is that my little Bacon and Panda?!" They stirred in their sleep, disrupted out of their dreams.

 

"Aunty?"

 

She squished them both into a hug while Sehun deadpanned. "She didn't even hug me yet," he nearly whined. His father chuckled. Kyungsoo had returned to cooking, alarmed at the increase in numbers.

 

"The best is for last. She said she's going to end up crying once she holds onto you."

 

Sehun nodded, waiting against the island counter patiently. Once she woke the two up completely, she made her way carefully to Sehun. Her eyes had begun to water.

 

"My baby..."

 

Sehun went in for a hug, completely calm, but once her comforting scent enveloped him, he let out waterfalls of tears. His mother, whom he dearly missed. The only woman in the world he'd give his everything for.

 

"Mom...how...how have you been?" He asked between sobs. She didn't reply back, her silent sobs stopping her. She could only reply with muffled gibberish, the top of her head only reaching to his chest. Kyungsoo had busied himself with cooking, letting his tears fall. He himself, felt reassured with Sehun's parents around. His own had passed years prior.