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“I’ll pay you. Any amount you want. As long as you find her.”

“I don’t want your money. I’ll do it on one condition.” I looked at Chen. He was shaking his head.

‘No, Rin, no!’ he was telling me not to do it. I had to. I looked back at them.

“No contact from now on. After this is done, I want nothing to do with you all. No more text messages, no more calls no more meeting. I’ll disappear for your lives and you can live yours like you never met me and I’ll do the same. Just leave me alone. Is it a deal?”

“That not fai-“

“Deal.” Luhan cut Kris off. “Please tell us who they are.” I took out my phone and dialled a number.

“Eonnie? Could you wait for me for a while more? Something came up and it will take a while.”

“Sure, what’s wrong? Are they holding you back?”

“No. there is something I need to handle.”

“Sure. I’ll be waiting.”

“Thanks, I’ll be down soon.” I hung up and grabbed the nearest computer. I sat down and looked at the screen. I took a deep breath and let my fingers do the work. My fingers danced on the keyboard and mini black screens popped up everywhere.

“What the…”

I zoomed in at the shoes that Xue was wearing. Her favourite pink slippers. I took out a small device and placed it into my ears.

“Oppa?”

“What’s up?”

“Track 103596.”

“Okay hold on.” He worked on it while I searched for the van. I read the codes and my fingers moved fast. A black van.

“Did she just hack into the traffic system?”

I did just that. I searched for the road that the van took. One by one, the camera screens appeared.

“Got it. It’s at an old abandoned factory just outside Seoul.”

“Thanks.” I said as the van passed the toll station. “I’ll call you again.”

I zoomed in to one of the guys face. I made increased the pixels and his image came up on the TV.

“She is at an abandoned factory outside Seoul. Just follow the directions I compiled here and you should find it.” I said and stood up. “He is one of them. One of their best fighters or should I say assassins.”

“I’ve done my part. I’ll get going now.”

“Wait, how did you do all that? You did the same things that D.O and Chanyeol does. Only more advance and faster.” Baekhyun asked. I stared at him.

“You don’t know me.” I said coldly as I walked towards Chen. “You know that thumb drive? It will come in handy right now. Just don’t tell them it’s from me.” he took it out from his pocket. Walking to one of the computers, He inserted the thumb dive in and opened the file. All my late nights were because of it, while partly. I couldn’t sleep so I worked on them.

“Starship.” Luhan breathe out. They continued to scroll. All their details and all their information came up. Those that they couldn’t find or lacked. Everything.

“Jongdae, where did you get all these information? I’ve been searching about them for so long, I didn’t even find that much and that detailed.” Lay looked at him and Chen just shrugged.

“I found it some time back on the floor. Curious I opened it and there were all the information there. I don’t know whose it is.” He lied smoothly. He looked at me. Now he knows what I meant that it will lessen Lay’s workload.

“There is an initial at the bottom, R.N-”

“It’s not time for this, we have to go rescue Xue!” the leaders then got their head together and gave out their positions.

“What was that?” Chen pulled me one side and whispered. “Where did you get all that information?”

“Like I said earlier, you don’t know me. But I know who you are and what you do. All of you.” he widened his eyes.

“What? No, how long?”

“From the very start, it’s part of my work to know my clients details by heart.”

“So you knew along?” I nodded. “And you didn’t say anything.”

“Don’t tell them that I know about this.”

“Jongdae!” he turned. “You will be with Kyungsoo, we need you two as back up. Once we get Xue, you guys need to protect her.”

“What about us?” Jongin sat up. Sehun was knocked out from the medicine that Lay gave him.

“You will stay here. You and Sehun are already injured. I can’t let you guys out.” Suho shook his head.

“We want to help. It’s partly our fault that everything is like this.”

“No. just stay here and get well.” Suho said.

“Hyung.”

“Fine, you can follow but you are staying in the car. As for Sehun, I think it’s best to not move him.” he nodded vigorously.

“Are you all clear on what to do?” they all nodded. “Let’s go.” They all changed and headed out.

“I’ll get going then. Take care.” I said to Chen. “Tell Yixing that I say bye.” With that I left the house. There was a little sense of accomplishment inside me. I did help them with my skills. But then again, I was sad. They were closer to her and when she is in danger, they would obviously be worried sick about her. She doesn’t know how to defend herself. I couldn’t change that fact.

“You done?” I nodded and she took the box from my arms. “You aren’t allowed to carry heavy stuff.”

“It’s not even heavy.”

“Oh right, I forgot you can’t feel. But still no carrying for you.” I could only sigh. She smiled. “Let’s go.” We were almost out of the building when someone pulled me back.

“You are coming with us.”

“No she isn’t.” eonnie stood in front of me. “She hasn’t recovered yet. And who gives you the right to make her follow you? She isn’t working for you now.”

“You are the only one who knows where she is. You were the one who found her.”

“Isn’t that enough? I already gave you all the directions to the place. A deal is a deal. I helped you find where she is, you leave me alone. We made a deal.”

“But how do I know that your information is accurate?” I looked at him, he was desperate. For what? I have no idea. Was he desperate because he wanted to rescue Xue but he feels insecure? Or that he didn’t want me to go.

‘No. Don’t give in.’ my head said to me.

‘Just follow him. It’s just a while but you can be with him.’ my heart said. I was torn, between following my heart or mind. A mini angel and devil was battling inside.

‘Se Rin, DO NOT-‘

“If I follow you, it will be last time. After that we’ll go our separate ways as promised. Can you keep that promise?”

I know I shouldn’t be doing this, I shouldn’t be accepting his request at all. I lost the battle and I gave in. am I making the right decision? Or am I going to put myself in more pain? It was the very last time, the last time I’ll see. After that I won’t see him again. Sometimes I think I’m too kind for my own good. I was pathetic.

“Can you keep your promise?” I asked again.

“Rin.” Eonnie said and I just looked right at him. The others were behind him, boarding the car. He didn’t look very good, a bit strained. Like he couldn’t make up his mind.

“What’s your decision?” I had to be firm. No more giving in.

“Okay, I promise.” His face fell. Truthfully, I didn’t want him to say that. I was hoping that he would let me go in peace. He was making things harder than it already is. What scares me is that now, I couldn’t tell when I would go. I only had one more emotion left. But then again, when he said yes, a part of me was relief that I wouldn’t need to go through all those pain again.

“I’ll follow them just for a while. I’ll be right back.” I faced eonnie.

“Rin, you are not recovered yet.” I know that she was worried for me. Though I have gotten back most of my strength, I would still feel tired occasionally. It wasn’t that I couldn’t fight.

I could.

I was in my normal condition, perfectly fine. It’s just that Yongju eonni and oppa were more protective of me after I told them everything. They were more careful around me, making sure that I don’t do any activities that require lots of movements. They gave the excuse that I haven’t recovered yet. They believed that there will be a way for me. A way to recover. I sincerely hoped that there is a way.

“I’ll be fine. I won’t be doing anything vigorous. Don’t worry. I’ll call you.”

“Promise me first that you will come back safe and sound. Not a single scratch.”

“I promise.” I link my pinkie with hers. “I got this with me.” I held up a necklace I was wearing. It was a simple design with a stone. A topaz, my birthstone. It was a present from someone precious, a good luck charm to me.

“Remember the promise we made?” she asked. “I’m not afraid to break it if something happens. I really hope that nothing like that will happen.”

“I’ll be back soon.” I gave her a hug to assure her before following him to the car.

“I thought you went off?” Chen came up next to me.

“Ask him. I already gave you all the directions and everything but he doesn’t seem to trust me.” I was about to board the back when he pulled me back.

“You are sitting in front.” He pushed me towards the front passenger seat. I put on my seat belt as he started the car. The atmosphere was tense. We drove off and I read out the directions.

“Turn right here.”

“Another 200 meters before you make a U-turn.”

“Go straight until you pass the gas station, turn left there.”

I had the route memorised. I knew it like the back of my hand. While guiding him through the lanes, I couldn’t help but peek at him. He wore a frown, his hand gripped tightly on the steering wheel until his knuckles were almost white. Looking at the front mirror, the others behind didn’t look that good either. They were either praying that Xue is safe or staring into space. Some of them like Suho was planning what to do later. His facial expression gave him away. His eyebrows always stick together when he was thinking hard.  

Despite the uncomfortable feeling inside making me want to leave the car immediately, I couldn’t help but feel worried. I was more worried for them than myself. Jongin and Sehun were already down. They are going to face 10 of Starship’s agents. It will be 10 on 8 since Chen and D.O wouldn’t be entering inside. They were not only outnumbered but out matched as well. They are good fighters I agree but the agents at Starship are different. They are trained assassins. They are trained to kill. The uneasiness inside grew as we arrived at the location. I sighed inaudibly and reached out to the necklace I was wearing. Looking down at it, I made a wish.

‘Please let everything be alright. Help it to go smoothly and that no one will get hurt badly.’

They parked somewhere not noticeable and began their plan. D.O and Chen prepared the equipment’s while the others suit up. They all wore a serious expression.

“Anything yet?” Kris asked Chen who was using their equipment, a heat device that reads the body heat. With that he could find out how many people were inside the factory.

“9 people.”

9? If one of them is Xue, this means that there were only 8 of them inside when they have 10 people. I looked at the screen to confirm again, only 9 people’s body heat could be read. Something was not right.

“Everybody to your stations.” Suho said and they began to move. I observed the surroundings, it was too quiet and calm. Something was really wrong. I knew it, call it a sixth sense. I unbuckled my seatbelt and was about to stand up when I was being pulled down.

“You stay here.” Kris looked at me. “I want to see you here when we get back.” his gaze soften as he looked into my eyes. My heart picked up pace. “Thank you.” he patted my head and left. He stopped halfway and turn back one last time before catching up with the others.

He was making me so confused. His actions and the way he speaks. Everything. Why was he behaving like this? Thoughts ran through my mind and I was mentally drained. I watched as they sneak into the building and I pushed those thoughts out. It wasn’t time to be thinking about that.

Taking a look around, I spotted some cameras around.

‘Maybe it might help.’ There was no time to waste. If it is a trap, I have to get them out of it safely.

“Lend me the spare computer.” D.O handed it to me without asking. I searching for the cameras around the area and I got footages from hacking. I rewind it back by one hour and observed it. The three of them crowded around me as we watched the footages. They entered the area and brought Xue into the building. They never came out again. I counted the heads, there were only 9 like what Lay had said.

I look around the nearby places, there were a few cars but I wasn’t so sure if they were part of this setup. A black, a silver and a white car. Were they also involved or just normal cars? The car that they used, a grey one, could no longer be found in the area, which means that they either got rid of it or they drove away.

To me, it all seemed too fixed, like it was set up. It worried me. They had used similar methods before and they always succeed in their plan.

‘There were only 8 people so that means 2 of them are not there. Where can they be?’ I looked through the videos when something caught my eye. I paused and rewind it. Pressing play, I watched as a black figure crouch down behind the wall.

“It can’t be.” I moved over to their equipment and turned it on. I was familiar with the equipment’s they used, we used it at our organisation as well.

“What are you doing?” I quickly set up the system and activated it.

“Please tell me I’m wrong.” I whispered. “Please.” The screen appeared and scanned the area. A few orange spots appeared on the black area. It wasn’t a good sign.

It was all a trap.

Starship would never leave evidence behind. It was really hard to trace them, but they would never leave traces behind. But for them to leave so many for us to track them down, we definitely walked right into a trap. Whatever their reason is for capturing Xue, they are serious about it. They were aiming for an ultimate wipe-out.

“We have to get them out of there. NOW.” I said and tried to open the door.

“What do you mean?” Jongin grabbed my arm.

“It’s a trap. We walked right into one. They set up bombs around the building. It’s not safe.” I turned to them as I stepped out of the vehicle. “Call the bomb squad, the police or your own people. Whatever it takes, we need to stop them. I’ll try to buy us sometime, and make sure that everyone gets to safety.” I looked at them in the eyes before turning around, closing the door in their faces and walked to the building. Taking out my phone, I called someone.

“Something might happen, I’m not sure if I can keep our promise. I’ll try my best. I’m sorry.” I hung up even before the person on the other line could speak. All I thought off was getting them to safety. My brother and Kris.

I carefully made my way inside without making any noise. I didn’t have my guns or knives, I had to make do with what I could find. I crouch behind a crate. I could see all of them, Starship, EXO and Xue. They were having a standoff, all were ready to fight.

Xue was at one corner, tied up to the chair. She didn’t seem hurt but really traumatised. She did have some scratches on her face, her hair and clothes were messed up and dirtied. I looked over to the others. Having 4 ladies in Starship seem to put EXO at ease. If they thought that way, they are so wrong. Out of all the agents, the ladies were the best at fighting. I scanned their faces and I realised who was missing. He was one of the top 5 fighters in Starship.

Not only was he a good fighter, he was one of the youngest there. Meaning that he is more agile, flexible, faster and more accurate. Worry began piling up inside on top of the mountain I already had inside. I had to think fast. There was only one of them watching over Xue. So that means that I could get her out if anything happens. My mind worked for a plan, a plan that will not only bring all of us out to safety but also to capture them once and for all.

I slowly moved in from behind the crates and objects, listening to their conversation as i did.

“Let my sister go!”

“I’m afraid we can’t do that.” One of the girls said while smiling. “We don’t want too.” he looked at her nails.

“What do you want with her?” Kris voice shook as he asked them.

“K-Kris…..” Xue sobbed.

“Oh look at that, so sweet. It’s like what I see in the movies. Eonnie, it seems like we got the right one.” The fairest one of them all smiled.

“Looks like we did.” she walked out of the shadows.

“You! You were at the party!” She chuckled and smiled.

“I see you remember me. Nice to meet you, EXO. My name is Bora.” She walked up to them.

“What do you want with her?” Luhan asked.

“Tsk tsk, it’s rude to speak like that to a lady.” The tannest lady said as she shook her head. “Such a pity, you are a cute looking one too.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“So many questions, my head hurts. Shall we just tell them why? Since they won’t be making it out of here alive.” The one named Soyu said as her smile faded, her gaze turned into a stare.

“You see, long time ago there was a guy. He fell in love with a girl. She was the most beautiful person he had seen in his life. He wanted her so much. No matter how much he tried to get her to look at him, she never did. Not even once. All because of this guy. This guy that captured her heart. This guy who couldn’t feel.” She looked at them. “I believe you know who you are.” She smiled as she walked closer to Xue who whimpered.

“No matter what he did, it would all be fruitless. It pained him to see her with that guy. So that’s when he thought of it, if he couldn’t have her, no one will.” She went behind Xue and bend down towards her ear. “No one at all.” Xue burst into tears.

I covered my mouth and slumped down onto the ground. It can’t be. Why was this be so complicated? I closed my eyes and took in deep breathes. I looked at Kris who was on the verge of crying, an immense amount of sadness and guilt filled me. It was all because of me. It was me that they were looking all along. I brought Xue into this mess.

It was all my fault.

She straighten up and touched Xue’s face. “So this time, he is determine to have her. If she doesn’t accept her, he would kill her. We are just helping him achieve this dream of his. It’s that simple. After all, he is our brother.”

“YOU ARE ALL MONSTERS!” Tao shouted.

“Monsters you say. How about trying to win the girl of your dreams for in every life but she always ends up with the same guy. Every life you have to watch them get together. Every time you die because of the pain.” she glared at them. “For you it means nothing. But it means a world to him.” she pulled Xue’s hair and she screamed in pain.

“Stop it!” Luhan shouted, his fist were clenched tightly. “You got the wrong person.”

“Oh we got the right person.” she nodded as she touched Xue’s back.

It’s the birth mark. The birthmark that is the key to this mess. I was overwhelmed with worry and sad. This only happens when Kris is feeling those emotions.

‘Not now.’ I thought. I can’t lose my last emotion here, not now. I wanted to keep at least one of it. This was my last and I’m about to lose it. I had to make him stop only then can I survive. It was the only way I thought I could live. Someone pulled Xue into another room nearby. I have to make a move now.

“Let’s play a game. A game to see how many of us will get out of here alive.” She smirked.

“Let the games began.”

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