The waves crashed against the rocks just a few feet in front of where Kyuhyun sat, spraying him with cool mist. The rhythmic crashing hypnotized him deep into a point of relaxation that he could not resist. He closed his eyes to ease their tiredness.

When he opened his eyes again he was being dragged out into the sea by relentless waves. Ominous clouds now covered the sky that had been clear and friendly before he dozed off. Lightning flashed and was followed by the low rumble of distant thunder.

Kyuhyun struggled to keep his head above water. The waves hit his face as he was gasping for air. He swallowed a mouthful of salty sea and instantly felt like throwing up. He felt a force pulling him down. He went under.

Kyuhyun kicked and thrashed in an effort to get back to the surface but the pull was too strong. He looked down at his feet to whatever it was that was dragging him down but there was nothing there, just vast blackness.

He felt himself getting weaker. He stopped struggling and let the darkness take over. He closed his eyes and braced himself for a painful death that would drag out several minutes.

Through his closed eyelids, as though he were staring at the sun, the colors changed from pitch black to transient hues of crimson and brown. He dared to open his eyes and saw nothing but bright, warm light and he was no longer afraid.

“Kyuhyun, you are a sinner,” a voice spoke to him. It was the kindest voice he’d ever herd; the kindest voice he could ever imagine.

Kyuhyun felt magnetism toward the light. His heart swelled with happiness. His eyes filled with tears of joy. “Could I be forgiven? I want to be with you,” he replied to the voice.

“The only requirement to enter the Kingdom is salvation.”

“What do I have to do?”

“You must dedicate yourself to me. You must go through Jesus Christ.”

He reached out for the light, extending his arm as far as he could reach but everything faded back to darkness. His unconscious body floated back to the surface. The waves carried him gently back to the shore and deposited him safely just out of reach of the new waterline.

Kyuhyun woke up mid whimper. Tears were sliding down the sides of his face. He sat up and wiped them off with the back of his hand.

He had not slept since the shootout at Heechul’s club. He was too frightened to close his eyes because it was hard enough to be awake in his thoughts. Sleep meant there was a chance to dream and since that night, his dreams were always about Siwon. He was haunted by the image of his deceased friend. The regret overpowered all other thoughts that entered his mind, conscious or subconscious.

Despite his adversity toward sleep, exhaustion eventually won and Kyuhyun fell asleep. Then he awoke from his dream to this epiphany: ‘God is watching over me; protecting me. I could have died but I didn’t. I’m still here. That means something.’ Kyuhyun closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. ‘I’m grateful, not just for my life but the peace He’s brought me. I’ll show my gratitude.’

Kyuhyun reached for his cell phone on the nightstand. The brightness of the screen bothered his eyes until they adjusted. He waited for the familiar voice on the other end.

“Ughhh. Hello? Do you know what time it is?”

“Jiyong. Hi. Yeah, sorry about that but this is important.”

“What is it?” Jiyong’s voice instantly sounded more alert.

“I need the number for your tattoo artist.”

There was a moment’s pause on the other end. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Couldn’t it have waited `til morning?”

“Well… yes, I guess it could have… but now that we’re here…”

Jiyong sighed. “Fine. Hold on a sec.” He put Kyuhyun on speaker while he searched through his contacts. “Is it for you?”

“Yes.”

“For real? What are you getting?”

“A crucifix.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Heechul sat at his desk in his study. It was the third night since the shootout. He had not been able to sleep more than a couple hours at a time. When he did sleep, he awoke with the feeling of having urgent matters to attend to. By then he had given up his bed and he decided to stay up.

‘Hate toward another is nothing but self-preservation,’ Heechul thought. ‘I have n—’

A dull thud coming from another room disrupted his thought. Not a second later, he reached for the gun on his desk and stood completely still to listen for any other sound.

‘But I cleared every room... Heebum, was that you?’

He had to check every room again or he wouldn’t feel safe in his house. He carefully maneuvered out from behind his desk. He treaded lightly to the door and took a deep breath before putting his hand on the doorknob. It turned quietly in his hand. He stepped out of the study and scanned the hall. The light from the living room that he forgot to turn off illuminated the hall just enough for him to see that there was no one there.

The guest bedroom was closest in proximity. He entered and flicked the light on. He checked under the bed, behind the curtain, and in the closet with no findings.

He walked to the living room. ‘That wasn’t there,’ he though, referring to an action figure that belonged in the display case in his study.  ‘I didn’t leave it there. Did I? I probably did.’ Heechul scoffed at himself. ‘I’m losing my mind.’

He walked through the kitchen and dining room. He stopped at the table and lifted the mantel to make sure no one hid under the table.

He checked the garage, under and inside the cars, for good measure.

The master bedroom was the last room to check. Everything was in its place upon his arrival. No one was there.

He had not seen his cat but he knew how skilled the feline was at hiding and remaining unseen when he wanted. In the end, it was probably his cat that made the noise.

With his previous worries of intruders gone, Heechul stepped out onto the balcony from his bedroom for some fresh air, leaving the sliding door open behind him.

It was easy to see the stars from his mountainside residence and he relaxed to take in the beauty. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The night air filled his lungs and he let it back out slowly.

Feeling better, he turned to go back inside but he almost ran face first into a new obstruction. There, in front of him, stood a tall, hooded figure, clad in black. Heechul’s heart skipped a beat. His pupils dilated.

After the initial shock, Heechul smiled in acknowledgement of his mistake. He obviously missed something; a hiding place where this intruder waited for the opportune moment to come out and surprise him.

Although the tall figure was standing in the shadow, Heechul could see that he carried no weapon. Seeing this advantage, he quickly raised and pointed his gun directly at the intruder, who remained still.

“The are you playing at?” There was no reaction. “Are you tweaking? Hey,” Heechul asked, growing more impatient from the lack of response.

The tall figure took a step forward.

“Stop or I’ll shoot.”

The intruder did not heed the warning. He took another step closer toward Heechul, who wanted nothing more than to pull the trigger but something, somehow stopped him from doing it. Instead, he stepped back until his back met the balcony’s barrier.

The man continued to approach until he was just inches away from Heechul. He slowly removed the hood from his head. Heechul dropped his gun. He was paralyzed. The man he had been looking for the past five months and failed to kill just a few days earlier, stood before him.

Kyuhyun looked deep into Heechul’s eyes. The jeering look that Heechul expected to see was absent. The smirk he had shown him before was absent. The only feeling that Heechul registered from Kyuhyun was calm. Also, Heechul couldn’t find the same hate within himself. To the contrary, he felt warmth and understanding toward him.

Kyuhyun reached out and touched Heechul’s cheek. He closed the distance between them and kissed him. Heechul experienced a moment of confusion followed by a feeling of belonging. He accepted the kiss.

Their moment didn’t last long. Heechul opened his eyes and saw the balcony floor begin to crack and crumble. In an instant he was falling through the air.

When he hit the floor and opened his eyes, he was back in his study, on the floor and in pain. He turned over on his back and groaned in protest. He was slow to pick himself up off of the floor. After rubbing his head where it hurt the most, he kicked the rolling chair and cursed it for sliding out from under him. He looked up to see Heebum staring at him from an armchair across the room, seemingly judging his foolish behavior.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Heechul sat slumped in his favorite warehouse armchair. He had spoken very little, which Yesung found uncharacteristic of his boss. It reached an extent that made Yesung uncomfortable.

‘It’s clear that I’ve been expending a lot of my energy on finding the weasel that robbed me but have had zero results. I need to get serious about this. I’ll do what I should have done a long time ago. I’m putting a price tag on his . But he has to be alive. I have to be the one that does him. In the process, I’ll be doing society a major favor by getting rid of that vermin. A piece of like that doesn’t go about the world without his fair share of enemies, which means I better jump on it before somebody else that he’s pissed off beats me to the punch.’

Having made up his mind, Heechul straightened in his seat. “Yesung.”

“Yes, boss?” Yesung was grateful to hear him speak.

“I need you to get something out to the street. I need you to distribute the images we got from the surveillance footage of the three hood rats from the shootout to as many dealers and bangers as possible.”

“Alright.”

“I’m setting a bounty.” Heechul held his chin pensively. “Ten-thousand— no, twenty-thousand for information. Fifty-thousand if they sit the little booger on my lap.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Make sure you emphasize the ‘alive’ part of the deal. I want them alive.”