IRENE'S POV

"All our efforts to curb terrorism has shown a positive result, ma'am. Our country has been ranked as one of the top 10 safest countries in the world and the terrorist threat has been minimal over the year. It is notable that you have been the Cheif for exactly 425 days 12 hours and 5 minutes, ma'am." Everyone burst into applause after the presenter showed the map in which the difference in the rate of terrorism threats in the year 2017 and 2018 was shown. I waited till they stopped and tried to not take all the praise to my head. But I felt a great pride in myself and I didn't stop myself from feeling it. There was no one else to feel proud of my achievements anyway. Might as well do it myself. 

"Thank you, everyone. But I'm not the only reason behind this. Each and every one of you was responsible for this and I will not be the only one taking credit for this. So thanks to all of you. I'm very proud to be your command-in-Cheif. Hats off to everyone!", I loudly bellowed my pride and watched the whole room turn into a celebratory party in just a minute. They looked really happy and I wanted to join in but I restrained myself as it was not appropriate for the boss to party with the employees. Atl least that's what my dad used to say. So I smoothly escaped the meeting room and with small but strong strides, went to my office and laid down on the couch. Now that the official duty to my nation was fulfilled, I started brooding over my personal problem. 

The ex-Chief, my step-father, Bae Kyuhyun. 

He was not the only problem but he was the root cause of all of this. I am being blamed for all of his mistakes and I almost lost all hope when I saw the look Seulgi had when she looked at me. It was pure disgust and raw anger. The distressed eyes of a woman who has lost her lover. I was a sinner in her eyes. I was a sinner in everyone's eyes. Even Wendy's. 

Ah, Wendy. 

I sighed thinking about that fierce woman. She was just something. No one has the courage to even look me in the eye but she had it in her to talk against me, snoop around MY office when she was working FOR me, steal all the CCTV footages right under my nose and then act like she did nothing. She was a stubborn one but extremely loyal. She looked small but was so fierce when it came to her friends and I envied everyone who was her friend right now. I am not her friend.

Yes because you guys are something more than that. 

Seriously, would you shut up and just let me think? 

Another problem is Wendy our weird relationship. I did not understand what's going on. One day she gives her shoulder for me to cry and the other day I receive a cold shoulder. 

It's because she suspects you, fool. Clear your name and prove that you are innocent.

That's easier said than done. She doesn't even listen to me anymore. And on top of that, she hasn't come to work today. "Sick leave," she says, but boy do I know what she's doing. Wendy had the nerve to hack into my database and steal my phone records. I got the virtual theft alert but I let it go, simply because I wanted them to find out the truth. I was not in a position to help them directly but I hope by letting them have these small victories, I can somehow help them without the knowledge of my step-father. If he finds out, I will lose the only thing that I can call mine in this world. No, not my post as the chief of an anti-terrorism secret agency of the government but something much more valuable. I will lose my only family and I wasn't ready for that.

You have already lost your family, Joohyun.

I ignored my pessimistic thoughts and tried to think of something to help Wendy and her squad. 

Maybe....

I got up from the couch, went over to my computer and powered it up. I drummed my finger with annoyance when the computer took a little longer to power up than usual. Ugh, so annoying. I spun on my chair and as soon as I heard a ping, stopped spinning and started to look for Seulgi. I officially stopped the agents from stalking her but I still had a GPS tracking device on her without her knowledge. This, obviously, was a violation of her privacy but desperate times seeks desperate measures, right? At least, that's what they say. I found her Seulgi exactly where I thought she would be. 

She is at Wendy's. How convenient. I thought to myself. 

"Yeri? Yeri? KIM YERIM?" I called loudly for my secretary. Someone scampered into my office but it was not Yeri. 

"She called in sick, ma'am." said a rather young girl whom I recognised as Saeron. 

"Oh? Why wasn't I informed before?" The girl started to answer but I hushed her with my hand. "It's alright. I need you to make an announcement for me. Tell everyone to go out and enjoy the day. No more work today. We have acheived massive success in our mission so everyone can have a day-off." I curlty informed her and waited till the announcement was made. I was getting an idea that Yeri was also in on this. 

So, Yeri, Seulgi and Wendy, some of the best agents ounder me are all trying to find out what happened to Joy. This is great news. 

I decided to surpise Wendy with a visit. After all, she wasn't a stranger to my visits. I whipped out my car from the parking ot and sped away to Wendy's apartment. I noticed Yeri and Seulgi's car in the adjacent streets. Smart. I parked my car two blocks away from Wendy's apartment and made sure that I wasn't seen entering her apartment. 

The door was locked but I was good with locks so I picked it and slowly opened the door. No one came out. There was not even an alarm set up. I was disappointed with Wendy's security. God, how has she not died yet? 

Why do you care so much?

Because she's my employee. 

Oh? So it's not because of that one night you spen-

Tuning out the rest of my thoughts, I entered the hallway and listened to what was being said. 

"-Irene's minion. Irene is making him stay close to her so that when I mess up, he will take care of Joy and possibly me too. Taemin is nothing but one of Irene's minions, wow." I heard Seulgi's shock. I held in a chuckle as I heard the completely wrong theory. Ah, these kids. 

"Huh, no. You have got it absolutely wrong." Yeri said in a sure voice. So I was right. Yeri is with them. And she was smarter than the others. I listened intently with interest. Yeri explained how I was not the one controlling Taemin but there was an 'old man' who was behind all this. 

She knows? 

Then, I heard the conversation between me and Kyuhyun. . Yeri, you little piece of- how did she even record this? Oh, my God, I have underestimated their talents. I felt a little humiliated that they listened to that conversation. I sounded like a hurt puppy and not like the chief-in-command. I had heard enough and decided to interrupt the party. 

"It's clear, isn't it? We have to side with Irene if we want to know what actually happened. We need to confront her, Wendy. That's the only way." said Yeri. 

"Confront me about what?" I asked. I loved a dramatic entry after all. I watched their facial expressions with utter satisfaction. Seulgi looked so bewildered that her eyes were about to pop out, Yeri was so shocked and I was very sure that she was scared and then there was Wendy with her suspicious eyes, eyeing me like I was some disgusting snake. They looked so tense and I almost felt sorry for ruining their little meeting. But I had to get things done quickly so that the one person I had to call my own would be safe.

I slowly walked into the room, cleared a chair and sat on it with crossed legs, arms resting on the armrest and head tilted up so that I looked intimidating. It worked. They were all a little scared and did not know what to do or say. The electric silence was broken by Wendy, unsurprisingly. 

"Well, first off, I can confront you about why you broke into my house, again? Is that your job?" 

"I thought we agreed that this was my new hobby. I thought it was out thing" I sarcastically pouted and earned a confused stare from Seulgi and Yeri whereas Wendy looked like a deer caught in headlights. I understood that no one knew of our little rendezvous. I liked that. 

"Look, whatever is going on between you two, I don't care. Y'all have enough time to talk about your love life afterwards," said Yeri. This snarky little girl. 

"THERE'S NOTHING GOING ON  BETWEEN US", Wendy defensively shouted. Ouch. 

"Uh-huh, whatever. Now coming to the matter at hand. Irene, you know what we were talking about. I'm sure you were listening to us making a fool of ourselves. So tell me. Why is your father suddenly back from the dead and what the did y'all do to Joy?", as usual, Yeri did not beat around the bush but directly came to the point. This girl had so much potential. 

"Well well, aren't you in a hurry", I was taking my sweet time with them. It was fun to exert my power over them. But I guess I had too much fun because the next thing I saw was a shotgun barrel in between my eyes. Okay, time to stop playing, Irene.

"Answer her now or I will blow your brain to pieces and will not regret it." Seulgi threatened me without any hint of fear or confusion. She was clear. She wanted answers or I'm gonna die for no reason. 

I raised my hands in surrender. "Keep it together, Kang. I'm not the one you should be killing. In fact, I'm on your side too." They collectively gasped at this and Seulgi dropped her gun so that I felt more comfortable. But I did not feel secure under the pair of mono-lid eyes that were staring at me so ferociously. 

"What do you mean by that?" Wendy asked me in a calm voice. 

"Joy saw something she wasn't supposed to see," I said.

"What was it?" Yeri asked eagerly. One look at her face and I knew she wasn't suspecting me. Yeri does not think that I'm responsible for what happened to Joy. That's good. I got one person on my side. 

"I'm not willing to tell you that. Before you raise your shotgun, let me rephrase that." Seulgi lowered her gun with a suspicious gaze. "I can't tell you the reason. If I did, you will be in danger too. This place is not safe. For all I know, he has already found out about my endeavour and is about to murder me in cold blood. But I took a risk because I want you to know that I'm trying everything to protect Joy. I will not let that scumbag of a man to ruin her life or yours for that matter, Seulgi. I'm trying to help you guys. How else do you think it was possible for you both to hack into my phonecall database?" Seulgi and Wendy looked at each other. Wendy let out an annoyed huff and nodded her head. 

"Of course. I actually thought I mastered the art of hacking." I snickered with delight but stopped when she gave me that look. That look that has the power to shut me up. Go, the power her eyes hold over me. It's crazy. I stopped myself from getting distracted by her eyes and forcefully looked at Yeri, who had an amused expression on her face. 

" How can we trust you when you won't even give us the reason? I understand the implications of your action but I can't blindly trust you just because you were my chief, Irene." Seulgi wondered out loud and questioned my trustworthiness. I had become unworthy of her trust. Losing Seulgi's trust was a hard thing to do and yet here I am. 

"You don't have to trust me but you trust Wendy right?" Both Seulgi and Yeri nodded and Wendy met my eyes with confusion in her eyes.

"She knows the reason. But she doesn't know that that's why Joy's memory was erased." Wendy gasped loudly and Seulgi and Yeri looked at me with doubt but they also looked at Wendy with a questioning gaze. Wendy looked at me with a quizzical expression. 

"Think about it, Wendy. You have the answer in your memories." I silently sent a prayer and wished that Wendy would understand what I was talking about.

"Oh my God." Wendy sat down on the bed and covered her with her palm in shock. She looked at me again, but not with distrust but with understanding. She knew what I was talking about. She remembered what happened on that dreaded day. To my surprise, she stood from the bed and walked towards me and took hold of my hand. I was a little flustered by her actions, especially since Yeri was smirking at me and Seulgi looked at us with confusion. Wendy kneeled in front of me. 

"Joy knows? She saw it?" she asked me in a whisper. I nodded my head slightly and sighed. Wendy enveloped me in a hug and surprised me yet again. I felt the tears forming in my eyes. I willed myself to control it and silently let Wendy hug me and I basked in her warmth. 

"Ahem! Sorry to cut this short but, um, I really don't understand what's happening." Seulgi interrupted us and Wendy slowly released me from her arms. I hid my disappointment. 

"I need to go. I have some things I need to take care of. You can tell them the reason, Wendy. I don't wanna be here when you do." I got up from the chair and with deliberate long strides, removed myself from the room. I did not have the courage to listen to Wendy narrating that incident which had affected her so much. I was not ready to face my past but I had to. I had to face my demons or let it control me. I chose to do the former. 

I'm gonna face my demon and conquer it. I will not lose yet another person close to my heart. 

I will not let you win this time, Kyuhyun. I thought to myself and started planning for the inevitable meeting with my step-father.

 

 

 

 

Notes: Hey guys! Thanks to everyone who is reading this story. Does anybody want to guess what's the reason behind Joy's memory loss? I don't think I gave it away in this chapter ;). The end is nearing and it will all be clear in a few days or weeks depending upon whether I update this or not dsfdjhsd. But anyway, have a great day everyone. I hope you enjoy this!