5:35 Hanging dangerously by a thin thread

“Wh-what?” Jaejoong stammered, his lips trembling and his eyes blinking furiously.

Dara didn’t mind the other’s stammering, if anything she was quite amused by his panic. She knew well which words to use for the other to tip off and which actions to keep him steady on what phase he was in. It was a skill she hardly used but when she does it never fails her.

She titled her head to the side as if the past two sentences that were spoken between them never existed. There was subtle wind blowing through the garden and the girl’s lose locks fluttered along with it, making her seeming like an angel without any wings and Jaejoong found himself lost in the sight before him.

“I never imagined Yongwoong speaking like that, a bit too formal for him though the British accent is doing him nothing but good. It could add to his countless charms but then again he’s one to change in a short amount of time. Don’t you think so?” she turned her head towards him, her eyes held no grudge nor anger nor any emotions other than curiosity and it brought back the other to the first time he had laid eyes on those brown orbs.

The change of subject confused Jaejoong even more. He was stunned yet amazed by how much the girl knew. He had completely underestimated her and he grinned foolishly as he accepted defeat from a battle that never existed. Dara smiled at the boy, having a bit of thought to what was going on his mind and she couldn’t help but feel victorious.

Jaejoong chuckled to himself, turning his body to face the girl and leaning his back against the baluster of the stairway. He still held the foolish grin on his face, it almost felt offending for someone who would just pass by and look at him.

“So you do remember me?” he asked.

“More or less” Dara teased, shrugging her shoulders and then yawning a little bit.

“I would have expected you to remember Yongwoong first” Jaejoong confessed sadly and it made the girl smile.

“I saw you first so that’s a given and besides your brother is a bit busy running the family business” she replied nonchalantly.

“How’d you find out?” he asked then, coming back to where his confusion had started and where his surprise had come from.

“Sloan, your grandfather had assigned Raymond to look after me. He kept me informed of the happenings in the organization without you both knowing of course. He told me that Sloan, your brother has been quite interested about the Hyenas and that’s how I got into their trail from then on the wheel just kept rolling” she answered truthfully.

“You’ve known all this time and you didn’t say anything?” Jaejoong accused but in his voice anger wasn’t hinted. He was amazed if anything, overwhelmed by the girl sitting in front of her and she didn’t know how to get over it but he had a feeling it’ll be awhile when that happens.

“I thought of telling you that night when you asked what’s your connection to me, I was tempted to but I had to take some things in consideration so I didn’t” she replied with a cheeky smile that reached from ear to ear. She was enjoying the other’s reaction, finding nothing but entertainment from it of course.

Dara’s head turned back to the doors, hearing a sound coming from the inside of the house and she knew what or who had caused those sounds. Jaejoong knew as well and so both of them looked back to the conspicuous fluttering of the curtains inside when the doors were closed. It was one thing to be an assassin and another trying to be stealthy.

“They’re really bad when it comes to eavesdropping” Dara laughed and stood up, gesturing for the other to follow behind as well. Jaejoong didn’t know where they were going to go but he just followed nonetheless, watching behind the girl in case she falls back with her clumsy feet.

“Like you’re any better” Jaejoong snorted and got his head whacked for it.

“Yeah right, says the guy who talks in his sleep” Dara retorted back and Jaejoong narrowed his eyes at the back of the girl’s head.

When the two of them got back inside the house, the seven assassins were trying too hard to look casual while doing something normal for example reading a book. Himchan sat by the feet of the stairway to the second floor, holding a book that read ‘Makeup For Dummies’ and to be more believable he had his brows furrowed as if he was concentrating on it. The only problem was the book was upside down. Very convincing, there was no doubt on that.

“Channie, I think you can read it better if you turn it this way” Dara smiled sweetly, taking the book from the latter and turned it upright. Himchan turned red from that and almost everyone glared at him for failing to follow protocol.

“So, family meeting?” Heechul asked, searching for Dara’s face and when he did the girl’s eys lit up and nodded. Dara took the space between Jessica and Hyunseung, the male assassin still groggy from his sleep.

“It’s about time I tell you guys about me, besides we’ve got Jaejoong if I don’t remember clearly” she eyed the idol and all of their heads turned towards him, curiously looking at the male.

Dara’s POV

To be honest, I never really understood the importance of having to relate my story. Most possibly because I didn’t want anyone to judge me or treat me all depending on how I have lived my life when I was young. Or perhaps I just don’t want to relive those memories and avoid thinking of them as much as I can, but I knew that a point when I have to will come.

“You don’t have to you know” Gahi unnie threw me a worried look but I shook my head and mouthed ‘It’s okay’. It was about time anyways and they deserved to know as I knew all of theirs, it’s only fair.

“Its okay unnie, I want to” I smiled at her and gestured them to take a seat.  

Flashback

“Fox, play with your sister while I feed your baby brother” mom called and I happily said yes. It was one of those usual afternoons when everyone’s home except for dad, although we weren’t all together I liked it the way it is. My mom had always called me fox although I had looked much closer to a rabbit; she said I had the cunningness of the animal, able to get out of any chore that I wanted though the skill was never truly used as I liked helping with my mother. It had come in handy though at school.  

We live a fairly normal life, mom being a teacher while my dad did some job that he won’t really tell us what. We went by from day to day without having much complications or problems and I was thankful of that. I have a mother who takes care of me and loves me so much, a younger sister that I can ask for help when I needed it even though she was younger and an adorably little brother that my mom always said will look more like me rather than my younger sister. Everything was perfect, everyone was happy and I couldn’t ask for anything more than it staying that way it was.

My mom would always ignore my questions about what dad does and where he goes to, she said it’s all too complicated for my seven year old brain but I knew enough it wasn’t a very decent job although it had kept us alive monetary wise. I also knew that whatever my dad does makes him angry almost all the time without any reasons and when the three of us are slipping he would take his anger out on my mom, then in the morning she would cover up all her bruises with makeup or make up an excuse about it.

It’s just understandable why I didn’t like my father or want him around even if he is my father. He hurts my mom and whoever hurts my mom is someone I don’t like. He was sane enough to not hurt any of us three, but I do sometimes see in his eyes when he’s really mad that if anything tips him off he won’t think twice taking out on us and me being the oldest will get worse of it. My little brother is only a year old and my younger sister being just two years old. I had the responsibility of taking care of them even though my mom didn’t really lay it down on me. As their eldest sister it’s my job to keep them safe, that thinking has been branded in my mind ever since.

Since we didn’t know what my dad really does we don’t know he’s schedule, so it won’t be a surprise to have him coming home 2 in the morning. Of course my mom had to wake up fully and tend to my tired father. I guess she was just being a good wife.

I thought there was nothing to it, my mom didn’t come back to our room and took a little while tending to my dad. She usually just heat up food, talk to him and asks what he needs and then leave, but it had been almost an hour and yet she hasn’t come back.

As a child I was always so curios and so it would explain why I left my warm bed to go see what was taking my mom so long to come back. I tiptoed my way to the door, gently turning the doorknob and pushing it quietly open as to not make any sound. I expected to see my mom and dad having just a little overextended chat on how their days were not the one that I saw when I opened my door thoroughly.

My mom lied lifelessly on our kitchen floor, her blood pooling around her as tears ran down her eyes. was slit and she was nearly headless. Tears poured down my eyes but no words left my lips as I sobbed beside my mom’s corpse. I shook her furiously knowing that wouldn’t change anything, I was delusional enough to pump her chest thinking she just drowned and would wake up but she didn’t. I looked around and yelled help, hoping my dad would come but he wasn’t around. Then I heard my little brother’s cry and so I went rushing towards our room to see my younger sister’s bleeding body by the foot of my dad and my younger brother being choked to death by him.

His face was covered with blood, I could tell from the little light that struck his face but mostly because of the trail of blood following his footsteps.

“Now for the last one” he said darkly, dropping my little brother’s dead body on the ground like he was some piece of trash and came my way.

My tears blurred my vision but I didn’t care and ran as fast from him as possible. He only laughed behind me like what I was doing was hopeless and that he would get to me sooner or later as my small feet won’t take me too far. I knew he was right, I knew I was going to die eventually but I would die sooner if I had stopped so I continued on. I was out in the streets screaming for help, choking as I cried even more and then there was a gun shot. It had stopped me from moving and I knew it was a stupid move but I couldn’t help myself and turned around.

 My dad was shot in the head by a man who stood still behind him, the gun he used still in his hand. My dad moved a little bit and it was possibly because of some convulsion happening inside his body but the stranger shot him again, then again, then again. I couldn’t feel happier for him, for him to be dead and I couldn’t thank the stranger enough. If I could have at that time I would have been the one to pull the trigger and shoot him over and over again until it was enough compensation for killing my family.

“Hello child, my name is Sloan” the stranger turned towards me, he seemed a bit too old but not enough. He held out his hand for me and I cocked my eyebrows questioningly toward his action. “Do not fret, I’m not going to hurt you. I am here to help” he said softly and I didn’t understand why I took his hand, but I thought it wasn’t going to change anything and if he truly planned to kill me then I would be meeting with my family in the other life.

He led me to a car that waited in front of my house. There were other men in black suit just like the stranger. All of them gathered around my house, some went in and the other stayed close the door. They held a gallon of what seemed to be fluid, from the smell of it, it was gasoline and I knew what they had planned to do. Soon later a flicker of light caught my eyes and when I had turned around my house was completely on fire with the bodies of my mom, my sister and my brother still inside. They were going to burn together and I thought that way they would easily find each other so I didn’t protest.

“Where are we going?” I asked the stranger who had got in the car. I was still covered with blood from when I had hugged my mother. I stirred around the leather seat, afraid to stain the covers but the man didn’t seem to mind.

“I’m going to take you back to my home, have you taken care of” he said simply and at that moment it didn’t enter my mind that what he had said could have possibly meant killing me. I was overwhelmed of the happenings that through the rear view mirror of the car I saw my burning house. I watched the mirror and the fire that swallowed my home, my eyes on it until we had reach a turn and all I could see was an empty road.

I couldn’t remember when I had fallen asleep but when I stirred awake I was lying on a soft bed, morning had come and the sun was shining outside but it didn’t feel so bright. I sat up and looked around, seeing nothing but the complete whiteness of the room and for a second I thought I was in a mental institution until the door of the room opened and in came a maid – I can tell from what she had worn, carrying a tray of food and I heard my stomach growl in hunger.

She smiled at me, not speaking any word but had taken the initiative to place it by the bedside table. She bent down and from the corner of the table she had taken out a small table for the bed. Taking it over to me, she had settled the food and I was more than happy to dig in without even saying anything. She didn’t leave though and had stayed by the end of the bed until I finished.

I thanked her and she smiled again. When she had left the room another came in, wearing the same as her but instead of food she had carried a cleanly folded pile of clothes that she had laid out by the edge of the bed. She looked at me and held her hand out, then said “Let’s get you cleaned up and changed into new clothes”

I hadn’t noticed that I was still wearing my pajamas and although they were stained with blood I didn’t want to take them off. Those dirty, smelly, bloody clothes were all I got to remind me of my family. It was as if she could read my mind, so she smiled and cupped my face. “We’ll clean your clothes and later on when you sleep, you can wear them again”

With her words I found my smile again, I let her clean me up and dress me up. She had me wear a nifty white dress with black ribbons along with it. The ruffles were a bit too much but it had looked so adorable and I could already imagine my mom’s smile of adoration if she’d seen me in it. With t