“Where am I?” I ask, blinking furiously and looking around. I’m lying in a strange bed in a strange room. The walls are pale yellow and I hear something beeping behind me.

“Heejoon. You’re awake!” It’s my mother’s voice.

“Mom,” I say. “What’s going on?”

“You’re in the hospital.””

The hospital? It all comes rushing back to me. The Valentine’s Day dance. The blue Toyota Camry. Everything fading to black.

“How’s Inyoung?” I ask frantically. “Where is she?”

“She’s fine,” Mom says. “A little shaken up. But otherwise okay. She’s planning to come see you tomorrow afternoon.”

“How you’re feeling, Joon?” Dad asks, coming into the room.

“Dad! Thank God you’re here!” I shriek. I rush to get the story out all at once, “Mr.LeeSooManwastryingtokillChanhee.”

“What?”

“MR. LEE SOO MAN WAS TRYING TO KILL CHANHEE!”

“I know,” Dad says. “When I dropped you off at the dance I noticed the Toyota out in the parking lot. I started doing a little digging around and, before long, I figured out what was going on. I was in the process of calling for reinforcement when Inyoung got in touch with me. I knew I couldn’t wait, so I went in.”

“But Chanhee’s okay, isn’t he?” I ask.

“Chanhee’s safe. He’s at the FBI office downtown. He’ll be heading back to Texas later tonight.”

“I have to see him.” I struggle to get out of bed, but Dad stops me.

“Take it easy, Heejoon,” he cautions. “The doctors don’t want you up walking around just yet. You hit the ground pretty hard when you fainted.”

“I fainted?” I ask, puzzled. That’s a very unspylike thing to do. I can’t remember any episodes of Alias where Sydney fainted.

“Yes, you did. You went out cold right as they were hauling off Kim Junho.”

“Who?”

“You know him as Mr. Lee Soo Man, but his real name is Kim Junho,” Dad explains. “He’s a notorious gun for hire. But don’t worry. Thanks to your handiwork, we caught him. He was just about to grab Chanhee when you tackled him with that pseudo karate move. Not that I’d recommend trying something similar again—you could have gotten seriously hurt—but it actually worked. You slowed Kim down until I got there.”

I struggle to understand. “This is crazy.”

Dad fills me in on what went down. It turns out Kim Junho was hired to track down Chanhee and his mother. Despite the FBI’s best effort, he managed to trace Chanhee to St. Louis. But he still needed to find Mrs. Lee, so that’s why he hadn’t made a move yet. He wanted to follow us for a while to see if we’d lead him to her.

“Kim broke into Mrs. Choi Jeong Yoon’s house a couple of weeks ago and has been using it as a staging point. That’s how he got her car. He’s kept Mrs. Choi tied up since then. He was there the night my colleague called to ask her about the car. Kim was holding a gun to Mrs. Choi’s head, which is why she lied.”

I gasp. “He had a gun to her head! Oh my gosh, is she okay?”

“She’s pretty frail and upset, but she’s doing okay. She’s a little bit dehydrated, but Kim didn’t seriously harm her.”

“What about Mr. Jung? Did this Kim Junho guy,” I gulp, “do anything terrible to him?”

“No, that was just good luck on Kim’s part. He was angling to get a substitute teaching job at Copperfield when Mr. Jung’s appendix ruptured.”

“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually looking forward to seeing Mr. Jung again!” I say with relief.

My parents laugh. “I thought you might be,” Dad says. “And you’ll be happy to know that, when pressed, Kim Junho spilled everything about his employers. We’ve apprehended the people who were after Chanhee’s family. He’s safe now.”

I’m really happy for him, but it’s kind of bittersweet. I was terrified earlier when I thought Chanhee was in danger. Now I just miss him.

“There’s something else,” Dad says, taking my hand and squeezing it. “I owe you an apology. Both of you. I never should have put you in this position. When they asked me to do this job, I almost turned it down, and now I wish I had. I just felt so bad for that poor boy. And I thought that if my family was in that situation I’d want someone to help out. But, in hindsight, I never should have brought Chanhee into our home. I had no idea things would reach this level, that a hit man would trace Chanhee to St. Louis. I endangered the lives of my family. And I’ll never forgive myself for that.”

“No way!” I object. “You did the right thing.”

Mom nods. “Chanhee’s heading back home now, safe and sound. The guys who were threatening his father has been apprehended.”

“Wow, I can’t believe Chanhee’s going back to Texas,” I say, feeling a little sad. “I didn’t even get to tell him good-bye.”

“I’m sorry, honey,” Mom says, patting me on the leg. “I know he understood.”

“All in all, I’d say this job was an overwhelming success.” Dad puts his arm around me. “I owe a lot of that to you, Heejoon. You were amazing.” He smiles. “Who knows, you might have a career as a secret agent yet!”

I glance down at my hospital gown and bed. “I think I’ll stick to journalism for now.”

Mom grins. “Either way, you’ll be following in one of our footsteps.” She looks really proud.

“I’m sorry I fainted.” I feel pretty silly. What kind of person faints because they’re scared? Certainly not an elite spy.

“Why are you sorry?” Dad asks, looking confused.

“Because it’s goofy. I totally overreacted. I mean, did you guys even hear the insane voice mails I left on your work phones? I was way panicked.”

They exchange a glance. “Heejoon,” Mom says, “that reminds me. There’s something I need to tell you. I actually just got the news today, but with all the excitement I’ve been forgetting to tell you.”

I eye her curiously. “Okay, give it to me.”

“I know this isn’t the best time, but we’ve kept this from you long enough,” Dad says.

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense,” I prod. “Tell me.”

“I’ve suspected this for a while now, but the doctor confirmed it earlier,” Mom says, grinning from ear to ear. “I’m pregnant.”

My jaw drops. So I was right all along! I just lie there staring at them for a long time.

“Are you okay?” Mom asks. “We were worried about how you’d take it.”

“I’m fine. Although it’s a good thing I was already in a hospital bed when you told me,” I joke. “Otherwise I might have fainted all over again.”

- - -

Two chapters left and this will end. ^^