Secret Agents Dictionary:

Uncle: Headquarters of any espionage service

- One week before Thailand –

Areum giggled once Jinki used his foot to push the door of the hotel room open, stepping with her in his arms inside the spacious room that would be theirs for the night.

He struggled to walk with her not because she was heavy but because her wedding dress was so silkier and big that he had a hard time grabbing her.

He softly placed her over the bed and she marveled at the small rose petals over it while he closed the door sighing relieved that they were finally alone.

The wedding was complicated with her asking him who most of his guests were. He had to lie a lot and ignore some of her questions distracting her and it was hard work. It made him sad that he couldn’t give her a real wedding; that he couldn’t invite his real friends and “family” but marrying her in that condition was better than not doing it at all.

“Did you really pay for this? This must have been expensive and we need to save for the honeymoon!” They even had a bottle of champagne in the bedside table.

He ignored her because he had more money than he will ever need, kneeling on the bed, his lips joining with hers, his hands moving to cup her face, caressing her lovingly.

“You are amazing!” He whispered making her smile.

“I am? Why?”

He didn’t answer; instead he tossed his black shoes to the floor and took off his coat that had the same destiny. She watched him knowing exactly what was on his mind. Jinki loosened his tie taking it off and ed a few buttons of his shirt before stopping to admire her again.

She looked like a princess, her hair loose, falling over her bare shoulders, a simple necklace around her neck. She was sitting in the middle of the several layers of her white dress, her chest moving under the beautiful heart shaped neckline decorated with small shining pearls a huge blue bow around her waist.

She pushed him playfully because he was almost drooling at the vision. “Do you like my dress that much?”

“No. I like what is under it and the idea that you are my wife a whole lot more!”

She giggled delighted with his answer and Jinki crawled on the bed sitting behind her, his fingers moving to the zipper of her dress that he quickly zipped down, revealing the beautiful skin of her back to him.

She brushed her hair away and he kissed her nape hugging her against him.

“I’m so happy that we did this. I meant what I said on my vows!” She confessed “You are the man of my dreams. I love you.”

He kissed her neck and hugged her tighter. “I need to tell you something and I need you to listen to it carefully and whatever happens you must never forget it!”

Areum frowned turning around to face him, grabbing her dress so it wouldn’t fall and leave her . “What happened?”

He seemed nervous and grabbed one of her hands on his “Love is sacrifice.”

He said it so solemnly that she giggled at his serious expression.

“No. Listen to me!” She pressed her lips chewing on them trying not to laugh. “Love can be very dangerous. It makes us do crazy things, it makes us act in ways we would never imagined doing so…”

She nodded and moved her hands to the rest of the buttons of his shirt. He watched her sighing deeply, letting her finish before he grabbed her hands on his.

“We do sacrifices for the ones we love every day. Sometimes it’s just a small gesture like giving them the last piece of cake,” she chuckled because that happened a lot with them “sometimes is something good, sometimes it isn’t….” He paused to let his words sink in “Sometimes is something awful, like lying or omitting things.”

“You mean that I’m not amazing then?” Areum chuckled and he groaned because she wasn’t taking him serious and he needed that. He needed to be sure she knew about how he felt for real.

“You are amazing and beautiful and y and you know that…can you please let me continue?”

“We can talk about this tomorrow during breakfast! I want my husband now!” She kissed his neck and down to his collarbone but Jinki grabbed her pushing her away, his grip on her shoulder startling her  a little.

 “No.” He said urgently “I can’t. It’s important that you hear it now. It’s about how humans sometimes do things that might hurt the person they love but they do it because they love them. Do you get it?”

She watched him blinking her eyes wondering why he was acting so weirdly. “I do!” Areum released herself from his hold and pressed her lips harder against his, her hands caressing his chest making him close his eyes.

However, after a few seconds of weakness, Jinki cupped her face and pushed her away.  “No. You don’t.” She complained puckering her lips, her hands caressing him down to his stomach.

“I want to make love with my husband please…”

“I love you. I love you so much and…”

She interrupted him caressing him over his pants, ing them and he had to take a deep breath to control his ual impulses.

“Listen to me Areum...” he cried and she ignored Jinki kissing him again, ping his pants.

“I am. I love you too. Very much…”

He grabbed her shoulders again pushing her softly away, stopping her from caressing him under his pants “I would do anything for you. I would even die…” He almost did already even though she didn’t know and she needed to understand. She needed to know that his feelings were real, that someday in the future if she looked back and remembered that night, the first of their life as a family she would know he meant it and not feel cheated. That he never lied to her about them, that she was the only one in his heart.

Areum paled gazing at his serious expression, the way his fingers wrapped around her shoulders. “You are scaring me! Stop acting like this!”  She laughed softly but he knew she was worried with his actions.

He released her immediately his expression softening “I’m sorry…I only want you to know that I also mean my vows. For you I would do anything. You are the most precious thing in my life…you are my life!”

Areum melted with his words and clumsily, because of the big dress, climbed into his lap, hugging him.

“I could say the same back to you!” he hugged her back “I love you so much!”

They kissed and this time he let her touch him, his hands searching under the dress to pull it over her head. She giggled helping him and after a while he managed to pull it off of her leaving her only with her , stockings and necklace.

He caressed her face and pulled her on top of him again, untangling her from the dress and laying her softly over the bed. “Now that you understand, you can make love with your husband!”

She giggled meeting his lips halfway and helped him take off his shirt. “My favorite part of the wedding!” 

- 3 years ago - 

The first thing Audrey saw was the big black gates that were open for the car to pass as if they knew they were coming. There were only two security guards in each side of it and Audrey watched them curious. They looked like normal men but she was sure they were probably trained in the arts of killing. She also was certain that they were being watched.

“Where are we again?”

“Headquarters!” Kibum answered focused on the driving, following the small road in the middle of a beautiful garden with impeccable grass and cherry trees making it look out of a fairytale movie.

“Home!” Jonghyun answered in a whisper from the backseat. Audrey glanced at him briefly. She was worried with him. He was covered in blood that thankfully wasn’t all his but he seemed to be having a hard time breathing.

“Are you ok?” She asked biting her lower lip nervous. She once saw one old man die in the middle of the street and it wasn’t one of her best memories.

“Yes!” Jonghyun sent her a weak smile. “Thanks to you we are here, back to safety!”

She smiled proudly at Key that ignored her making her pout and look outside again.

She wondered how big that villa was. It didn’t seem to end. It was surprising how she never heard of it. It was just outside Seoul but still ten minutes away by car and yet it looked like they entered another reality.

“Oh!” She exclaimed once she saw it. A huge lake like she often saw at Korean palaces a small bridge crossing it. She opened the window ignoring Key warning to not do so, that he made to her before. They were safe now, right? Audrey looked outside sniffing the wonderful scent of nature; hearing the beautiful sound of birds and feeling the wind which made her close her eyes.

Areum would love it. It was the kind of place she always searched for to write and that lake with the beautiful petals floating over it, probably with thousands of colored fishes, would make her feel as if she was in a fairy tale.
 

Areum….

Audrey sadly saw how they bypassed the lake, thinking about her friend that was still in danger.

The car came to a stop and Audrey moved her eyes from the lake to the huge house in front of her. There was another smaller one in her left side and another on the right.

“How many people live here? “ She asked.

“Too many to count!” Key said turning off the engine. “It’s the safest place for all of us. So you will see a lot of agents here. Also it’s Jonghyun’s house.”

“You live here?” Audrey asked pointing her finger at the huge mansion.

“Kinda. I sleep there!” He moved his head in the direction of the house in the left. It was smaller and seemed to be connected to the main one.

“So this is like a huge pension.” It looked a lot like one of those old Korean houses but it had a modern style to it too, showing how it was changed along the years probably related with the necessity to shelter more people. “It seems…nice.”

It was more than nice. It was a dream house that only princesses dreamed with. She opened the door of the car but waited for Key to leave it first.

Audrey felt her legs weak and she wondered if it was because of all the adrenaline of what happened before or because she was afraid of what would happen next.

She wasn’t still sure if Key and Base were trustworthy and now she was in their territory. Not able to run away, all eyes on her.

She helped Key pulling Base from inside the car, the man breathed deeply with the pain before grabbing the car so he could stand up alone.

“Are you sure?” Key asked when he pushed him away rejecting his help any longer.

“I’m sure. I’m not going to show up in front of my father in law like that.”

Key chuckled and Base puffed upset.

“JONGHYUN!” Someone screamed and all looked at the door of the main house.

A woman wearing a blue dress with white stars, matching boots and short dark hair run outside jumping on Jonghyun’s arms that cried out loud in pain.

“I’m sorry puppy!” She said caressing his face, cupping it to look at it “Are you hurt? Where?”

“I’m ok!” he smiled cutely as if he had no pain.

Audrey widened her eyes and looked away just when the woman kissed him in the lips as if she was his soul out of his body, kissing his face all over “OH I WAS SO WORRIED!” She hit his chest then and he cried “Don’t do this again or I will be the one to kill you!”

“I’m sorry Mi-Jungie!”

They kissed again and Audrey looked at her feet, her eyes darting to the women’s boots. They were so pretty and Audrey was sure she saw them in a fashion catalogue before. If only she had money to buy things like that…Her job as a scientist was well payed but she had her expenses living alone and she also helped Areum even though she never told her that.

Audrey wondered how Areum would survive financially without her help now. She hoped her book would be a success.

Audrey eyes moved up again while Mi-Jung helped Jonghyun inside the house.

She stayed behind wondering what to do and Key touched her shoulder slightly making her look at him. He took his hand away immediately.

“Don’t worry! They are rarely like this. She is worried with him.”

“I can see that!”

“Shall we go in?” Key asked before walking to the house. He clearly was used to be there and Audrey wondered of he also lived in that mansion.

She followed after him, watching behind her back once in a while, her lips nervously.

They only stopped once they were in front of the main door. The couple disappeared inside the house already and an older man came outside wearing a simple red sweater over a black shirt and black pants.

“Sunbaenim!” Key bowed respectfully and Audrey watched him curious.

Was that Lee Sooman? She observed his face carefully until the man looked back at her.

“Ahhh. Audrey –shi, right?” He beamed at Audrey which was something she wasn’t expecting at all.

“Do I know you?” She didn’t recall ever met him but he looked at her as if they did.

“No. Not really. But I feel like I do know you.”

She smiled weakly just when the man stepped in front of her and pulled her for a hug.

She could hear Key gasp with the surprise and she awkwardly stayed put, frozen in the embrace sending Key a helpless look.

“Welcome home!” The man said patting her back before moving away.

She wasn’t used to strangers hugging and apparently Key wasn’t used to see that man hug anyone either.

Her suspicions were right, because when he invited them inside the house, Key whispered to her “This is the first time I see him hug someone besides Mi-Jung noona and his sons.” He grinned beautifully making her even more nervous, her heart exploding in a crazy rhythm. ”Guess he likes you!”

She looked at the older man back. Was he a ert? She knew his wife died years ago and he never remarried. Maybe he fancied her.

“No.” She said suddenly with a scary expression and Key exploded in a loud laughter making the old man look back.

Audrey frowned realizing how Key was making fun of her but he ignored her stepping inside a huge room where Jonghyun was already laying down with his feet over a pile of pillows, a bigger red one under his head. Mi- Jung was by his side kneeling on the floor, her hand over his stomach caressing him. She seemed worried, her eyes were red and she was still sniffling probably because she was crying.

“Where is Bora?”

“Sleeping. I’ll bring her to you soon. We need to see that cut.”

“I’ll survive.” He smiled grabbing her hand that Mi-Jung kissed.

Audrey looked at them in awe. That was love. The kind of thing Areum spent hours talking about, writing about. Areum would love to witness that scene. Moreover, since it involved her favorite writer that surprisingly was also a secret agent.

“Sit please!” Sooman asked sitting on an old red chair, clearly the one he often sat at.

Key sat on the other side in a red couch and Audrey looked from the couch with Jonghyun that now had probably blood stains from his clothes to the one closer to the old man and then to the one with Key. She moved and sat by his side. He seemed uncomfortable and moved a little away from her but she didn’t even notice, her eyes on Sooman.

“You know why you are here right?” He asked.

“You want to prevent Dokko from finishing the Aeon machine. Right?”

“Absolutely right! However we should talk more about this tomorrow. You are probably tired and my son in law is hurt. Also we are missing some important members that should be here and also witness our talk so we will wait until tomorrow.” Sooman eyes moved to the door and then back to Base.

“Where is Jinki?”

The atmosphere seemed to change and Base tried to sit up just to be pushed down by Mi-Jung again.

Audrey answered for them “Is he the one helping my friend?”

“Friend?” Clearly Lee Sooman didn’t know what she was talking about.

“The one…” She searched Key for help and he cleaned his throat interrupting her.

“Audrey’s friend Areum, had a problem and we tried to protect her and…”

“Onew is still there.” Jonghyun completed “things got complicated and I asked him to protect her.”

“But Minho and Taemin are with him.” Key added.

Audrey’s eyes moved from one man to the other in wonder. Were they hiding the fact that Onew went alone to protect Areum?! They were covering for him and that was weird. Audrey remembered how Onew or Jinki, whatever his name was, asked Jonghyun if he was ordering him to stay.

She stared at her lap. So if Onew was risking his life and going against superior’s orders, why did he do it for a woman he barely knew? 

- Several Years ago – 

Minho couldn’t sleep. Not after what happened at Jonghyun’s parents wedding birthday party.

He still felt pain in his arm but his ego and heart hurt one hundred percent more.

Nana was sleeping by his side, curled into a ball, moving uneasily in her sleep.

He watched her not wanting to wake her up, wondering what hunted her in her dreams. Minho knew he was being a coward not waking her up, not asking her what she was hiding. He knew he was doing it to protect himself more than her.

He knew that whatever she would tell him it would break his heart and in the end he would still accept her. That’s what love always was to him. Acceptance, forgiveness, building bridges that crosses differences and sacrifice. That’s why he always did charity work, thats also why he never understood why his parents couldn’t accept him as he was.

Nana trembled and Minho couldn’t take it any longer so he moved his hand to her cheek, waking her up.

She sat up on the bed immediately looking at him in fear and he rose up watching her.

“It was only a nightmare.”

It wasn’t. Both knew it wasn’t. Whatever happened in her dreams was real before.

“Do you want a glass of water?” Minho asked, the tiredness and angst marking his expression.

Nana nodded her head and he looked at her for a few seconds, memorizing the way her hair fell in her beautiful blue eyes.

When he stood up to pick it up she grabbed his arm.

“Stay instead.”

He did as she asked and she released him. She didn’t even have the right to touch him or share the same bed with him when she knew she was the reason behind his pain.

“There is something I need to tell you. It’s not everything about me but it’s what made me become this.”

The way she pronounced the word this was a sign that she didn’t like the person she become, but he already knew that. It wasn’t the first time Nana spoke badly about herself. He thought it had to do with her inferiority complex but maybe it was worse than that.

“Tell me what you want to.”

“After this if you want me to go, I will. If you want to not see me anymore I’ll understand.”

He shook his head. “Tell me.”

She stared at her hands and then back at him, determination filling her eyes. If he was going to get mad, get disgusted he would and there was nothing she could do about it. It was better to do it sooner or later. She couldn’t pretend to be a normal woman anymore.

“My mother died when I was 13. My dad never wanted me so I had no one and went to live with an uncle I’ve never seen before.”

“It must have been lonely.” He remarked. Minho was used to hear stories like that every time he frequented the orphanages.

“More than lonely. He sold me.”

“S-sold?”

She saw him pale. Even with the faint crimson light coming from the window she could see it in his eyes, how his blind guesses weren’t far from the truth.

“When I was 16 he sold me to a group. They prepare girls for several activities. They are called the Union. Basically it’s a traffic network.”

“ traffic?” He couldn’t say the words out loud and she blushed avoiding looking at him. If she did she would explode and cry again. She rarely cried ever since the first week she spent at the Union. The week she was several abused by several men.

“They… me. On the first day it was only one but….soon more man started visiting me in my room and…”

“Please…” Minho interrupted her hiding his face with his hands and Nana blinked her eyes trying to hold on the tears. It wasn’t easy for her to remember it all over again and probably for a man in love it wasn’t also easy to know that the person he slept with by his side wasn’t the pure, innocent person he knew. However she saw it in his eyes that he was more worried about the scars in her heart than about the fact that she wasn’t the innocent girl he thought she was.

“I understand if you don’t want to hear it.”

“No.” He said faintly uncovering his face, his eyes wet. “I just need a few seconds…” He released a deep breath and signaled at her to continue.

“It kept going for a while…they called it lessons. Basically they wanted to teach me how to pleasure men so I could use it for them.”

“Use it in….ion?”

“No. I’m not a e. I’m a spy, a special one. We seduce and sleep with man for information or to kill them.”

His expression was unreadable now.

“I know you probably think this if far-fetched but it’s the truth.”

“Last night, at the party…you seduced Jinki didn’t you?”

“Yes. I was working in a mission and…”

He smiled sadly “I was part of the mission too. I see…to get closer to him or maybe Jonghyun. Of course!” He hit his forehead “Kim Jonghyun the activist, Lee Sooman’s daughter boyfriend. I get it.”

“No you don’t!” she said urgently holding his hand. “You don’t. I love you!” She bit her lip with so much strength she was sure she was going to bleed. That kind of pain was nothing compared to losing him “I’ve never once feel in love with a man. I hated them until I met you. I love you and you loved me. No one has ever loved me or seen me for who I am, and not only my body.”

“I’m an idiot!” His parents were right. He was the nice guy Minho; the one everyone used, the one that always gave his best to please everyone and was always tricked.

“No. You are the most wonderful man ever. By your side I felt as if I was a normal woman…not…me.” She covered her eyes and he knew she was crying.

Minho sighed trying to digest everything she told him. It was too much for him. The girl he fell in love with was actually a spy that wanted to kill his best friend. Also she was abused and , taught how to pleasure man…she was a slave.

“When we made love did you...”

“Never!” She sobbed shaking her shoulders “I never once did anything they taught me. I completely blocked them from my mind. I’ve never felt happier as when I was in your arms. I swear. I swear over my life….I know it’s worthless but I do!” She did act closer to a when she was with him even though he knew she wasn’t.

He cleaned his eyes and sighed deeply.

What could he do?! He loved her and he knew it wasn’t her fault. Life was cruel to her. She had to learn to survive with what she had. She wasn’t much different from the people he often met during his charitable work. The biggest difference was that she was his woman now. His. And even if he couldn’t erase her past he could protect her now.

“Leave this Union.” He said making her look at him. “Leave it and let’s starts a new life. Let’s erase the old Nana and keep the new one. No more missions and I will protect you.”

“You don’t leave the Union like that, just because you want.”

“You will. I’ll protect you. I have money. I can even buy you if they want.”

Things didn’t work out like that. No money would buy her but she didn’t say it letting him pull her to his arms, that wrapped strongly around her giving her a fake sense of safety.

“I won’t let them hurt you anymore so please don’t hurt anyone else. Don’t hurt me and yourself.”

She hugged him back and kissed his shoulder. “I love you.”

That was more than she ever deserved. He was accepting her even after what he heard about her past, about who she was and was there to do.

She couldn’t tell him that she was scared senseless. Once they found out about her failed mission they would search for her and they would punish her.

She would never be able to stay because that could mean his death.

So she was going to do the ultimate sacrifice. She was going to leave him behind so he could live, even if that meant making him hate her, killing the last shred of hope inside her heart.

- Present day –

“No Bora, don’t color on the wall!” Mi-Jung said grabbing her five year old daughter’s hand. “You can only do that in your bedroom. You know the rules.”

The little girl pouted a little, moving her hand on her black straight hair and sent a puppy look in Jonghyun’s direction that was in the couch reading a book.

“DON’T YOU DARE!” Mi-Jung warned Jonghyun that was already melting with his daughter cuteness ready to give in to her every whim.

“But look at her!” He complained making Bora laugh cutely “She is adorable!”

Mi-Jung threw a pillow at Jonghyun and watched how Bora gave up on the idea of coloring the wall and walked back to her coloring book.

“Here mommy?” She asked raising her head, rubbing her cute nose that was similar to her dad.

Mi-Jung nodded and walked closer to Jonghyun. Bora was distracted now singing a known kids song and coloring, and she knew she could talk with Jonghyun because she wouldn’t be hearing it.

She hit Jonghyun’s legs and he took them off from the couch so she could sit by his side.

“When are they arriving?”

“Soon. Key just called me. A few 10-20 minutes.”

Mi-Jung leaned against Jonghyun and he got the hint, circling her shoulder with his arm so she could snuggle closer to him.

“Shall everyone be  there to greet her or…”

The look she sent Jonghyun was enough for him to understand what she meant.

“Better not. We don’t want to scare the poor girl. In only one night she lost everything she believed in. She found out her husband was lying to her, that she was part of a mission, that people want to kill her…it’s too much to handle.”

“I know….I remember what happened to Minho.”

Jonghyun sighed “I really thought we would lose him.”

Mi-Jung caressed his thigh, her eyes moving to her daughter. “Every time I look at her I feel so lucky. We were truly blessed.”

Jonghyun kissed her cheek. The thing about Bora was that she came with no notice and yet she was loved from the very first minute. Many children don’t have that luck; many don’t grow up with their parents…

“Promise me that this won’t make you get back in the field.”

“Mi-Jungieeee…”

She raised a finger and poked his chest “No aegyo Jonghyun! I want my daughter to be raised by her dad, I want him to be with her in her graduation day, wedding day….when she has her first kid. You have to promise me!”

Jonghyun sighed “You know that I can’t promise that…” She rose her fist to hit him but he quickly added “BUT…I will do anything to keep away from danger. I promise that!”

“I feel cheated. You always say that and yet it always happen!”

“And I always come back!” He nuzzled his nose on her cheek and she gave in.

“I’m worried with my brother.”

“Who? Jinki? Taemin?”

“Jinki of course!” She leaned her head back into the couch “He will be so hurt after this. I think he truly loves her.”

“He does.” Jonghyun sighed, rubbing her arm “But don’t worry. She does love him too. She will understand eventually. He did all to protect her and when two people love each other nothing can keep them away for long.”

“Like us?”

“Like us!”

Jonghyun and Mi –Jung eyes moved at the same time to their daughter that was with her back to them, coloring with no worries. They looked at each other again, having the same idea, their lips joining immediately in a very quick kiss, her hands caressing his chest.

“Tonight let’s ask your dad to take care of her.” Jonghyun whispered, making a pained face. Lately Bora would wake up in the middle of the night and ruin their love making. “I miss you.”

Mi-Jung smiled kissing him again “Deal!” She circled his neck with her arms “I miss you too!”

“Hey!” Bora called making both look at her with an innocent expression, bodies moving a little away from each other.

“I lost my orange crayon!” She complained standing up, her eyes searching over the carpet.

“It’s ok daddy will help!”

Mi-Jung laughed watching Jonghyun kneel beside his daughter searching for it under the couch. Bora cutely climbed on his back laughing “DADDY IS A HORSE!”

Mi –Jung laughed even more watching the scene. It wasn’t something that she planned but she was glad Jonghyun was the father of her daughter, that it happened.

Everytime she watched them play like that she had hope that there would always be something good to look forward the next day. 

- 3 years ago – 

Jinki woke up with pain all over his body and it took him a few seconds to remember what happened to him and worse what was going to happen to Areum.

“He woke up!” Taemin screamed making Jinki close his eyes in pain. Even his ears hurt.

“Calm down!” Jonghyun soft voice said somewhere over him. “You were poisoned and damn it was hard to find out by what.”

“I prayed for you hyung!” Taemin said caressing Jinki hand. Taemin praying wasn’t rare. He did so every time he killed someone but he rarely prayed for someone alive besides his grandma.

“Areum…” Jinki mumbled.

“She is safe. I’m keeping an eye on her.” Taemin answered and Jinki opened his eyes feeling like crying because of the effort he had to make to do so. He sent a questioning look at Jonghyun. Why was Taemin protecting her? Taemin had more important thing to do.

“Well the agency decided to put her under our protection. Audrey insisted too and…”

“I asked them! “ Taemin said as if that was a normal thing an agent would do. “I asked them to be me. They wanted to put an agent from other team but I know how important she is to you.”

Jinki didn’t even have strength to deny it and Jonghyun smiled noticing how his cheeks that were pale gained a little of color.

“But….Sunbaenim…” Jinki mumbled. Lee Sooman actually agreed to that?!

“Well you know how he can’t say no to anything Taemin asks and also I insisted too.” Jonghyun shrugged his shoulder before he measured Jinki blood pressure.

“But if you are here then who is with her?”

“Temporarily Minho. I came to visit you.” Taemin answered.

Jinki exhaled suddenly relaxing. She was safe and he was alive, finally he could rest a little.

“You probably need to stay under observation for a few more days.” Jonghyun informed, his eyes darting to the small bottle with a sample of the antidote he used on Jinki. They tried everything for days, his body becoming weaker and weaker until Minho managed to get that. Jonghyun didn’t even dare to think where but Minho was certainly hiding something for them.

“You should thank Minho, he got you the antidote. You could have died if you were sick for a few more days.”

“Ok. I will.” Jinki said caressing his chest.

“I’m going now.” Taemin said squeezing Jinki hand before leaving them alone.

Jonghyun didn’t say anything but Jinki knew that he was watching him, glancing at him once in a while, while he tidy up the room so the doctors wouldn’t scold him.

“Say it.”

Jonghyun took a deep breath and turned back to Jinki.

“What you did was ing irresponsible and you could have end up dead if Taemin wasn’t there by luck. LUCK JINKI!”

“I know.”

“Do you really wish to die that much?”

Jinki opened his eyes reflecting on Jonghyun’s words.

He almost did die and for a few seconds he accepted it. No one lives forever and he didn’t have any real family. Yes he loved the team, his sister, his niece but did they really need him at all?!

Then he thought about Areum. She needed him. He needed her.

“No. I don’t. I can’t die.”

“No you can’t. There is much to do. Audrey is here now and we need to work on erasing her tracks. We need all the help we can get to protect her and this place and destroy Dokko in the process.”

Jinki sighed deeply. Work. It was all about work.

“I didn’t think about any of that when I was going to die.”

Jonghyun pulled a chair and sit by Jinki’s side. “I know. I saw it in the car.”

“You saw?”

“I know you for several years now right? I think I can call you a friend can’t I?”

“You know you can Jamongie.”  Jinki smiled softly closing his eyes. “You are my brother in law!”

“Well…I’ll ignore the stupid nick name… I’ve never once saw you have with a woman for the mission. Not even when it was necessary to. You always found a way to dodge the problem.”

Jinki swallowed without saying anything.

“Agents don’t fall in love.” Jonghyun said quoting what they would teach the new recruits.

“No they don’t!” Jinki agreed.

“Yet I’m married now and I have a baby girl.” He was one of the exceptions.

“You are different!” Jinki touched his neck feeling the patch over his neck wound. It didn’t hurt much now on contrary of his head.

“It’s not that different. I was lucky that she is who she is. But it could have been different and Mi-Jung could have been someone like Areum.”

Jinki bit his lip and looked away “I don’t have feelings for her.”

“You are a terrible liar. You almost died to protect her and we both know that it wasn’t part of a mission.”

“Did they say anything?” Jinki tried to sit on the bed alarmed but Jonghyun pushed him down.

“I told them that I gave you the order.”

“ARE YOU CRAZY?”

“Well you know Director Oh. She scolded me for one hour and punished me to some training sessions that I clearly need a lot” He rose the sleeve of his sweater showing Jinki his arm with bandages wrapped around the cut he got when they acquired the blueprints “but besides that I’m fine.”

“I can’t believe you covered for me.” Jinki said moving his hand to grab Jonghyun hand thankfully.

“Yes I did and I deserve the whole truth now. If I’m going to help you then you need to tell me everything.”

“Help me?”

“Yes. Dating that girl!”

“Are you crazy?” Jinki said this time really sitting up on the bed, his face contorting with pain.

“No. I know what it means to have someone special to come to every night after a tough day, a warm bed and embrace after we almost died, a reason to survive everyday. You said you didn’t think about the mission so that means you thought about her.” Jonghyun leaned forward “In my opinion that’s what makes a person stronger. Having an objective at the end of the day! Coming back home to a beautiful woman sounds to me like a good one.”

“You know I can’t…”

“Well I couldn’t either and that didn’t stop me from sleeping with the boss’s daughter and your sister. Look at me now, married to her?!”

Jinki chuckled moving a hand on his messy hair. He probably looked miserable. He did feel miserable.

“Do you love her?” Jonghyun asked smiling like a cute puppy. He loved to hear people talk about their stories, about what motivated them. He was good at listening and speaking. That’s probably why he wrote wonderful books about several subjects.

Jinki felt his cheeks getting warmer and he couldn’t help but remember Areum in his arms under him after they had , her beautiful smile and her cute dimples.

“Yes. I think I do.”

Jonghyun grinned “Good, you look so handsome when you are in love. Your eyes sparkle.”

Jinki complained and Jonghyun laughed. “I’m serious. I’ve never seen you like this. I like it. How is she?”

Jinki blinked his eyes in thought.

How was Areum?! She was so many things and yet he couldn’t describe it in words. She was wonderful for sure.

“She is….special. She is kinda of girly but not really…” He shook his head “She lives in this fantasy world most of the time and she’s very adorable and yet…she is mature and accepting and she has a beautiful smile…” He swallowed thinking “Areum is a lot like you sometimes. All heart but…she doesn’t think much. She just…acts and does what she feels like doing. She talks about her feelings a lot.”

Jonghyun nodded his head interested as if he was taking notes to his next novel. “Keep going.”

“And…” Jinki chuckled forgetting all about the pain he was feeling, a smile spreading on his face “she is innocent sometimes. She accepted me in her life believing I was Audrey’s friend and she was so good to me and…she plays games you know? We went to an arcade together. She kicked my and it was fun! I never enjoyed losing so much before…”

“I get it.” Jonghyun grinned and Jinki blushed realizing he was talking too much. “I do think you lost to her more than one game.” Jonghyun teased “You lost your lonely heart.”

“Ya!”

“What about the ? Was it good?”

Jinki pushed Jonghyun almost throwing him off the stole. ”That good?”

“Yes...” Jinki laughed beautifully “Yes…that good.”

“Then it’s done. Since we have to protect her for a while so Audrey will cooperate with us, you have a good excuse to approach her.”

“We do?”

“Didn’t you hear what we said? Audrey won’t help us in anything if we don’t protect her friend. For the meanwhile we have to do it.”

“I thought you got the blueprints.”

“We did but things got more complicated. Once you are well we will tell you everything.”

Jinki nodded, the pain on his head coming back “Also you said Taemin is on the mission.”

“Yes but we all know that Taemin is weak at going undercover. His magic hands always put him in confusing situations. Besides we need him in other mission. However…”

“Yes?”

“She can’t see you. You can’t talk with her and...you know. The usual.”

Jinki bit his lip. So he would be closer to Areum every day without being able to talk with her, touch her, kiss her… “I’m going to die in pain!”

Jonghyun chuckled “I’m sorry. Maybe Taemin should do the work then at least until you feel stronger.”

Jonghyun stood up to leave but Jinki grabbed his arm “Thank you Jamong.”

The writer nodded and turned to leave just when Jinki spoke again.

“By the way, when I was going to leave the car earlier you said that you had something to tell me…”

Jonghyun face paled knowing that he talked too much in the heat of the moment. He turned around trying to hide his embarrassment “Nothing. I was just trying to find a way to make you stay.”

Jinki nod his head in understanding and Jonghyun sighed.

He wished he never knew about that secret. That Lee Sooman never told him what he was hiding for years, a few weeks ago, making him another person that was hiding something so important about Jinki happiness from him.  Jonghyun wanted to tell him but it wasn’t his secret to begin with.

“Jinki?”

Jinki raised his eyes to Jonghyun clueless.

“Hold on to this woman ok? There are several people in this world that would be devastated if you die.”

- Years ago – 

Taemin walked around the Lee property out of boredom since he explored all of it already. It was a few months living with the Lee family and yet even though he felt more at home now he still felt restless.

Rain started to fall, at first small droplets touched his face and then it heavenly started to drop making Taemin run inside the house to avoid getting soaked.

The house was huge. It was basically two houses in one with two floors. Lee Sooman had plans to increase the house though, he certainly had the land to do so, and workers were cleaning the place where the new building would be built. Sadly the rain was delaying it. No one knew for sure why he was doing it since they had enough space for them.

Taemin was an observer. He didn’t speak much so most of the time he would listen or pay attention to what was happening around him.

So he didn’t miss the fact that there were more floors under the main one, a secret building hiding in the basement. Also he didn’t miss the new people that would sometimes appear around the second building, not the main one though. Clearly Lee Sooman was running something secret in his property, something that had to do with his past.

Jinki told him several things about him, about how he was one of the main faces of a secret organization called SM, about how they trained agents on the property, teaching them about fighting, moving silently, being invisible until the moment they had to kill. Taemin liked that. He wanted to be one of them and one day he asked Lee Sooman about it. The older man brushed the subject off saying he wasn’t ready. If you want to learn how to kill, first you need to learn how to wait. Patience is the main virtue of an agent. So he said.

It was so frustrating to Taemin.

His wet muddy boots dirtied the perfectly clean floor and he groaned a little wondering if they would scold him. Probably not, since he was one of the masters of the house now.

Still he knew how hard it was to clean a floor. He used to see his grandma, knees on the floor cleaning, so he took of his boots and walked with only his socks inside the hallway. He didn’t remember being there before and he found himself a little lost.

The sound of piano music filled the corridor, a few shy notes turning into a crazy medley and then stopping abruptly. Someone was having fun. Taemin smiled because he always loved music and he walked in the direction of the melody knowing that he would find either Jinki or Mi-Jung there.

“Oh!” He exclaimed once the piano started being played again. It was a beautiful song. It wasn’t Mi-Jung after all. She would never be able to play like that since she always said how playing the piano bored her.

It was Jinki. He entered the room where he was playing on a black grand piano, a red carpet under it. It looked like a library but Taemin’s eyes were on the older boy that was playing.

Jinki didn’t even notice when he entered the room and Taemin walked closer curious, wanting to see Jinki’s fingers moving on the keys.

Jinki raised his eyes to him and stopped immediately. Taemin looked like a wet kitty, with a pair of muddy boots on his hand.

“Why did you stop?” He asked. “It’s so beautiful. What is it called?”

Jinki patted the seat by his side but Taemin didn’t move.

“River flows in you by Yiruma.”

“Oooh...” Taemin mumbled trying to decorate the name. “I like it a lot. You play beautifully.”

“Thank you.” Jinki embarrassedly looked away, his fingers hesitating over the keys. “Do you want to learn it?”

“What?” Taemin asked. Never in his life he would even think about touching a piano let alone play it. ”I don’t think I can.”

“Of course you can. Come here!”

Taemin moved and awkwardly stared at the boots in his hand.

Jinki pulled them from his grasp and placed it on the floor so Taemin could sit by his side; then he corrected his posture.

“First thing you need to know is how to sit in front of it. You can’t master an art if you don’t take small steps towards it. It requires a lot of dedication and patience to do so.”

Taemin chuckled “You sound like the old man!” Since he was raised by Lee Sooman he probably shared some of his ideas.

Jinki smiled “Mi Jung says I’m old.”

Jinki grabbed Taemin’s right hand and positioned it over the keys teaching him some notes. Taemin replayed each one of them.

“Will I ever learn how to play it? This sounds hard.”

“You will.” Jinki assured him. “You are very hardworking and with the right help you will do it.”

Taemin wasn’t even sure if he was talking about the piano or about his worries of not being good enough fighting.

They continued their lesson in silence with Jinki giving small instructions and Taemin replaying them.

“I always liked the sound of the piano.” He said surprising Jinki a little. Taemin rarely talked about himself. He was an introvert and he probably still didn’t feel close enough to his new siblings to open up about his past. “My brother once asked an ahjumma in our neighborhood to teach me but she was in debt and they took her piano. No piano no teaching!” Taemin smiled sadly. It was the first time he mentioned his brother after he died.

“My brother wasn’t a good man but he was my brother. You know how in dramas and movies you can always say if a person is good or bad? I don’t know what to say about my brother. I loved him even though he had lots of flaws, even though he did so many bad things and hurt people.”

“Well. Dramas and movies aren’t real life. In real life there is more than black and white, there is a full set of colors. Whatever your brother did, nothing changes the fact that he was your blood and probably a good brother to you. Everyone has secrets, everyone has a dark side that they want to hide for the people they love, so he probably was only trying to protect you and your grandmother. He was the man of the family right?”

Taemin thought about Jinki words. He was right, the man his brother was inside his house was different from the one he often heard about outside. He did his best with what he had to protect them.

“Everyone has their weakness. No one is perfectly good. Your brother had to grow up quickly once he lost your parents. He had to help raise you and he had to make sacrifices for the love he had for his family.”

Taemin moved his eyes to Jinki watching him. Jinki also had to grow up quickly. Suddenly he was alone in the world, inside a house he barely knew with people he never saw before.

“I’m thinking about what you said before.” Taemin said “About us not being able to love and I agree.”

Jinki nodded touching the white keys of the piano.

“However…” Taemin interrupted “I don’t agree that that rule fits you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You should have a family. You…you are closer to white than my brother ever was. You deserve to be loved and have a family, have kids…You have a good heart.”

Taemin was used to watch Jinki, the way he gently spoke to the employees around the mansion, treating everyone with respect, how he helped kids in school, how he always tried his best to make everyone’s day a little better. How he made him feel a little better each passing day.

Jinki smiled gently and caressed the younger boy head “You do too. You just don’t see it yet.”

“No! It’s different. I’m not like you.” The way Taemin said it, so determinedly, was unexpected for Jinki. “I’m worse than my brother, but I will do everything to help you have a family someday.”

Jinki raised his hands “Hey it’s not simple as that, I have a…”

“Whatever!” Taemin was back to his rude self and Jinki blinked his eyes amused at his cuteness “I’ll do anything because you deserve it. I promise!”

Jinki didn’t see his promise as a joke and instead nodded his head respectfully. That’s why Taemin liked him so much. He never saw him as a kid like the others, as a little brother like Mi-Jung, or an apprentice like Lee Sooman, he saw him as an equal and Taemin was glad for that.

He intended to keep his promise even if that meant that he would sacrifice himself to fulfill it.

- 3 years ago - 

“You can come in!” Lee Sooman said from behind his desk, raising his tired eyes from his laptop to the young man who was afraid to knock on his door that was slightly open.

He smiled watching Lee Jinki enter the room closing the door after him.

Jinki was always like that when he was too afraid to speak about something as a kid, too shy to ask for something or simply confess that he missed talking with his adopting father.

After being an adult many things changed but that didn’t.

“I’m glad you are safe!” The old man said standing up and moving in Jinki’s direction “I went to visit you but you were sleeping and I didn’t want to disturb you.”

Jinki nodded before he was pulled into a hug. “I was worried with you. We almost lost you!” Sooman sat on one of the four blue big armchairs and signaled Jinki to sit in the one in front of him. “So why did you come to talk with me?”

Jinki didn’t know how Lee Sooman did that but he always seemed to know when Jinki or any of the other SHINee members needed to talk with him. It was as if he knew all of them by heart and was able to read their thoughts. “What is bugging you?” He laughed.

“I was wondering…you mentioned before that my father worked with you and I was wondering…”

The subject didn’t seem to make Sooman uncomfortable as Jinki thought. On the contraire, he seemed to be expecting that question.

“He was my best friend. We met at the old headquarters before they were destroyed and I was the one who introduced him to your mother.”

“My mother.” Saying those words out loud were like a magic spell for Jinki. He never knew what it felt to have a mother because he couldn’t remember it well. He had short and confusing memories of his childhood before they died and that frustrated him.“How? I mean how did they met?”

“They were both agents. She came to work with us and I was the one who introduced them. Actually, I made them work together and they hit it off. They were great together in every way. A good team! No wonder they made good things together, no wonder they made you.”

Jinki eyes moved away from the older man as if he was back to the old kid he was before. He wasn’t innocent like him anymore. He was a man now. He saw and did more things than normal men normally do.

“They married even though they had this line of work?”

Sooman watched Jinki for a while and he felt as if he was scanning his thoughts. Jinki held his gaze trying not to sound suspicious. Areum’s name and the memories he shared with her were in his mind as if it was a precious treasure that he was trying to keep hide from everyone until the right moment to reveal it.

“Yes they did. That’s why you happened. Because they felt it was the time to move on and have a family of their own. There isn’t any better blessing than having a child.”

“I see, so you don’t think they acted crazy, wanting to have what normal people would want?”

“Oh they did act crazy! Who wants to raise a kid in the middle of a war? Because that’s what people like us live everyday, a war.”

“Mi-Jung and…”

“My imprudent daughter committed a mistake and we all know that. A very beautiful mistake since Bora is here but it’s still a mistake.”

Jinki stood up abruptly. Bora and he and all the kids that were born from people like his mom and dad weren’t mistakes. He couldn’t dare to believe that.

Sooman noticed his uneasiness and how Jinki was near raising his voice to him and go against him for the first time in his life.

Sooman was expecting that that day would come, the day Lee Jinki would want to be a normal person, so he crossed his fingers waiting for it “Your parents died because they wanted to protect you. They died for love. There isn’t anything more dangerous and deadly than love. It makes us weak.”

Jinki bit his lip “Bora is not a mistake. I’m not a mistake and Mi-Jung isn’t or is she? After all you were already working when she was born right? You married an innocent woman and took her here to the middle of the war. Can you say you didn’t commit a mistake too?”

Sooman paled and stood up because Jinki misunderstood his words and didn’t let him finish, but it was late, Jinki was outside his study already, storming down the corridor bumping against Jonghyun. That was clearly a subject closer to his heart because he never saw him react like that before.

“Hey pal!” Jonghyun grabbed Jinki shoulders but he released himself striding outside.

Jinki walked around the garden randomly, letting himself fall over a bench resting his head on his hands.

Maybe his adopted father was right. Maybe love was a weakness, maybe he was a mistake and maybe loving Areum wasn’t a blessing after all. However he couldn’t believe that.

Bora only had to enter a room to make all of them smile, Mi-Jung was one of the sweetest persons he ever met and being with Areum, talking with her and just watching her happily speak about her hobbies was the closest he felt to completion.

Love couldn’t be a bad thing if it made you feel like that.

Still his parents died because of love and he didn’t want another person he loved to face the same destiny. If someone was going to sacrifice it was him, the one that deserved less to be loved. He needed to be away from her life, he needed to be only a shadow protecting her. That’s what he was going to be, a shadow.

- 3 years ago, before Jinki woke up – 

Audrey’s senses were busy. She couldn’t see anything because of the smoke; she couldn’t hear anything because of the crackles of the fire eating the wood of the house. She felt too warm and she barely could breathe.

She knew that her death was approaching and she didn’t have nor strength or time to run away from that house.

Why did she even enter it in the first place? Why did she even trust them?

She crawled on the floor, coughing because the smoke was too much until she collapsed.

That’s when she woke up from her nightmare and sat on the bed in full alert.

Everything was silent and she was still in the same bed from the night before, inside Lee Sooman’s mansion in one of his expensive looking bedrooms. The window of her room was closed but still she could hear the birds singing outside. After the nightmare she had, that felt like a beautiful dream and Audrey let herself fall down on the bed again, sighing of relief.

She was a little hungry and she knew she couldn’t hide on her new bedroom forever. Soon they would request for her presence and she would have to tell them about everything that she knew about Dokko. Worse she would have to tell them what she was hiding.

She bit her lip knowing that even though now they had the blueprints, they wouldn’t be satisfied with only that. She needed to settle a plan if she wanted to save herself and Areum from Dokko and maybe even from SM.

Could she truly trust them?!

Jonghyun seemed like a good person but he could be faking it…and Key…well he was a mystery to her.

The way he praised her the day before and his smile, came to her mind and Audrey covered herself with the covers of her bed remembering it, how she felt, how her heart beat faster. She wanted to see him again. She was curious about what he would tell her, would he ask her if she slept well, or take her to know the rest of the house. Did he even live there too? She wondered.

Audrey quickly dress up the clothes Mi-Jung gave her the day before and walked outside her room. She stopped in the middle of the hallway trying to remember from where she came from and then walked in that direction finding the stairs easily. She was in the middle of them when Key showed up coming from the right side. He didn’t see her at first and she almost missed a step staring at him. His hair was perfectly combed and he was wearing a big black sweater with Bart Simpson on it, over a pair of worn jeans that were shred at the end of his legs, on his feet he was wearing platform black shoes. She gasped covering and he looked at her also seeming a little taken back as if he wasn’t also expecting her.

“Morning!” He said recovering quicker than her. He waited at the end of the stairs and she walked to him, admiring his body. He looked like a model and the fashion lover girl in her was overwhelmed with it.

“You dress well!” She said pointing at the pants “I like it!”

He chuckled rolling his eyes “Of course I dress well!” He turned his back to her and she quickly followed him “Let’s go. Everyone is waiting for you.”

“Everyone?”

 He didn’t answer and Audrey stared at the fluffy yellow sweater and white pants Mi-Jung lend to her. The material was good so it was probably very expensive too but it wasn’t her style at all, more like Areum’s.

“Key...” She mumbled making him look back slightly.

“Yes?”

“Areum? Is she ok?” She quickened her step so she could walk by his side “And your friend…Jinki?”

“She is fine. Ace, our friend, protected her. Jinki is hurt.”

Audrey sighed of relief but quickly touched his arm “Is he going to be fine? What about Jonghyun?”

He frowned realizing that she knew too much about them already his hand moving to take her hand on his arm away but she quickly did it without any help “Jonghyun will be ok. Jinki was poisoned but we are working on that.”

She was going to ask more but he quickly looked away and strode down the hallway and she had to run after him.

He clearly didn’t want to talk much with her and she wondered why.

They end up at a glass house filled with many beautiful plants and Audrey looked around her overwhelmed. However Key didn’t stop and walked to the end of it as if he was going to go through the glass.

“Where are we going? There is no way out!”

He ignored her, turning to the right and she almost slipped on the floor, both coming face to face with a wall covered in ivy.

She tilted her head and watched Key touch the wall, easily finding what he was looking for.

A soft sound was heard and he moved his hand away, the wall moving to one side making Audrey widen her eyes just when a new entrance showed up.

“After you, my lady!” He joked amused with her surprised expression and she walked before him inside the SM headquarters.

It was almost like a normal building but the decoration was the exact opposite of the mansion, with everything being modern, with computers and weird machines everywhere. That was like an amusement park for Audrey and if she wasn’t nervous she would have enjoyed it a little more than she did. Key guided her in the direction of a big room that looked like a meeting room while he greeted other agents they came across, including women.

Audrey entered the room making everyone quiet down, all eyes turn to her.

She wasn’t expecting so many people to be there and she felt nervous now. Clearly Key was instructed to pick her up for that meeting and he was surprised that she was up already, that’s why he was expecting her at the stairs. Now she wished she have waited, and then maybe she could have had more time to speak with him before all that.

Even though he was wearing informal clothes everyone seemed very formal. Lee Sooman was wearing a blue suit; a woman with black hair caught in a ponytail in her mid-thirties, sent her a curious look and two other man wearing black suits talked between them in a lower voice. Jonghyun was there too, with a tired expression, but he raised his eyes to her and smiled gently. It didn’t seem like he slept at all and she wondered why.

A tall man with black hair was by his side. He was very handsome and also looked like a model even though he was wearing a simple blue shirt. He glanced at her but she barely had time to look back at him because Key pushed her forward to the chair in front of everyone as if she was going to be interrogated. She probably was. He held the chair for her to seat like a gentleman and she did so trembling a little. He pushed it forward for her and then leaned closer to whisper on her ear. It was such a quick and silent move that she wondered if it really happened.

“Be strong!”

She watched him go sit by Jonghyun’s side and she swallowed with difficulty moving her eyes to Lee Sooman.

“Ahhh Audrey-shi, it’s so good to see you looking so healthy. Yesterday you seemed so tired!”

She bit her lip wondering what to say. She didn’t even put make up on and she felt . “Ah, thank you for the hospitality!” She moved on the chair “When will I be able to go home?”

She knew that they wouldn’t let her go home but still she had to ask. One of the men in the black suit laughed, one that was almost bald, and looked at her with scorn.

“Unfortunately that won’t be possible dear.” Sooman said. He actually seemed to feel what he was saying “It’s too dangerous for you and you know that.”

“Yes but I have people I want to protect and you already have the blueprints.”

“That’s true, we do. But we need to know more about this project and above all Dokko security.”

She moved her eyes to Key that was staring at something in front of him. He told her to be strong and yet he wasn’t even looking at her. She felt so lonely.

“We know that you probably don’t know much about it, “Jonghyun supposed speaking with a gentle voice “But anything you can tell us will be of great help.”

She looked thankfully at him and he nodded his head encouraging her.

“Well I do know something about their security system but…only related to the room where Aeon was.”

“Exactly!” The woman said leaning forward “That’s exactly what we want. That machine needs to be destroyed.”

Audrey chuckled covering “That’s impossible!” She finally caught Key’s attention and everyone else’s “It’s almost impossible to enter the building and even if you do, only two people can enter the room. That’s how safe the security system is.”

“Who can enter?”

“The president that has access to all rooms of the building and…” She glanced at Key wondering what he was thinking “…me. I’m the only one who can access it.”

One of the men in the black suits groaned and soon everyone was talking at the same time.

“We could send her with an agent.” “It’s a suicide mission.” “Why is she the only one who can enter anyway…?” “Probably fingertip and eye recognition…”

Lee Sooman quieted them down easily showing how much they respected him and he stood up from his chair “We aren’t going to send Audrey-shi there. It’s final!”

She blinked her eyes surprised with the firm way he was protecting her safety.

“Besides, the machine is not finished. They will need someone else to carry on her work and in the meanwhile we will try to weaken them. Director Oh has put some agents working on the destruction of their secret warehouses and we are doing well undermining their last negotiations…”

The woman smiled at Lee Sooman thanking him and she started talking about it.

Audrey was troubled and she moved her finger in the air winning Key’s, Jonghyun’s and the man with the dark hair attention. However the others weren’t even looking in her direction.

“Sunbaenim…” The taller one called, Lee Sooman.

“Yes Minho?”

He moved his head on the direction of Audrey that felt as if she was a little girl in her first day of school. “We have a problem!”

“Problem?”

“Yes. You mentioned Aeon not being finished but….before I left…I finished it.”

“OH MY GOD!” The bald man exclaimed and even Sooman palled.

Audrey wished she could disappear from her seat at that moment. Since everyone was staring at her as if she was the antichrist.

“I’m sorry. I thought I was building something that was going to be used for good and I never realized that…”

“It’s ok Audrey-shi. It’s not your fault!” Lee Sooman said sitting on his seat defeated. “You were doing your job and apparently very well!”

“Now we need to destroy it. We must be quick. We must send her.” That bald man spoke again and director Oh agreed with him.

“We can’t!” Jonghyun added “She isn’t ready and besides who would go with her? You heard her; we will need months to prepare this properly and that is enough for the worse to happen. We need another plan.”

“What plan?” Director Oh asked but Jonghyun didn’t seem to have an answer for that.

Audrey’s mouth was dry and she was near a mental breakdown. It was all her fault. She joked with Areum about changing the world so many times before but she never realized she would do it someday and for worse.

She grasped the seat under her legs and bit her lip watching how everyone seemed to be out of words for the problem at hands.

“I-I can go alone.” She suggested. “I can tell them I run away from here and convince them that I am on their side again.”

“They would kill you. They have no use for you anymore!” Key said “They have the machine already.”

“Yes but I programed it. I know how it works and also I have the key.”

“Key?” Minho asked for everyone.

“Well…after the professor died I decided to protect the machine with a key because I was afraid it would be used for someone who shouldn't use it.” She clearly wished it was now and by SM. “It doesn’t work if the key isn’t inserted. No machine will work without it. Even if you have the blueprints and build a new one you will still need the key and the programing chip. And only I know where it is.”

“Audrey…” Lee Sooman smiled “You are an extraordinary young lady.” He chuckled.

“She is also reckless! “ Key added his eyes softening making Audrey’s cheeks get warmer.

“If they find out about this key then you are in serious danger.” Minho remarked.

“You can never leave here.” Jonghyun added with a sad expression and Audrey realized he was right. She was their prisoner now. If she wanted to survive she needed to be by their side.

“She will stay with us as our special guest and above all as a member of SM.”

“WHAT?” Director Oh widened her eyes.

“I have an idea, thanks to her. We can’t destroy their machine but we can build ours and fight back. We have everything we need; we have the blueprints, the brain behind it and the key. We can build it and use it to help us destroy them.”

“Building this machine….” Jonghyun didn’t seem to approve his father in law plan “It’s dangerous…”

“You trust me don’t you?” Sooman asked silencing Jonghyun immediately. “Once we don’t need it anymore we will destroy it and we only use it in the last case.”

Even if he didn’t seem to agree with it Jonghyun didn’t say anything else, deep in thought.

“I can’t build the machine!” Audrey announced once again making everyone look at her. She was getting good at surprising everyone. “I can’t because I’m missing a chip, the one I programed and because I have a request.”

“Very well…this chip. Where can we get it? Can we build it?”

“With the right tools I believe we might, yet it will take months to do it and I need to do research again.” 

“Good. Director Oh will you work on that, please? Help Audrey with everything she needs.”

She mumbled a yes, but frowned at Audrey’s direction. Director Oh didn’t seem to like her, not even a little bit, and Audrey wondered why.

“Now the request?”

Audrey glanced at Key and Jonghyun and then back at the others. She didn’t want to build another deadly weapon but she needed to do that sacrifice if she wanted to protect her sister. But maybe it wasn’t a bad idea; maybe SM would use it to do well. “I want my friend to be protected. I will only build this machine as long as I know that no harm will happen to her. However, I want her to have a normal life and possibly away from all this.”

Key smiled slightly and exchanged an accomplice look with Jonghyun.

“What’s your friend’s name?” Lee Sooman asked.

“She is the one I asked Onew to protect yesterday!” Jonghyun explained “Her name is Song Areum.”

“Ok then we will place an agent by her side everyday.”

“Can I request something?” Jonghyun added quickly “Taemin will probably ask you personally but he isn’t here for a reason. Right now he is with this girl.”

“I thought he was with Jinki.”

“No. Mi-Jung is with him, she didn’t want to leave him alone….father…” Jonghyun voice changed and he clearly was talking with Lee Sooman in a personal way “Taemin really wants this mission for him until Jinki is better.”

Lee Sooman seemed to find the idea strange “Taemin hates this kind of missions, I don’t understand…”

“Well maybe he wants to change a little!” Minho shrugged his shoulders.

“I can help too once in a while. I feel like something important like this must be given to us.” Key added and Audrey sent him a thankful look. She didn’t know this agents Lee Sooman talked about but she trusted Jonghyun’s team to an extent.

“So you all want to protect this girl?” Lee Sooman was suspicious.

“Audrey helped us. She saved mine and Jonghyun’s life. So we feel like we can save her friend in exchange.” Key serious expression was enough to make Lee Sooman accept it. Key wasn’t the type to play when it came to work. If he said that they were serious about it, then they were. Beside, his Taemin wanted to do it and he hardly said no to his requests since they were rare.

“Well done. You decide between yourselves the best way to protect this woman and Director Oh will work on the chip with Audrey.”

“I can help on that too.” Jonghyun added.

“Good! The meeting is over.”  Lee Sooman walked to Audrey and she stood up nervously “Thank you for your help. I hope we can work well together but above all I hope you learn to call this place your home. It would make me very happy.”

She blinked her eyes startled with his confession; Key’s teasing from the day before still very fresh in her mind, and stayed behind while everyone left the room. Only Jonghyun, Minho and Key stood behind.

“Thank you!” She quickly bowed to them “You helped me protect Areum. It means the world to me.”

“Well you building this machine means the world to everyone!” Minho chuckled “I’m Minho by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”

She nodded and Minho excused himself. “I’ll be back tomorrow.” He informed giving Jonghyun a meaningful look.

“Be careful!”

“What is he going to do?” Key asked curious once Minho left.

“He says he has a way to get the antidote for Jinki. He is not getting better, Kibum…”

Kibum.

 Audrey smiled realizing that she now knew his name. Of course his real name couldn’t be Key.

“Want me to follow him?” Kibum asked but Jonghyun shook his head.

“No he said it would ruin his plan. Anyway I’m going. Bora is sick and Mi-Jung can’t stay with Jinki. I’m going to take her place.” They didn’t want to leave him alone with a doctor or another agent. He should be surrounded by his family if things did go wrong.

“Tell me if anything changes!” Kibum asked and Jonghyun left leaving Audrey alone with Kibum.

She wasn’t sure what to do around him anymore and he seemed a little awkward too.

“Once again thank you!” she broke the silence and he watched her, tilting his head, making her nervous because his eyes weren’t moving from her face.

She flinched watching him raise his hand to touch her cheek and she felt herself get warmer.

He moved his finger away from her face and showed it to her “eyelash.”

“Oh…thank you…”

“Are you hungry?” He asked. Audrey nodded her head, realizing how crazy she was acting around him that morning.

“Yes and I really need to buy make up…I mean I need to shop for some things, like maybe some clothes and…I don’t feel myself at all.” She blushed realizing that he was probably thinking of her as a girly bimbo again and yet he laughed and not in a teasing way.

 “I get it. Mi-Jung will help you with that! Let’s go?”

She walked in front of him and turned around to wait for him so they could walk side by side “Are we going to have breakfast together? I mean not together but you know…at the same time and place?” She looked away feeling like a silly girl with a crush and he chuckled again.

“Sure, why not? As long as you let me eat in peace...”

“It’s not like I want to talk with you anyway!” She said in a snotty tone that he completely ignored.

She didn’t need to talk with him because she was ok with just looking at him while they ate. 

- Present day-

The car stopped in front of a huge mansion and Jinki opened the door so Areum could come out from it. Her eyes were on the beautiful garden and in the huge house in front of her. It was as if she entered one of her dreams and she couldn’t stop smiling. The lake seemed beautiful and she couldn’t wait to explore everything with Jinki. She didn’t mind living with him there and she wondered why he never suggested that at all. He knew her like anyone and he probably acknowledged that she would love living in a place like that. She would be able to write listening to the birds sing, she would be able to kiss him under the trees, they could do picnics whenever they wanted and make out by the lake. Also they could raise a child there. It was the best place for it!

 She loved it so much that she almost forgot the terrible events she has gone through recently.

Jinki didn’t and he could read in her eyes how amazed she was with everything, because his eyes never left her.  

This was it. The moment he dreaded and dreamed off for years ever since he fell in love with her. It was like a two edged sword.

She was finally going to know all about him and he was finally going to find out if she still loved him even knowing everything about his flaws, his lies, his sins.

“You were raised here?” She asked him and he nodded closing the door of the car.

The other members were outside already and Minho was stretching lazily, yawning soundly.

None was as nervous as he was for sure. His life by her side was ending, the admiration she had for him every time her eyes set on him was going to disappear too. 

They all walked to the main door but Jinki grabbed her wrist gently pulling her behind.

She looked at him wondering why he seemed so tense. That was his home, he probably missed his adoptive family and he should be happy right?! She was! She told him in the car once they entered through the big gates, how happy she was to finally meet all of his family.

“Remember our wedding night….” He asked making her smile.

“Hum…Of course I remember. I was so tired and yet we made love for hours…” She giggled covering wondering if the others heard her. “I enjoyed it a lot and I think you did too!”

“Not that!” He swallowed with a serious expression and she recalled how he acted weird that night too “What I told you before that.”

“About love?” She asked biting her lip softly “About sacrifice?”

“About how much I loved you!” He added.

“I remember!”

“Never forget it!” He said and she caressed his chest. “Whatever happens, whatever you see or hear today, please, never forget that I love you ever since our first night! Promise!”

“I promise!” She kissed his lips quickly and he pulled her against him once she was moving away, kissing her more urgently, as if it was their last kiss, making her blush because the others could see them.

He released her almost afraid, breathing deeply and letting her breathe too, hesitantly moving his fingers away from her arm while she recovered from the intense attack, and they walked after the others.

The door of the main building opened and Areum froze immediately, widening her eyes.

The person she saw at the door was someone she never expected to see ever again and certainly not there.

Her knees got weak and Jinki grabbed her arm gently helping her walk forward towards the door, towards that person, towards the end of their love story.

HELLO!

I'm back to this story....YAY!

First of all I know there wasnt much action in this chapter...well none at all really...but....well you know..ahahahaha

Hopefully there will be some on the next one.

Second I know there isnt much romance either and its all very angsty but we are reaching a turning  point in the story. 

Third I know that Key past is a mystery.....well thats cos i'm mean. XD

And I'm terrible sorry. *bows* I know nothing about machines and sci fi stuff and bla bla bla so please try to pretend that it all makes sense for the sake of the story. XD 

I warned you that action and this is not my thing. ahahah

hum...

I had something else to say and can't remember...-__-

Please also ignored typos or warn me about them in the comments.

OH I REMEMBER! It might be a little confusing that I changed the timeline a lot...so sorry....

Well I hope you enjoyed it. See you soon in Urgent Matters or Dating an Idol!