Sunday, March 18th, 23:45:78 

"Do you want to tell me how we got into this position?" His hand gestured at the blank room we were in. I shook my head for the 53rd time. I'm not supposed to talk to you. 

"Do you want to tell me anything, Hye-In?" I shook my head again. I'm not supposed to talk to you. 

"Do you want to tell me anything?" I shook my head a third time. 

"I'm not supposed to talk to you." 

(Two Nights Prior) 

Friday 

"You haven't said one word to me since you've gotten back to my apartment. Is there a reason?" I shook my head for the 32nd time. He was sitting across the table, trying to stare me directly in the eyes. I was glancing down at my nail, which had been painted the night before by Lieutenant Hwangbo who heard I was going home to a boy. They were a light pink color, something I would never put on my nails. Well, something past me would have probably put on my nails if I had access to this type of nail polish. 

"Well, after an hour of trying, I don't know what to do. If you have something to tell me, don't hesitate to say it. Jackson and Jinyoung and the other one are coming over in like 10 minutes. If you want to change...?" He looked me up and down and I was in a plain t-shirt and sweatpants that I had been wearing all day. It was also the only nonmilitary uniform item I had besides black jeans and a sweatshirt... I did wear the sweatshirt here...

I nodded to him and he seemed highly disappointed as I got up and walked to my side of the house. I heard him groan as I shut the door to the bedroom. Everything was the same and where I had left it, except my bed. It had dents in it that were more recent than when I had slept in it. Maybe he had a guest over. It's not my room in the first place. It's not like I'm disappointed.

Why am I disappointed?

I shook it off and went to the closet that was arguably too big for my wardrobe and skimmed through it. The dress that Youngjae made me wear was in it still, but with no blood. Someone had washed it. The other things were from the old apartment. Once evidence, now my only clothing. The only color was the dress and the blood that couldn't be washed out of some of the shirts. I walked over to my duffle bag and opened it. The jeans in there would be fine. 

I pulled everything out and threw it on the floor. Wait. I had an extra pair of sweatpants in here. I pulled those out and put them on, tying them tight around my waist and rolling up the legs, as they were kind of big. 

I heard the door open and bodies come in. I checked my appearance in the mirror on the dresser and tied my hair up before exiting the room. 

"Hye-In! It's been so long since I've seen you!" I nodded at Junior and glanced only slightly at Youngjae. It had been a whole few hours and I was awaiting his words. 

"You too Junior."

"Oh, no, it's Jinyoung now. Cheif said he wasn't going to get a promotion with that nickname, so he changed it." Tuan came out of the kitchen with a plate of something and turned to put it on the coffee table. 

"And it worked. Meet your new, Co-Information Head of Investigation." 

"It even rhymes, Jinyoung." I stood on my toes to see Jackson walk through the door which what seemed like take-out. He smiled at me and I held up my hand. 

"Hye-In, thank god you're back! There's too much testosterone and angst in the precinct now. Every time I visit I have Jinyoung trying not to cry when he has to talk to criminals, Cheif on my , and Mark screaming and moping about how he's still been demoted." He glanced over at Mark and so did I. I met his eyes for the first time tonight and he was staring at me. 

"Mark." He blinked and snapped his head to Jackson. 

"I'm not." Jackson huffed and put down the food on the coffee table. 

"You see this, this is what I have to deal with. Oh, also, I invited your little brother." I took in a breath and then realized he was talking about Yugyeom. 

"How has...Yugyeom been?" Jackson rolled his eyes and was the first one to sit down on one of the couches.

"Ask him yourself. He's been accepted into the Police Academy." I smiled lightly.

"He didn't tell me."

"No, he's been telling me to tell you for the past, what, month? See, now I've told you." I shook my head and everyone went to sit down, turning on the TV. I sat against the couch again, making sure I was farthest from Tuan who was on his favorite love seat. I could feel his eyes staring at me. 

"So is military training as hard as it is in the North?" Jinyoung was quite chatty.

"No, it's actually really easy. I could do it while sleeping."

"Hye-In?" I shrugged.

"All I have to do is boss around recruits and teach them how to shoot." 

"I don't understand why she teaches them to shoot. Back in the North, she was the best at hand-to-hand combat since she got trained by the best." 

"Who is the best?" Don't say it. Don't say it. 

"Daeh-" He was cut off by the doorbell and I snapped up, turning to open the door. Sadly, so was Tuan and we ran into each other. I backed up and glanced at Yongjae. Tuan wasn't fazed and he opened the door to a hyper Yugyeom.

"Noona!" I snapped out of my gaze and smiled as I was hugged by the tall man-child. 

"I heard you got into the Police Academy. I'm proud." He smiled and let go, looking me up and down.

"You've gotten thinner. These clothes are huge on you!"

"They're mine." My eyes widened and I looked down. These were Tuan's. Jackson gave them to me.

"Either way, you need to eat. What happens if you're chasing someone and you collapse?" I rolled my eyes at him and he pulls me to sit down with him on the couch, me being the closest to Tuan. 

"Well, since Yugyeoms here we can eat!" Everyone started making their plates ad I sat there. I knew that 2 people would be watching me very closely when I eat. 

To echo that point, I was handed a prepared plate by Tuan and he looked at me expectantly.

"You're eating all of this." It was a command, but I glanced over at Youngjae who shrugged. I had to make both camps happy. I nodded and took a bite of the bibimbap.

"How is training camp? I'm not excited for when I have to go to the military. A lot of my instructors are ex-Marine Core and try to scare us with stories." 

"Mark still scares me with the stories about the Special Forces." Tuan was in the Special Forces? I never saw that in his file. 

"You were on the special forces!?!" Yugyeom leaned forward and Tuan nodded. 

"707th." My gaze went to Youngjae and he seemed just as surprised as I was, "I was in it before you two were ever in Alpha." He gaze went right to me. 

"I was in Alpha in 2012. You're only a year older than we are." Tuan shook his head. 

"Your file says you were in it in 2014." Youngjae laughed an I shook my head. We were skimming the details as Yugyeom was sitting here looking back and forth in their conversation. 

"I left in 2014. That's when I went to Busan." Mark turned to me again. 

"Did you join in 2014?" I shook my head. I wasn't going to answer, I knew Youngjae would. 

"2012, a few months after I joined. We both were picked when we were-"

"That means you were under-"

"Mark, do you have any drinks? We don't have anything, but beer and I have to drive home." Jinyoung cut us off and that's the smartest thing he's done so far. All of us were under confusion, but Yugyeom who seemed to be interested in our military service. He didn't know the underlying seriousness of this talk. 

"In the fridge. Yugyeom you're closest to the kitchen can you get them?" Yugyeom nodded and got up, rushing to the kitchen. 

"Both of your files said you joined the army at 18 and joined Alpha at 21. After one year, you both came to South Korea and one went to Busan while the other came to Seoul. Is that wrong or right?" He was talking in a hushed tone and everyone leaned in. If Yugyeom walked in now it would be suspect.

"I joined when I was 18, MeeYon joined when she was 16. We both were 19 when we joined Alpha and I left for South Korea in 2014, while MeeYon left in 2015." 

"That er told us false information." Jackson was the one to let out that obscenity as Yugyeom came out empty handed.

"I know, there's no pop here at all!"

_

"I have class tomorrow. We're learning about urban specialization and how to deal with the civilians." I nodded as he put his coat on. 

"That sounds really cool. I never went to an academy, I just applied to college after and that's where we met." He laughed. 

"Who knew you were in the military before? It makes sense though, everything. Like how careful you were or how you were suspicious of everyone and could tell their personality by just looking at them. I thought you were just like Sherlock Holmes or something." I smiled and shook my head.

"I'm not Sherlock. More of a... Nancy Drew. I'll walk you down to your car." I saw Tuan freeze up out of the corner of my eye. He was definitely going to come with if he could. He even made the motion to stand up, but he was cut off. 

"I'll come with, I have to go grocery shopping anyway." Youngjae stood up and I saw Tuan grip his knee. He had lost. Jackson even looked at Tuan, almost saying 'Are you letting this happen?' 

"Come on then." Yugyeom walked out of the apartment and Youngjae walked up next to me. I knew it was time. 

"Come on then." Youngjae requoted Yugyeom, but with a more snarky 'Look! I just bested Tuan!' tone. He put a hand on my back and almost pushed me out of the apartment.

The ride in the elevator was me twitching in the corner. What is he going to have us do? What is Tuan going to do when I get back? .. If I get back. I glanced at Youngjae again who was leaning against the wall, parallel to me. He smirked and nodded. Once we got to the parking garage Yugyeom hugged me bye and told me he'd visit me one day before my "yearly training" was over. I told him I'd count on it and he got in his car, driving away and sealing my fate. 

Somewhere, deep down, I wanted Tuan to come out of the corner and drag me back to the apartment.

"He's cute. And reminds me of Jun." I nodded, looking down at the cement floor.

"I think the reason I Iet him become my friend was because of that." He nodded and leaned on a car opposite of me. 

"They're watching us on that camera right now, so you might want to look like you're enjoying this conversation with me, Princess. " My head snapped up. North Korea Youngjae. Real Youngjae. 

"Do you know why Tuan was so confused about the dates and information?" I shook my head and he frowned, "Words, Princess." 

"No. I don't know why. A possible guess is that they got wrong information from someone they captured or who sought asylum." 

"Good guess, Princess. I know who it was, but I want you to guess some more. I miss that guessing game we used to play when we were little." You mean when you stood there and told me I was being a stupid girl and then watched my brother get beat up? 

"I believe it could be someone who sought asylum. It would also have to be a person they believed to have knowledge of elite forces in North Korea. A military operative." 

"Even closer. You're getting better at this. I'll give you a hint: He isn't dead." I furrowed my brows. He isn't dead. 

"Im Jaebum? He was living with us for a year or two." Youngjae tsked and closed his eyes. 

"And there it goes. I'll just tell you. It was KyungIl." My eyes widened and then went back to normal. We were being watched. 

"KyungIl?" The voice came out of my mouth like a whisper. 

"When they took him to the police station, he pleaded with them that if they gave him asylum that he would tell them everything. Whatever you did to him made him go mad and just want to get out of the North as fast as he could. So, he told them, but he told them fake information to protect his . It really is a perfect plan because the news broadcasted that he would be put on death row and killed here. The North probably ate that up an thought he was disposed of. They wanted KyungIl gone the day that found out about his origins and the South did it for them. But if they ever found out he was alive, he had the protection of telling the South Korean government false info and being in their false light of good. However, no plan is perfect as he didn't expect us to make it through, especially with your 3-year time limit. Now, they're going on a wild goose chase to find him and charge him with anything they can throw at him. Purgery, treason, on and on. He'll actually be dead now... Unless we find him first." 

"What do you mean?" It was louder than any of my previous statements. Find him? 

"Well, I know where he is and we're going to him. That's what I meant to say." I shook my head.

"There's no way we can-"

"You promised me, Princess." There it was, that word. Sergeant Yoo, "I can break the rules. I have been." He imitated my voice with the last line and I knew I had to. I said it and I can't go back on my word. Not with Youngjae.

"When?" 

"Tonight. Tuan goes to bed at 1:30, at 2 we fly to China. KyungIl has information I want. We want." 

_________________

When I got back Tuan didn't say anything, he just kept glancing at me as I sat next to BamBam who was explaining to me how Section Cheif Kang told him all of the things he needed to improve on to move to Unit 1. They all left at around 11 pm and I went straight to my room, making sure that I locked the door and that Tuan heard it. I had 2 hours and 30 minutes and I used most of it staring at the clothes in my closet. Should I send a note to Tuan telling him where I'm going if he finds it? No, that would be the stupid thing to do. Apparently, we needed the information from KyungIl and Tuan would find us fast.

I just have a bad feeling about going, especially with Youngjae. The last time I was alone with him and just him... I shivered.

The clock turned from 1:29 to 1:30 and I instantly rose to my feet. I didn't even care to change and put on his sweatshirt too. Why? I have no idea, but I was moved to do it. It was plain and black and ripped a bit in the pocket. The only thing to distinguish it from a normal, black hoody was a white line no longer than my pointer finger on the left side. Clothing matches the wearer. 

I snuck out easily and made no noise. Youngjae was waiting for the elevator wearing a similar black hoodie, but no white line. 

"No one told me we would be matching." He pointed at the sweatshirt and I shrugged.

"It's cold." He pressed the button on the elevator and it opened right away. There were to be no pauses on this mission. If you could call it a mission. 

"I disabled all the cameras, so they won't know where we're going. I also called a taxi that's going to meet us at Dunkin Donuts and we're only paying in cash. If anyone asks our names, I'm Kim Heejun and you're Wang Fei. We're going back to China to see your parents. The tickets were bought through an untraceable IP address at the base, I bought TSA fast pass, and I'm going to disable the cameras when we get there. There's also no record of us buying these plane tickets, for anyone who looks, there will have been two empty seats in first class. The hotel I booked also took the money and an excuse not to add us down on their registry because we want to surprise your parents for their anniversary and we're rich venture capitalists, so we don't want people to know where we are. I'll disable those cameras as well. I have enough money to not leave a trace, you just need to not leave a trace. No leaving alone, no walking off. Any questions?" The elevator opened to the lobby and we walked out onto the street. It looked like it had just rained and there were still a few people walking the streets. We were in the heart of Seoul.

"How do we deal with them once we get back?" He started laughing and walking straight. 

"We take it like it is and see what they do to us. The worst thing is to put us on probation. Either way, you'll get to still next to your boy." I looked down at my feet, trying not to get my face seen by anyone. Youngjae was doing the same. 

"My boy?" 

"Don't think I didn't notice you're still wearing his clothes. And don't try to make an excuse, you had plenty of time to change." There was a twinge of something in his voice, but I decided to ignore it. There was a bigger problem at hand ranging war in my mind. Everything in my being was telling me to turn around and go back to the apartments, but I could. I made that promise and I want to see what KyungIl has to say. 

"My plan is to get information from KyungIl and get him arrested by Sunday night." He raised his arm to the taxi that was stationed on the corner of Dunkin Donuts. 

"What type of information?"

"No need to ask questions that you'll get an answer to soon enough. Hello, sir. Thank you for driving us so late, can I put our luggage in your trunk?" The taxi driver nodded and Youngjae turned to me. 

In Mandarin, he said, "He said we can put our luggage in the trunk. Play along." I nodded and Youngjae grabbed the suitcase I was wheeling. 

"Is your wife from China?" 

"Yeah, we're going back for her parents anniversary." 

As soon as the taxi was moving towards the airport, I knew I couldn't turn back. even if I wanted to knock out Youngjae, which is impossible, I had no money and no phone to get me anywhere. I was at the will of Youngjae. 

"Doesn't it feel good to break the rules once and awhile?" I glanced over to Youngjae, not moving my head from the floor of the taxi. 

No. "Yes."