The van was noisy as usual, with the 12 of them together, it was simply impossible to contain themselves. Chanyeol however, felt quite opposite of the rest today. Usually one of the noisy ones in the background, today he was distant and quiet. The rest stayed away, assuming that he was probably still smarting from the meeting. “Yeollie, you okay?” Xiumin asked, patting his head comfortingly.

Chanyeol gave the eldest his best disarming smile, “Perfect!” Xiumin’s forehead creased, but he decided to leave Chanyeol to his own devices. ‘Phew..’ He heaved a relieved sigh; he knew the elder man only meant good, but reassurances at this moment would only make him hesitate. And that was the last thing Chanyeol ever wanted to do tonight, cower in fear and fail his mission.

“Okay guys, I’m gonna review your positions once again. Chen, Kris, D.O and Baekhyun, monitor the inside of the house and alert us to any dodgy movements or attackers. Kai, Yixing and Xiumin, gather intels and infos on the surrounding perimeters, also make sure to blend in with your environment, our aim is to eliminate as much danger as possible. We come and leave as 12 of us, understood?” They nodded, Suho continued, “Luhan, Sehun, your costumes are at the back of the van. Luhan, I trust you can pull it off?” He showed thumbs-up, “If worse comes to worst, you’ll let me freeze em’, won’t you?” Luhan smiled sweetly. Suho shook his head, the ghost of a smile hovering over his lips, “Only if necessary.”

“Yes!” The doe-eyed beauty cheered and offered a high-five to his partner. Sehun however merely glared and huffed. The Chinese man shrugged good-naturedly and headed towards the back portion of the van. “Tao, Chanyeol, go get prepped, our destination’s only 15 minutes away.”

The night felt cool on her warm skin, the lone clang! of the metal-rimmed hoop reverberated in the empty space. She bounced the ball, slow and measuring, feeling the worn out lines of her favourite Spalding. Knees bent, she transitioned to a slow beautiful jump, the ball not missing a beat as it swished into the net easily. Times like these made her remember the boy, the really bright one she used to play one-on-one with every other Sunday instead of attending Church like the good girl she was supposed to be. His sneakers never changed, she reminisced, smiling as she remembered how he’d pout and whine every time he lost to her.

The night was silent, she thought, breathing in and out slowly, taking in the serenity it offered her so willingly. Moments like these lead her back to the past, to the moderately-sized-but-gallantly-shining eyes and pearly white teeth wide open in a grin against chapped lips the hue of a healthy rose. The comfort of her memories was painful on her otherwise icy heart. Moments and nights like these made her want to give up: her position, title, wealth and fame. Everything. Just to be back by his side. To be just Minzy and play basketball together without a care for what may happen next.

To be the right amount of cool to his extreme hot, the antithesis of him, their juxtaposition. Oh, what she would give to go back to those days.. She shivered, body cooled down, realising that her attire was too flimsy for a winter night in this place. Sighing, she reached for her jacket and slung it over her shoulder, hit her Spalding once so it bounced right back into her arms and headed inside, needing a mug of steaming hot chocolate to get rid of these haunting memories.

Only, instead of trying to forget her evocative past, she recoiled off a rather hard, warm, solid chest. And hands that bound her to it, warmth that was both a stranger and an intruder. A gasp was in order if she were a normal female. And while Minzy may be a female, she was far from normal. She wrenched her arms, trying to free herself from her captor, body wriggling against the much taller, much stronger assailant.

‘Damn!’ He thought, striving to keep a clear conscience as his captive thrashed against him. Problem is – was – is – Goddammit! He’s even making silly grammar mistakes now! “Stay still for God’s sake!” He whispered, voice strained and hoarse from the effort to contain his gasps and moans of delight as his oh-so-very-female captive repeatedly assaulted his sensitive spot.

The resisting body went still for a minute; Chanyeol thanked all Gods that existed, for he may not have been able to keep calm if she kept up with whatever she did. “Chanyeol?” A low, rich tone broke the tranquil tension between them. He started, heart tripping fourteen steps down before regaining it’s cadence. No.

No, no, no!

This was not happening! But his brain insisted otherwise, calculating the possibilities and making the decision. It was only logical after all. The long period of absence, the on-off presence, the limited amount of time they got to spend together.. She was one of them. His breath caught in his throat, but he called out anyway, the familiar nuances of her name rolling off easily, “Minzy.”

Why hadn’t he realised? Why didn’t he notice?

She was the last member of the fabled legend: 2NE1.

She was a knight.

A knight.

Fate couldn’t be more screwed up than this. Of all the things he could’ve been in the world, he chose to be a thief. And of all the things she was good at, she had to pick being a knight.

A knight. A member of the 2NE1. Chanyeol knew he had no time for ‘sorrys’, or kisses for that matter.

 But he did it anyway.

To say she was shocked would be an understatement. She was beyond shocked, she was flabbergasted! Seriously, Park Chanyeol of all people in the entire galaxy. Half of her couldn’t believe the sheer absurdity of this situation, the desire to laugh it off was immense, to ask him to stop playing pretend.

But she knew the truth.

And Chanyeol’s always had an interest in the weirdest of things, ‘This is reality,’ she thought, sensing more than hearing the softly whispered, “Sorry..” before feeling the press of another pair of lips against her too dry, too chapped ones. He kissed as how he did other things; hot, passionate and burning. She saw fireworks beneath her eyelids, and wondered, how could someone who did something so wrong; make her feel like this was the most righteous thing to do?

That it was okay to lose herself in the moment, forgetting for a brief instant, who she was and what her existence meant for them both.

His hand was tangled in her long, blonde strands, her hair tie lost somewhere during their minor scuffle. He moaned softly against her lips, pulling her head back, baring the white expanse of . And Minzy felt like she might combust from the raw sensuality that cascaded down from him in scorching waves as his hooded eyes, glazed and dark met her own; a moment of sobriety passed them both, the clarity of the situation dawning on them.

With another heartfelt whisper of sorry, he pressed a hot kiss to her neck, where her pulse thrummed wildly and left, the hallway empty and dark. And it would seem believable that nothing untoward had occurred, that it was only a dream, had she not felt the proof of his searing kisses against her lips and the cooling heat of his body that suddenly made her feel very, very lonely..