“Hey, so I just checked my car again and it’s not here.” Xiumin said as his other hand still searched for his personal cellphone in the glovebox of his car.

“You said you had it with you yesterday when you went down to the police station?” Luhan asked.

“Yeah.” Xiumin said as he bent over to check underneath the driver’s seat.

“Well worst case scenario, if you left it there, there’s nothing in it they can use against you, right?”

“I hope not.” Xiumin muttered as he locked his car before heading to the elevators. “There’s a few texts from Tao that I’m a little worried about them reading though. That kid seriously has no sense of subtlety.”  

“I’ve told all the guys to call you on your business cell phone for now, but just keep looking. I’ll call down to the station tomorrow to see if they’ve seen it.”

Xiumin scoffed. “Even if they have it, you know they’re going to deny it.”

“Have you no faith in the righteousness of our justice system?” Luhan jested.

“Right. Let me know how that goes for you.” Xiumin responded, before pressing the button for his floor. “I’m in an elevator, so I’ve got to hang up now.”

“Talk to ya later boss.”

Xiumin entered his home, fully expecting his wife to be lounging about somewhere, but when she wasn’t, he went into panic mode. Her purse was gone, but other than that, not a single thing lay out of place. Any trace of Chloe's unkempt lifestyle had been cleaned and tidied, leaving his home looking eerily stagnant and cold, as if no one had been living there for weeks.

What if she had really left him this time? His hands started to clam up as he dialed Tao, waiting restlessly for him to pick up the phone.

“Hello?” Tao answered, his voice croaking from being woken from his sleep.

“You dropped Chloe off at home, right?”

“Yeah. Is she not there now?”

Xiumin ignored the pointless question. “Who were the guys that were supposed to be watching her today?”

“Uh…I think Jaehyun and Yuta.”

Xiumin hung up, moving on to his next set of incompetent workers.

A flustered Jaehyun picked up the phone. “Boss?”

“Where’s Chloe?”

“She- should be at home.”

“Well she’s not! You’re supposed to be watching her!”

“I’m sorry, I had this date…and we figured she’d be fine since she’s at home, so me and Yuta left a little early...” Jaehyun’s voice grew more uncertain as he went on.

“Tomorrow morning, meet me in my office. Tell Yuta.” Xiumin growled before hanging up the phone.

As Xiumin was about to call Luhan back, there was some noise at the door. Xiumin waited in anticipation, letting out a deep sigh of relief as Chloe came casually sauntering through the door.

She had her earphones plugged in, her head bobbing along rhythmically, completely unaware of Xiumin’s presence.

“Where the have you been?” Xiumin asked, setting his phone back down.

She jumped at his presence, taking a few seconds to calm herself before answering, “I needed index cards.”

“It was a privilege for you to leave the house on your own before. I thought I made it clear that you are no longer afforded such luxuries.”

She seemed visibly annoyed by the comment. “Well what the hell did you want me to do? Call Tao and have him drive all the way back here, just so he can me to the convenience store? That’s ridiculous.”

Xiumin noticed the plastic bag she held seemed a little too bulky for it to just be holding flash cards.

“So you just went to the convenience store?” Xiumin tried to clarify, crossing his arms.

She let out a sigh before answering, “I can be impulsive at times, but I’m not stupid.” She pulled out both earphones, before setting them on the counter along with her phone and the plastic bag. “There’s no point in me trying to run away or contact authorities. I get that. It’s what your scared of, isn’t it?”

He let off a scoff before responding, “Do you not understand that there are people out there trying to kill you?”

“Frankly speaking, I prefer my chances with them.” She responded coldly before moving to the bedroom to change.

He repressed a protest before asking, “What about dinner?”

“I’m afraid you’re no longer afforded such luxuries. Help yourself to a nice frozen dinner, courtesy of Mrs. Marie Callender.” She said before closing the door behind her.

Xiumin ticked his nose before turning to the plastic bag that still sat on the kitchen counter. He checked its contents, finding two packs of index cards and a brand new stun gun. He quickly restored the bag to its former configuration, before moving towards the fridge.

Now, why hadn’t he thought of that before? A tazer was the simplest means of protection for someone inept in physical confrontation. He had considered buying her some sort of switch blade, but eventually decided against it, realizing that the weapon could too easily be turn against her. At least she was taking steps to protect herself. He should have expected no less from Chloe.

He focused in on the options waiting for him in the freezer, eventually opting for the Salisbury steak with a side of mashed potatoes. It seemed to be the least detestable choice, though he knew it wouldn’t curb the craving he had for a genuine home cooked meal. He turned the tray over to read the microwave time, quickly inputting the numbers before pressing the start button on the microwave. As he stood back, watching the TV dinner whir about within the microwave, he had flashbacks to when this was a regular occurrence for him. It definitely wasn’t a life he was eager to revisit, but at the rate he was going, it was exactly where he was headed.

As soon as the microwave dinged, Chloe reappeared in the kitchen, now adorned in lounge wear. Xiumin retrieved his paltry dinner, before taking a seat on one of the bar stools. He watched silently as she dug through the grocery bag, pulling out the taser in front of him. With a pair of scissors, she went to town trying to rip the packaging open. He found her struggle with the clamshell plastic casing amusing, and he anticipated the moment when she would ask for him to intervene.

“Did you need help with that?” Xiumin eventually interjected after the ordeal had stretched closer to five minutes.

She paused to glare at him before trying again with a new tool in hand. It was unconventional, but it seemed can openers were surprisingly compatible with clamshell casings. The can opener cut clean through the hard plastic, making his offer rather negligible.  

He tried to hide his disappointment by speaking up. “You know, I have to give credit where it’s due. Marie sure knows her gravies.” Xiumin commented as he took another bite into his gritty mashed potatoes.

What he failed to mention was how ty the rest of the meal was. No amount of gravy could cover up the stale taste of artificial meat.

Chloe didn’t seem to react to the comment, ignoring him completely. She let out a grunt before ripping through what was left of the plastic, finally managing to free the taser. For the next five minutes, Chloe spent her time reading the manual which accompa