In a small yet cozy hotel room, covered with a cream-coloured wallpaper that had simple furnishings; Kris, Yun and Emi sat down together as Kris stood up, laying a map down on the mahogany table. He pressed down both of his hands onto the sides of the map, pointing his finger to a certain location.

          “This—is where Bartholomew’s target is and since you stated that the others can’t assist us in this mission, our plan has been completely altered.” Kris grumbled, narrowing his eyes at Emi.

          “You mentioned that disguises don’t work either, right?” Yun questioned and Emi nodded.

          “Why?” Kris asked suspiciously, wondering if Emi was even telling the truth. Emi turned to look at him, heaving a long sigh out and crossing her arms over her chest, relaxing back into the chair.

          “Look, Kris, I understand you are doubting my words and wondering if I am trying to sabotage the mission but if I was trying to do something, don’t you think I would have done it earlier?”

          “You may be trying it later.” Kris shrugged and Emi stood up abruptly from her seat, frustrated at his words.

          “I don’t care what you think of me, Kris but if you continue to doubt me, how am I supposed to work with you?”

          Kris silently stood up from his seat, heading to the room’s balcony; his feet silent against the carpeted floor and slid the balcony door open, closing after he stepped out. Emi stared after him, a glare on her face.

          Frowns and glares.    

          That’s all I have ever seen from that man.

          “I apologise on his behalf.” Yun spoke, directing Emi’s attention towards him.

          “You don’t have to, it’s not your fault.” Emi’s face softened into a small frown. Yun held a tiny grateful smile on his face and Emi’s frown slowly disappeared, her face expression changing into one of confusion.

          “He really hates people like me, doesn’t he?”

          “…yes.” Yun answered hesitantly.

          “Why is that? What exactly happened to him to make him like this?”

          Yun shook his head, offering her an apologetic look. “Sorry, it’s not my place to answer that, you have to ask him yourself instead.”

          “I doubt that he’ll ever tell me anything.”

          Yun let out a resigned sigh and Emi settled down into her seat, casting a glance towards the balcony where she saw Kris running a hand through his hair, his eyes gazing at the sky, which was close to dusk.

          “Kris was from an extremely wealthy family from South Korea and his family was brought here by an invitation from a duke.” Yun explained and Emi was tempted to let out a scoff at his words.

          “Is that so? It doesn’t seem that way to me, his mannerisms doesn’t suit a noble.” Emi said in disbelief, looking at Kris again and was surprised to catch him staring intently at her. She blinked rapidly, however, none of them turned away, continuing to gaze at one another.

          Yun noticed the both of them, hiding his smirk. “That is something I agree on, unfortunately.”

          “Why isn’t he with his family then?

          “That’s because all of them are dead.” Yun answered, his tone grim and the atmosphere in the room changed entirely.

          Emi’s breathing hitched, her eyes widening significantly at Yun’s response.

          “…how did they die?” Emi questioned softly.

          “My apologies, Emi, I can’t go any further than that. I hope that at least now, you can understand a few reasons behind his behavior.” Yun replied, his voice also soft.

          The balcony door slid open and Kris stepped in, causing both of them to shoot their heads up and look at him. “Alright, go ahead and tell us what to do, Winters.”

          Emi didn’t answer, only gazing at him with an unreadable expression on her face.

          “Winters? Do you hear me?”

          “…ye-yes, I heard you.” Snapping out of her reverie, Emi focused her attention back on the map and Kris marched towards the table, pointing to the same spot on the map again like he did earlier.

          “So, what is your plan?”

          “I’ll head in alone and distract him, while you swap your requester’s precious stone with a replica.”

          “You are not going to disguise as someone else?” Kris asked.

          “He’ll find me, Kris, he always finds me. I told you didn’t I? Disguises never works against Bartholomew.” Emi insisted and Kris nodded at her.

          “How do you plan to distract him then?” Yun spoke this time.

          “Don’t worry about the distraction, just swap with the replica you have and give me a signal once you are done with that.” Emi quickly answered, not wanting them to probe anything further.

          “…alright…” Yun nodded slowly at her, feeling slightly suspicious of her preventing them to find out anything more. Glancing outside, Emi realised that it was time for them to set off and she gathered her belongings, along with Yun and Kris.

          “Wait.” Kris called out, grabbing onto Emi’s wrist and pulling her back just as she exited the room with Yun, Kris trailing behind them. The door closed behind Yun, who held a puzzled look on his face as the door shut close.

          “Does he even know how you look like?” Kris asked quietly and Emi extricated her wrist from his grip, rubbing at her wrist, feeling conscious. The tingly feeling she felt when he grabbed her wrist from that time was back again, making her frown at it.

          “…yes, he does.” She answered distractedly, trying to shake away the tingly sensation.

          “He does? Are you sure?” Kris said, leaning in closer to her as she instinctively leaned away, uncomfortable at the closeness.

          “Yes, I am. What is wrong with you?” Emi directed her frown towards him this time, taking another step back and realising she was close to touching the door.

          “Are you sure that him knowing how you actually look like won’t endanger this mission?”

          “No, it won’t, Kris. Now, we have to-“ Emi sighed out, spinning around to turn the doorknob of the door, only for it to open abruptly and interrupt her as she stumbled back from the force of the door hitting her.

          At the same time, Kris took another step forward and she fell back into his arms as he unconsciously caught her. Both of them widened their eyes in surprise as Kris had one arm around her waist and her back landed against his chest.

          “Hey, are you—erm, I’m…so sorry.” Yun awkwardly said, glancing at their positions as he hurriedly closed the door.

          Kris and Emi stared at the door, wondering what just happened until they both felt a warm sensation between them, snapping them out of their daze.

          “Oh my god.” Emi gasped out, straightening herself instantly and Kris hastily released her, clearing his throat awkwardly. Both of them decided to glance discreetly at one another, only for them to catch each other looking at one another, blinking in shock and quickly turning their heads away.

          Emi’s face felt hot as she wrapped her hand around the doorknob, wanting to turn it when yet again, Yun swung it open, making Emi stumble back as she struggled to balance herself and she landed on Kris’ chest, again.

          Inhaling a deep breath, Emi closed her eyes, balancing herself slowly as she held an annoyed look on her face, which appeared a little red by now.

          “Crap, sorry, I didn’t-“

          “It’s fine.” Emi cut Yun off rudely, gritting the words through her clenched teeth. Walking out of the room hurriedly, placing both of her hands on her cheeks as she felt the tingly sensation on her back and waist now.

          Damn it.

          I can still feel the feeling of his arm around my waist.

          “That wasn’t what I-“

          “Shut up, Yun.” Kris said, an unfathomable expression on his face as he watched Emi go.

          “Okay.” Yun answered, nodding his head stiffly.

          Suddenly, Yun heard a stifled chuckle behind him and he turned around, surprised to find Kris slightly hunched over, a hand covering his mouth.

          “Kris?”

          “Yeah?” Kris answered, amusement evident in his voice.

          “You are…laughing…?” Yun tilted his head to one side, baffled at Kris’ sudden laughter.

          Immediately after Yun uttered those words, Kris straightened up, a stoic expression covering his face and he cleared his throat. “Let’s go, we don’t want to be late.”

          “…okay.” Yun responded hesitantly, slowly walking forward and still holding the same baffled look on his face.

          It’s been quite a while since I saw Kris laughing.

          Kris followed behind Yun, his stoic expression contorting into one of amusement, a small smile tugging at his lips. His chest still felt slightly warm, the feeling of Emi’s back still imprinted on his chest and he rubbed at his chest area for a moment, his expression a mixture of amusement and confusion.

          ***************************************************

          Kris and Yun patrolled around the ballroom and Kris knew that Bartholomew precisely chose today to steal the item, since it was a celebration of the requester’s daughter’s sixteenth birthday. It was impossible of him to cancel the birthday party, especially since it would disappoint his beloved daughter.

          Disguised as gentlemen, both of the men stopped patrolling and stood at the corner of the ballroom, leaning against the wall. In the middle of the ballroom, there were a few couples dancing around as the chandelier hung above them, intricately designed to light up the whole ballroom.

          The ballroom atmosphere was a cheerful one, along with refreshment provided that are placed on a huge mahogany table covered with a beautifully designed cloth, plates and cutlery. Women and men were chattering, chuckling to one another and the main focus of the party was dancing gracefully along with another man among the couples.

          Both men however, wasn’t really focused on anything else except a certain woman dressed in a light blue laced gown that hugged her waist and it expanded down towards her legs, resembling a semicircle. Her black hair was braided neatly and she cautiously avoided everyone around her, a stoic expression on her face that had light make-up on.

          Yun made a sound of approval when he noticed some men approaching Emi, inviting her to dance along with them.

          It’s not surprising.

          Emi is quite beautiful, despite her cold personality and…job.

          She politely declined them and forced a sweet smile on her face, slowly strolling through the crowd.

          “Why are you frowning, Kris?” Yun asked, noticing a deep frown on Kris’ face.

          “Huh? Oh, it’s nothing.” Kris quickly answered, turning his eyes away from the enigmatic woman that is starting to become more and more intriguing to him.

          If I didn’t knew her at all, I would assume she was a noble.

          “That’s because she’s beautiful.” Yun suddenly said and Kris shot his head up, widening his eyes at Yun who looked at him in amusement.

          “Isn’t that why you are frowning, Kris?” Yun smirked at Kris and Kris decided not to answer at all.

          “I’m sorry, I’m afraid I have to decline.” Emi repeated, but it was to a different gentleman this time and he held the same disappointed expression as the others, trudging off.

          This is a little tiring.

          Emi sighed, getting startled when she felt tapping on her shoulder and she spun around, recognition evident in her eyes.

          “Well, well. It seems like you really didn’t disappear after all.” The man said, dressed in a gentlemen’s outfit, extending his hand towards Emi as he bowed slightly, a smirk appearing on his face.

          His light brown hair was neatly styled and his green eyes lighting up at the sight of Emi. Gingerly placing her hand on his palm, she made an uneasy expression as he pulled her towards him, closing the distance between them and gliding across the ballroom floor, which was made of marble and polished wonderfully.

          Kris and Yun noticed the sudden change in Emi’s movement, straightening themselves and walking off, their pace slow. Kris recalled Emi’s words in his mind, glancing at her once more before moving his eyes away.

          “Remember, I’ll only dance with one person in this ballroom and that’s him. Don’t look at my direction too much, he’s really perceptive.”

          “Don’t wear clothes that reveal your arms and take out your earring for now, he’ll know who you are right away.”

          “Bartholomew.” Emi muttered out, sounding annoyed as she tried to make some distance between them, since they were way too close for her comfort.

          “The lovely Shadow Rogue, seems like we are rivals today.” Bartholomew smirked wider, tightening his grip on her.

          “Rivals? Don’t joke around, Bartholomew or should I say, Bart.” Emi scoffed, dancing along to the beat of the music.

          Bartholomew’s smirk transformed into a cheeky grin, his grip not loosening one bit.

          “How did you recognize me among this huge crowd?” Emi asked after a moment and Bartholomew pulled her closer again and she let out a resigned sigh, trying her best to ignore the distance between them now.

          “The way you walk and move is different from that of normal people, your body language was showing one of caution too. Habits are hard to die, Emi.” Bartholomew stated, the grin still on his face.

          “Hey, Kris, don’t they seem a little too…close?” Yun questioned, nudging Kris and Kris rolled his eyes, nudging Yun back.

          “Don’t be distracted, Yun, they are dancing.”

          “But, even dancing can’t be an excuse to be that close.”

          “How close?” Kris asked, turning his head and faltered in his steps when he realised that Bartholomew and Emi were almost chest to chest. His eyes remained on the couple, staring intently at them until Bartholomew lifted his head up, his eyes making contact with Kris who slowly turned his head away, trying not to be suspicious.

          “Aren’t I right? They are a little too close—are they supposed to be lovers?” Yun asked, both of them finally reaching their destination, which was the birthday gift for the daughter, placed in the center of the stage since the daughter wanted to proudly display her father’s gift for her; it was an intricately designed brooch.

          In response to Yun’s comment, Kris came to a sharp stop, causing Yun to bump onto him and groan in pain.

          “Focus, Yun, what if he noticed you?”

          “Don’t worry, Kris. He didn’t, and don’t stop so suddenly next time.”

          At this time, Emi and Bartholomew spun around, her eyes glanced discreetly towards Kris’ and she knew that it was her signal to start her distraction.

          They were supposed to be bodyguards in disguise, hence, no one was suspicious of them since they were warned beforehand. However, Bartholomew didn’t know anything about it, fortunately, Emi was distracting him quickly by throwing him questions and struggling against his grip.

          Kris looked towards Emi once again, ensuring that everything once according to plan. They made eye contact for a second, giving each other a knowing look when suddenly, without warning, Emi felt herself falling down, dropping into a pair of arms and she silently gasped.

          “Bart, what are you doing?” Emi hissed out, looking straight into Bartholomew’s mesmerizing green eyes as it sparkled mischievously.

          “Something that you won’t like again.” He whispered out, grinning wolfishly and quickly pressing his lips against hers.

          The three of them widened their eyes in shock, especially Kris who was momentarily distracted, not noticing that there was another presence next to them.

          “Hello, gentlemen.” Someone said, making both Yun and Kris snap their heads to the man in front of them.

          A very familiar man.

          “You-“

          “I’ll be taking my precious cargo back.” The man spoke, taking out a black metallic ball from his pocket and lifting it up, making Kris and Yun stare at him in horror.

          The man threw the object in his hands down to the ground and at the same time, Kris reached out to take the birthday gift in his hands while Yun leap into the air, tackling the man to the ground. A few seconds later, screams erupted from everyone in the ballroom, smoke rising into the air.

I'm currently obssessed with The Flash, oh man, I'm sooo in love with that show. Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter, as always ^^.