The airport was quite crowded despite the late hour. Kyu Jong went to buy tickets for the first flight to Taipei while Kae Yin waited patiently for her partner to arrive. She was tired both physically and mentally. The last 24 hours brought back old memories, things that the woman swore to forget but were now more alive than ever.

     “Are you all right?”.Kyu Jong sat next to her.

     “Don’t worry! I’ll be fine!”

     “…if you say so…”,the man whispered.

    Kae Yin turned around to face Kyu Jong. “Go ahead…ask me! I know that you must have a lot of questions since the discussion with Young Saeng!”

    Kyu Jong sighted. He was ready to let it go one more time. “If you aren’t ready I can wait! I’m sure you’ll tell me when it’s the right time …”

     “It may not be a better time than now…”

     “What do you mean?”

     “Look…firstly sit down!”, the woman grabbed his arm and pulled him down on the chair near hers. “I have no idea if you knew what were you getting yourself into when you accepted coming to work for Hyun Joong but I’m telling you one thing: losing our lives is one of the most probable versions of the ending…Byun Hyun is no joke! I’ve seen what he can do and I don’t mean just sign a deal with the mafia or order a murder…I’ve seen him pulling the trigger…I’ve seen him killing someone without any trace of remorse…”.

    Kae Yin stopped for a second and Kyu Jong looked down. This was it, the moment when all the mysteries would vanish and the truth would finally come to surface but was it really what he wanted? He was definitely tired of all the lies and hidden meanings but seeing her being hurt was something that he couldn’t bear.

     “It’s okey! I don’t want to know!”

     “You chose to be here!  You had thousands of opportunities to go back but you stayed behind. I owe you an explanation!”

     “You don’t understand…I had my reasons…”

     “It doesn’t matter! At least not for me!”

    The man lowered his head. There was nothing left to do than stay quiet and listen.

     “I’ll make it short…or at least I’ll try! It all started when I was 18. It was just another summer day; in a small city like that one nothing really happened. Every day was the same old routine. I remember that day I got out earlier from school…we were supposed to have a math test the next day and we were sent home to study. At that time math was not through my priorities so I was waiting for my brother to come home from his basketball practice so that we can go out and play…”,the woman stopped as if she had remembered something, ”ah yes, you don’t know, right? I have brother, just a few years younger than me. He’s name is Hyung Joon. We used to be really close!”. A bitter smile captured her lips. “So pathetic! Anyway, I was waiting for him to come back when I heard noises coming from the back yard. I went to see what was happening and then I saw him. He was there surrounded by two bodyguards or that’s what I could see from where I was standing…he was arguing with my parents. Nobody noticed me! I tried to listen to what they were saying but I was too far. Just then my mom noticed me! I never saw her so frightened in my entire life! She tried to warn me but it was too late; Byun Hyun turned around and everybody’s attention was focused on me. It was just a second but it seemed like an entire hour. He smiled and started walking towards me. My father tried to stop him and they started fighting…I later found out that one of the guards shot my mom by mistake and my father went after him. Byun Hyun killed them both!”

     “What?? He also killed his man?”

     “Funny, right! It doesn’t matter who is it; as long as it’s in his way…”

     “But what about you?”

     “I…I ran away! When Byun Hyun came towards me, I heard the door opening and saw my brother. Mom kept screaming at me to run away…I just took Hyung Joon’s hand and run as fast I could. He kept asking me to go back but I didn’t stop …not until I heard the first gunshot…some neighbours gathered around us…after that it all went black…”

     Kyu Jong was speechless. He knew most of the story from Hyun Joong but it was a totally different thing to hear it from Kae Yin.

     “Can I ask you something?”

    The woman smiled.

     “I’ve already told you that I’ll make things clear…no more lies…ask whatever you want to know!”

     “Who else knows the story?”

     “You mean Hyun Joong? No, he doesn’t know the whole story! You see in those days everything seemed meaningless…I used to spend days and nights alone in my room afraid to close my eyes, afraid to fall asleep…Then I just decided that things can’t end like this! I took my brother and we went to see my father’s sister. She lived in the US with her family; we never saw her before that time but she took us in as if we were her children. However that life wasn’t for me! Two weeks after, I ran away! I left my brother there and came back to Korea to revenge my parents. It’s so funny to think that I spent the next five years of my life searching for Byun Hyun, tracking him down, learning every little thing that I could, every detail; I knew how he liked his coffee or what kind of furniture he has in his room…everything.Then, when I finally got the chance to get my revenge I failed! I managed to get into his hotel room in Thailand while he was asleep. There was nobody around and the guards were not coming back for the next two or three hours. That would have gave me enough time to get away…killing him seemed the easiest thing in the world. Still, I didn’t do it! I tried remembering what he did, I tried to close my eyes and just make him pay for what he did but I didn’t do it! Call me coward but I ran away…I didn’t cared anymore! I just wanted all to disappear…I wanted to stop living like that and just go back and take care of my brother. But reality didn’t wait for me to realise that! When I got back to the US, my aunt told me that Hyung Joon had left just a few months after me. You’d think I should have known it but the truth is in those 5 years I slowly lost contact with him. At first I used to call him a few times a week telling him that I was preparing our house so that he can come back…then I would call him a few days before Christmas promising him that I’ll soon be there with him…after that I was too ashamed so I just kept lying to myself thinking that he would be better without me. And so I lost him! That’s how I got into the NCA! I met Hyun Joong while I was chasing Byun Hyun! He was impressed with my determination and my skills in reading people’s behaviour so he invited me to be a part of his team. Of course, at that time that was the last thing I cared about! After I found out about my brother’s disappearance I met Hyun Joong again. He made me a deal! I had to help him catch Byun Hyun and in exchange he would help me find Hyung Joon! I took it and here’s how I got here!”

    Kae Yin’s eyes were empty as if she was lost in an entirely other world. She looked like she was about to cry, still tears wouldn’t fall. Kyu Jong was holding her hand waiting patiently for the story to end. He now understood why he had such a hard time trusting people and her close relationship with Hyun Joong. Still he couldn’t help feel a bit guilty. She was there, sharing her deepest, darkest secrets no matter how much reliving those moments would hurt her and he wasn’t even thinking about telling her the secrets in his past. It wasn’t fair but he knew that revealing his past will eventually mean that they have to separate and he wasn’t ready to do so. Not when she needed him so much!

      “Then why did you go to Japan?”

     The woman raised her head. “Huh?”

      “When I first joined the team, they told me you had just come back from Japan!”

      “Ah, that! There was an undercover mission to find out some information about Byun Hyun and I was sent to delay him from coming back home. I managed to distract his attention but something went wrong. Even today I don’t know what happened but he received a paper and started asking a lot of questions about my parents and origins. Hyun Joong decided to stop all activities for a while and that is better for me to just disappear a while; so they sent me to Japan. I came back when they decided to retake the mission. Is there something else you want to know?”

     Kyu Jong shook his head.

      “Then I’ll have to ask you something! No matter what happens, don’t tell anyone what I’ve told you today! Can I trust you?”. Kae Yin squeezed his hand.

      “Of course you can! I’ll always be by your side so if I say something you can always beat me up!”.The woman smiled and Kyu Jong knew she was going to be all right even if someday he would not be able to fulfil his promise to never leave her side.

     Soon after a voice of a woman announced that the plane towards Taipei was going to depart soon. The flight was quiet! Both Kae Yin and Kyu Jong used that time to catch up with their sleep. What they didn’t know yet is how much they were going to need that rest. The clock was ticking! In just 48 hours it would all be over!

                                        48 hours left…

     As soon as the plane landed, Kyu Jong received a message from Young Saeng with all the information regarding Byun Hyun’s staying in Taipei. Kae Yin decided that it was best to get a room in the same hotel so that they could keep a closer eye on him. Although it was one of the most expensive hotels in the country, the prince made sure that all the costs were covered and due to his connections, Kae Yin and Kyu Jong managed to get in without anyone asking for their names or personal data.

     Kyu Jong had just finished showering when Kae Yin ran into the room closing the door with the key.

     “What’s wrong? Did something happened?”.The woman looked like she had been running a marathon and had a guilty expression on her face.

     Kyu Jong sighted. “What did you do now?”

     “Nothing really!”, she lowered her head and started playing with her fingers.

     “Tell me!”, Kyu Jong said demanding but in fact he was barely holding in his laughter.

     “Okey, okey! I couldn’t stop it! I went to see if he was here, in the hotel!”

     “You did what? Kae Yin, do I really have to remember you how dangerous this man is?”

     “No!”, she pouted, “Is just that…I didn’t do anything!! I just walked near his door…he wasn’t even there…”

     “Then why we’re you running?!”, Kyu Jong said suspecting something.

     The woman took a step behind and blushed.

      “Actually…he wasn’t in his hotel room but when I headed back I almost ran into him. Luckily the elevator’s door closed fast enough. I’m really sorry!”, Kae Yin made a deep bow expecting to be scolded but Kyu Jong started laughing and went to dry his hair

      “Such a weird person!”,she whispered.

      “I heard that!!”

     That night they stayed awake until late discussing every single detail of their plan. It was in fact really simple! All they needed was a proof, only one proof that will put Byun Hyun in jail for some time. Kae Yin knew how his empire worked. She had studied it for almost five years and during that time she managed to discover the only flaw: Byun Hyun itself.

     “You see, Kyu Jong, Byun Hyun managed to avoid being betrayed by connecting each branch of his business through himself!”

     “What do you mean?”

     “That’s his only mistake and that’s how we’re going to get him! He never trusted anyone enough to give away part of his power! No matter what business he had or what problem came along he took care of it himself! If only we can bring him down then nothing else will survive! If we manage to put him in jail then it will be easy for Hyun Joong to destroy every single part of this empire and meanwhile gather information to make him pay for everything!”

     “You still hope that he’ll pay for what he did to your family?”

     “I don’t think those murders can be proved but he will go down for other things! He has enough hanging on his conscience!”

     Therefore the plan was simple. Young Saeng informed them about the time and place of the meeting Byun Hyun scheduled with one of the most powerful Chinese business man, Xiao Chen! Nothing was clear yet but that was their only chance and they weren’t going to miss it!

   Meanwhile in lobby of the same hotel

     “Wait!! Mister!! Mister, where are you taking me??”

     “Can you please be quiet for a second?”

     “Can you please explain to me why am I being dragged to a hotel in the middle of the night by a man whom I just met a few hours ago?”

     “I’ve already told you who I am!”

     “That’s not much of a help! I didn’t even know that Kae Yin had a brother! How can I know you’re not lying to me?”

    The other man turned around looking like he was about to lose his patience.

     “Aish!! Why did I even agree with this?!! Young Saeng I’m so going to kill you for making me put up with this nuisance!! Look, Mr. Park…”

     “Jungmin, call me Jungmin!”

     “Okey, Jungmin! You said you wanted to help Kyu Jong, right?”, the other man nodded, “Well he’s here! He’s staying in this hotel along with Kae Yin! We’re here to help them accomplish their mission and put that monster behind bars once and forever. Are you happy now?”

    Jungmin nodded cheerfully.

     “You should have told me this earlier…kyaaaa of course I am!! I can’t wait to see Kyu Jong again!!”

     “We can’t do that!”

     “Why??”

     “Because…aishhh just because…how do you think it will be if we just come out like this…out of nowhere…”

     “I don’t know what’s happening here but I’m sure your sister will be happy to see you!!”

    The other man lowered his head.

     “And she will see me when the time is right! Now let’s get a room and go to sleep. I’m really tired!”

     “Okay, I’ll trust you this time!! You don’t seem like a bad guy after all!”

     “Coming from you I should take it as a compliment, I think!”

     “Haha, you’re really funny! You know what?! I think we’re going to be great friends!”

     “Unbelievable!”,the man sighted, “It seems that I’m stuck with you!

    Jungmin hit the other man’s shoulder and grinned.

     “What did you say your name was?? You seem younger than me!!”

     “Hyung Joon! My name is Kim Hyung Joon!”

     “Nice to meet you, Kim Hyung Joon!”

     “Yeah, yeah now let’s go!”

     “What a character! It remembers me of someone I know! It must be running in the family!”, Jungmin whispered.

     “What did you say?”, Hyung Joon turned around.

     “Nothing!! Is such a beautiful night, isn’t it my new friend?!”

     “Not again…”

                                        42 hours left…

Author's note: Hey everybody!! How have you been?? I hope you'll like this chapter!! Baby's finally here hehe!! Have a great day!! And also sorry for such a short chapter!!