Now, the days were starting to go by quickly as you and the school approached Chuseok(A/N: The Korean version of Thanksgiving, happens early September each year). The summer gave way to fall without a fight-on Monday, you were wearing a skirt and blouse;by Thursday you were in knee high boots and a scarf. 

The kids were excited as the temperature began to recede; Chuseok was a 9-day break and you could hear them chattering away with each other on where/what they were doing.

"We're gonna go to the countryside to see Gramma and my cousins!!!"

"Nah, that's too far for us-we are staying right here, while Uncle Minseok and Aunt Soyoung will come to us this time."

You sat back at your desk, lost in thought. Hmm, what should I do for my break? 

Your thoughts drifted to your evening class, and unconciously a small smile came to your face as you reflected on good times with them. They must have family they will go and see, too.

Your smile went away as you thought about all the times that personal topics, such as family and jobs came up in class. Of course, it was impolite to discuss these things with older students unless absolutely necessary-however, you couldn't help but notice that Youngjae or Zelo would tactfully turn the conversation in the classroom to other trivial matters, or the pain that flashed over Himchan's and Daehyun's faces when you briefly mentioned family and marriage in one session.

Yongguk would just close his eyes and not answer any of your questions directly, choosing instead to flick his beloved lighter and talk about something abstract, and you hadn't found a way of talking to Jongup directly without getting that same shudder down your spine, even when he smiled at you. Occasionally, you could see the hilt of his knife when he stretched out casually in his chair, and it plain out gave you the creeps to your soul....

.....However, Mama didn't raise no quitter.

Zelo might have called himself and his compatriots 'international businessmen' but you weren't stupid-there was much, MUCH more than that beneath the surface.

'International businessmen' didn't walk around with weapons and sinister glances at night. 'International businessmen' didn't,offhand, study deadly forms of martial arts, such as throwing knives or Krav Maga at night for FUN(you discovered this about the Matoki on your lesson entitled Hobbies-boy, wasn't that an interesting night class).

'IBM' didn't have looks of pain and PTSD whenever you moved too fast in the classroom (You accidentally dropped a pen by Zelo's chair two nights ago, and you bent down quickly to get it. Zelo not only jumped up into a defense position, but he had his hand going onto his pocket before he realized what he was doing, looking at you apologetically before sitting down quickly and fiddling with his nose piercing. Himchan ended up getting the pen for you as you walked back to your desk slowly,scared for your life.).

'IBM' also didn't make a point of protecting you each night as you walked to your car after work. (It randomly started with Daehyun first, and then as the days went by a different man would be leaning against your car as you walked out to your car after work. The first night you walked out and saw Jongup, squatting low to the ground,twirling his knife and looking at your rear bumper sitckers with interest, you thought you were dead-he'd finally come to harvest your organs and sell them off. But the lean guy merely smiled and saluted you mockingly as you drove off, peeling rubber and asphalt as you went.)

You clapped, startling your Teacher's Assistant as you made up your mind.

I'm gonna get to the bottom of my evening class's story. By the end of my vacation, I will know what the Matoki do in their real time jobs.

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

You sat with your fingers together as the evening class came to a close. You decided to let them go a little early, as the weather forecast predicted that the temperature would drop exponentially by 9pm that night, due to a cold front.

"Okay guys, you are doing well, remember that we have a test coming up on Peaceful Negotiations next week Tuesday. We will be reviewing until then."

Everyone nodded as your eyes passed over the classroom.

You don't know where this sudden streak of courage came from, but it hit you like a football tackle as you watched Daehyun furrow his brows, trying to answer a question on his worksheet: I'm gonna trail them, one by one. But who should I trail first?

Granted, this was dangerous and very,VERY stupid idea(in your detective daydream, you shuddered as for some reason Jongup caught you each and everytime you followed him, with a sinister smile each time you reimagined it), you weren't exactly a Mary Sue or a damsel in distress. You were a lot bigger than half the Korean population and knew a few self defense techniques of your own, thanks to growing up in a city back home.

Your eyes passed on everyone closely, hmmmmmmm, until your eyes landed on Youngjae's form,busily scribbling away on the last few bits of his worksheet, and the lightbulb went off above your head. Youngjae!!!

It occured to you that Youngjae was one of the better students. He was normally the first one to grab harder grammar points first, followed closely by Yongguk and Zelo. When it came to puzzles, you constantly had to refer to American Google pages to get challenges for him- he even beat everyone in chess, on your games night a week ago. 

He was also one of the only ones in the classroom you hadn't actually seen with a weapon. Occasionally, he'd pull out his phone or tablet to mess around with something, but it was just electronics. Daehyun and the others fondly called him 'brain', 'smart stuff','chubby geek' and other variations of smartness, so Youngjae just had that 'cool nerd' image in your head.

For some unkown logic, you reasoned in your head that Youngjae would be the first, and possibly, the safest one to follow, so you put your plan in action........

.......As everyone turned in their worksheets and bid you goodnight, you waved cheerfully until you could no longer see them from your window. As usual, you straightened up and locked up well, sliding on your jacket and carrying your purse out to the car.

This night, ironically, was your target-Youngjae. 

He was standing in the light by your car, looking like the Korean version of Inspector Gadget with his signature tan jacket on and holding his phone, "Hello, sunsengnim."

You smiled at him,"See anything I should be worried about? Ninjas? Ghost? Possessive ex-boyfriend?"

The tech wiz only laughed and shook his head as you placed your bag on your passenger side, "Not tonight-have a good drive home."

You smiled at him," Thank you, Youngjae," you patted his arm and climbed in. Starting the ignition and pulling out slowly, you waved to him and rounded the first corner , going down a few miles until you were absolutely SURE he couldn't see you, then you turned off your headlights and waited.

Sure enough, about 10 minutes after your 'departure', Youngjae pulled out in his dark Jaguar Prowl and set off on a course down the road. You, of course, watching too many detective shows and action dramas, set your headlights back on from your hiding spot and pulled out after him, cruising at a farther distance, taking no chances.

You felt a ridiculous thrill of excitement as you realized that Youngjae was leading you back into town- At least I know the city, if I should get lost or anything like that. Youngjae pulled up suddenly at a convenience store, where you watched him stroll in, and come back out with some kind of meat on a stick, eating and filling up his cheeks in a cute way that you couldn't help but laugh aloud-and then you ducked, thinking that your noise gave you away.

Counting to 5, you came back up just in time to pull out after him again. This time, he drove and pulled up at a 24-hour PC cafe. You rolled your eyes, Of all the nights to not do something interesting, Youngjae-ah.....

You were about to go home in defeat after he parked and went in, but in the corner of your eye you saw two men in dark sunglasses nod to each other and follow him in after a while. @#$&!! You quickly parked and hid your purse on the floor, taking out your pepper spray and brass knuckles and a little bit of cash before locking up.

Dear Jesus-or anyone listening at this moment-please, don't let anything go down tonight that I can't handle. Amen. You stood outside in the cold for all of 2 minutes, before taking a deep breath and walking into the cafe-

-where you were met by a kid with huge hipster glasses and a breakout of acne, who adjusted her glasses and said, "Welcome to Geeks-R-Us. How much do you want to play?" You stuttered, "W-what?"

The teen rolled her eyes and popped her gum, sticking our her hip and a clipboard at the same time, "Here are our fees. For wifi, you pay by the hour. For computer services, you by by the half-hour. What will it be, old lady?"

You didn't even have time to throw the snarky sarcasm back into her face, as from your peripheral you saw a tan coat swish around a corner,followed by the men in black a few moments later- You quickly ducked your head and pulled out a few bills,"An hour of phone Wi-fi, please,"and a big heaping shot of courage, if you happen to have any around.

The girl took your money and went over to the counter. Typing in something rapidly, her computer printed out a code, which she gave to you. Thanking her, you stepped back and got a good look around the room she opened for you.

There were computers and rave lights everywhere. People bustled about, clacking away on God knows which sites, downloading and photoshopping and paying videogames and what-have-you.  Posters and Korean slang dotted the wall as some DJ blasted Crayon Pop over two wall-to-wall speakers.

Boys arguing in a corner over what you recognized as an anime called Bleach, girls giggling on chatroom forums and rooms, mixed genders competing in Starcraft,League Of Legends, and Overwatch-the room smelt of hookah, perfume,junk food and hormones, and you sighed as you  leaned against the wall, Oh Lordy......

Keeping your back to the wall, you crept along in the shadows the neon lights made, you kept your eye out for that tan jacket-and was rewarded when you saw Youngjae in a corner, casually typing away on something. His face reflected in that pale blue light of the monitor, you could see that the man was in deep concentration over what he was doing.

-And then, like the beginning of a bad dream, the two men you saw earlier walked in from around another curtain, heads swiveling like meerkats, and locked onto Youngjae as well. One man nodded to the other, and they both tapped their jacket pockets, then their ears, then their pockets again. You didn't know what kind of ed up sign language they had going on, but you would be damned if they hurt your student on your watch.

The men were closer to you than they were to Youngjae, and so they began to walk in his direction-acting like you were busily looking at your phone, you kept your head down and walked straight, knocking into shoulders of tweens left and right until you hit something else-Guy A, right in his chest.

You and the guy stumbled and went down, and he grunted and looked at you in confusion. A big brute of a man, you quickly spoke Korean in a cheesy way over the rave music, "Aaah, so sorry, Are you okay-I foreign,I foreign!!!!" Even though he was clearly a gangster-you felt the of his gun as you went down- enough Korean protocol dictated that a man must help the lady back to her feet after such a fumble.

As you both bowed to each other, you turned and both of you realized something-Youngjae and Guy B were nowhere in sight!!!!

You bowed again while pretending like you were fixing your clothes, and as soon as Guy A took off at a fast pace, you followed him.  it, he looks like he knows where they are.

The man went outside and stepped into a side alley, where you took a deep breath and pulled out your brass knuckles, securing it on your left hand before following him.

Thankful that you weren't wearing noisy heels, you stopped behind a trashcan as from further ahead, you could hear Youngjae's voice, talking with another guy's voice.

Youngjae's timbre was cool and sweet, while the others sounded like a cat who just got its tail stuck in the door.

From the sounds of things, Youngjae was trying to get his point across and the other guy wasn't having it-and that's when Guy A's voice cut in, a rude, grating low baritone of a voice.

This caused a full-blown argument to blow out, and now you were worried, No one knows we are back here-the street cars are too loud, maybe I should go get help-

And then your heart stopped as you heard what was unmistakably the sound of suppressed gunfire.

You stopped thinking, then stopped hearing completely as your senses went on overdrive.

Clearing out your hiding space like a hurdle, you dashed around the corner, fearing the worst ohgodohgodohgoddontletitbeYoungjaepleasepleaseplease

And you froze as underneath a light of a public bathroom, Youngjae stood in the middle of two very dead men, completely fine, without a hair out of place, casually typing away on his phone like nothing happened. From where you were, you could see two very small, very neat holes on each man's head. If you didn't hear what just happened, you would have those these men were two drunkards who passed out outside.

You stood in a shadow a good 15 feet away, not sure if you would laugh or cry, My cover isn't blown, I can still walk away from all of this, Your Honor,People of the Jury, I ain't seen -

Your thoughts were frozen as Youngjae lowered his phone, closed his eyes, and sighed, his air coming out in a long puff of condensed air.

"..........Sunsengnim, I know you are there.Come out, please."

You were frozen as Youngjae turned and looked directly at the shadow you were standing in, and when your legs wouldn't unlock Youngjae took a step in your direction, his tone now filled with concern, "Are you hurt?"

Your legs unlocked and slowly, slowly, you wobbled out into the shady light, looking anywhere but Youngjae's face and the bodies on the ground. Youngjae took off his scarf and tucked it around your neck, "Answer me, please-are you hurt?You're shivering."

Your eyes finally landed on Youngjae's now smiling face, and you snapped out of your zombie state,"Youngjae, they're dead-you-they-me-what? WHAT?Me follow, you? How? How you know?How now brown cow?"

You took a step back from Youngjae and wobbled-Youngjae could sense that you were closer to heart failure/insanity/mental breakdown than he thought, so he took you by your elbow gently but firmly, "Come, this way."

Leading you back through the cafe's back entrance and smiling to the hostess who waved goodnight, Youngjae walked you over to his car andcarefully sat you down in the passenger seat, not saying a word until both of you were in,the doors were locked, and he the heat in both the car and your seats-soon, warmth filled the air and the color returned to your face as Youngjae rubbed your hands between his own,"................"

All you could do was exhale, and Youngjae leaned back into his seat, looked out the tinted windows before looking back at you, holding up your brass knuckles-you were too in shock to even realize he slid them off your hand. Examining the metal, he smiled at you with a sense of pride and light teasing, "Our noona-sunsengnim is tougher than she looks." 

Your voice came back, and with it, came anger and some embarassment, and you reached back and punched him in the arm, hitting him hard, and he jumped, "@#$&!!Yoo Youngjae!!!!!What is going on? What was that back there?!People are dead now-DEAD!!!" Youngjae winked, "How to say.....a disagreement with pals?"

 You snatched back your knuckles as Youngjae chuckled, and you grabbed his jacket collar and shook him until you could hear his teeth rattle, "Stop laughing, you could've been hurt-you could've been killed!!!What the -what-what-" To your horror, your voice cracked, and Youngjae looked at you before dragging a thumb across your cheek,catching water, "Sunsengnim, you are crying....were you scared?For me?" You dropped your head, sniffling, and nodded once. 

Youngjae closed his eyes and leaned back, before speaking to you again. It was the longest moment in your life as you put the heels of your hands to your eyes and tried to stop your tears from coming. You had so many questions now, such as Will you kill me now and What will happen to the goons in the back and I think I left my DNA on that on guy's jacket pocket, but none of these would leave your mouth.

"......Zelo didn't lie to you-we are businessmen,just not.........in a traditional style. We do certain business with certain people......and that's how we live," for the first time since you'd known him, Youngjae looked unsure of himself as he gestured with one hand, "We....... do want to grow as people, which is why we take your classes. We enjoy them by the way-yes,even Jongup," he added quickly, and you chuckle through your tears as you said, "So how did you know I followed you?"

Youngjae held up his annoying phone(you didn't know how, but you were irritated at the inanimate object as well), and smiled, "There is a tracking device on your car-you won't find it. I checked it after my.....argument......and saw that you were nearby. I put it together in my head,"  

Youngjae tapped his temple as you sat there, stunned into silence as you slowly absorbed his words.

"....We just want to keep you safe. You are.....dear to us. We," Youngjae had the decency to blush, and shake out his fringe over his eyebrows, ".....We are fond of you."

Youngjae takes your face and turned it so that you were looking eye to eye, "Don't do this again, please. I don't want you hurt-we don't want you hurt in our......affairs. In our darkness, you are our light."

Youngjae's words hit you like weights as he wiped your face gently and pulled away, unlocking his car doors and coming around and helping you out, "Come, I'll follow YOU home this time."

He walked you to your car and stood there as you got in, then followed you closely as you drove home, getting out when you were safely parked in your garage. You didn't even question it, now that he knew where you lived, and you were too tired to argue-it was already close to midnight.

Youngjae folded his arms and waited, tapping his foot as you pulled out your keys for the door, and you managed to laugh again as he huffed in the cold, "I am not going to follow anybody tonight- please go home." He tilted his chin at you, "You mean, you won't follow anybody ever again."

Your breath hitched as he walked up to you in easy steps and took his scarf from you, gently placing a warm kiss on your cheek,allowing his lips to linger on your face for just a few seconds before he stepped away from you, "Stay pure, noona-stay away from our dark side, please."

Youngjae walked back towards his car, and you watched as he waved and drove off....

......Going to bed later that night, after taking a few swigs of a 1975 Devil's Cut Bourbon you liberated from your stash, you sat in your bed,tipsy,drained of energy, and sighed-then your phone beeped with a message from an unknown number:

"You know, if you wanted a date, you could've just asked me normally.XOXO."

You let out a half scream, half giggle as you drifted off, holding your phone and dreaming of tan jackets and video games.....