The Institute is located in the sketchier, rundown, and abandoned part of Seoul where no one ever ventured and the government was too lazy to clear out and renovate. It was disguised as an old warehouse which was used to store large machinery and furniture. The Head, who is the founder of the institute as well as your boss, had cleared it out and reorganized it to fit his needs. Only some people were there when you guys got back, drinking, smoking, or getting high with each other. Other members could have been doing various night jobs or staying elsewhere. When you guys arrived inside the building, Key had immediately gone to the Head. You said goodnight to Sehun and found an empty room to sleep in.

Hours later, you wake up to the sound of the door creaking open and you roll over to see who the intruder is. Sehun stands under the doorframe in a white wife beater and black jeans, his hair disheveled and prominent dark circles under his eyes.

“Hi” he says with a smile and walks over to nudge you in the side with his barefoot.

“Why are you up? It’s not even light outside yet” you say with a yawn.

“Couldn’t fall asleep, it’s always too stuffy in here, I feel like im gonna suffocate to death, wanna go up to the roof with me?”

You groan and stick your face into the pillow, pretending to go back to sleep. But you feel him kneel down beside you and start poking your side. “Please Hanbyul” he whines, sounding like a little kid asking his mom for cake. You peek up at him from under your hair and see him pouting at you with big eyes; he looks so cute. You couldn’t help but giggle at his expression though. He was only like this with you, usually he acted cool and suave around everyone else at the institute and never showed any emotion or sign of vulnerability.

Sehun frowns, “why are you laughing?.” He starts tickling you and pinching your cheeks and before you know it, he scoops you up like you weigh no more than a feather and starts walking out the door.

“Okay, okay! God, I’ll go up to the roof with you, just put me down”. Sehun grins victoriously and sets you back down on your feet.

“You’re so annoying Sehun, why am I even friends with you?”

“Ha. Ha. Because I am the awesomest, most amazing person in the whole wide world, and you should consider it a privilege to be friends with me”. He says this with an infuriating smirk and you punch him in the arm.

You decide to stop being ‘mad’ at Sehun the moment a cool but refreshing  wind blows past that slightly ruffles your hair and white tank top. It’s chilly but the fresh air clears your senses, as the two of you lie on the slightly slanted roof of the building. It was quite high up, five stories to be exact. You could see seoul from here, the whole entire city, the lights glimmering like jewels: rubies, diamonds, emeralds. The beautiful view was the only good thing about the Institute; it was like a whole separate world up here. When you and Sehun were younger and still training, you guys would come to the roof frequently to just talk, or to enjoy the stars and the city lights. However, when you guys were promoted to the second house you started receiving jobs every other day and between those jobs you were either training more or visiting your mother and younger brother at home. You still see Sehun a lot because he is your partner but rarely can you guys relax, especially recently since the Head seems to be greedier now more than ever before and competition seems to have appeared from a few other organizations.

“What are you thinking about right now?” You turn your head to see Sehun staring at you contemplatively with his dark eyes.

“Nothing, just wondering when this will end…If this will end.”

“What?”

“This. Everything.” You wave your hands and gesture at the surroundings, implying being a part of the institute, doing illegal things, leading a life that is unusual for any other girl your age. “I’m just wondering if I will ever get to be a normal, teenage girl.” You prop yourself on one elbow so your facing Sehun, who does the same. You guys are facing each other now. You reach over to his side, with the intent of checking on his wound, the one that he had acquired only hours ago. But before you can even reach halfway across the small space that is separating you and him, he grabs your wrist and brings your hand to his chest, right where his heart is. You are startled and can’t help but feel your own heartbeat quicken; a blush starts to creep across your face.You raise your eyes from where your hand is on his chest to meet his brown ones and the weirdest thought occurs to you: he’s going to kiss me. But no, this is SEHUN we’re talking about, Oh My God, why do I feel like this, He’s my best friend. He doesn’t think of me like that. He loves me like a sister, but WHAT IS HE DOING? AND WHY AM I AFFECTED BY IT. These are the things that cross your mind in a span of 5 seconds. You quickly look down and break the intensity of the gaze that seemed to be passing between you and him. When you look back up you see a flash of disappointment that is immediately masked by a look of sympathy.

“You trust me, right Hanbyul?” you nod and wait for what is coming next. “Then trust me when I say that you will get out of this, we will get out of this, eventually that time will come and when it does I’ll make sure we get as far away from this place as possible, okay?” You nod again. He releases your wrist and lies back down with his hands behind his head, staring contently at the stars. You look at him before doing the same. You notice the stars are not very bright tonight and the moon is covered by the clouds.

“Sehun?”

“yes?”

“you’ll always be my partner right?”

“Yup.”

“And we’ll be best friends forever?”

“Forever”.

The next morning you wake up to the sun shining down on your face, burning your eyelids and forehead. You check your watch and see that it is 7:37. You get up and carefully step around Sehun so as to not wake him and make your way over to the ladder that leads down to the fifth floor. Although on the outside the institute looks absolutely desolated and run down, the inside is actually quite nice and clean. You make your way down the stairs , head down and running quickly, you accidently bump into someone and when you look up, you see that it is Eunseo, one of your few other friends in the second house of the institute. Eunseo is older than you, though, and well-liked by the Head, she often receives higher paying yet more difficult jobs, ones that involved killing people or high-security infiltration. She was one of those girls you wouldn’t expect to have the ability to kill someone though. She was petite, with pale skin and an angelic face framed by long, silky straight black hair. She was one of your first friends at the institute, besides Sehun, and had welcomed you graciously when you first arrived there, begging and crying saying that you would do anything to earn a bit of money. But there is something about her that always makes you uncomfortable; maybe you’re just jealous of her ridiculously good looks.

“Oh, hi Eunseo” you say with a smile.

“Hi Hanbyul”

“Where are you going?” you ask politely with pretend interest.

“Oh just to meet with the Head, he has another job for me, and apparently this one involves a strip club and , ” she giggles and winks at you. Shuddering on the inside you plaster on a fake smile and sympathetically pat her on the shoulder.

“Good luck with that.”

“Thanks. Oh and by the way Hanbyul, where were you last night? I was looking for you all over the place but I couldn’t find you”

“Oh I was on the roof, with Sehun” You see jealousy flash across her face. Wait, what? Did Eunseo like Sehun. She does seem to be his type though, wait, did he even have a type? She raises her eyebrows at you and for a split second she seems to give you a death glare that would have made you curl up and cry right at that second if you weren’t used to this kind of behavior already, from being at the institute.

“By the way have you seen Key?” you try to change the subject.

“Oh yeah, I saw him on the first floor, he was looking for you too.”

“Okay, thanks Eunseo, I have to get going but I’ll see you later.”

“Byyeee.” She trilled off in a high girly voice and continued up the stairs. You roll your eyes and run down the last of the steps into the common area and sure enough Key was there, sitting on a couch and drinking a beer, a bored look plastered on his face. When he saw you he waved you over and took out an envelope from his front pocket.

“this is for you Hanbyul” He hands you the white envelope and you quickly rip it open, counting the crisp green bills, you almost wanted to smell them but you restrain yourself.

“You better be happy, the Head was generous last night, this is probably the most you’ll ever get in one paycheck”. Unable to contain your happiness, you jump up and give him a tight hug. Key stiffens and you remember that he hates hugs but you’re just too happy. You were running low on money and your family’s refrigerator needed a restocking, not to mention your younger brother Taesoo needed a new jacket. Key grimaces but surprisingly does not push you away.

“Can I go drop this off at home?” You plead, with the best puppy dog eyes you can muster at that moment. Key’s expression softens and he sighs, giving in.

“Okay fine, but you better be back before 12. The Head has another job for you and this one requires a lot of preparation.”

“Okay, I will definitely, for sure, be back before 12”. You hug him again and leave to get your stuff, including your dirty clothes you needed to wash.

“You better be back on time or else I’m gonna be a for the rest of the week and you’re going to wish you were never born”. You Laugh, not letting Key’s threat bring down your mood, and run out the door of the institute, looking forward to seeing your mother and younger brother for the first time in weeks.