The night air was harsh against your bare skin as you changed into the employee uniform. Sehun was next to you, looking over the outline of the building, waiting for Key’s signal. Right now you and Sehun were located at the rear of the main building; you guys had managed to get past the front gates by sneaking into a delivery truck. Key had gone to the main security control tower; the plan was for him to knock out all the guards and then he would stay there and switch off all the alarms while you and Sehun went to look for the files.

                You felt your phone buzz and noticed you got a text message:

From: Key Sent: 10:09:33, Feb 20 2012

Successfully permeatedMSCT, get those files quickly! ;)

The interior was massive and extremely nice and modern. There were over twenty four levels and 400 rooms and offices; damn, these people must be gazillionares. There was a young woman of about 20, most likely the receptionist, standing at the front desk. Her hair was in a perfect bun and her 4 inch black heels only made her look more intimidating. You and Sehun slipped past her to the other side of the large entrance hall by running and hiding behind the tall glass pillars. You guys swiftly ran up the glass stairs to the first floor elevator and quickly hopped on. According to the information that was given to you, the files were located in the financial department, which was situated on the 17^th floor in room 174.

You and Sehun were silent and tense as the elevator went up at an excruciatingly slow speed; you guys had to be alert and ready for anything or anyone. You notice your reflection in the gold tinted elevator walls and cringe. Your hair is a mess, black circles ringed your eyes, and the ugly employee outfit did not help your appearance. The ding of the elevator on the 10^th floor made you refocus. The mission was set this late at night because most of the businessmen would’ve gone home by now, but apparently there were some late workers.

The doors of the elevator slid open to reveal four middle-aged men dressed in expensive-looking business suits. At first they did not give you guys a second glance as they stepped onto the elevator, momentarily fooled by the employee uniforms. But then as they each got a good look at you guys they realized something was off, the two of you were too young, too suspicious- looking to just be employees.

A short, pudgy man reacted first.

                “Hey! You guys aren’t allo-“ but he was cut off by Sehun who kneed him in the stomach and then hit him in the head, rendering him unconscious. By now the other men realized what was going on; you tried to stop one from hitting the red security button in the elevator but someone had locked your arms behind you. You back-kicked them in the balls and body slammed them into the walls of the elevator.

                “Hanbyul! You go and look for the files, I’ll take care of this!” Sehun said this while punching the fourth guy in the face.

                “Okay, but be careful, they already signaled for help and we don’t know how much back up security they have and what they’re armed with” you say this while running out of the elevator as it stopped on the 17^th floor.

                The lights were off and the hallways seemed to be completely empty, however you still kept your back against the wall, gun out in front just in case someone sneaked up on you. 179. 178. 175. 171. Aiissh, where’s 174?

You hear the slightest sound of wind and rustling clothes behind you and you immediately turn around to find no one there, not even a shadow.  Must just be my imagination, stop being so paranoid Hanbyul, you think. You turn the corner into a short dead-end hallway with a single door at the end. This must be it! You try the door knob, but, unsurprisingly, it is locked. Stepping back and with as much force you can muster, you kick the door open. The inside of the office is cold and is lit only by the moonlight that shines through the large glass window. There is a large black desk and leather chair in the center of the office. Rows of white filing cabinets are lined up against one entire wall; The file must be in one of those. According to the description given to you by the Head, the folder is dark blue and rather large, with a gold seal in the left hand corner.

                You start from the cabinet on the far left and move across, flipping through hundreds of papers, folders, dvds, and books. As you get to the second to last cabinet, you starting to become impatient and worried that someone will find you, but something flickers, and shines in the corner of your eye and you see the gold seal, with the design of a circle and a star in the middle engraved onto a large blue folder. This must be it! You think to yourself, and you are just about to take it out when you hear someone step into the room.

                “Not so fast” says a deep voice. You turn around immediately, intending to pull out your gun on him, but your fingers are slippery and the gun falls out of your grip onto the floor between the two of you. . You turn to look at the figure that is still standing by the door in the shadows, you cannot see his face but you can tell it’s a young man.

                “I won’t shoot, if you just hand the files over to me”

                “No way! I was here first!” you say this while sliding onto the ground in a flash, your hands out stretched towards the gun. But you feel something sharp against the skin of your neck and a stingy tingling begins to spread throughout your body; he had shot you with a tranquilizer. But before you were completely overtaken by a sleepy haze, the figure steps under the moonlight. And your heart almost stops. Messy jet black hair. Dark intense eyes. High cheek bones and a strong jawline. Those lips that were decorated with a perpetual, infuriating smirk that could make any girl swoon. Was it him? It can’t be him, he left 6 years ago, gone, vanished. But everything about this guy is so familiar. It has to be him.

                You barely manage to whisper ‘Kai’ before everything went black.

You wake up in someone’s arms, someone who is running down stairs; you didn’t open your eyes but you can tell from the up and down movement. You immediately think Sehun, but then the memories of what had happened come rushing back and you have to remind yourself to not tense up as you realize that it is probably Kai that is holding you. You sneak a look up at him through your eyelashes and your suspicions are confirmed. And he has the files that we need as well. You subtly wriggle your fingers and toes to make sure the tranquilizer has entirely worn off, you inwardly sigh in relief as you realize it has. You feel Kai pause at a landing to catch his breath and you take advantage of his moment of vulnerability. With one hand you push against his chest to gain momentum and you roll out of his arm gracefully, using your other hand to soften the fall. You roll onto your feet and face Kai, in combat ready position.

                Kai is surprised at first, he did not expect the tranquilizer to wear off so quickly, but his expression of confusion is quickly replaced by another arrogant smirk. You couldn’t help but notice that the years have only made him more handsome. He was no longer the skinny little boy you knew when you were 11 years old, the one you used to go to the park with, buy ice creams with, tell all your secrets to.

                “I thought you were dead” you say this while looking at him straight in the eyes.

                “Wow, is that how you greet your best friend after what?, 6 years?.  I’m doing pretty well Hanbyul, nice of you to ask, how about you? How has your life been?” he says this sarcastically, leaning against the railing of the stairs with his arms crossed at his chest.

                “What do you expect me to say? You were the one who left, you vanished and I thought you were dead. Your house was empty and whoever I asked they said they had no idea. And then everything happened with my dad and mom, and I was all alone.” Your lip was trembling now and you could feel yourself tearing up but you push them back. You refused to cry. You had to stay strong.

                Kai’s expression changed, softened. He looked sad. “I’m sorry Hanbyul…It’s just, I had to! It’s hard to explain, can we not talk about this right now?” He says this while looking down at his hands, avoiding eye contact with you. You realize this is the perfect time, he had let his guard down. You could see the file sticking out from his black backpack and now was the chance to get it back. With the speed and agility you had acquired from years of training you run over and swing your legs and knock Kai’s feet from under him. He lands on his knees and you take this opportunity to slip your hand into his bag and grab the large blue folder. However, Kai almost reflexively turns around and pins you to the ground with your wrists on each side of your head, he is leaning over and looking down at you, the folder resting on your stomach.

                “You’re good Hanbyul, catching me off guard like that, but I’m still better” He knees you in the stomach and raises his fist to punch you in the face.

                “Don’t you dare hit her” comes a comfortably familiar voice and from your peripheral vision you see Sehun, his black clothes are ripped up and blood ran down the side of his arms as well as from his forehead. His gun was pointed at Kai’s head. Kai sees this and slips a knife out from his pocket and holds it to your throat, the cold metal makes you shiver and you feel a little bit of your blood trickle down your neck.

                “Shoot me and I’ll cut ” Kai says, almost in a playful tone that was mixed with malice. Wow, he has changed you think. But his eyes told a different story, although his eyes did seem much colder and distant, you could still see a sliver of that old Kai.

                “Don’t…shoot him Sehun…” You said this not because you were scared of dying and wanted to save your own , you just didn’t want Kai to get hurt. Sehun sighed and lowered the gun. Kai grinned and let go of the knife while reaching for the files. He gave you one last meaningful look before slipping out the door and into the night.

                “Jesus Christ Hanbyul, are you okay?” Sehun says this while pulling you up from the ground. He takes a tissue and wipes off the dried blood that had trickled down your neck. You nod, a little bit in shock of everything that had happened. You were just curious as to why Kai didn’t just leave you in the office, or why he didn’t just kill you; was he going to take me somewhere? But these were things to worry about later, first things first.

                The car ride back was uncomfortably silent and Key was indeed pissed but not as much as you had expected. However, you could tell he was worried about how he was going to explain things to the Head; you felt guilty, you should have tried harder, but something about seeing Kai had thrown you off.  You were still in shock.

                “By the way Hanbyul, did you know that guy” Sehun asked with curiosity.

                “No, why?” you lied almost reflexively and surprised yourself. You never lied to Sehun, never ever, but this time you felt like it was better for you and Kai’s past to be kept a secret, for now.

                Sehun shrugged and looked out the window, “I don’t know, it just seemed like you guys knew each other.” You yawned and leaned your head against Sehun’s shoulder. You stuck your cold hands into your jacket pocket and felt something, it was paper, a note:

                Hanbyul,

        Meet me on the corner of 22^nd street, Sunday at 7pm. Please.

                                -Kai

Author's note: i hope you guys like this chapter! comments are loved <3