“You should go home now. It’s safer for you there than just sitting around here,” I said, pointing at him. Instead of agreeing with me, Myungsoo just crossed his arms.

“You do remember why I made you my bodyguard, right? I don’t need you to protect me; I need you to find the guy. That’s the only reason why I’m walking around with you. There better be progress tomorrow though.”

We crossed the street to where two black cars waited for us. “Hey Myungsoo, I thought we only came in one car.”

Dongwoo suddenly stepped in front of him. “Boss,” he pulled out two guns from behind his back. “Run!”

The men from the second mysterious car noticed our apprehension and started firing. Myungsoo and I hurried back towards the school; no one would dare attack in an area where stray bullets could potentially hit young students. If we got back inside the gates, we would be fine. Woohyun and Sungyeol had spread out, surrounding the enemy from the other sides. I looked back to see if I could recognize any of the faces.

“He’s not one of them,” I reported as we sprinted away.

At least a dozen men suddenly ambushed and surrounded us. From my backpack, I pulled out what looked to be a seemingly harmless pen. This was a weapon I had designed and been tweaking ever since I was old enough to figure out the multiplication table.

Function one: Bo.

At the press of a button, the stick elongated into a six-foot metal bo. The enemies’ fingers jerked on the triggers and I instinctively ran in front of Myungsoo. The bullets came towards us but none made contact. I had blocked them all. I glanced down and smiled; there was barely a scratch on the surface of the bo.

Myungsoo hurried past and was already taking down some of the men. I had just saved him and instead of thanking me, he went and had fun on his own! And that thing in his hand… HE HAD A GUN?!  Lately, I’ve been wondering why I even bother.

I looked around and targeted two men trying to get a clear shot of him; I aimed straight at them, knocking one out easily with my staff while twisting my body, neatly kicking the other at the chest with my left foot. And then I may or may not have proceeded to take my anger out on the three nearby.

“Stop fooling around!” Myungsoo yelled as he continued to run again.  I looked up and noticed that everyone was already knocked out.

We made it back inside the fortified school gates and waited for the rest to join us.

----------

“Boss! Boss!” Dongwoo shouted in joy as he ran towards us. As he got closer, I stared at his glistening eyes. Was he… crying?

“Are you guys alright?” Woohyun and Sungyeol asked as they checked for any wounds.

“We’re fine. That thing,” Myungsoo replied, nodding his head towards me. “caused more damage than those little insects.” I responded with a sneer.

“We couldn’t find out anything about them,” Sungyeol said as we climbed into our car.

“And it’s really strange how few bullets were actually shot despite their large numbers,” Woohyun added.

I realized that they were right. Some of the last people that we encountered didn’t even draw their guns. But they did have them; when the men were running, or even walking, their strides were uneven. With the exception of one who was most likely left-handed, all of them had a shorter right stride, the side where they kept their gun.

“Hey Myungsoo, isn’t Leeteuk your rival?”

He glanced sideways at me, his eyes full of suspicions. Only those close to the Twisting Dragons knew of the history between the two gangs.

“I always read through my parents’ reports. Leeteuk’s on my blacklist,” I explained. The “Yuseon blacklist” is comprised all of the major criminals in the area. “The Blood Angels are pretty big. And have you considered the possibility that they… killed your parents?”

“That’s not possible. Yesung is positive that it wasn’t him.”

Yesung… why did that name sound familiar? Was he that peculiar guy with the beady looking eyes and the turtle neck tattoo?

“How is he so certain that it wasn’t Leeteuk?” I asked, confused. “If he saw the person, then why hasn’t he been able to identify the culprit?”

“Yesung said it was too dark to tell,” Dongwoo interjected.

“Then how can he say that it wasn’t Leeteuk?” I argued.

They all looked at each other, acknowledging my logic. Once we reached the Kim manor, Yesung immediately greeted us. “Young boss, I was told that you were attacked. I’m glad to see you managed to escape with so little wounds.”

Dongwoo was about to correct him but Myungsoo held up his hand to stop him. Bastard, give credit where credit is due.

When I looked up into Yesung’s face again, my mouth locked into a straight line. There was a problem: Yesung wasn’t genuinely worried about his boss like he said. He was worried about something though. Once he was out of earsight, I confronted Myungsoo again. “I don’t think you should trust him.”

Myungsoo didn’t stop walking. “Leave it alone.”

“But his eyes are too mean!”

“Are you telling me to doubt one of my own men based on your elementary school reasoning?”

“But he was there when the fire started! He’s saying Leeteuk’s not responsible for it but there’s something wrong about that statement! It’s as though he’s steering your suspicions away from that guy!”

Myungsoo twitched. “In this group, to be a traitor is to ask for death. Unless I have proof, I will remain loyal to each member.”

“Then I’ll give you your damn proof.”

----------

Dongwoo knocked on my door a little later with a lumpy bag. “Here are the things you requested.”

I accepted the items inside and expressed my gratitude but he was hesitant to leave. “Yuseon, what are you planning to do with those things?”

“Your thick-headed boss refuses to believe me so I need to do a little bit of spying.”

“But the clothes inside…” Dongwoo faded off, unsure of how to proceed.

“Yes, I know,” I assured him. “But don’t worry about it. Could you get me a gun too please? A .45 will do.”

By the time he knocked again, I was already dressed. “Thanks. And could you try not to tell Myungsoo until after I’m done? I’ll be back as quickly as I can.” I tied on a silver metallic wrap and wore the diamond necklace and ring from the bag.

“I still can’t believe you’re a girl,” he said, shaking his head. “Good luck.”

“I am definitely going to get in trouble for this,” I heard him mumble before I rounded the corner. However, I was forced to promptly return.

“Uh, you wouldn’t mind showing me to the front door, would you? It’s no use if I get lost here.”

----------

I spotted Yesung climbing into his car and waited for 20 seconds before turning on my own, unwillingly provided by a pouting Sungyeol but he had no chance… no one could resist Dongwoo’s puppy eyes. I trailed behind him with the lights off to a degrading building that any Dragons group would be ashamed to claim. Parking the car in an alley, I got out and donned black shades. Although it would be a slight disadvantage for me at this time at night, I couldn’t risk being identified.

Before he could enter the building, I stepped in front and slammed the door shut. One of his men charged forward but fell down easily with a kick to his stomach. Fight first, ask later—a common trait among those who were hiding something, those who couldn’t be trusted. More were about to attack when I withdrew my gun. “Why are you wasting your strength attacking me?”

“Who are you?” Yesung asked, gazing at me steadily. Those eyes--they belonged on a spider.

I tried to deflect the question. “You’re taking too long. If you don’t kill him soon, it’s only going to cause more inconveniences.”

“Are you one of Leeteuk’s women? Only a Blood Angels mistress would wear such expensive items,” he nodded appreciatively at the jewelry.

So Leeteuk was involved. “He wants to know when you’re planning on finishing the job.”

“I just got off the phone with him; I know what to do with Kim Myungsoo. You guys will be joining us when the time comes. In the meantime, there is no need for his threats here.” He walked past me and left. I mentally battled with myself and finally agreed to settle with this information; if I asked any more questions, they would see right through me.

I returned to the Kim estate and played the conversation from the concealed tape recorder to Dongwoo. He remained mysteriously quiet.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

He nodded gravely. “Myungsoo has just left to see Yesung.”

I jumped up. “Do you know why or where? Why didn’t he wait for me?”

“I don’t know. A car just came for him but we didn’t question it. I told him you were busy so he just took the twins and a couple of other people.”

“Then we have to leave now! I think…” I didn’t want to finish the thought. “…they’re going to kill him tonight.”