She’d spent way too much time sleeping and recovering during this nightmare. Jisoo lay quietly in the early morning dawn. She knew they’d be up soon and on the run. Unfortunately. She was exhausted. Just the thought of getting up was enough to make her body feel like lead. Quitting wasn’t an option. She had to hold up. Min-seok would expect nothing less. Neither would her father. It didn’t matter that any other person would understand weakness in this situation because she knew her brother and father wouldn’t show any. 

 

Min-seok would more than her father. Her father was a hard . Her mother had died a decade ago now. She and Min-seok had become closer after the loss whereas her father had become more distant. Colder. As if it was his way to avoid being hurt again. Weakness was to be avoided at all costs. Considering he was a former Flotilla and weakness wasn’t in their vocabulary, she could understand. That she was here in this situation was not something anyone could prepare her for though. She had no training for something like this. 

 

“Are you going to wake her,” Sehun asked in a low voice. “We’ve got ten minutes.” 

 

“I was trying to give her as much time as I can.” 

 

“Understood.” 

 

Silence. 

 

“Damn,” Suho growled. “I’ll wake her now.” 

 

“Don’t bother,” Jisoo said, rolling over and sitting up. The movement caused her to in her breath and shudder as muscles screamed at her after stiffening overnight. It took a long moment to it up and speak again, “I’m awake.” 

 

“Good.” 

 

She stared at the four huge calendar model males. Talk about gorgeous… They stared back at her in silence. Thankfully without having a clue as to what was crossing her mind. She sighed. “I guess that means time to go?” 

 

“You get a few minutes to eat.” 

 

She brightened. “Food would be good.” She struggled to her feet until she tried to put weight on her puffy soles. She collapsed instantly, tumbling back onto the makeshift bed. “.” 

 

Instantly Suho was at her side. “Your feet?” 

 

“Yeah. I’m fine. It was just the shock,” she muttered. Please let it be just the shock. She had to be able to walk. 

 

“Lie still for a moment. I cleaned them last night but the light was bad, so I need to take another look now.” 

 

“You cleaned them?” she asked in astonishment. “Really?” 

 

“Yes, after you fell asleep.” 

 

Oh . Chagrined to realize a man could actually wash her feet while she slept was a little unsettling. She sat up as he took a careful look at first one then the second. He pulled out a thick cream and coated the soles of both liberally then slowly eased two thick pairs of socks over her raw skin. She stared, open mouthed as he finished. 

 

“These should help. Now try to stand.” 

 

With his help she gained her feet. Thankfully the socks offered a thick cushion for her weight. She smiled gratefully. “Thank you. I was worried about how I was going to be able to walk today.” 

 

“When those socks run through,” he said, “the guys each have spares with them, too.” 

 

It took her a moment to realize that meant she was wearing his spare socks. “Thank you.” 

 

He gave her a slow smile that zinged to her heart. “No problem.” 

 

Giving her space, he stepped back and let her hobble her way to the table. She stopped just before and looked around hopefully. “I don’t suppose you found a lovely bathroom with a proper toilet anywhere close by?” 

 

“Not a one. No bubble baths or bottles of wine either.” 

 

“Damn. Must remember to send a complaint to the manager,” she said cheerfully. “So I have to go to the bathroom, outside?” 

 

Suho stepped up. “Outside around the back of the cabin. And I’ll be standing watch.” 

 

“Of course you will.” She groaned comically. “Show me where, please.” 

 

She followed him around the small bushes at the back of the cabin. “Yep, definitely need to write the establishment,” she said. 

 

“Glad you’re finding something to laugh about.” Suho gave her a small nudge. “Go on. I’ll keep my back turned.” 

 

“Great. Well, let’s see if I can do this quickly.” 

 

It was awkward and uncomfortable given the sore legs and puffy feet. When done, she stood up, rearranged her clothing and called out, “I’m done.”

 

“Good. Inside. You get a few minutes then we need to leave.” 

 

Of course they did. Would this never end? Inside she washed, then scarfed the few rations the men had shared and drank a half bottle of water. Resolute, she turned to face them, all waiting and standing in various relaxed positions that completely belied their inner guard that was always on.

 

“Okay,” she said. “What’s next?” 

 

“There’s a small town a couple of miles away. Chanyeol has gone to check it out. We’ll round up a vehicle and arrange for you to be picked up.” 

 

“Sounds good.” In fact, only a couple of miles away sounded lovely. She could do that. She hoped. 

 

In silence, they filed out in a single line, with Jisoo in the middle. She breathed in the fresh air now that she had a moment to look around. There was a boggy spot on the left hand side. She heard ducks flying overhead and song birds chirping in the tree. The sun was just breaking over the crest. 

 

“Are we still in North?” she asked in wonder. The trees offered a mix of smells that lifted and changed with the breeze. 

 

It was surprisingly beautiful. 

 

In any other circumstances, she’d love to spend some time here. 

 

Then again, she’d loved to spend time in lots of places. She worked long and hard yet spent little on herself. She needed time off. Relax a little. These last few days, she’d come close to losing everything. She didn’t think anything the group that kidnapped her offered was going to be anything she’d like to accept. Death was not just a possibility, but rather a probability. And she still didn’t know which group it was. Not that it mattered. They were all bad news. 

 

And these men had saved her from that. 

 

There was a loud disturbance from a cluster of brush on the right. Instinctively she dropped to the ground. When no one reassured her it was all right to stand up again, she realized her instincts were correct. 

 

“Yes,” Suho said. “According to the GPS, we’re almost at the border. Let’s move.” 

 

Crowded beside her, Suho kept a hand on her shoulder. She watched as he searched the area visually. He checked his watch–if that was a watch given that it held more dials and switches than a watch could possibly hold. Catching her glance, he smiled reassuringly at her. 

 

“We’re just checking.” 

 

There were a couple of short bursts of pops. She frowned. “Was that–” 

 

“We’ve got this.” 

 

She believed him. 

 

“,” he murmured. “Stay down.” And he flattened onto the ground beside her, placed a finger to her lips. 

 

Wordlessly she asked if they were no longer alone. 

 

But his narrowed gaze never changed. 

 

She closed her eyes. Please let this be over. 

 

“Well, well. What do we have here?” A rough chuckle yelled in her ears. “Must be my lucky day.” 

 

Oh crap. Her gaze flew open to see a white male dressed in camouflag