"Do we have any idea what's inside?" Bomi asks.

"No," Bada says. "The man just handed it to me, but I suspect it's something that could be used as a weapon if Khan wanted it. I mean, the case reads, 'ELECTRO ASSAULT PROTOTYPE'..."

"Well if that's the case, then maybe it could be what I'm looking for," Hayoung says.

"Whaddya mean, Hayoung?" Namjoo asks.

"Remember how I was thinking of designing a new piece of equipment for us? I think this thing here will bypass that... at least if it's what Bada-unnie is thinking it could be..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Eunji stammers. "I know it might seem attractive, but you have to remember this is something that my dad's company developed and they won't take well to finding it stolen only for us to use. They might even think that we stole it in the chaos..."

"Well, we don't know for sure about what they think," Chorong sighs. "Regardless, we will need to find a way to return this safely..."

"Wait a minute, girls," Bada interjects. "Eunji, I just realized this looks to be from the Research division, and you know who heads that, right?"

Eunji's eyes widen. "You're right. Returning this may not be necessary. There's likely a copy of it that already got produced."

"Who is this guy you're talking about?" Bomi asks. But then, Bada's phone rings.

"Yes... oh, I'm fine, father, I got out in time. YES, I'm safe. I'm at a friend's place. Had to stop by on the way to work... uh-huh... I see... well hopefully it's found... AHH... GOT IT. Well take care, father... bye..." Bada clicks her phone. "The other one's gone, too."

"Yikes," Eunji says. "I think we should focus on finding that one. I suspect who has it,"

"Khan," Chorong sighs.

"Wait... Bada-unnie... did you write this?" Hayoung asks, holding up a small note. "I found this tacked to the case, and it... doesn't seem like it was originally here..."

"No... I didn't..."

"Let's take a look, Hayoung," Chorong says as all of them clamor around Hayoung.

"'Please pass this case to the rangers, then have them read the note in the case, SW'" Hayoung reads, softly.

"Well that's just great!" Bomi sighs. "We gotta figure out some stupid puzzle to open the case?!"

"I'm not surprised," Eunji says. "The guy we mentioned earlier usually incorporates some sort of puzzle to each of his cases to prevent intrusion from... 'unworthy people' as he likes to say..."

"Hayoung should be able to crack it though, right? She can crack anything!" Namjoo says, excitedly.

"Easy there," Chorong interjects. "No need to pressure her."

"Right... sorry..."

"I'll jot some notes down and see how this thing works... then I'll go on my walks to help me solve it," Hayoung says.

"Sounds like a plan," Eunji announces.

-

"Well done, Roy," Kwon Jiyong says, menacingly. "I knew I could trust you to do the theft... now Seunghyun can proceed with his upgrade for his new equipment..."

"Indeed," Seunghyun says with a chuckle.

"Mind if I take my leave for a bit?"

"Not at all."

Roy walks away from the two, but instead of going to his room, he sneaks into Seunghyun's lab. Now's my chance... I just hope that lady was able to deliver the case...

As Roy returns to his room, he finds Eddy leaving it. "You still haven't left?" he asks.

"I was about to. Just needed to grab something."

-

"I wish they were here... they would have loved to see this..."

It had been one of the things the trio had wanted. To see the sun set from the beach. As she gazes out to the sea, Hayoung takes a locket out of her pocket. Opening it, she stares at the small picture inside.

-

"Sheesh... it always gets too hot before the summer..."

"And school just NEVER lets us takes trips anymore..."

"We do go on trips, but never to where we want!"

"Then summer rolls around and we're always too busy doing our own things..."

"Yeah..."

"What about after graduation? We can definitely do something together then!"

"Maybe a trip to the beach!"

"Yea! Let's do that! Spend the entire day there!"

-

Hayoung grips the locket tightly, slowly closing her eyes. I'm making our wish come true. If only you were here with me...

As she opens her eyes, she feels a tap on her shoulder.

"...Eunji-unnie?!"

"Thought I'd pay you a quick visit to see how you were doing!"

Eunji plops down next to Hayoung as she begins to stare out to sea. "Wow... it's been a while since I've seen the sun set here." As she lets the wind brisk by her, she takes a deep breath. "I honestly miss coming here. I get so absorbed with work that sometimes I forget to take time away to just let my mind go blank for a bit... wish I could remind myself better." Then, as she turns her head, she notices Hayoung giving her a bit of an odd look. "...what's the matter?"

"Unnie... usually I like to be alone during these times..."

"Look, I won't bother you. Imma let you do your own thing, alright?"

There, the two sit silently. Eunji lets her legs rock back and forth as she rests her head on her hand. Hayoung, however, has her head down. She expected to not find anyone and be able to ponder by herself. Then Eunji shows up and it throws her off. Trying to get her head straight, she quietly pulls her locket back out.

Just then, a breeze grabs Hayoung's hat. Yet in a split second, Eunji catches it with her free hand. "Here, Hayoung-ie. You better hold onto that. I'm sure you wouldn't want to lose it."

"Oh... thank you, unnie."

Then, Eunji notices the locket. "Mind if I ask what it is you're holding?"

Hayoung lets out a sigh as she puts her hat in her backpack. "It's... something special to me... a memento."

"Mmm," Eunji says with a stir. "You don't have to share if you don't feel comfortable. Share on your own accord, okay? Doesn't have to be now."

Hayoung can only nod. Eunji then softly pats her hand. "Listen, Hayoung-ie... if you ever need someone to talk to, just let me know and I'll be there for you."

Just then, they both see a flyer dance in the wind in front of them. However, Hayoung notices something written on it in pencil, frantically racing off to catch it. Once she had it in her hands, she turns the flyer over to find a message:

QRRBRBIRLBEL is Not Ready to Die - SW

"...what on earth does this mean?!"

"Hayoung-ie, what did you find?"

"I... don't know... but I have a hunch it was meant for us. It's signed with the same letters as the message on the case."

"Hmm... why don't we head back?"

-

Back at the apartment, Chorong examines the note on the flyer. "...you might be onto something, Hayoung."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, did you see what's on the flyer?"

"Uh... no..."

Chorong flips the page over. Everyone else's eyes widen.

"Wait... isn't that... the place where we took that selca?" Bomi asks.

"Yup," Eunji mutters. "Busan Tower."

"Then this, umm... SW fellow has to be from Khan, then!" Namjoo yelps. "Just look at how the note is phrased! 'Not ready to die?'"

"But that first phrase doesn't have anything to do with Khan," Hayoung says. "Kyu-ahr... whatever it says... it's just a bunch of garbled nonsense. There's nothing in our archives that link this, umm... phrase to Khan!"

"I mean, they could have done something since they got here..." Namjoo ponders.

"Whatever the case, we'll have to hold onto this. There's no telling what Khan will do with that prototype," Chorong says. "We'll have to keep an eye out and be ready when they return."

As everyone disperses into the apartment, Hayoung plops back down at her table with her laptop. She stares intently at the case's lock. Three letters followed by four digits. You'd be insane if you tried every single combination! How many is it... umm... let's see... err... Hayoung begins to write in her notebook. Wow. 17,576,000. Yea, there's no way I'm trying this brute force. Hayoung shakes her head and continues to jot down some notes. What if the message is for this, though? Hayoung then feels a tap on her shoulder.

"Still working hard, eh?"

"Eunji-unnie! Oh, well, I thought I'd put in a little work before I call it a day."

"I understand. Just don't push yourself to hard, alright?"

Hayoung nods.

"Hehe... I wasn't too great at that in school."

"...what?"

Eunji points to Hayoung's calculations. "What's it for?"

"The amount of possible codes on the case. No way I'm trying that many."

Eunji nods. "Well I'm glad I know now. I would have punched that thing to bits!"

Hayoung can't help but give a light chuckle.

-

The next morning, Hayoung wakes up to find everyone gone in the apartment. She then finds a note next to her futon. After slowly rubbing her eyes, Hayoung reaches for the note.

Hayoung-ie, we're off to get some breakfast. We'll be back soon! ;) -Eunji-unnie

Hayoung yawns as she decides to sleep in a little more.

-

Will Hayoung crack the code on the case? Why would that message be written on that flyer? When will Khan return? Find out next chapter!

-

A/N: Hope y'all are enjoying reading so far! I'm also curious as to what y'all think the code is... and what the messages are hints to!