Jisoo couldn't think straight. Her thoughts were racing around her mind and she was unable to organize them in a cohesive manner that would benefit her in her continued hunt for Kim Taehyung. She stumbled as she landed on the front yard of her own house, knees and palms dropping to the ground as her strength slowly slipped away just like her focus. She tried to shake off some of thoughts that were crowding her head. 

Seulgi had informed Jisoo that Taehyung was spotted at the edge of the country, just by the borders, which must mean he was leaving again. But as she recalled, he never left the country for too long so she needed to hatch a plan quickly. Just the thought of confronting him again gave her hope that she could still avenge her family but at the same time, she felt fear because she has a sickening feeling that Taehyung won't be as forgiving this time either. 

Jisoo grunted as she stood up and walked briskly towards her front door. She placed her hand on the doorknob and it made a click sound as it turned. She froze and felt her own eyes widen.

The door was unlocked. 

Jisoo drew her wand out from the inner pocket of her coat and furrowed her eyebrows, trying to remember when was the last time she ever left her house unlocked. The last time was never.

After a seconds of hesitation, she managed to muster up all her courage and strength before kicking the door wide open, a spell already on the tip of her tongue and ready to be casted. 

There was movement in front of her, a little to the right and she wasted no time in opening and bellowing, "Sectumsempra!" 

"Protego Maxima!" 

The light from the colliding spells revealed the intruder's identity and Jisoo managed to dodge his protection spell as she lowered her arm and retreated back her curse. She saw his dark brown hair before she saw his all-too familiar face. "Johnny? What are you doing here?" She sounded like she was in a daze, like a stunning spell had hit her. She hadn't heard from him for over 48 hours and thought he ditched her and their deal. "How - how did you even get in?!" 

Johnny lowered his arm and blew a hair strand away from his face. "Your protection spells are a pain in the ," he said to her in greeting and at the same time, as an answer to one of her questions. "But glad to know you're still alive and in one piece then. I was beginning to think you weren't as invincible to Taehyung as you seemed to be." 

Jisoo marched forward, passing him as she went up the flight of stairs. Johnny followed closely behind her. "Why are you here?" She repeated. She didn't bother asking how he figured out her address at this muggle town, he probably went through her files again.

"I know where Taehyung is," he told her right away. By the tone of his voice, she could tell that he too realized just how quickly they needed to move. This could be their last chance at finally capturing the dangerous Death Eater. "We have to get going now. The portkey my comrade fashioned will set off in 20 minutes." 

Jisoo nodded and glanced at him from over her shoulder. "Alright, just - just let me change." She felt a little silly for saying that out loud, especially at the current state of emergency they were facing but she just wanted to feel a little less uncomfortable and a fresh set of clothes would help at that.  

"Seriously?" Johnny rolled his eyes, Jisoo didn't have to look back at him to see because she could hear it in his voice. "Ugh, women. Hurry up!" 

"It's just personal hygiene!" Jisoo slammed the door shut behind her. 

It took her five minutes or less to change into new, fresh clothes but it was enough time to calm herself down as well. The thoughts slowed and her heartbeat went back to normal. She needed to keep a level head if she wanted to catch Taehyung once and for all. This had to end today, one way or another. And the last thing Jisoo wanted was rattled nerves and messy thoughts. So much was at stake here and there was so much she needed to make up for. 

She bolted down the stairs as fast as she could, the length of her wand pressing against her the side of her stomach. Johnny was already standing by the door and looked rather irked. He pointed at his watch but Jisoo waved him off. "I know, I know, let's just -" 

Jisoo opened the front door to her house and that's when a loud explosion rocked the entire muggle neighborhood. She instinctively raised up her arms to shield her face but Johnny took her by the shoulders and pushed her to take cover behind him while yelling, "look out!" 

The walls of Jisoo's house shook violently and when she lowered her arms, she saw smoke rising up from the east wing of her house. Tiny flames began to form in the living room area and she cursed under her breath. "You didn't put the protection spells back up!" She shouted at Johnny through the sound of her house coming apart. 

The color was drained off from his face. ", I'm sorry!" It was the first time he sounded anything other than sassy to her but they couldn't dwell on it further. He instantly doused the flames with a watering spell while Jisoo had rushed outside. 

There, a few feet above her roof were two Death Eaters circling around her house like vultures. 

"Let's try not to blow up my house, it's a rental!" She yelled at them but she wasn't entirely sure if they had heard her despite their menacing glares from under their dark hoods. Johnny joined her outside and the Death Eaters dove straight down towards them. 

Jisoo ducked, bringing Johnny with her flat to the ground, their bellies hitting the pavement with a thud. The Death Eaters swooped down and missed them by a hair, going back up to prepare for another swan-like dive and this time it seems like they don't intend to miss.

"Let's go," Jisoo tugged Johnny by his coat sleeve and he nodded back at her. The two of them hurriedly stood before sprinting out of Jisoo's property and on to the street, too overcome with adrenaline and fear and everything in between those to care if the muggles could see them being chased by cloaked figures on flying brooms. 

She jumped to the side, dodging a yellow hued spell that was aimed right at her. She looked back at the Death Eaters and glared at them. "Stupefy!" The spell went flying past between the two as they continued to pursue them. Johnny was right at her heels, running as fast as he could while also throwing spells in hopes of slowing the two enemies down but it was clear that he and Jisoo were the ones at a disadvantage in this battle. 

Jisoo was relentless however. "Arresto Momentum!" she yelled and throw her hand back and then forward with all her might, casting the spell to the direction of the pursuing Death Eaters. She had managed to hit the broom of one, slowing him down in the process. 

"Lacarnum Inflamarae!" the other Death Eaters hissed loudly. They were just a few feet away from Jisoo and Johnny now. 

As the orange light of the spell hurtled towards Jisoo, Johnny pulled her back and they both crouched down as the spell missed them by less than an inch. The flames morphed into a fireball and landed just a few meters away. Jisoo looked at Johnny and he squeezed her hand, "We have to go." 

And without warning, he apparated them out to escape.

They fell into Johnny's dimly lit motel room. Jisoo landed on the carpeted floor on her buttocks, her head dizzy from the sudden squeeze through the vacuum of space. She clutched on to the side of her head and tried to will the dizziness away. "Warn me when we're apparating next time." She snapped at Johnny. 

"I did," he grunted in reply. They both knew that was a lie but the situation was out of their control, they would have lost and gotten killed back there for sure if Johnny hadn't acted as quick as he did. If anything, Jisoo should have been grateful but there's too much pride in her to admit that. 

They both stood up from the floor and Johnny walked swiftly towards the bedside table and grabbed what looked like his ashtray. He clicked his tongue in disappointment and turned back to Jisoo. "We missed the portkey." 

Jisoo dusted off the dirt from her clothes and looked at him. "But you do know where he is, right?" 

"I do, but it's in the other side of the country." He put the ashtray down the table and raked a hand through his dark locks, sighing. "It'll be too taxing to apparate and it'll take much longer to get there if we fly by broom that's why I was given a portkey the moment I was tipped." 

"Well, we have to try." The two of them stood there, looking at each other as if the other had the right answer to their little problem at hand. 

Johnny cocked an eyebrow at her. "I just said it's too taxing and you've just gotten out of the hospital, you're in no shape for such a long distance travel. You'll need your full strength once we get there, when we finish him off." His voice sounded firm. 

"I'm fine." Jisoo glared at him. "And we don't have a choice but to keep moving. Death Eaters were already waiting for me at my home, they're probably tracking my whereabouts right now." This worried her because she was already preoccupied on her mission with Taehyung, but she had to deal with Death Eaters trying to slow down her progress too? She couldn't handle that all at once. 

Johnny's expression isn't so good, he looks almost concerned. She wondered when he had started being loyal to their deal. Don't get her wrong, she's internally grateful that he's agreeing to it for this long (though, she'd have to hex herself if he ever heard her saying that out loud) but she just can't shake off this intuition in her that there's another reason why he agreed so breezily to their deal in the first place. 

Jisoo clears and crosses her arms, looking straight at him. "Why are you still keeping up our deal?" 

"Excuse me?" He looks momentarily thrown off by her sudden question.

She narrows her eyes. "You know what I mean."

Johnny gives her the same level of attitude. "Shouldn't you be thankful then? Isn't this what you wanted in the first place?" 

He's right of course, but Jisoo wants to think that her intuition is right too. "I know, but you're holding something back. If we want to continue on, we need to come clean to each other." She continues to stare him down. "I've already told you all my intentions and reasons for striking up the deal, you need to tell me all of yours." 

"But what for? All we should know about each other's intentions and reasons is that we have a common enemy, right?" He said, using her own words against her. 

"Quit that," Jisoo shakes her head. "You're after him for more than one reason, you said that the Confederate wants to prosecute him for his crimes. I can feel that you're holding something back, you're being too... what's the word, clingy? Desperate? With this deal and with me. You even showed up to my house today and -" 

"Woah, woah, woah okay, slow down there." Johnny raised his hands and smirked at her but there was nothing playful about it. "I thought you wanted me to keep my end of the deal."

Jisoo rolls her eyes at him. "I do, I just want to know why you're keeping your end up until now."

They're not going anywhere until he spills, and he can probably see the stubbornness in her eyes and in the way her face contorts because he eventually succumbs. "The Confederation can't prosecute him unless we're the ones who catches him." 

She raises an eyebrow at him and uncrosses her arms, placing her hands on her hips. "And by 'we', you mean 'you', right? So, if