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Lyn – Back In Time

chracters: Nam Woohyun, Lee Sora

minor characters: Hoya, the boss, Mr. Lee, Soo Min

by Dorkazoid

“Inform me as soon as you have arrived.” Hoya’s voice filled the night through the only device Woohyun has that would connect him to others. He was used to being alone, his eyes always diverting from one place to another and acting alert in case of suspicious activities occur around him. It wasn’t his first assignment. He’s had this job since he was 17 years old. He was used to whatever trials life would bring him.

He has grown immune to them. At first, it wasn’t easy. Living under a rock was probably the hardest thing he could have done. Temptations were around him: lust, money and most of all, freedom. He could have gotten freedom if he wanted to. But he still chose to stay. Besides, he can overcome anything now.

Out of the six assassins in their group called INFINITE, he was the strongest and most experienced.

Once he reached his destination, he pulled out his phone and sent a subtle signal to Hoya, just to inform him his arrival. Woohyun immediately walked towards the gate. Clothed in an all-black outfit, he approached the big, silver gates of the prestigious Lee residence. He immediately studied the surroundings, carefully plotting out his entrance and exit inside his mind.

You see, his mind works like a machine. Once he gathers all the parts of the whole idea, he tries to patch them up together in a blink of an eye.

“Password.”

Woohyun hid a smirk. “Eagle eye.”

Since the Lee family has been known to be the wealthiest family in South Korea for its famous hotels running worldwide, they have received attention from a variety of people: fans, critics, tourists and most of all, the dangerous people. Ever since then, the Lee family had hired the strongest and most capable personal bodyguards to protect them from harm. The security around the mansion itself is so tight that the invisible electrical wirings connected on the topmost part of the gates could kill a small mosquito.

If anyone is a member of the Lee family or the Lee secret service, then they would know the password.

Woohyun had introduced himself as the new replacement of a recent retired bodyguard that had worked for the Lee family for 30 years. Before he was accepted, he had almost run through a lot of tests, which involved physical tests and intelligence tests. In case of emergency, Woohyun had faked his records for immediate approval.

“Welcome to the group.” Like Woohyun, the man welcoming him was also dressed in an all-black outfit. However, theirs looked more formal and expensive. With a ribbon tied around their neck as part of adornment, they look like expensive bodyguards, which practically scream out the family they’re working for.

“I’m Trey, the head bodyguard,” the man introduced himself. Woohyun tagged behind him. “I’m in-charge of where you’re going to be assigned and who you’re going to guard. For the meanwhile, I will hand you over to Mini, one of the platoon leaders. She will tell you where you’re going to stay and whereabouts of this mansion. I personally welcome you to your new family.”

Woohyun faked a smile. “Thank you. Please treat me well.” He needed to act, he knew that.

Mini was pretty, Woohyun had to admit that. She would look really hot if her hair was down and if she wears casual clothes. But she was pretty uptight. Strict and disciplined, too. Mini didn’t even do a double take when she saw him—which women usually do since Woohyun considers himself as someone… well-endowed. Woohyun could just be the second most gorgeous assassins in their world, next to L, of course.

Mini was explaining the household rules and whatnots. Few minutes later, they headed along the corridor to meet the Lee family. This is it, Woohyun thought. He was finally going to meet his next assignment. During their walk, he was carefully sorting out the “what to do’s and what not to do’s” as he observes his surroundings. He was going to need an escape path if he ever attracts the security. If ever.

They reached the room at the end of the hallway. When they went inside, fifty more new recruits were there. Woohyun raised his eyebrows, surprised of what he saw. He thought he was the only one. Sitting at the expensive, rosy-designed couch on the front were Mr. Lee, the CEO himself; Mrs. Lee and their daughter, Lee Sora—his target.

How could their boss skip the part wherein the daughter’s looks could deceive a man? Woohyun found himself gawking at her. If he was being rude, he didn’t care. Staring at her was all worth it. Her long, wavy, brown hair was on the side of her neck, properly coiffed and curled. Her eyes reflect the shade of brown, glimmering against the light. Her face was flawless and there were few freckles spotted along her nose. Woohyun find it cute.

How could he kill her?

But no. He’s an assassin. It’s his job to kill her.

Remember what he said, he reminded himself. The Lee family isn’t what they seem to be. There has to be a reason why Sora was given with such presumptuous beauty, maybe it is to deceive people.

Sora blinked, gazing around the new recruits. Then, her eyes landed on Woohyun. Woohyun froze, feeling speechless for a moment.  She smiled. He didn’t.

When Woohyun wasn’t responding back, Sora’s smile disappeared. She looked disappointed.

After the briefing, the new recruits were told to go back to their headquarters to have a quick rest and familiarize the entire place. Woohyun immediately dashed outside, trying to ignore the new feelings he was so quick to pick up. It was dangerous. It’s fraternizing with the enemy. Woohyun knew better than to let himself be deceived. He has to be careful, like really careful.

Beep!

Woohyun strolled towards his bed. His phone lit up.

You are given exactly two weeks to finish your assignment, it said. Woohyun inhaled deeply, mentally noting to himself to not get involved in any dangerous acts.

“Hello there.”

Woohyun flinched, surprised by the sudden presence of the businessman’s daughter herself. What was she doing here? Isn’t she forbidden to interact with the security? More importantly, why was she here? Woohyun straightened up, looking perplexed but he never responded.

“Um, what’s your name?” She wanted to know.

Woohyun stared at her, confused. “Nam Woohyun.”

She nodded. “My name is Lee Sora.”

“I know,” he says. “I’m supposed to protect you. I think it’s my job to know who I’m guarding.”

Sora giggled. “Oh, right. Stupid of me,” she mutters happily.

Sora started asking him a couple of questions. Even though it was dangerous, Woohyun persevered throughout the whole interrogation thing. She was sitting at the edge of his bed, looking more and more intrigued by every lie Woohyun was saying. How could she believe it right away? Woohyun still finds her beautiful every second passes by. And most importantly, he was stepping on a danger zone.

A week has passed and Sora finds herself getting closer to Woohyun. Ever since Woohyun has been assigned as Sora’s bodyguard, they’ve been talking a lot and the lies just keep piling up. Woohyun had forgotten about the assignment since the time spent with Sora keeps him distracted from everything else.

As for Sora, she can’t deny the attraction she has for the guy. He was a puzzle she’s trying to figure out.

“What’s your status?”

Woohyun scratched his temple, contemplating on whether he has to answer this question truthfully or not. What if he tells Hoya about this? Woohyun’s life could be in danger but Sora’s could be in even more peril. He can’t like her. But he already did and there was no undo button to clear up this he was in. “I’m well.”

“That’s not what I’m asking,” Hoya told him. “I want to know about your assignment, hyung. The boss wants to know.”

“Um, it’s okay,” Woohyun lied. It wasn’t okay.

“Hyung, I know that tone.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Hyung, what is going on?”

Woohyun didn’t respond.

“Wait a minute,” Hoya mumbles, trying to understand the situation. “You’re not…? , hyung. You’re screwed. You… like her, don’t you?”

Did he like her?

“I…” Well he can’t lie either. He’s tried to deny it a couple of times but it just keeps haunting him. How can he stop his feelings when Sora herself doesn’t even try to avoid her? “I don’t know,” he finished.

“Hyung, ‘I don’t know’ doesn’t cut it,” Hoya snapped. “I’m going to ask you again. Do you like her?” When Woohyun never responded, Hoya inhaled deeply. “Hyung, just a warning, okay? Do not ever ignore this. You’re stepping on an enemy line. Falling in love could be the most dangerous thing for us assassins to do. Lee Sora is your assignment, your target. Don’t forget that. You’re supposed to kill her, not get attracted to her. If you don’t stop, hyung, your life could be in danger. And so is Sora’s. You know boss doesn’t like emotional attachments to our targets.”

“I know.”

“Then, do something, hyung.”

3 days before the deadline, Sora went to their usual meet up place: Sora’s secret hideout. Sora has had it for years, not even bothering to tell her parents about it. It wasn’t so big so it won’t attract others. Sora found out about this herself when she was probably eight or nine, playing with her nanny when she was young. She was expecting to see Woohyun in a matter of few minutes.

For Woohyun, he knew better than to stay in this mess. He was going to risk Sora’s life.

“Hey!” Sora greeted Woohyun with a smile as soon as she spotted him emerging from the open hallway. He always makes her smile.

Woohyun gave her a thin smile. This was it. He was going to tell her that he needed to leave her. He had decided last night, of what he was going to do. First, he was going to tell her he had to leave because of personal reasons. Second, he has to fake her death somehow to save her from a group of deadly assassins who will chase after her if Woohyun doesn’t kill her. And last, he will never, ever see Sora again. He promised himself that.

Sora frowned. “What is it? You look troubled.”

“Sora, I—”

“Oh, wait! Before you tell me what’s bothering you, I need to tell you something first,” Sora cut him off, waving her hands. “Something really important. I know I’m clumsy and nerdy. But I wish you’d take this seriously. I swear, I’ve never been so serious about something in my life before. Except for that time when I was actually a contestant of an Electronics Programming competition held in New York last year? Yeah, that was pretty epic but nevertheless, let me continue what I was going to say.”

Woohyun chuckled. Typical Sora.

Sora rolled her eyes. “Listen to me.”

Woohyun nodded. “Fine, fine. I’m listening.”

“Nam Woohyun,” Sora blurted out. “I like you.”

Woohyun blinked. He didn’t see this coming. “Sora, I…”

“Look, I don’t care if you’re my bodyguard,” Sora interrupted him, holding his hand. “I don’t care if we’re different. I don’t care if I’m the CEO’s genius daughter or whatever things they tell me. I like you and that’s all that matters to me, Woohyun. I hope you like me, too.”

I like you, too. “Sora, listen to me,” Woohyun says in a low voice. He wanted so badly to tell her how he feels for her, too. He took a deep breath, contemplating on which part of his body says the right things, his mind or the one beating in his chest.

Sora stared at Woohyun. “Oh… this doesn’t look too good.”

“Sora, I know—”

“I know that face, Woohyun,” Sora cut him off, looking devastated. “I maybe a freaking nerd but I’m not stupid. Just get to the point.”

“I’m leaving,” Woohyun declared.

“But why? Did I do something wrong?”

“Quite the opposite, actually,” Woohyun faked a smile. “Sora, I’m doing this for your own good. Truth be told, I like you, too. In fact, I like you so much that it hurts to see you like me, too. To see you feel the same way. I don’t deserve you. You deserve someone better, someone who can actually treat you like how you should be treated. You’re beautiful and don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.”

“Well, we like each other,” Sora says, her voice breaking. Her eyes were b with tears. “What’s wrong?”

“I would be putting your life in peril if we were to keep seeing each other,” Woohyun explained subtly. “I don’t like that.”

“I don’t care, Woohyun,” Sora stubbornly insisted. “I have a lot of bodyguards so it’s fine. Woohyun, can’t you just… stay with me?”

“I’m sorry,” Woohyun muttered. “But this… this will be the last time you’re going to see me. And after this, I want you to do something. For me.”

Sora’s face lit up. “What is it? Anything for you, Woohyun.”

“I want you to forget me.”

Sora blinked, sobbing. “But, why?! I can’t do that, Woohyun. I can never do that. I like you too much to forget about you. Look, I know I’m not the best girl but I can change for you! Okay, if you were forced to tell me that you like me, you can take that back. Take everything back. Just don’t… just don’t leave me.”

Woohyun cupped her face in his hands, kissing her temples. She was rather making it too difficult for him to let go. But he knows he had to. “I won’t take it back,” he says. “This will be your last memory of me.” He leaned towards her, closing the gap between them and gently planting his lips on her lips.

Sora held him close, not wanting to let go.

“Goodbye, Sora. Forget about me and go back to the way you were before you met me.”

“Woohyun, I need to talk to you about something.”

Woohyun shifted his weight to his other leg uncomfortably. He felt like barfing, like there was this huge lump in this throat threatening to get out of his system. What if their boss knew? What was his excuse going to be? Are they going to kill Sora since he didn’t kill her himself? He can’t kill her. He loved her too much and he damn knows it.

“Yes, boss?” Woohyun asks.

“What have you done, Woohyun?” his boss wanted to know. “I thought I told you clearly to kill Lee Sora but you didn’t. Instead, you faked her death and think that we can’t find out about it. Woohyun, you’re too smart to pull that action. How could you do this? You’re one of the smartest assassins I have. What went wrong?”

Woohyun lowered his head in embarrassment. He didn’t want to admit that he actually fell in love.

“I didn’t actually think you would get your feelings involved in this mess,” his boss continued. “How could you let this happen?”

Woohyun didn’t respond.

The boss sighed. “I can’t do anything. The damage has been done. I’m afraid I will have to either fire you or send another assassin to kill Lee Sora. Since you brought this, you will go through severe punishments. I will reconsider this if you decide which side to go to, us? Or that girl?”

Woohyun frowned. “This group has been my family since I was young,” he explained. “Hell, I don’t even remember that time when my own parents left me because they think I was an unfortunate little being. But you guys cared. And for that I’m very grateful and I swore not to leave this brotherhood. But to choose between the family I grew up with and the girl that made me see the light along this darkness… it’s like choosing which air to breathe. I can’t choose, sunbaenim. I can’t. But I will, however, depart from this group and promise to never show up again. Just don’t… please, don’t hurt Sora. She’s beautiful and kind. She doesn’t deserve to be killed.”

The boss studied him intently, taking the moment to look at Woohyun’s sincere eyes. He wasn’t lying.

“Fine,” the boss said. “This is tragic moment for me, having to let go one of the sons I have learned to love the most. But I think, you have learned the most important lesson and you know what’s right and you choose to do it. I won’t stop you, Woohyun. But just to let you know, I didn’t choose Sora but someone else did. It was her aunt.”

“What?” Woohyun gasped. “But why would her aunt want to kill her?”

“She has what she doesn’t have,” the boss said. “The inheritance.”

“But…”

“And Woohyun? You’re not the only assassin after her,” his boss declared. “I found out that her aunt had hired another assassin after you faked her death, just to make sure she was really dead. But she wasn’t. And her aunt is furious. So, it’s best to keep her safe now.”

“You’re not going to scold me?” Woohyun asked, surprised.

“No,” the boss replied. “You’ve grown up. Why should I?”

“But… that’s—”

“Are you really going to just stand here? Aren’t you going to save your girlfriend?”

And with that, Woohyun bolted right out the door. Hoya, who has been watching the entire time, exchanged knowing glances with the boss and soon chased after him. Hoya wanted to help. He has to be there to make sure his comrade doesn’t get hurt. What Woohyun is dealing with is dangerous; it isn’t to be taken lightly.

Woohyun drove his car in maximum speed, feeling anxious every second that ticks by. Was Sora really in danger? How stupid was he when he left her behind? Ugh, he should have known better.

When he reached the Lee residence, he parked his car behind the mansion, careful not to attract others. Quietly, he crawled through the darkness, plotting out how to get inside without having to trigger the security alarms connected all over the tall gates. He has to be careful.

Meanwhile, Sora stood on the garden with her father, her hands raised up and frozen because of fear. Where was Woohyun when she needed him? Oh, right. He said to forget him. He told her he was never coming back. It was stupid of her to still believe that he would come back for her. It was clear, remember? That he was never coming back. Stupid.

Sora tried to hold back the tears that were b to get out.

“Soo Min, how could you do this?” Mr. Lee, her father, demanded to know.

Soo Min was holding a revolver, pointing it towards Sora. There were two other backups behind her, both with rifles and threatening to shoot both of them. She smirked. “How could I not? Tae Jun, just because you’re my brother and our father favored you more than he does to me doesn’t mean I’m going to treat you the same way. I deserve this! I ing deserve this inheritance but you had to get in the way! Your daughter has to get in the way! This can’t happen!”

“Please don’t do this,” Sora begged. “Don’t shoot my father. Shoot me instead.”

“That’s what I was planning, sweetheart,” Soo Min bemused. “Okay, I’ll give you ten seconds to tell your father I love you. And after that, say goodbye.”

“Not yet.”

Soo Min turned around, shocked when a dark figure emerged from the dim-lit garden. The two backups also pinpointed their rifles towards Woohyun. Sora’s face lit up, a smile drawing on her lips. He came back, she thought happily. He came back for me.

“Who are you?!” Soo Min yelled.

“You can’t kill her yet,” Woohyun says calmly. “She’s going to marry me first.”

“Woohyun, what are you…? She’s going to shoot you!”

Woohyun winked at her. “She won’t.”

In a blink of an eye, Soo Min finds herself getting unarmed. Woohyun was as fast as lightning, blinding Soo Min and her two backups. In a matter of ten seconds, her two backups were thrown somewhere at the garden, unconscious and beaten. Only Soo Min was left standing without anything to protect her.

“Wait, you look familiar.”

“You know me?”

“, you’re the guy I hired to kill Lee Sora!” Soo Min yelled, pointing at him as if to blame him. “You’re the assassin I hired to kill her! But you faked her death, didn’t you?! You told me she was killed! How could you let this happen? I thought you can be trusted! You liar!”

“What…?” Sora was speechless.

“Okay, so you can either explain or—”

Woohyun scooped her up in his arms and embraced her tightly. Putting her down, he immediately enveloped her in a deep, passionate kiss, letting her know that he loved her so much and how much he regretted letting her go before. For Sora, the explanation can work later. As of now, the only thing matters was that Woohyun was with her and nothing else.

“—or kiss me.”

Woohyun chuckled. “I love you, too.”

“But I didn’t say that.”

“I know you still love me.”

Sora frowned. “Well, if you loved me, why did you leave?”

“I’ll explain later but—”

“Okay, you don’t have to explain. I just want to know one thing.”

“What is it, babe?” Woohyun asks in a low whisper, sending chills to her bone.

 “Are you still going to leave me?”

Woohyun shook his head. He s her arms around her waist, pulled her closer and leaned his forehead against hers. “Never,” he whispered, and with that he sealed his promise with a kiss.

Sorry if it seems rushed! I'm so busy that I didn't have time to get on this week. And then AFF is having some major problems or somewhat.