Chapter 5: Night 
 

“Are you crazy!?” A red haired girl was sitting by a set of screens in the corner of the room. 
 
Wendy walked in and set her backpack down. 
 
“What?” Wendy asked, questioning her friend’s judging look. 
 
“What if she recognized you!? That would not be good for you. Or me for that matter,” the red-haired girl crunched on a chip as she walked over to Wendy, who fell onto the couch with a sigh. 
 
“I promise she didn’t see my face, okay? Besides, she was drugged, I doubt she even remembered there was anyone else there.” Wendy said, changing her clothes. 
 
“Look, as your best friend, I have to say that what you’re doing on a nightly basis is dangerous enough. If you start bringing in your little crush, it’ll just make things worse,” the younger girl reached into the bag of chips. 
 
Wendy’s face turned red, “Shut up Joy! I don’t have a crush on her!” 
 
Joy shrugged and walked back over to the computer. Wendy zipped up her outfit and held a black mask in her hand. 
 
“I was just making sure that my friend was okay,” Wendy added, as she went to the door. 
 
“Okay~, whatever you say, I’ll be here if you need me!” Joy turned her video game back on as Wendy scoffed and shut the door. 
 
After chasing for so long, Wendy finally found this quiet town to settle into. The people she needed to find had slipped through her grasp so many times already, but she caught up. Applying for school and posing as a shy, innocent girl was the easy part. Tonight, like the other nights, was going to be difficult. 
 
When Wendy was about 10 years old, she was already alone, and had obtained skills that kids her age wouldn’t dream of. During a night of scouting, she bumped into another young girl, named Joy. From then on, everywhere she went, Joy would pop up out of nowhere. Eventually, she brought Joy into her life, and seven years later, she was living in her home, making a mess. 
 
Wendy dashed across the roof and leapt down onto the fire escape on the side of the building. She stared down at a black car, with two men in suits smoking next to it. From above, she could see a reflection of a fat man sitting in the back seat. 
 
Wendy sat at the top of the fire escape, patiently waiting for an hour or so, until a motorcycle arrived and parked itself in front of the car. A man stepped off and walked over to the window, knocking on it. The fat man rolled the window down and handed the helmeted man a brown package, and then clicked 
his tongue, calling the two men to get back in the car. The motorcyclist hopped back onto his bike and drove off. 
 
Sigh…another motorcycle. 
 
Wendy sighed as she pulled her mask down and climbed back up to the roof, and chased after the bike. She chased for a long time, hopping from rooftop to rooftop, and swung herself forward, landing on the ground, near the motorcycle. It had stopped in front of a house, and the motorcyclist walked over to a mailbox. Wendy stepped out into the darkened street and silently watched as he planted the bag inside. He looked around and went back on his bike, driving away.  
 
Wendy went over and opened the metal latch, finding the crumpled brown bag inside it. The contents included a wad of cash, a watch, and a small note. 
 
“Hey! Who are you!?”  
 
Wendy was startled as a bright light enveloped her from the other end of the street. Another black car had parked nearby, and a tall man with a suit started to run towards her. Wendy quickly jumped onto the narrow wall and dashed forward, the man following her closely. From above, she noticed the car starting and heading down the street as well. 
 
Well, streets are going to be a problem… 
 
She jumped off the wall and onto a telephone pole. Near the top, she turned her head and looked down at the balcony below her. 
 
I can make that… 
 
She leapt off the pole and grunted as she hit the side of the balcony and held onto the side, barely keeping her hands from slipping. The man shouted some profanities along with several more men, still trying to climb over the wall. She pulled herself up and over the balcony, and grabbed the edge of the roof. 
 
She jumped up and looked out at the scene below her, keeping herself low as she found two more cars heading her way. She turned and hopped down, dashing through the streets on the opposite side. She snuck herself into a small alleyway about two blocks down and made her way back onto the roof of a large apartment building. 
 
After scaling about 12 stories, she panted and took off her mask, her golden hair shining brightly in the moonlight. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. 
 
“What?” Wendy asked, frustratingly. 
 
“You made a lot of noise out there. I can hear the shouting all the way over here. What are you doing?” Joy was playfully teasing Wendy. 
 
“I found a package, I’m bringing it back.” 
 
“Is it a bomb?” 
 
“No.” 
 
“Dang it, I never get to have any fun…” 
 
“Stop messing around and get me out of here. There’re a lot more of them roaming around than I thought.” Wendy looked around and noticed five of the same cars patrolling the streets. 
 
“Fine, you see that building next to the one you’re on?” 
 
“Yeah, but it’s too far to make the jump.” 
 
“There’s actually a small connection between the two buildings through the fire escape on the 6th floor. Use that, and the street on the other side of the building is clear. Just head north and you should be back home.” 
 
“Okay, thanks Joy.” 
 
“Oh, and can you swing by-“ Wendy hung up before she could finish. 
 
She looked down and saw the metal bridge connecting the two buildings. Unfortunately, the fire escape started on the 10th floor, which was three stories down. 
 
This is the biggest fire hazard ever… 
 
Wendy pulled her mask down and took a deep breath as she looked at the rusty rails below her. She then heard more shouting on the other end, and jumped off. 
 
“Ah! Jeez!” Wendy landed and rolled forward, but still felt the jolt in her feet as she stood up. She hopped down the steps and ran across the loose steel. Making sure no one was below her, she reached the roof of the adjacent building and felt another vibration in her pocket. 
 
“What!?” Wendy yelled, still feeling the pain in her leg. 
 
“Can you swing by 7-11 and get me some more chips?” Joy asked. 
 
“I’m hanging up now.” 
 
“Oh, and another note. Since you’re on the roof now, you might realize there’s no way to actually get down the other side of the building. Luckily for you, every other floor has a balcony. Good luck!” Joy hung up as Wendy sighed. 
 
I swear…that girl is going to get me killed one day. 
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 
Wendy arrived home safely, and threw a bag at Joy’s head. 
 
“Yay! You went!” Joy happily pulled out another bag of chips and opened it. 
 
“I had to steal clothes from a nice lady’s laundry line. I hope you’re happy,” Wendy cringed as she limped over to the couch. 
 
“So what’s in the package?” Joy said with full, ignoring Wendy’s injury. 
 
“Money and a watch. There was also a note, but it’s just a weird combination of numbers again,” Wendy tossed the brown bag over to Joy, who looked inside. 
 
“Where’s the money?” 
 
“That’s none of your concern.” 
 
Joy pouted as she took out the watch and the note. 
 
“The time stopped at 5:15 this time. And it’s still a set of five numbers. 17, 60, 28, 47, 75.” 
 
“Every package is the same. It’s always five thousand in cash, and a watch with a random time, with a note with random numbers.” Wendy threw her outfit on the floor, frustrated at the confusing messages. 
 
“They’re probably going to change up the drop off locations now. You’ve stolen 3 packages already, they’re definitely expecting you.” Joy said, placing the watch and notes on the desk next to the others. 
 
“They had more men out there tonight. Some of them even had flashlights. They’re definitely looking for me.” 
 
“Maybe you should take a couple nights off,” Joy suggested, scrolling through some video footage on her screen. 
 
“I can’t. I wasted too much time already,” Wendy wrapped her ankle, holding back the pain. 
 
“You’re hurt, and I’m not letting you go out like that,” Joy walked over, helping her wrap the bandage tighter. 

 “Didn’t think you cared,” Wendy said, smirking. 
 
“Hey, just because I make you do things for me doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. Besides, it’s not like I have anyone else I can care about,” Joy finished up and sat down next to Wendy. 
 
“You’re just saying that, because without me, you could never eat anymore snacks,” Wendy said, poking her friend’s side. 
 
“Unnie~! That’s not true!”  
 
Wendy laughed and got up, going to her bedroom. 
 
“I’m going to bed, don’t stay up too late,” Wendy closed the door behind her. 
 
She slumped onto the floor as she grabbed her leg. It hurt a lot more than she made it out to be, but she didn’t want to worry her friend. She pushed herself back up and sat on her bed, looking at her phone. She scrolled through the numbers and found Irene’s. 
 
She’s probably sleeping… 
 
She thought back to the night before, when she saved Irene. 
 
That damn Jung-Min… 
 
She noticed something wrong the moment she saw him glancing over at Irene with his friends the other day. Following her instincts, she kept an eye on him as he walked home, and found him sneaking out and getting into a van late at night. 
 
Wendy gripped her leg as she imagined what they would’ve done to Irene if she wasn’t there that night. She winced again as she gripped her leg too hard, and her ankle twitched in pain. She let go and fell back onto her bed, closing her eyes, silently breathing in the dark. 
 
Irene…I hope you’re okay. 
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 
“I still can’t imagine you being that shy, secluded girl at school,” Joy commented as Wendy put on her uniform. 
 
“What do you expect me to be then?” Wendy said, stealing a chip from Joy. 
 
Joy glared at her for a second. 
 
“A bully.” 
 
Wendy pushed Joy’s chair and rolled her across the room back to her computer and went out the door.  
 
Wendy did live near Irene’s house, only about a block away. She didn’t notice until she visited her three nights ago, but she passed by it every day when she walked to school. She saw a blonde girl coming out and quickly caught up. 
 
“G-good morning!” Wendy stuttered. 
 
Irene almost fell over with shock. 
 
“Omo! Wendy!! Geez you scared me…I mean, uh, good morning!” Irene said, running her hands through her hair. 
 
“Sorry…” Wendy looked back at the ground. 
 
“No! It’s fine. I just didn’t expect to see you in the morning, that’s all,” Irene walked quietly next to Wendy as they met up with Seulgi. 
 
“Good morning girls!” Seulgi had a bright expression on her face. 
 
“What’re you so happy about?” Irene asked. 
 
“I finally saw the last episode of that drama! It was AMAZING!” Seulgi skipped along, making Wendy laugh. 
 
“I’m guessing you stayed up all night again?” Irene nudged her friend. 
 
“Yes, but I have a secret weapon to keep me awake today,” Seulgi dug through her backpack and pulled something out. 
 
“A mug?” Wendy asked, as Irene laughed loudly. 
 
“It’s coffee!” Seulgi corrected, putting it back in her bag. 
 
“I didn’t know you drank coffee,” Irene said. 
 
“I don’t. But my mom said it keeps her awake all the time, so I decided to try it out.” Seulgi added. 
 
The three of them walked cheerfully to school, passing through the large metal gates. Seulgi then noticed something out of the corner of her eye. 
 
“What the…is that…Jung-Min?” Seulgi pointed at the boy, who had a black eye and a bandage wrapped around his face. His friends, who were also injured, stood next to him as they hung out by their usual spot at the wall. 
 
“I think so…what happened?” Irene asked, also confused. 
 
Wendy secretly smiled as she walked behind the two girls, heading to their first class of the week.