I remained silent because I knew that if I began to speak, I would explode. I gritted my teeth, the parents of Jaehyun telling us to sit down and to make ourselves at home. Jaehyun’s father proceeded to call Kyungsoo and I brought myself down onto the chair with my face in my hands. It was a bit too much to process and I had so many questions; I just didn’t know what to ask first.

Jung Mira, Jaehyun’s mother placed a glass of water in front of me, a hand going to rub my back gently.

“Dana, dear. Drink some water,” she said and I nodded, the Ong siblings watching me from across the room. “I know it’s a lot to process at the moment but I promise all your questions will be answered.”

“My parents,” I began, my voice shaking. “What were they?”

My parents seemed like they were business people and our company has undergone so much growth the past year.

That was all I knew of them.

An absent father and a cold mother.

To know that they lived a different life from what I knew was ing with my head.

“Your mother was a forger, dear. Your father an assassin. Oh Sungjin, your father was based in Europe and your mother, Oh Jinah was based in SM, America. They met on a mission and finally fell in love and decided to settle down. They wanted to retire after they had Seojun so they came back to Korea and invested all their money just like the Ong family.”

You know what pissed me off?

The fact that the Ong siblings looked like they knew about this before.

“And my youngest brother? Why was it that if they donated their genes to SM, they couldn’t find him?” I asked Jaehyun’s mother who sighed. “Wouldn’t SM keep track of the babies?”

“Dana, dear. The babies were experiments. SM did keep a close eye on them and though they lost track of some babies, some stayed in SM. The thing is, SM would never disclose such information to the donors. These babies are considered as an asset to SM, so your parents never got information even if they asked SM for it.”

“So, you’re saying SM knew all along,” I clarified. “They just refused to tell my parents because these babies are considered experiments?”

“Yes, dear. We were Medics and your uncle there worked for the labs so your parents approached us in finding Oh Sungmin, your younger brother. But all the information on him and the other Seasonies are locked. We tried to find him, but to no avail. To find him and to search for him, we would have to be authorized and we weren’t.”

“Why didn’t they tell me?” I asked them quietly, Auntie Mira’s face faltering. She looked guilty and sad for me but I didn’t need pity. “Why was it that everyone knows except me?”

“Darling, the decision to not tell you was because of your parents. When you were kidnapped—” She paused, shaking her head. “I don’t know the details, but after you were kidnapped, your parents told me that they would bring you as far as possible away from that life. I believe they think they were trying to protect you.”

“My parents told me I was kidnapped for money,” I whispered. “I don’t know anymore.”

I rubbed my hand against my face and I could hear sirens from the firetruck sound in the background. I guessed that they were called to put out the fire in the Ong residence and I sighed.

I just wanted to find peace.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[Ong Seungwoo]

We were put on a car to get escorted back to SM and I was both mentally and physically exhausted. My heart was heavy and my head was filled with so many possibilities of where Oh Sungmin could be. We were plunged into darkness as the car we were riding turned into a submarine, the nautical miles of travelling underwater being less in total than land miles.

“I can’t believe we’re going back to SM, even though it’s not for recruitment,” Seungwoo said and I frowned at him.

“You were scouted as a profiler, right?” I asked Seungwoo who nodded. “What was the test like?”

As mad as I was, I knew that there are certain things I couldn’t stop from happening. It wasn’t as if the Ong siblings could come up to me and tell me if it was under Sehun’s orders. Sehun was smart and a part of me had to trust him. If I knew Harin was keeping Sehun, I would have done something impulsive.

“Just photos. I had to look for small details,” Seungwoo replied. “Wooseung there, was supposed to be an assassin but he didn’t fit the mark.”

“I remember when you came for the simulation,” Johnny said and I looked at Wooseung in surprise. Wooseung and Johnny met before? “There’s a reason why Winwin made the robots so fast.”

“Ah, right. I didn’t fit the mark because I didn’t like killing,” Wooseung replied. “But I also couldn’t drive for . SM Asia doesn’t have a department for that unlike Europe and America. SM Asia also didn’t want to add that department because our cases in Asia don’t have much need for it.”

“What department?”

“Transfiltration,” Johnny replied. “It’s a department for those who sneak in and out; mostly those who are incredibly fast. Assassins kill but those who are in the Transfiltration department travel and steal. Those in Europe need a department like that because there are a lot of missions where people need to send or steal packages.”

“So, by travel, they mean your body is the transportation?” I asked and Wooseung nodded.

“When Wooseung did his simulation, he just kept ducking the robots and the simulation went on for a few hours. He also has a lot of stamina. Might be because of the warrior gene. SM Asia had one person like that before—his name was Luhan but he went on hiatus after graduation,” Johnny explained.

“No wonder you asked how many minutes is three laps,” I realized, Wooseung shrugging. He was faster than a normal person and he probably knew that Lucas wouldn’t have believed him even if he said he was done with three laps.

“Why weren’t you scouted then?” I asked Harin who smiled at me. “Not smart enough?”

Damn, was I salty! But Harin was too nice to get mad at my retort and probably knew why I was lashing out to her.

“That’s right,” She replied. “I went just to wait for my brothers to finish. Took a one-hour lesson with Miss. Victoria as a shooter but I don’t know if I can kill.”

“Huh.” I scoffed, looking out the window when the car began to rise from under water. We have reached and I saw Yuta by the dock, ready to pick us up. I wondered what happened to the man in the university and as the car opened up, Yuta leaned forward to grab my hand—pulling me up.

“D.O is reaching soon. Oh, hey. We meet again,” Yuta said to the Ong siblings, a hand up in the air. “How are you feeling, Dana?”

“I’m fine.” Other than the fact that I wasn’t feeling the best because I was the only one played by all of them. Yuta smiled, a hand going to the back of my head to pat it softly. “Are we supposed to wait for D.O?”

“Yes. Head over to the meeting room. He’ll reach soon,” Yuta told me and I nodded, already exhausted but I had no choice. I wanted to demand information from Kyungsoo but I didn’t have time when I saw him in the Ong Residence.

I was about to follow the Ong siblings to the meeting room when I saw Johnny stay back. For some reason, my heart jumped and I stopped to grab his hand, Johnny looking at me in surprise. Yuta turned to look at me, and I frowned at Johnny.

“Why aren’t you coming?” I demanded, my voice coming out rough and hard it surprised even me. The idea of not having Johnny beside me was making me feel insecure and Johnny’s face did not change.

“I’ll catch up. Go first,” Johnny said, a hand going up to remove my grip from his hand. “Go, Dana.”

My eyes flickered and I chewed on my lip, finally moving towards Harin, Seungwoo and Wooseung who were waiting for me. I made my way to the meeting room to see that Kyungsoo just arrived. He told them to sit and they complied.

Kyungsoo cleared his throat. “We have told the authorities that you have been ruled out as dead. The fire was kept in place but they found a few bodies. I think it may have been one of the security people who was left behind. Chanyeol is fine and he got the first set of people out.”

They remained quiet and Kyungsoo sat down. “You will be put in a building away at the school and tomorrow you will be sent to SM Europe. We’ll have our former Head of Transportation, Kai, come back and you. Is that okay with you?”

Harin nodded silently. I could tell she was exhausted and the poor girl was fighting her sleep. Kyungsoo excused them and I saw Tae-il stick his head in to tell them that he’ll bring them to the Witness Protection Building. A part of me wanted to ask why I never put into Witness Protection when I first came but then I remembered that my parents were dead and they were in no means liable for my safety. Harin still has her parents alive and well.

“Dana,” Kyungsoo said and I sat up, the door slamming behind Tae-il and leaving me and Kyungsoo alone to talk. “I know you have so many questions. Come here.”

At least he knew.

“You know who my brother is,” I stated. I knew Kyungsoo knew from his previous reaction. “D.O, you know.”

“Yes, I do,” Kyungsoo said, placing a hand on my shoulder to calm me down. “Actually, I have been trying to find Seasonies since I became director. A lot of Seasonies were lost throughout the process, you see. However, Oh Sungmin was always in SM. When your parents came and asked information from us about him, I was not authorized to give them information. We don’t allow the donors to come in contact with the children unless it’s authorized by the board of directors of SM and that is why your parents had to find him on their own.”

He continued to talk. “Your brother was smart though and when he was recruited to join SM, I think your parents wanted him to find Oh Sungmin. And he did, with his hacking abilities and his wit.”

“He found my younger brother then?” I asked, leaning forward. Kyungsoo nodded, a hand going up to put on the screen. He hummed to himself, bringing up three photos of three people I knew.

“A list of Seasonies in SM,” he said and right in front of me, I saw Jisung, Jaemin and Xiaojun. “All with the warrior gene and survived the injection of the Marvel drug when they were children. I had a hard time finding Jaemin, him being one of the Seasonie twins that survived.”

“What happened?”

“When Jaemin and his younger sister was born, he got the warrior gene but she didn’t. Her body was always weak because of it. Jaemin thinks he killed his younger sister, but I’m afraid it’s more than that.”

Jaemin would have the warrior gene, his compulsive lying and the way he acted said enough. The way he would suddenly get anxiety and scream for help suddenly made sense. Xiaojun…. His obsessive-compulsive disorder too, was something that someone with a warrior gene would have even under controlled circumstances. Jisung and his short attention span also made sense.

Then that would mean—

“Jisung?” I asked Kyungsoo who nodded. “Park Jisung is my brother?”

“That’s right. Jisung was brought up in SM. When your parents gave us a donor, we asked them what we should name the child if the child survived and they chose ‘Oh Sungmin’. However, SM changed their names to avoid any old agents coming back for the children. Seasonies are considered experiments, Dana. As human as they are.”

“Jisung.” My knees trembled and I felt my adoration for the younger male grow stronger. “My brother knew, didn’t he?”

“Yes. He found out,” Kyungsoo replied and I rubbed my face. “Though, I’m sure it doesn’t change anything. Both you and Jisung are in SM now and you couldn’t be any safer.”

Right. If I didn’t have Sehun, at least I had Jisung now.

And all I wanted to do was go and hug Jisung.

“D.O,” A voice said from behind the door and I saw Johnny open the door just to stick his head in. “We’re all here for the meeting.”

“Oh, right. Dana, stay here. People are coming. We need to have an emergency meeting about the man who we brought from the university.”

I forgot about him.

The door opened; all the heads of each department filing in. Johnny and Jaehyun sat beside each other and I saw Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Tae-il, Winwin from Technology and an unknown man who I guessed was Jin from the Shooters faction.

They sat down and Kyungsoo told me to go sit with them so I stood up and walked to Johnny and Jaehyun, a hand going to nudge Jaehyun’s shoulder. My best friend looked up at me quizzingly before I jerked my head to the side.

“Move, Jeffrey. I’m sitting with Johnny,” I told him and Jaehyun rolled his eyes. I sat down in the seat between both of them when the door opened and Jeno walked in, looking exhausted.

“No luck, Jeno?” Doyoung asked Jeno who shook his head. “We tried to extract information from the man. The only thing we know is that his name is David Lee. He’s a normal worker and he keeps saying that they took his wife and child. All we know is that he used to work for YG Chemicals as an engineer.”

“That is enough to tie YG Chemicals to the syndicate,” Taeyong said from the side. “What should we do?”

“Did he have any device on him?” Kyungsoo asked Jeno who nodded.

“He had a pager but it self-destructed. He said he doesn’t know where his family is but they are probably in D.O.G’s base.”

Kyungsoo heaved a sigh. I knew he was stressed because the mission to protect the Ong siblings wasn’t a direct order since the beginning and he only did it because he cared for Sehun. Now, we had someone the syndicate under SM’s roof and Kyungsoo’s mind was reeling on what to do.

“This is what we can do.” Kyungsoo tapped his fingers against the table rhythmically. “We can stage his escape. We know the syndicate will contact him again because they have his family as leverage. We will have to send someone after him to trail him.”

“So, we’re promising to help him?” Taeyong asked. “We send him to main land and when the syndicate contacts him, we find where their base in and try to extract his family?”

“Yes,” Kyungsoo concluded and Taeyong leaned back, deep in thought. “How about you and Doyoung?”

“To be frank, D.O, this is not our forte. We’re not skilled in tracking and finding people and locations. We’re only good in extracting, stealing and… killing,” Taeyong mumbled the last part as if he wasn’t proud of it.

“What are you saying?” Kyungsoo quipped and Taeyong looked down. “Who are you recommending?”

“GOT7, sir,” Taeyong replied. “You know they do well in this kind of field. They may be messy in missions that require high infiltration but with tracking and locating, they are the best of the best. I think you should consider making them do this, especially if information on the syndicate is at stake.”

Kyungsoo paused for a moment before he tapped down on his phone. It didn’t take long until I a knock on the door sounded and I saw Im Jaebum, the strategist of GOT7 open the door to greet Kyungsoo. There were people behind him and I saw them all file in; Jackson Wang from security, Mark Tuan from security and Jinyoung from the Shooting faction. Kyungsoo must have asked for them and they all came into the room.

“Defsoul,” Kyungsoo said to Jaebum who bowed to him. “Taeyong, run him down on what we’re supposed to do.”

Taeyong nodded, telling Jaebum all about what they were supposed to do. From sending the man to mainland to tracking him and to finding out where the syndicate was based. Jaebum nodded, and I frowned. Why was GOT7 when there were only four of them here?

“Why is it GOT7 is there is only Jaebum, Jackson, Jinyoung and Mark? Shouldn’t it be GOT4?” I asked Jaehyun who leaned in to explain to me.

“Yugyeom is the youngest of all of them but he’s training to be an assassin so they don’t bring him along to missions. GOT7 were criminals before. They used to steal cars and sell them.”

“And the rest?” I asked, knowing they were missing two members. But my question was answered when Jaebum pressed his lips together and told Kyungsoo that for the job, he would have to call an old member.

“Whatever you need, Jaebum,” Kyungsoo told Jaebum who took control of the screen. He punched in a phone number on the keyboard of the computer and it took a few seconds until the voice of a male rang through the old room.

“No,” was all he said. “I have work tomorrow. I work a 9-5.”

“Youngjae, I know,” Jaebum said and the man grumbled.

“If you know, why would you call?” He fell silent for a beat before he continued. “Then again, I know my boss is about to fire me. I have two weeks left. Three weeks at best. But I left that life a long time ago, Jaebum! Jesus—”

“Youngjae—”

“And Jackson, don’t think of even think of telling me that you’re the King of China! We all know that,” Youngjae mumbled and when I looked at Jackson, I saw that he froze midway of saying something. “But humor me anyway, what is it about?”

“Kyungsoo is here, maybe it’s best he explains,” Jaebum said and Kyungsoo told the man on the phone what we needed him for.

“Uh, so you want me to trace him with you guys and profile those close to him as well as find where the syndicate is at?” Youngjae ran it over easily and Jaebum let out a ‘Mhm.’. “Jaebum, you need the whole gang for this. You think six of us are going to find a syndicate base easily? None of us know how to track and trace.”

“Stop calling us a gang, Youngjae. We’re not a gang anymore. Half of us work for the government,” Jinyoung said from the door and Youngjae gave a scoff.

“Well, good for you