hours before the phone call…

The cracks and chipped off painting on the walls were imprinted on Yui’s mind. Long scratches against the marble wall made by her fingernails littered her view, the edges of her nails bloody from the gesture, but Yui needed it. She had to keep counting the days she’d been there, tracking each and every routinely movement of the guards. It was the only way she could somehow find a plan to get out of here, because Mari was unsafe, but most of all, Mina.

Yui spent restless nights with her mind wandering back to her girlfriend, worried sick that somehow she’d gotten involved in the darkness of Mari’s past. She prayed that Mina was safe, although nothing eased her worries. It’d been weeks since Baekhyun visited her, and he’d never returned. Not even once. Aside from the nonsensical chatter between the guards that crackled through their radio, Yui had no idea what happened outside.

It wasn’t until one day when she gently wiped her thumb across her lip to get rid of the rice that was provided for her meal that the doors opened, revealing the especially nasty guard who’d been watching over Yui’s cell every four in the evening up until eight. Her name must’ve been Mooyoung or Guyeong, Yui didn’t give a .

The woman looked at her as if she was some piece of scum, muttering under her breath how disgusting it was for a lady to shed blood. Yui prevented from rolling her eyes at that. Women bled every month – what was the whole deal of it? But then Mooyoung or Guyeong laughed, their head turned to someone behind them. She was talking to someone; Yui couldn’t see because the door was halfway open, and when it was pushed open to the side, her eyes widened.

Mina stood there with a box of cupcakes, the delicacy already clutched in the guard’s hands. It was half bitten, the top drizzled in strawberry glaze. A forced smile was on Mina’s face as she bowed to the guard, whose smile transformed into a scowl the moment they met Yui’s gaze. Mina averted her eyes, however, intent on pretending like Yui wasn’t gaping at her girlfriend in the cell, wondering how on Earth she made it here. The last thing Yui wanted was for the sweet, rambunctious, yet innocent Mina to see Yui caked in dirt, sweat; decked out in orange overalls that symbolized her lack of purity.

Yui was stuck in a conundrum. A part of her wanted to shrink herself in the corners so that Mina wouldn’t see, but the other part of her yearned to extend her arm beneath the bars to touch her beloved once more.

Unable to do anything, Yui was frozen in her spot.

“Mina?” she voiced out breathily, eys b with tears. “Mina, what are you doing?”

All of a sudden, the guard paled behind her desk. Her cupcake fell, eyes widening at Mina’s equally perplexed face. The guard’s hands came up to claw at before she fell on the ground, writhing and letting out a throaty groan from the pain. Mina threw the box aside, fishing through the keys looped in the guard’s belt before rushing to Yui’s cell.

Yui stood up in a flash, hands wrapping around the bars as she stared at her girlfriend. Mina’s hands were shaky, fumbling to get the correct key in. “Mina, wh-what are you doing?”

“I’m getting you out of here,” she met Yui’s eyes, a flash of relief and fear crossing them. The door finally opened with a heavy creak. The rational part of Yui’s mind told her to run, but her heart took over, and she wrapped her arms around Mina’s taller frame. Even though she was bigger, she quivered in Yui’s hold, her creamy skin brushing against Yui’s slicked ones. Mina was absolutely shaking. “Mari’s Dad called. He said he lost all contact with his other agents here, yelling something about they probably worked for James too, I don’t know. But he told me to get you out of here, and there’s a car waiting for us. In just a few minutes, the alarms will ring when you’re out of here, so we need to go now.”

Upon hearing of their danger and of the reminder of her mission, of who Yui really was, she pried herself away from her girlfriend. Yui dashed next to the guard’s lifeless form, her heartbeat already ceased. She pursed her lips; she’d have to ask Mina soon where she got the idea of poisoned cupcakes, but for now they had to leave. Yui quickly took the gun, smirking when she saw that it had higher firepower and more room for ammunition. Of course they’d get bigger guns for special holding cells for “criminals” like Yui.

The alarm blared throughout the tower.

Yui assumed her stance, hands and arms aligned perfectly with the gun directed in front of them. “Stay behind me.”

“So it’s true,” Mina mused in awe behind her, “You really are an agent.”

“Yes,” Yui answered robotically, looking side to side for any targets. She was tranquilized when she was brought here so she was seeing everything for the first time, but she seemed to be in the middle levels of the tower. Each floor had at least three holding cells with respective rooms for the guard to watch closely over them too. From above them, the camera angled towards them, the blinking red light a sign they were being watched. Yui felt Mina inch closer to her, aware of the dangers as well. “I’m sorry for lying to you.”

“No, I understand why you had to keep it a secret,” Mina managed to pant from their sprint. There was a spiral stairwell located in the east wing, and they both took two steps down at a time. The alarm still rang ferociously, matching the angry beating of Yui’s heart. “Mari’s Dad also told me to tell you to find Jungwoo; I think he’s one of the IT dudes who bailed on us.”

They made it on the second level when the door at the end suddenly opened, revealing a SWAT team who had their guns pointed at them. Yui didn’t hesitate as she threw herself on Mina’s sending the two of them crashing onto a nearby window. Mina screamed, her arms wrapped around Yui’s body. Yui flipped them over, bracing herself for the impact.

When Yui’s back hit the grassy ground, she groaned for a bit, every muscle in her body throbbing. A flurry of apologies left Mina’s lips, but she only shook her head, thankful because the pain had woke her up. When the SWAT Team’s frantic screams echoed ahead, Yui shot up to her feet, taking Mina with her. Like she said, a black Audi was waiting for them in an empty part of the street. As if reading her mind, Mina threw the keys to Yui, who caught them with ease.

Yui immediately jumped in the driver’s seat, Mina fumbling beside her to get the seatbelt on. She started the car, revving the engine for a split second when a shot rang throughout the air, hitting Mina’s window. The blonde woman screamed, ducking her head to her lap, but the car was bulletproof. Yui’s eyes widened – Mr. Fujiwara really was helping them.

With a scowl at the approaching men who had their guns aimed probably at their wheels, Yui slammed on the gas, speeding away from view. She turned to Mina with widened eyes, “Did he tell you anything else? Where should I go?”

Mina lifted her head from her lap, sighing in relief that they were now away from the prison. If she felt nauseous by Yui’s fast and reckless driving, she didn’t comment on it, tightening her grip on the upper handles above her door instead. “I-I don’t know, but Mari, Chanyeol, and Baekhyun already left for Japan. Kyo and Tana Kim are with them too.”

“We should find Jungwoo first, but I need to get out of these clothes too,” she glanced at Mina’s way, “Is your apartment safe?”

“Y-yeah, it should be.”

“How long has it been since they left?”

“Around six hours ago, I guess? It hasn’t been that long.”

Yui furrowed her brows, shifting the gear stick as she drove into another lane that would be a shortcut to Mina’s apartment. If the people recognized Mina from the surveillance footages, they only had enough time to gather what they needed before they started searching in her apartment. Still, it should be enough time for Yui to think of a plan.

“Why’d they leave?”

“Something about Mari wanting to see their mall. I was pretty much kept out of the loop because Mari didn’t want to talk me,” Mina slumped in her seat, “From what I heard in the office, someone said that Mari went there because the sales were dropping and her Father wasn’t managing the business very well. Something about Mari needing to step up, I’m not really sure.”

“If the Director is not working, then he’s occupied with something else. It’s unlike him to ignore the business like that,” Yui gnawed on her lip, stepping on the gas harder when a thought crossed her mind. “You don’t think it’s because they’re with her now, do you?”

“They? Who’s they?”

“Oh my gosh, this can’t be happening. I always knew they’d come find her someday, hell, perhaps they never stopped watching her every move, but why now? She’s much too out in the public, that should’ve protected her at least.”

“Yui, you’re not making sense. What’s going on?”

“Mari—” Yui began, but choked on the name instead as fear wracked her body. It was getting hard to concentrate when she imagined losing Mari again, and her grip on the steering wheel hardened. “—Mari was kidnapped when she was a little girl, okay? I don’t know everything that happened, but I was there when she came back to us when she was ten, and Mari was… She was like a different person. She wouldn’t stop crying and screaming – she was afraid of everything.” From beside her, Mina stiffened, then leaped out of the car once they reached her apartment.

Mina and Yui hopped up the stairs, the latter practically pushing the doors open. As if reading her mind, Mina began packing clothes, bottles of water, and a few biscuits. She offered bottled water to Yui, who was propped in front of Mina’s computer, a thousand codes appearing before they formed a picture.

The salt and pepper hair, the cold, heartless eyes that homed a dark soul, and the sinister smile couldn’t be mistaken.

“This man—” Yui pointed to the screen, toggling up a tab of his company beside him. “—His name is James Young, owner of Limitless Tech. From what I gathered, his company is backed up by the military because he’s got cutting-edge gear that could help them win the wars. Nukes, grenades, custom guns, you name it, James could provide it. It’s all a front though, it’s not a legal company. James runs an underground gang. The man is involved in illegal trade, but because the military needs his tech, the nation turned a blind eye against it and let him continue to operate.”

Mina frowned, shifting her eyes away from the screen. Yui couldn’t blame her, the mere photo of James Young made her feel sick in the stomach, as well. “But still, if the American military knows it’s illegal, they can’t just let him go like that even if they need his tech.”

“If they’re not stopping him, then that means they probably bought James’ act of innocence,” Yui explained, “His company has been around for years, but they’re still not as powerful as Yeonghwa, or even Mari’s family. The reason he’s still able to operate is because he doesn’t pose a threat to his country.”

“Then why is he after Mari?”

“That’s the one thing I don’t know the answer of. Her Father never told me, but judging from how Yoriko-san risked her whole life to protect her and leave her husband, I’m taking a wild guess it had something to do with her Father.”

“You mean, like, he’s a murderer or something?”

“I highly doubt that,” Yui shook her head. “I grew up with Mr. Fujiwara. He’s heartless and downright cruel, but murder? He wouldn’t do that.”

Mina shot her an incredulous look. “You don’t know what people are capable of. Even I believed you were a normal, perhaps a little too dedicated secretary. Not once did it cross my mind you were an agent.”

“You didn’t believe it when the police said I was the murderer, though.”

“I know you wouldn’t do it. It’s a gut feeling.”

“Then, my gut tells me Mr. Fujiwara wouldn’t do that, as well.”

A moment of silence passed between them. Yui took it upon herself to count the ammo left, cursing under her breath. If ever they ran into anyone, she’d have to result in combat as to not waste these precious bullets. Only Mina’s loud thoughts distracted her, and she watched her girlfriend stare into space. “It still doesn’t make sense,” Mina whispered to herself, “Mari comes from the most powerful family in Japan. How did an underground gangster like him even kidnap her?” Her eyes widened, facing Yui with a ridiculed expression. “Is this why there were no articles about her even though she was the heiress?”

“Yes, her parents made sure no one would know she existed the moment she came back. From what I know, her Father forged her birth certificate to pronounce her as dead the moment she came back to us, which is why that document is hidden. It’s all messed up though and clearly unplanned, because now Mari is out in the public,” she looked away from Mina ominously, “If people were to get a hand on that, questions would arise. Especially since her identity was kept a secret then she came out of nowhere marrying Park Chanyeol out of all people, it’s not totally unexpected that people would ask if Mari is even the real heiress, or she’s just using the apparent dead heiress’ name.”

Mina slumped against the wall, her hands squeezing her head. Yui noticed she’d changed her heels into rubber shoes, making her smile. She felt proud and warmed knowing her girlfriend was willing to be on the run with her.

“This is making my head hurt. You mean she was supposed to be dead, but now somehow her marriage with Chanyeol changed that? Why is she even married to him? I don’t think her parents would worry about a merger right now out of all times.”

“It’s not the merger. They hoped her marriage with someone powerful would help protect her.”

“Chanyeol isn’t the richest man in Asia, why him?”

“Because his company is the most powerful in South Korea,” Yui declared, borrowing Mina’s phone and dialing Jungwoo’s number.