Minjeong

I glared sharply at the woman in front of me while the principal was rambling behind her, completely oblivious about the tension between us. Well, I honestly didn't care about her, only Red who looked amused by my expression. She strode towards me and I readied myself for whatever she was planning to do. It caught me off guard when she spread her arms and engulfed me in a sudden hug, saying how she missed me at the same time.

I almost pushed her away as it didn't feel right hugging her but I restrained myself, playing along with her little game since we weren't alone in the room.

"Oh it's been long Red..." I said forcing a fake smile as we pulled apart, holding her hands in front. It may not looked like it but I was gripping her hands a little too tight.

"... what brings you here?" She tried pulling her hands free as she smiled but I didn't let them go until Mrs. Moon stepped to the side with a curious look written on her face.

She tugged her hands again and this time I let her go as I didn't want Madam Principal to notice.

"I miss you dear cousin," she stated, her voice a little strained but her smile still visible in her face.

Madam Principal cleared , making Red and I turned to her.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I'm afraid I have to step out for a bit. I'll be right back Ms. Reddington and we can talk about business."

Reddington huh!

Red beamed at her, "Of course Mrs. Moon. I'll be here waiting."

As soon as the principal was out of sight, I immediately wrapped my fingers around and pushed her on the principal's table, shaking some things off to the floor. I was now hovering above her while her upper body was on top of the table and even in the situation she was in, she managed to smirk making me tighten the hold on her neck.

"Ugh...s-someone's touchy,” she groused flippantly.

"What are you doing here?" I asked through gritted teeth. After what she did a few nights ago, I wouldn't let my guard down around her anymore, she was like any others, dangerous and I took her lightly which was my mistake.

"You know, you can be civil in asking me." she challenged. It took an ounce of will for me to let her go and stepped back, giving her some space. She chuckled, rubbing her neck before sitting down on the same table.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and spoke, "Reddington huh, is that your last name?"

She snorted, "No and maybe if we're close enough, I might tell you my name."

I shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest. "That won't happen. What do you want Red?"

"I just want to see how you're doing, and seeing you now, I think you're fine. I admit, you almost had me there, putting a tracker on my sister really was a cunning move, but eventually, I figured it all out."

I frowned and tilted my head, "Sister?"

She snorted, "You don't know?...Oh right I forgot to tell you, Eleanor is my sister or Elle as you all know her." she said, rolling her eyes. 

To say I was surprised was an understatement. It all made sense now, Elle wasn't merely her acquaintance but her sister, and thinking about it, I could now see the resemblance between them. How could I missed this one?

"Is Elle part of the Red Circle?" I managed to ask after a moment of silence.

She smirked as she stood up and walked towards me, stopping in armslength. 

"Yes and in case you're wondering, she's also the white-masked girl you fought... but I think you all knew that already. Just saying," she rambled, shrugging.

I thought so. When I saw Elle holding the mask, I got the feeling that she was the white-masked girl who almost killed Jimin and thanks to Red for confirming it.

"Is that all the reason why you're here? Telling me a little bit about your sister?"

She chuckled then her hand reached forward but I quickly held it before it could touch my cheek. I brought her hand to the side and grasped it tight. Her lips twitched but her smile didn't disappear.

"I also came to tell you to be careful, because The Mother is done waiting... and it's just a matter of time before she could get her hands on the Yoo's. And when that happens, you would wish you hadn't got involved."

"What does The Mother want with the Yoo's?"

Before Red could answer, Mrs. Moon stepped in causing me to let her go and took a step back. With one last look at Red, I exited the office without bothering to excuse myself to the principal. It was no use to get information from her anymore because I doubted Mrs. Moon would wait a second longer to talk about business, probably asking money from Red for the school or for herself.

As I walked down the hallway, thinking about what Red had said, the bell rang for lunch. Students began filling the hallway, making me slow down my pace. When I reached our classroom, I saw Jimin waiting patiently by the door.

"What did that principal want?" she asked enthusiastically as she sidled beside me, handing me my bag before we started walking.

"Nothing. It was Red, I talked to her."

"Wait, what!?" She stopped walking and tugged my arm so I could face her.

"She was in the office?"

"Is." I corrected, "She's still in the office when I left."

"What did she want?" she asked, her brows arched in concern.

"She told me about some things. Apparently, Eleanor- I mean Elle is her sister and she confirmed our suspicion that her sister is the white-masked girl." I said calmly and like I was, Jimin seemed surprised also, probably about the sister thingy.

"Seriously? They're sisters?" I nodded and started walking, so was she with the same pace as mine.

"Now that I think about, they do have the resemblance. It's just the hair that makes them look different. Red probably dyed her hair and well, she did a great job, she's totally rocking it."

"Yeah..." I trailed off when I recalled the other thing Red had said.

"Something wrong? You're frowning," she asked curiously and I held her wrist. She looked down briefly at my hand that was holding her before returning her gaze to my face, studying my expression.

"We can't let our guard down anymore Yooji. The Mother is done waiting and it's just a matter of time before she gets to you and your parents." Her expression hardened and for a brief moment, I saw the worry and fear flashed in her eyes but it quickly vanished when she blinked.

"Okay, then teach me." she mumbled all of a sudden.

"What?"

"I want you to teach me how to fight, again. I want to be prepared in case she comes after me because that's what she'll probably do to get through my parents. I can't let her have her way that easy." I stared at her for a moment, looking for a sign of uncertainty but all I could see was the look of determination in her expression.

"Okay then, Count me on that."

After the talk, we headed to the cafeteria where Giselle and Ning were already sitting in our table. While taking our lunch, I told them about my encounter with Red and what we should do to keep the Yoos safe, including Ning, because there was a possibility that the Red Circle would target her or her family.

Lunchbreak passed in a blur and we parted ways to get to our classrooms and Giselle to her work. Like earlier, I was too distracted to listen to the discussions as I kept on thinking what I should do about things. It was hard for me to form any plans as I didn't know who The Mother was. If she was that red lady who barged into Junsu's mansion, then I would have to talk to Jimin's parents about it, maybe they knew who she was. But then again, I couldn't risk contacting them, the Red Circle might be trailing us by now and it would be easy to catch them. I also thought about flashing The Mother out, but how? If I had to set a trap, I was gonna need resources, equipments and agents considering the Red Circle wasn't an easy target.

I may had to return to the Agency for that matter.

Just what to do?

After our classes, we changed for the cheer practice. Since we didn't have much to do, I was glad that it would end earlier than usual, so I could start teaching Jimin. During the rehearsal, I thought of bringing her to a place I knew, thinking that it would be a good way to start our teaching session since she wasn't a beginner anymore and she once mentioned how she liked to go to such place.

As soon as the practice ended, we changed to our clothes and headed to the parking lot where I saw Giselle talking to Ningning beside her car. By the looks of it, it seemed that they were having a serious conversation.

"Hey," I greeted, looking at the two who seemed startled by my presence. I smiled at Ning before turning to Giselle.

"Gi, did you receive my text? You didn't reply."

"Yeah, I did. I was busy so I wasn't able to reply and I'm sorry I can't go with you Min, I-I have something to do," she answered, glancing at Ningning.

I nodded hesitantly, "Okay. No worries, um, be careful and be vigilant Gi. I'll see you in the house," I gave them a curt nod before walking to my bike, Jimin following behind. 

Once we were settled on my bike, I didn't drive right away and instead, I looked back at Giselle and saw she was already inside Ning's car. Wondering where they were going, I maneuvered out of the parking lot and drove into the highway.

After twenty-five minutes of driving, I pulled up in front of a shooting center.

"Holy ," Jimin cursed as she took off the helmet and got off the bike.

"Since you know how to handle a gun, let's see how well you can handle it while shooting targets."

"Oh you would be surprised. Come on, I can't wait to get started." I chuckled at her enthusiasm as she dragged me inside. As we got in, I immediately saw an old acquaintance who was working here in the center and as soon as he saw me, he couldn't hide the surprise in his expression. Well, it wasn't everytime I come here with someone. But his surprised expression was shortlived and he was back to his neutral nature. One thing I liked about this guy was he rarely opened his mouth, and the other thing, he knew how to mind his own business.

He gestured for us to follow him as he led us to the showroom first where varieties of guns were displayed. Even if I had been here numerous times, this room always amazed me, and apparently Jimin had the same feeling as mine as her eyes wandered around with a sparkle of amazement. Who would have thought she loved guns?

"This place is awesome," she claimed in awe. I smiled how avid she was, roaming around the room to look at the different displays. She was like a kid who were surrounded by the things she loved and I felt like we would be here for a while but it would be fine as I liked seeing her reaction right now.

After an hour in the showroom, we proceeded to the firing range. At first, she was so excited to try shooting targets but after her first few tries, she lost her cool as she failed hitting some of the targets. It made me laugh at how she looked miserable, yelling and cursing and I thought she would give up, knowing her, she wasn't that patient, but she proved me wrong as she didn't stop trying until she grew used to it. I guided her at some point but her improvement was all because she was determined to learn and so she did.

It was almost seven in the evening when we drove back, so we decided to stop at a small restaurant, keeping a low profile. Of course I was still cautious in our surrounding because we would never knew when the Red Circle would attack, so for the whole time, I was on edge, making me lose my appetite. Luckily, no one decided to interrupt our little dinner and we got out of the restaurant unscathed and full, well only Jimin got out full.

"Hey, I have an idea." We were currently on my bike, driving home, when she spoke. I could hear her voice clearly because for whatever reason she had, she wasn't wearing a helmet and I hoped she wouldn't get us in trouble by doing that.

"What?" I replied a little loud so she could hear me through the helmet I was wearing.

"Why don't we stop by at the house? We should get some of dad's gun, we'll never know when the enemies would attack."

"Yeah, you're right."

After few minutes, I pulled up in front of her house's gate. We got off the bike and walked to the gates. This time, Jimin did the honor of typing the padlock's code as what I had told her. As soon as it was opene