Soyeon knocked lightly on the door. When no one responded, she frowned and knocked again, calling, “Is anyone in? There’s a special delivery for you!”

There was no answer.

Hesitantly Soyeon tried the doorknob; her eyes narrowed as the doorknob turned, the door creaking open. Was it a trap? Her hand reached for her knife. She grasped the hilt tightly, inching forward into the house.

The huge mansion was completely dark, devoid of the many maids that Xiah Junsu reportedly had. Soyeon’s eyes darted about. Something was wrong. Without pausing, she spun around, reaching for the door, but it had already shut silently.

There was a rush of wind behind her; she lunged for the doorknob, her hand outstretched.

A hand grasped her arm; Soyeon was brutally wrenched backwards, so hard and so fast that she slammed into the opposite wall. She gasped in pain, clutching her pain as she slid to the ground.

The tall, hulking aggressor flashed forward, but it was too dark for her to see his face; all she could see was a dark shadow. As fast as she could, she drew her dagger, but she was still a beat too slow. The stranger grabbed her by the leg and swung her around, hurling her with all his force.

Soyeon crashed into a heavy chair, overturning it. She tumbled to the ground, rolling a few times before coming to a halt. Her vision hazy, she looked up. The man was approaching again, something in his hand. Her eyes caught a glimpse of silver; her breath caught as she realized that it was a short sword.

Mustering all her strength, Soyeon threw herself back. The attacker lunged forward, but Soyeon slashed her dagger; he barely managed to avoid the blow in time. She scrambled to her feet, but was unfortunate enough to trip over the remains of the chair she had fallen on. The attacker took advantage of this, striking with lightning-fast moves as he slashed and stabbed. Soyeon ducked under the first blow and began to parry the man’s blows, but he was simply too fast for her, and she was being overpowered. Slowly, she stepped backwards, trying to avoid as many of the man’s strong blows as possible.

Out of the blue, the aggressor jerked forward. Soyeon jumped back and knocked into something hard behind her; she gasped and tried to leap to the side, but it was too late. The man slashed, cutting her wrist. As Soyeon’s grip on her knife loosened, the man the hilt of her knife with his sword; it flew out of her grip.

Soyeon dropped to the ground, scrambling for the knife, but a strong, thick arm wrapped around her neck and pulled her back roughly; she struggled, straining for breath. The lights were abruptly, but Soyeon’s vision was already dimming, her sight swimming before her.

Just before she out she discerned a face; handsome and hard, yet at the same time somehow sorrowful as he leaned forward and whispered, “I’m sorry.” A single name registered in her mind.

Im Jaebum…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jiyeon yawned as she stretched. She glanced at the clock…only an hour more till school ended. She sighed deeply.

Just at that moment, the classroom door swung open; she looked up, only to see JB and JR striding into the room. Both their faces were pale, their eyes bloodshot. JB’s gait was slow and tired; he had to drag his feet to his chair. He collapsed into his chair; almost as if he didn’t have the strength to stand up.

JR stopped as he passed by JB’s chair. Slowly, he grasped JB’s shoulder; the blonde-haired brother glanced at him and something passed between them.

As JR returned to his seat, his girlfriend, Seul, turned to face her, “JR, you all right?” JR gave a single nod, “I’m fine.”

Jiyeon looked worriedly at JB, “What happened? How come you missed so much of school?”

JB glanced at her, and his eyes seemed to change. In a low voice, he replied, “My brother and I were busy with…someone.”

Jiyeon smiled slightly. She reached out to embrace him.

JB hesitated for a moment before reciprocating. He turned his head, burying his face into her shoulder. In a voice so soft no one could hear him, he repeated the words he had spoken to Soyeon.

“I’m sorry…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eunjung and Taecyeon walked hand in hand, admiring the beautiful park around them. Taecyeon glanced at his girlfriend and his smile widened, “We should do this more often in the future.”

Eunjung rolled her eyes, “We’ve only been together for two days, you know. We’ve got a lot of time to do this in the future, anyway.”

Taecyeon smiled again. He reached out and pecked her gently on the cheek; Eunjung stiffened for a moment; then her lips broadened into a wide smile.

Just at that moment, her phone rang. She hurriedly fished it out of her pocket and picked up, “Hello? Hyomin-ah? What’s wrong?”

She listened quietly for a moment, then her eyes widened in shock, “What?! Soyeon went missing since yesterday... All right, I’ll be back right away, wait for me.”

Eunjung turned to Taecyeon, “Taec, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go.”

Taecyeon smiled gently, “It’s all right, you go ahead. I’ll call you later.”

Eunjung nodded and pecked him on the cheek before hurrying off. Taecyeon reached up to touch his cheek; slowly, his expression changed to one of bliss.

Just then, his phone rang as well. He quickly picked up when he saw that it was Seojoon, the latest Warrior to join the Vigilante Warriors Rank 1, “Hello? Seojoon-ah? What’s wrong?”

The younger man’s voice was grim, “Did you hear? JB apprehended a member of T-ara. Or, at least, we think she is.”

Taecyeon’s eyes went wide, “What? When? Why wasn’t I informed of this?”

“I’m not sure. I think the Consul members planned it together, and they chose JB to do the job. I heard he was only informed of the mission yesterday afternoon. Apparently information about Elder Junsu was leaked; the assassin went after him yesterday night. But they were ready for him, and JB took her down. They interrogated her last night, but she wouldn’t talk?”

“Interrogation? Or…”

“Interrogation and torture. They stopped before she died, but she was critically injured.”

Taecyeon drew in a breath sharply, “How is this possible? JB never goes so far! How could he have…”

Taecyeon hadn’t thought it possible, but Seojoon’s voice became even grimmer, “It wasn’t JB in charge of the interrogation. It was Elder Yoochun. And he…” his voice trailed off.

“So who was it anyway? Have we identified the other members of T-ara?” Taecyeon questioned.

“Like I said, we didn’t manage to get anything out of her. We did find out her name though.” Seojoon’s voice sounded slightly triumphant at the last sentence.

“And?” Taecyeon prompted.

“Park Soyeon.”

Taecyeon’s phone slipped from his grasp and hit the ground with a thud, his eyes wide with shock and horror. 

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Hi people! So I decided this exciting chapter more quickly. Did you guys like it?

Soyeon's been kidnapped! But don't worry, guys, she's not dead. Like Seojoon told Taec, she's merely severely injured. I'll be going into further detail of what she experienced in the next chapter. How will the other members of T-ara react to this? Will they be able to save her?

And poor Taecyeon...he only just started dating the woman he loves, only to find out that she really is his enemy... Question is whether he will protect his love or do his duty...a difficult choice...

And JB! I still think my favourite part of the whole chapter was when Soyeon recognised JB as the person who attacked her. Do you guys pity JB for having to do this to her? Or are you guys like 'JB GO TO HELL NOW!!!'? Heh. JB obviously knew that it was Jiyeon's 'sister' he was attacking; it's inferred from his 'sorrow' that he knew who he was attacking. And now he's feelings terribly guilty to Jiyeon as well...but it is his turn to face a choice as well, between his love or duty...

Please remember to comment and subscribe! I really want to see your views, especially on this latest chapter.