Humiliated.

Boom!

Donghae hit the bathroom door with his fist.

He merely made a suggestion to his father. A very sensible suggestion and he ended up getting scolded like a child in front of all those people. And now, he’s stuck with a mediocre assignment.

Seriously? Witness protection?

Boom!

“Donghae! What are you doing crying in the bathroom?” Eunhyuk called out from outside. He and Donghae have been roommates ever since they were freshmen at the Junior Agency Academy in Seoul. This was not new to him.

Donghae cleared his throat and called out, “I’m not crying!”

“Then stop sniffling, you liar! Hurry up and get out of there! I have to go wash my face,” Eunhyuk walked over to the bathroom and knocked violently. Immediately, the door knob turned and the door slid open.

“Dude, you look like a swollen tomato!” Eunhyuk tried to suppress a laugh.

“Shut it,” Donghae turned his face away and pushed his roommate aside.

Eunhyuk grabbed his friend’s arm and spoke calmly, “Hey, you want to talk about it?”

Silence.

“It’s your father, isn’t it?” Eunhyuk tried again.

Donghae inhaled deeply. He turned to his hyung, his eyes looking frustrated and disheartened at the same time – as if the very life had been extinguished out of them. “He didn’t have to yell at me in front of all those people. Why does he keep treating me like a child?”

“Because you act like one,” Eunhyuk replied almost instantly.

“You’re not helping,” Donghae remarked bluntly. He jerked his arm away from his friend’s hold, walked towards the bed and began to vehemently stuff his clothes inside a suitcase.

“I was just kidding,” Eunhyuk stated, even though he knew what he just said was true. He moved towards his friend and sat down at the edge of the bed. “Your father probably hasn’t recovered yet. It’s only been two years, you know. Don’t take him too seriously.”

“He didn’t allow me to take part in the main investigation,” Donghae said bitterly as he tried to shove blue paw-print pajamas inside. “Instead, he gave me the worst assignment ever. I have to move into Officer Wu’s home in Jeongsan and enroll in a high school so I can protect the witness.”

Eunhyuk suddenly laughed and smacked his friend at the back. “You call that the worst assignment ever? Are you out of your mind? High school, dude! There are a lot of hot girls in there!”

Donghae looked up. His eyes regained their usual glow and a smile slowly formed on his face. “Hey, I didn’t think of it that way. I think you’re right!”

“Of course I am!” Eunhyuk exclaimed then, lowering his voice, spoke more earnestly. “Don’t let these things get to you, Hae. There’s always a silver lining at the edge of the – Ow! What was that for?”

Donghae had hit his hyung’s face with an oversized teddy-bear. He staggered back and laughed heartily. “Your face looked so serious!”

“Why you!” Eunhyuk got up and aimed a giant pillow at Donghae. The latter scrambled to his feet and made a run for the door.

“Ah! Someone help me!” Donghae yelled in between laughs. “He’s out to get me!”

Eunhyuk watched as his friend rushed down the hall, laughing hysterically and doing a good job at looking like a perfect fool. He dropped the pillow and chuckled. “Will you look at that?” Eunhyuk muttered to himself. “One minute he’s crying and the next minute he’s laughing. That silly fish!”

~~~~

Yoona had a hard time sleeping that night. Her thoughts always returned to that unforgivable scene. She saw something very important that she did not tell the police, but the trouble is she totally forgot what it was. She spent the night tossing and turning and waking up from nightmares of blood and corpses.

Before she knew it, the sun was already peeking from the horizon and shining its first rays on her bedroom floor. She slowly got up, rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock.

6:00 am.

She felt tired.

“Good morning, Yoong!” Aunt Hana greeted as she entered the room, carrying a tray with two mugs on it. “I’ve brewed black tea – your favorite!”

“Oh, auntie,” Yoona scampered out of bed and helped her aunt set down the tray upon the dresser. “You didn’t have to.”

“You just saw someone die yesterday, dear,” Aunt Hana said solemnly as she handed Yoona the cup of tea.

Yoona accepted it gratefully and took a sip. The day before, Officer Wu had escorted her home and explained the incident to her aunt and uncle. Aunt Hana was appalled and tried her best to comfort her niece. Even now, Yoona observed, her aunt was still making sure that she was alright.

“What you need is some time to rest. Do you want to take a day off from school today?” Auntie asked, causing Yoona to snap back to the present.

“No,” the girl replied slowly, her eyes widening. She hurriedly stood up. “That reminds me. I’m late!”

Yoona rose from her seat and rushed around the room, taking down books from the shelf and placing them neatly in her knapsack. The last thing she wanted was to be late for chemistry class. They were going to learn about ionic and covalent bonds today. She had anticipated it for weeks and didn’t want to miss a minute of it. Then there’s world history. The Second World War delighted her. Everything was so thrilling – the bombs, the fighter planes, the secret agents –

Suddenly, the girl stopped in her tracks.

Agent.

A Junior Agent had been assigned to her yesterday. Dong – what was his name? Suddenly, her legs went limp as she approached the bathroom. What if he decided to follow her all day, tagging along like a lost puppy? She shuddered at the thought. The last thing she wanted was some guy hovering over her, watching her every movement. She never really felt comfortable around men and having one follow her around was simply dreadful.

“The secret agents in the war carried out surveillance from great distances,” she assured herself as she the faucet. “He’s a professional. I’m sure he won’t get too close to me.”

A moment later, Yoona emerged from the bathroom, ran a comb once or twice down her hair and ran to the front door.

“I’ll be going now, auntie and uncle!” she called out. Uncle, an elderly man with graying hair and a scrawny build, had been sitting at the sofa. He gave his niece a slow nod and a weak smile.

When Yoona opened the door, she almost leaped back in surprise. Right in front of her was Donghae, holding a bouquet of roses.

“Hi!” he smiled.