Prologue

She was tackled to the ground by an unidentified body that hurtled towards her like a speeding bullet, knocking all the wind out of her. That body was now lying on top of her, breathing heavily. However, that body then lifted itself off her, face averted from her line of vision and disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared. All that was left was the lingering scent of grapes in the air. No, it wasn’t the regular type of grapes… it was more like… fermented grapes.

A crowd of bodyguards surged towards her with guns in hand. Her hand instinctively gripped her forehead and squeezed tight. A throbbing pain had developed at the back of her head.

“Alpha team, alpha team, Tango Yankee requires an ambulance pronto.”

She squinted in the sun and made out that she was now surrounded by at least five bodyguards who were all on high alert and standing around her. Feeling confused, she asked unsteadily, “W-What h-happened?”

One of the bodyguards heard her soft voice and knelt down to assure her that she was safe. “Not to worry, you’re safe now. Somebody saved you.”

It didn’t make any sense to her but she was past caring. Her headache was increasing in intensity and squeezing her forehead certainly did nothing to alleviate the pain. She laid flat on the ground, nursing her aching throbbing headache, blissfully unaware of the chaos that surrounded her. The ringing in her ears had shut out the noise of the crowd that was, at the moment, scurrying away from the scene in utter confusion. Most of them were simply following the crowd like most people do in times of confusion. Only a few people had seen the object that had wrecked chaos at the ceremony—a single bullet, lodged in the backdrop of the stage that she had been standing on.

+++

She sank to the floor, back against the wall and tried to regain her breath. Surely some kind of world record for sprinting was broken just moments ago. An onslaught of giddiness clouded her brain as she gulped mouthfuls of air, attempting to replenish the critical supply of oxygen that her brain was starving of.

She lifted her arm to take her black cap off but a jolt of pain made her wince. Looking at her sleeve, she realized that the bullet had grazed her arm and blood was flowing freely down her arm and clogging up her long leather sleeve. She stood up instantly to check for any sign of blood stains on the floor but was relieved to find none. Her blood must never be spilt to be found. Retrieving a piece of bandage from her sleek black backpack, she sat down gingerly and wrapped her wound with her other hand. She peered through the blinds that covered the heavily tinted window and saw that the crowd had dispersed or rather—ran away.

Her furrowed eyebrows unmasked her anxiety for the girl that she had just saved. Protecting her was not just a job to her. Protecting her was a necessity, to ensure that her heart would never break into a million pieces.

When she saw that the ambulance had arrived and the girl had been loaded onto the vehicle safely, she picked up her backpack and walked briskly down the stairs of the deserted building to her motorcycle.

+++

A simple message appeared on her mobile.

Well done.

There were only two words but it was enough to put a grin on her lips. She put her mobile down on the bed and stepped into her bathroom. It was only then that she removed her jacket and other articles of clothing, tossing them into a metal bucket. She then opened a plain bottle that had no markings on it and poured some of its contents into the bucket before filling the bucket up to its brim with water. She left the clothes to soak in the solution and removed her black cap, shaking out her short wavy brown hair. Finally, she stepped into the bathtub to bathe herself.

She turned the taps to the max and sat down in the tub, waiting for the water to flow over her unclothed body. Her body was relaxed, but her mind was not. The thought of how Taeyeon could have been dead at this very moment had she not tackled her in the nick of time sent shivers down her spine.

Taeyeon can’t die. I won’t let her.

For once, her own confidence in her abilities wasn’t enough. What happened today had been too close for comfort. She needed a super power to rely on, so she closed her eyes and for the first time in her life, prayed for the safety of the girl whom she loved more than her own life.