AND THE FULL CHAPTER IS OFFICIALLY UP.

Get ready for "Puella in Angustia".

The suspense ends...

... NOW.

= = = =

8. Puella in Angustia

Puella in Angustia: "Damsel in Distress"



"Personal life and brotherhood..."


They have to save the puella in angustia.


"... can never be a good combination. "



= = = Soundtrack: Super Junior - A Man In Love [Remix] = = =

 

"Seolma!"

Lee Taemin struggled to get into a sitting position at the strength of the impact of Song Seunghyun's fist to his jaw. Slumped on the ground of another warehouse of the ReapedSouls gang, Taemin huffed out some air and tried to make his breathing even, rotating his jaw a bit.

The punch to his face was too strong.

"You HAVE to be kidding me. Shirin-ah can't be in the hands of that... that... that bastard!" Song Chanho interjected as he paced back and forth nervously.

"You DO know that those Skullbeaters are DYING to have an ace they can use against us, right?" Seunghyun added almost immediately before sighing frustratedly.

"Especially after you guys had destroyed their hideout in Gyeonggi-do last year..." Taemin whispered in addition, to which the other men nodded.

"Exactly. They've been constantly trying to hack into our systems and steal from the brotherhood's money pool as a hidden form of revenge. But so far, they haven't been able to get into our stashes." Seunghyun replied as he went to a side of the warehouse and took a chair to sit on.

"But then again, this is a different case, Taemin-ah. OUR SISTER is much more important to us that any amount from the money pool. We can give them as much won as they like, but our sister stays with us no matter what happens." Chanho firmly said while looking at Taemin's scared expression.

Darkness seemed to be radiating simply for their looks, and if it weren't perhaps for the unwritten code of brotherhood morals, their glares would've spelled a brewing murder.

"But Hyungs, Shirin-sshi herself told me to go ahead and report to you. I was about to go back for her, but she pleaded for me to leave." Taemin weakly defended himself.

At that, Seunghyun rushed to kick the leader in-training in the stomach. But Chanho restrained his older brother, who struggled to get close to Taemin.

After a few moments of effort and restraint, Seunghyun finally calmed down for a bit. But then, he looked at Taemin harshly and in a low voice, gave out a command.

"Get my car ready."

Taemin stood up immediately, pushing the pain of his jaw aside to run towards the warehouse's exit. But even before he could move, Chanho had stopped him.

"Let him leave, Chanho-yah. I'm pretty sure you feel the same way regarding the whole situation, and it's nowhere close to just letting that Kai have his way with our younger sister." Seunghyun muttered, but his determined expression changed to a look of confusion when he stared at his younger brother's face. He backed off, slight hysteria seeping in his features.

"Why be like this, Chanho-yah?! I don't know what to do anymore, especially with Shirin-ah's current condition! I can't just sit around here and do nothing! I've gone through SO much for Shirin-ah! I traded my FUTURE for her! And now, am I just gonna let a scum from a rival group HAVE HER?!" Seunghyun screamed as he rushed towards the younger Song, his fist pulled back.

But even before his fist could come in contact with any part of Chanho's body, the younger brother had shielded the punch with his hand.

"Hyung-ah! Get a hold of yourself! When Umma and Appa was killed, you weren't the only one who took on the job they left! I WAS ALSO INVOLVED! Remember, you weren't the only one who traded his future for Shirin-ah. I DID TOO! I even traded MUCH more of myself than you, Hyung! Remember that!" Chanho exclaimed before pushing his older brother away from him. At that, a hopeless look appeared on his face, and he slumped to the ground as sobs began to be heard from him.

"It's much more painful for me to know that our one and only sister will be in the hands of one of our biggest enemies, Hyung. I'm the one who took care of her while you were succeeding all of this. I even had to deny myself of what I felt in my heart that time so that I could be able to help you become head of this group. And if anyone should be breaking down, it should be me. But I know I can't falter just yet, because I have to know where she is, at the very least, before I act..." Chanho weakly began.

Seunghyun went silent as he took in his younger brother's crying form, and he watched as tears continued to spill out from Chanho's eyes. At the sight before him, he silently decided to get a hold of himself and begin thinking of ways to get their younger sister back...

... just like the strategist he is.

"Let's give ourselves one day, Chanho-yah." Seunghyun began after a few moments of silence. The younger Song suddenly looked at him with a confused expression, but a small smile surprisingly lined the elder Song's lips.

"Only a day for us to find where Shirin-ah is, plan all our moves and back-up strategies and stock up on weapons. It should be enough for the Song brothers, right?" The elder Song continued, and after a few moments had passed, the same grin found its way to the corners of the younger Song's lips as well.

"Of course. Let's just hope that that Kai boy doesn't try anything on our sister before we strike."

Throughout the whole discussion, a person was clouded in confusion. He couldn't understand the reactions of the Song brothers, nor how quick their expressions changed. He was puzzled with the words they used earlier and the severity of their breakdown in the situation presented to them by fate.

The Song brothers traded their future for Shirin?

He couldn't get it at all.

Taemin just let his eyebrows furrow in confusion and deep curiosity before straightening his face out again, aware at how he might be treated by the Song Brothers when they realize that he heard everything. He just silently made his way out of the warehouse and began his trip to the motorbike he used to get to his hyungs.

It was time to help the real leaders by doing a little research.

= = =

"Noona!"

Taemin, now in a different set of clothes, called out to the almost empty IT Department room of Desertia Spy Headquarters, a special spy group under the ReapedSouls gang's power, getting the attention of a woman hard at work on her computer.

"Sunny Noona. I need your help." He continued to say, but the lady just won't listen. Frustrated, Taemin turned off the monitor of the woman's computer, making her stop typing and glare at him.

"There must be a very good reason why you interrupted my hacking on the Foreglorie Corporation International's Financial Report Database. You know I hate disruptions." Sunny said, turning her office chair to Taemin's direction and facing him with a pissed off expression. The younger man just huffed a breath before answering.

"The Song sister has been taken by the SkullBeaters." He firmly said, smirking as his noona blanched.

"Seolma! She CAN'T be! How?!" Sunny frantically asked, immediately re-opening the computer monitor and aborting the hack process she had started.

"I was with her on mission training. She got shot. I was gonna go back for her, but she told me I should get back to the base and report to her brothers." Taemin said, squeaking when he received another glare from the female.

"Mwo?! You just left her there?! How UN-getlemanly of you..." She said, before turning back to her computer. She clicked a few times then began typing for a few moments, revealing a program containing a combination of satellite-sent maps.

"Whatever. I just need her exact location and a good look of about how many guards the place has. The Song brothers are planning to take her back." He muttered, and at the moment he stopped speaking, Sunny got to work. She wasn't branded as the best researcher in the gang for nothing.

Taemin looked proudly at the woman typing furiously on the keys. This is his cousin who took care of him ever since his childhood, when his parents would look more after their work than him, and introduced him to the gang he was in now. She was the first person who would know about his escapades and missions in the gang, and who would be the most involved when it comes to research for the leaders that she cares so much about. Sunny was the happiest person during the time he took over as the in-training head of the gang with Song Shirin. That is why she also is one of those worrying for the Song sister's safety.

"Got it."

Taemin's eyes widened at the sound of Sunny's voice breaking the silence that had taken over when she started typing. A few taps of the keys followed, and about two seconds flat after the 'Enter' button was pressed, the printer whirred to life, printing out the directions to a huge house in Seoul's high street district.

"That's where she is. The switchknife you gave her had a tracking device. I used it. Only five people, surprisingly, are inside the infrastructure as of the moment. The number still might increase by tomorrow. Take that piece of paper to the leaders and tell them that they owe me a nice long look at the Song sister when we see each other in the next groupwar." She said, serious at first, but teasingly in the end. Taemin just nodded and took the paper before making his way out of the IT department room.

While walking, he took out his phone and dialed the number of Song Seunghyun, huffing a breath before pressing the call button.

In the silence of the hallways of Desertia Spy Headquarters, he made up his mind.

When the brothers come back for the Song Shirin...

... he'll come with them.

= = = = = = =

PLEASE DON'T SKIP THIS PART.

Alright. Here we are again with the things I'm going to say. Please don't ignore the following.

First up, I would like to thank Axarell, jenina_llanes, simplysimple, PurplePluto, and KpopFanGirl21for subscribing. I haven't been able to send personal thank-you notes to each of you for the past few days, so I hope you could forgive me. =]

Next, I'm planning to do a double update today... but take note of the word PLANNING. x] Please wait patiently for the next updates. <3

Thirdly, I've been feeling discouraged lately because no one's commenting on my story. I want to know how I'm doing through you, so I hope you could leave some words for me. Thank you. =]

There. That's pretty much it.

Chapter nine will be on its way. =]

Important Note:

[credits for taemin pictures are given to fy!leetaemin. Taken from tumblr and google.]

[credits for chanho pictures are given to respective owners. Taken from google, tumblr, and 10mans.co.kr]

[credits for seunghyun pictures are given to respective owners. Taken from google, various wordpress accounts and photobucket.]

[credits for sunny pictures are given to respective owners. Taken from google, flickr, and tumblr.]

All pictures used are for the sake of clothing recognition and venue identification, which aids in better visualization of the story. The pictures are not mine, and I stake no claim on them. No copyright infringement intended. Were only re-uploaded for the sake of complation and assurance of long-lasting viewing activity. Thank you.