\ \ \ \ \

Luhan stared out the window, his eyes concentrated on the dark streets. He was feeling nervous and anxious. Would his father’s men know that they were heading out to Jeju tomorrow? If so, would his father and his men be waiting for their arrival? Would he have traps waiting for them? Would he even let them out alive?

All sorts of thoughts bombarded his mind only to make him all the more nervous. Sure, Seohyun and Victoria seemed able, but they would only be able to take on so much. If Siwon tagged along that would make one more hassle because they both wouldn’t be able to do anything to defend themselves. Siwon might have a gun to help him, but his father’s men were highly trained.

“What’s with that look on your face?” Seohyun questioned.

Luhan turned to look at him. “What look?”

“This,” Seohyun imitated him before taking a seat. “Are you that worried?”

“I shouldn’t be because it seems like you and Victoria can do anything,” Luhan expressed, “but I am because my father’s men are really no joke.”

“Don’t worry about it. We may know nothing now, but we can always adapt to the situation,” Seohyun tried. “We just have to trust each other.”

She made it sound so easy and it was only making Luhan more nervous. 

\ \ \ \ \

The air smelled sweet and amorous in the tiny lit room. Their hearts pounded against their chests and vibrated off the other’s as they kissed away at lips and skin. Lost in the flight of ecstasy both had forgotten their sense of time as well.

Donghae cornered Victoria against the wall holding up a blanket around them, his hands pinned against the wall with both ends of the blanket. While giving her another long kiss he felt her crawl her hands up his back, the heel of her feet running up the back of his torso.

“Ah, ah! That tickles!” he shivered.

Victoria chuckled at him and leaned against the wall. He slid forward so that they were face to face and smiled.

“Hey, don’t you think it’s about time we go star gazing?” he asked.

“Is it?” she questioned. “It should be about time the stars come out.”

He kissed her again and took in the scent of her skin.

“Or should we skip out on that?” he wondered.

Victoria chuckled again. “No, no, lets go.”

“I like it, when you laugh.” He said giving her a quick peck on the neck.

Standing up he slipped into his clothes and turned around to look at her.

“You still have my clothes?” he asked. 

Victoria nodded.

Donghae smiled, feeling proud of that fact and said, “Keep them.”

He swore he saw her cheeks flush a light pink before he grabbed her hand and led her outside. The stars were firing up the sky into a white and yellow. After placing a blanket on the fresh grass he pulled her down beside him.

“It’s neat, huh?” he said. “I didn’t think the stars look so pretty before. They always seemed kind of lonesome.”

Victoria turned to look at him before hugging his arm with her hands and leaned against his shoulder.

“It’s nice,” she agreed quietly.

“Don’t you go dozing off without me.” he warned.

Victoria smiled against his arm. “Yea.”

\ \ \ \ \

Victoria couldn’t do it. She couldn’t talk to him like it was her last night with him. If he suspected anything, it would only complicate her from going to Jeju and retrieving the ‘Golden Mary’.

When she woke up there was a note lying on his pillow telling her to shower and wait for him to come back. Victoria did as told and enjoyed the warm shower isolated from the toilet and sink by walls of glass. As the warm water slid down her hair and body she wondered how would feel if she just disappeared. There was no such thing as her being in more pain than him. For sure, Donghae had endured much more for her than she for him. The only thing she could do was have breakfast with him.

After stepping out of the shower with damp hair she found Donghae in the kitchen making breakfast.

“This is really a nice sight,” Victoria commented. 

“I will always cook breakfast for you.” He twisted himself back to look at her with a smile.

She smiled at him and seated herself at the table.

“Do you have to go back today?” he asked sitting across from her.

Victoria glanced up from her plate with a, “Mmm…”

“Will you be back later?”

She averted her gaze afraid to hurt him.

“Victoria?”

She turned to look at him with a smile, “I’ll try.”

“It’s good to eat breakfast together. Meals always taste better when shared,” Donghae commented. “Don’t ever eat breakfast without me.”

“Yes, I heard you.”

After eating Victoria hesitated by the table. Should she talk to him more? What should she say? She was afraid of hurting him and end up hurting herself. Why was she such a coward?

“Do you want me to help you with dishes?” Victoria asked even though he was already starting on them. 

“No. I’m fine. This much I can do.”

Victoria quieted and stared at his back. She would miss him like how she missed her dead father. It was a terrible kind of miss she didn’t like. Pressing her lips together she walked toward him and hugged him from behind tightening her arms around him so that she almost squeezed the air out of him.

“I’ll come back as soon as I can.” She promised.

“What’s this?” he wondered confused.

Tilting her head to the side she kissed him on the cheek. “See you.”

Quickly turning around she slipped her shoes on and ran out the door. The others were waiting for her and she needed to go back as soon as possible. And hopefully, hopefully she’d be able to come back.

\ \ \ \ \

Donghae turned to see the door close and wondered why Victoria seemed strange. Turning away to continue washing the dishes he stopped when he heard something ring. Drying his wet hands on his jeans he walked around the cabin in search of the sound and stopped in the bedroom where it was coming from. On the edge of the bed sat Victoria’s phone. Once he answered, a female voice on the other end of the line started speaking immediately. 

“Victoria, where are you? I’ve already sent you the information Noh Ki Young and the ‘Golden Mary’. Why aren’t you replying? And the plane to Jeju flies off at 10. Will you make it back in time? Hello? Hello?”

“Jeju?” he repeated surprised.

He heard a gasp. “Where’s Victoria?”

“She left…”

Donghae hung up and ran toward the door ditching the other half of the dishes he hadn’t finished washing. The ‘Golden Mary’ was the same ‘Golden Mary’ he had heard Victoria and her friend talking about when he first saw them, right? They were going to Jeju to get it? If so, he needed to beat them to it.

Sticking Victoria’s phone into his pocket he entered his car and first rushed off toward Hyukjae’s.

The moment he reached the auditorium, Hyukjae turned to look at him with an annoyed expression. Unable to care about that Donghae rushed forward to him.

“Hyuk!”

“Yes, I hear you.” Hyukjae shoved Donghae’s hand off his arm. “What do you want?”

“Get me a helicopter!”

“What!?” Hyukjae narrowed his eyes at the sudden request from Donghae. “Why?”

“I need to go to Jeju! Now!”

Hyukjae frowned at him unable to comprehend his anxiety.

“I know you still have connections. Have someone send me a helicopter!”

“What’s this? What’s going on? Did you do something again?”

“Hyuk! There’s no time! Please!” 

Hyukjae stared at him for the longest time before pushing him away.

“Your requests are really tiring, you know.” Hyukjae said before taking out his cellphone. “You better treat me to a drink next time.”

\ \ \ \ \

“I thought you weren’t going to make it!” Seohyun shouted grabbing Victoria’s arm when she appeared and led her straight toward Siwon’s car. Before getting into the arm Seohyun turned to look at Victoria, “Oh…I called you earlier, Donghae picked up.”

Victoria’s eyes stilled on hers. “It’s fine. He won’t be able to catch up to us.”

Seohyun watched as Victoria opened the car door before getting in.

The airplane flight wasn’t too long. As promised, Siwon got them tickets with seats together and the rest was up to them. Luhan’s face was full of worries and doubts, and the nearer they got to Jeju the more worried Seohyun was becoming. They had no idea of what was in store for them and they had no guarantee that Noh Ki Young would be there as well. She realized suddenly that they were moving blindly and it was very foolish.

From the bustling airport they took a taxi and were on their way toward Noh Ki Young’s newly purchased land. The seaside greeted them with its glittering body of water underneath the rays of the afternoon sun. What a bright day anybody else would be having. Shrubs and tall weeds were overgrown by the shore and lines of trees waved at them. 

Along the empty drive toward Noh Ki Young’s Seohyun saw empty pastures where ranches used to stand and horses used to graze. The greenery was now nothing but a mere landscape with no business. The fine homes of people had been bought off. Where were the families now? Where were the business owners?

“I don’t know what you kids are doing here, but head on home before dark.” The driver kindly cautioned.

They filed out of the car one by one while Siwon paid the driver. Seohyun turned to stare across the grassland and indeed a large two story home stood in the middle of the field. It looked aged. There were tall lamps in front of the front door and a black Sedan at the side of the house. Its white exterior shone underneath the sun and the dozen windows all around the house looked glass-clear as if there were nothing there at all. She wondered if Noh Ki Young’s men were watching them from afar.

The sea from her right whispered into her ear and she turned to see a lone boat rocking against the lonely shore. Seohyun turned away when the taxi drove off and immediately spotted a shadow behind the trees up ahead. She felt her heart lurch in panic before she squinted her eyes. Her heart itself inside her chest before she reached for Victoria’s arm afraid of the mistake she had made earlier.

“Victoria.” Seohyun called breathless.

Victoria looked at her, “What?”

“He came.” 

Seohyun shifted Victoria in the direction her eyes were. Victoria froze in her arms before she slipped away.

“I’ll talk with him. You guys go on ahead.”

“Are you sure?” Seohyun worried.

“I’ll work it out.” Victoria’s eyes seriously filled with determination before she started toward the hedgerow of trees.

\ \ \ \ \

And this was exactly what she had feared. Donghae was fearless and that was his worst point. After a long walk away from the sea and street she finally reached the tree half a mile away from the house.

“What are you doing here?” Victoria demanded.

Donghae poked his head out from behind the tree and looked at her before stepping out. He first reached into his pocket before holding her phone out to her. Victoria took a glance at it unhappily before swiping it from his hand.

“You’re here for it, that ‘Golden Mary’, aren’t you?” he wondered solemnly.

Victoria didn’t look away. “Yea.”

His eyes lowered to the ground slightly, “I heard you and your friend talking about it one day while passing by. What is it? Can it get a lot of money?”

“Are you here to joke around?” Victoria allowed anger to climb into her voice.

Not only was he being reckless, but he was putting himself in danger and she couldn’t promise she’d be there to help him.

“No. I just want to help you find it.”

“And you came all the way here for that!?” Victoria raised her voice.

“Yes.” 

Victoria reached her arm forward and grabbed his shirt, “This is not a playground here, Donghae. Why the hell did you come out here!? If they see you they’re going to kill you! I don’t want you to die here!”

Donghae stared at her without wavering. He reached his warm hand up and grasped hers.

“I don’t want you to die here too.”

Victoria’s lips fell apart, her heart filling up with a despair.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, “I don’t really have time to talk to you right now.”

Tightening her hold on his shirt she twisted him around and locked her arm around his neck.

“Just breathe lightly and it’ll be all over.” She whispered softly into his ear while cutting the oxygen off from his lungs.

Donghae reached both hands up to grasp her arm and struggled momentarily before his body went limp. He would regain consciousness after a few minutes and she’d be gone by then. That was all the time she needed to get into Noh Ki Young’s without him on her back.

Victoria took a few steps ahead and glanced back at Donghae’s body lying safely behind the hedgerow away from sight before hurrying back toward the others. 

It took her at least two minutes before reaching the front door where the others were preparing themselves.

“It ok?” Seohyun questioned.

Victoria nodded and crouched down underneath the front window across from Luhan. He had been so quiet. When he looked over at her he smiled as if he’d read her worried thoughts and wanted to assure her he was fine. Victoria nodded at him before Siwon cleared his throat and rang the doorbell.

Their plan had been that after Siwon entered the home they would infiltrate the home quietly from the front door assuming that Siwon would be led to another room. They would steal their way in and search until they ran into Noh Ki Young. After all, they had been moving blindly without a solid secure plan. Victoria and Seohyun had gotten used to the fact that plans never went their way.

The door opened and Victoria saw Siwon’s face turn into that of politeness, but before he could speak the person who had greeted him spoke. “I’ve been waiting for you.  Come in, all of you.”

Confusion swept his face before someone reached an arm out and pulled him in. Guns shifted, unlocked, and pointed at the three of them.

“Get up.” 

Victoria, Seohyun, and Luhan quietly entered the home, the front door closing after them quietly. They stood pinned to the wall, black guns ready to fire their heads off.

In the middle of four men dressed in bad black stood Noh Ki Young, 40 something years old, with a stocky smile on his face happy to catch his prey before they caught him. He had no beard and no clear wrinkles apparent on his face. His complexion was surprisingly well kept and Victoria wouldn’t be surprised if he’d resorted to the world’s best dermatologist for skin solutions. He dressed exactly like Lee Sook Chin, a ready to go business suit with clean polished black dress shoes. Except he seemed to have had his suit tailored just for him. It was probably a one of a kind kind of suit.

“How did you ever get involved with two government agents?” he shook his head while speaking to Luhan. “And a police officer as well. What an amusing mix.” He chuckled amused. “Bring them downstairs.”