Luhan nodded before following him along the long concrete drive toward the first stairs. He glanced at the wild bushes around him, they hadn’t changed a bit. He bet that underneath the bright sunlight they were still as green as always, healthily full and fat. He could recall running around the home hiding behind every nick and nook he could before his mother would call him back in for treats.  

 

Bright outdoor lights shone from the ceiling of the porch when he neared the house and not within 5 seconds the flourished white marble staircase his father had long envied welcomed him. His tennis shoes softly clicked against them when the chauffeur opened the wide white doors engraved with long curly patterns. When he stepped inside, a brightly lit hallway with a long red carpet lying along the insanely white marbled floor called out for him. 

 

“This way,” the chauffeur extended his arm leading him down the carpet and underneath a grand Tiffany chandelier before he opened the first door, a mini version of the front door.

 

“Luhan!” a 40 year old man with vivid wrinkles surrounding his eyes when he smiled stood up. “Oh-ho! It’s been such a long time! How are your studies going? Are you back at last?” 

 

The man still dressed in his gray suit even at 10:00 at night put an arm around Luhan’s arm leading him toward a stuffy valedictorian chair in front of the dead fireplace. Gi Su, one of his fathers friends along the line of business work whom he called uncle, took a seat on an identical chair across from him. 

 

“No, I’m just visiting. I’m on holiday break,” Luhan smiled. 

 

“Go tell the midnight maid to bring us some tea,” he ordered the chauffeur who obliged with a bow before leaving. 

 

When the door closed Luhan finally realized how dimly lit the room was. Filled with bookshelves, a desk, and a large window was the study Gi Su owned. Luhan had never been allowed in there once but he’d often seen his father speaking business with Gi Su. 

 

The door opened and a slightly older version of Gi Su walked in. She was draped in an white apron, her saggy arms supporting the tray of cups. When she set the tea cups onto the table Luhan turned to see a large lamp sitting on the brandished oak desk. It was fancily designed with Chinese flowers.

Was the ‘Golden Mary’ hidden somewhere in this room if he had it? 

 

“So what is my young boy doing here tonight?” Gi Su wondered leaning back into his chair comfortably resting both arms onto the arm rest. “Have you gone home?”

 

Luhan smiled, “Not right now. I’m hanging out with some friends, my father would be too busy to see me.” 

 

“Your father is a busy man but he’ll always make time for his family. He’s a very dedicated man,” Gi Su laughed, “I wish I was as dedicated toward my family. Your father, he’s very inspirational. Have you heard from him lately? He’s opened up another branch within the company.” 

 

“Is that so?” Luhan asked making sure to keep his face lit with a smile. “Uncle, I’ve been hearing some gossip about the increase of business failures. You wouldn’t happen to know what’s behind it, would you?” 

 

“Ah…those,” Gi Su nodded, “investments go bad, there are a lot of scams nowadays. When amateurs want to join the circle they’ll be easily bribed by those scammers. It’s all money in the end, it gets taken just like candy from a child.” 

 

His hoarse laugh was starting to hurt Luhan’s fragile ears. All Luhan could do was smile somewhat before leaning farther. He grabbed the cup of tea and shook it a little in his hand and watched the tea water swirl somewhat before looking up at his uncle. 

“Do you know what my father has been up to these days? Besides opening another branch in the company, he hasn’t been after any gossip?” Luhan questioned. “Father often likes to listen in on gossip, has he talked some with you?” 

 

Gi Su stared at him a second before turning his head to the side exploding with mocking laughter. Luhan stared at him without movement. 

 

“Your father? Gossip? I can hardly believe that,” Gi Su said. 

 

“Isn’t what’s happening just like the domino effect?” Luhan asked. 

 

“Domino effect?” 

 

“Like say, how the amateurs are losing business, won’t the bigger ones start to lose business too? I hear competition is getting strikingly rough these days,” Luhan said setting his tea cup onto the table with a clink. “I learned in school that if one thing shall fall, others will be affected by the same effect and follow. Like say, mice are starving but all of a sudden a stalk of rice appear before them. Out of greed to fill their own stomachs they’ll fight each other just to get that stalk of rice.” 

 

Gi Su frowned at him. His graying hair finally showing itself when he leaned forward into the dim light. 

 

“What are you saying?” 

 

“Has my father been looking for that stalk of rice?” Luhan asked. 

 

\ \ \ \ \

 

It was 10:50 sharp when Victoria and Seohyun paused in front of the large black gate. Seohyun glanced around to make sure no one was around before pulling Victoria down the street. 

 

Rarely any cars ever drove by this time of night in the rich neighborhood isolated from the middle class and poor. This was what Seohyun called discrimination at it’s best, but tonight things were playing in their luck. She stopped by a shorter ledge and stood on tip toes to glanced inside before waving to Victoria. 

 

“Lets wait just a bit before going in,” Seohyun glanced at her watch. 

 

She crouched down onto her legs hidden in the dark of the shadows. Seohyun turned to look at the quiet Victoria to see her eyes low on the ground. Victoria’s breathing was really quiet compared to the steadiness of her’s. Her face expression kind of forlorn yet happy, as if sick in love. It really looked like she was thinking. 

 

“What?” Seohyun asked. 

 

Victoria turned to look at her a little surprised, “Nothing.” 

 

Seohyun turned to look around. 

 

“This is quite the neighborhood, don’t you think?” 

 

“I guess.”

 

“But I guess our homes are somewhat more private, well mine at least,” Seohyun said before turning back to Victoria. 

 

They remained quiet for the rest of the time before Seohyun got up to her feet and peered around once more before reaching her arms out to the ledge. 

 

“It’s a good thing these homes are so secluded from others,” Seohyun whispered hoisting herself up like a pro.  

Victoria followed and they landed behind the bushes and trees before kneeling down to look around at what stood before them. They were covered with the thick darkness, bright lights guiding their eyes to the front porch. 

 

“Damn, it is huge,” Victoria whispered underneath her breath appalled. 

 

“Right?” Seohyun agreed still looking around. “Looks like the path is clear. Come on. The back door is this way.” 

 

Seohyun quietly crawled her way around the large green, yet dark yard. The silence of it all was really overbearing. It was even impossible to hear Victoria behind her. The five years of training she’d gone through with Victoria and the other agents had definitely been exhausting, tormenting, and sick. Thanks to all that, she’d learned to move like a mouse behind the walls of a house. And also, thanks to that kind of life, she’d given up the most normal kind of life she could have lived. After the friends she had parted their own ways and her parents’ divorce, Seohyun had had no one left. Even now, she hadn’t regret making the decision to live in the government, live her life for others. At least the time for regret hadn’t come yet. 

 

She stopped and tilted her head up a bit. There the white door at the back, just 15 feet away seemed to magically appear. Seohyun turned to Victoria, they locked eyes, and she nodded. Victoria shook her head in return and Seohyun turned back to glance around. Being cautious at all times had been the first step to everything, it had been burned into her mind. 

Sticking a leg out of the bush she crawled out and quickly ran toward the door pressing her back against the wall of the house. While Victoria made her way toward her, she reached a hand for the doorknob and found it unlocked. The daughter of Gi Su had had her boyfriend sneak in through the back door on several occasions. It was really perfect. 

 

Victoria closed the door as quietly as possible behind her and they started down a short hallway, the shiny marble floor mirroring the moonlight. Seohyun peered to her left to see a large wooden table in the center of the room, a huge fridge, and dishes neatly piled into the dish bin. A few more steps and they found themselves faced with a hallway and stairs to the right. 

 

“Should we split?” Seohyun asked. 

 

“No choice,” Victoria whispered, “be careful.”

 

Seohyun nodded, “You too, unnie.” 

 

When Victoria disappeared into the darkness of the stairs, Seohyun crept ahead. Majority of the lights had been turned off with the exception of one room. There was no time to look around and admire the home so Seohyun quickly swept pass numerous rooms and closed doors before turning around the corner. Another hall welcomed her appearance and when she crept forward a few more steps she discovered that another room had not yet darkened. 

 

Seohyun stared at the light coming from the closed door and crept closer to it. Was someone still up? Impossible. But she had to discover it for herself. As she neared the door she searched around for a place to hide if discovered and found a closet not too far away. She’d be able to reach it in an arm’s second. 

Gulping she reached for the glassy doorknob and to her amazement it quietly opened with not even a creak. What first appeared to her was a the many shelves against the wall. Seohyun quietly noted to herself that she needed a room like that at her own house before she furthered the door open. She totally froze when she saw Luhan sitting in the chair in front of a dead fireplace conversing with someone whom she couldn’t see. If only she could open the door anymore, but it’d get her caught. 

 

What were they talking about? Seohyun’s breath stilled, her heart filling with many questions for Luhan. Was she surprised? Or was it literal shock? As her eyes landed up Luhan’s smiling face once more all she could suddenly think about was why the hell he was there in the first place? 

 

\ \ \ \ \

 

In the middle of the night within the lonely apartment, Donghae jerked awake with the endless ringing of his damn phone. He’d just been happily dreaming about landing on an island with a boat full of cash and gold. It had all faded away so fast that he could only turn away from the sirens in his head before he opened his eyes to realize that his phone was spinning like crazy on his bedside table. Groaning he lazily reached an arm forward to grab it and stared at the name flashing on it. 

 

“,” he swore, “are you serious?” Running a hand over his face he answered in a dead grumble, “Yes?” 

 

“There’s been a break in at the Gi manor, report there immediately.” 

 

“Huh?” Donghae glanced at his digital clock which flashed 11:15. “Now!?” 

 

\ \ \ \ \

 

Victoria’s foot landed on the top of the staircase and she glanced around in the dark trying to pick out everything in front of her. The dark was one of her many enemies. Unlike Seohyun who got along with it perfectly fine, Victoria had to stare around for a while for everything to come through to her senses. 

To her right was a short hallway with two doors. Probably a storage room and a closet. A wide window offered a generous view of the yard outside. Victoria turned to stare down her left to where most of the bedrooms were and started forward wondering what other rooms there were. Perhaps a room storing supplies of importance? Maybe a room for family jewels? 

 

The house had seemed longer from the outside. Maybe there was another corridor on her left which led to the other side of the house. With a determination to find out by herself, Victoria took another confidently quiet step only to quickly run back pressing her back against the wall. The shadow of the window frame marked its territory just an inch before her foot when a door opened. Light escaped its way into the hallway before someone stepped out to look around. When that person starting banging the doors beside it Victoria abruptly turned her head toward the window when she recognized the sirens of the police cars outside. 

 

“Wake up! Wake up! There are robbers in the house!” 

 

Victoria pressed her lips together inching her way toward the window. It’d be pointless to run toward the stairs and head out the back door if she’d only be seen. There was still a possibility she could make it out without being seen. She quietly waited for the family members to run down the stairs before turning to the window. Holding her breath she glanced out to see someone running down the pavement toward the front gates where squad cars were gathering as well as policemen. She and Seohyun would totally be screwed if they were caught. Victoria could only hope that Seohyun had heard the sirens before she had. 

When she lifted up the window a voice behind her screamed. It was definitely an elder woman. Victoria totally hated it when they screamed. Without turning around to even try and shut her up Victoria found herself staring at a screen. Crap! She didn’t have a knife on her, how was she going to do this now!?

 

“Help! Someone! There’s a person up here! Min Hee! Min Hee!!” the woman bellowed. 

 

“Shut the hell up,” Victoria screamed underneath her breath as she elbowed the screen. 

 

Digging her fingers into the edges of the screen she fought with it, elbowed it with all her strength a few times before she heard footsteps running up the stairs. They didn’t sound like the fragile footsteps belonging to woman, but a man. 

 

She was screwed.    

 

With no other choice, she stepped back hoping that she’d already weakened the defense of the wired screen. Victoria made a short run and kicked it. To her success, it broke. 

 

“Over there! Over there!” the elder woman continued howling. 

 

Victoria glanced out the window once more thanking the lord that no policeman had started for the back yard yet, and leapt out. 

 

\ \ \ \ \

Seohyun immediately turned when she heard footsteps and saw lights in every room turn on one by one. What was happening? With no time to figure anything for herself, she stole away into the closet to find herself surrounded by an old rolled up carpet, a mop, and cleaning formulas.

 

Footsteps scurried by and a door opened. 

 

“What’s going on?” an old man demanded surprised by the sudden interruption. 

 

Seohyun moved closer to the door pressing her ear against it. 

 

\ \ \ \ \

 

Luhan turned to look at the old chauffeur who looked stressed and tired. Nonetheless, he was standing in his cotton pajamas with work suddenly enforcing itself onto his face. 

 

“Sir, the alarm has gone off,” the chauffeur informed, the other maids standing behind him looking panicked and distraught. 

 

They were all whispering amongst themselves, shaking their heads confused, hands clutching at their chests worried. Curiosity filled Luhan as he listened on. 

 

“The cops have arrived,” the chauffeur explained. 

 

“Check to see if anything has been taken, search all rooms!” Gi Su raised his voice to emphasize the seriousness of it all. 

 

“Yes! Every one go,” the chauffeur turned around to the maids. 

 

“Looks like our time has run out,” Gi Su turned to Luhan with a smile. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to walk you out.”

 

“It’s fine, I know the way,” Luhan stood to his feet with a nod of the head. 

Without a word Gi Su turned around and headed down the hall. When his footsteps faded, Luhan immediately turned to look around. He walked around the room, searched the bookshelves, the desk drawers, and every gap possible. After what seemed like hours he stopped breathless. 

 

“Of course, he wouldn’t leave it so easily in a room like this,” Luhan said to himself before stepping out. 

 

The hallways were bare and empty. Pressing on Luhan wondered if he could head upstairs, but when he reached the bottom of it he heard voices at the top. 

 

“What!? Really!?” a young voice exclaimed. 

 

“There was someone up here,” an elderly woman claimed. “But she escaped.” 

 

The young person gasped, “Oh my…what’s going to happen? Is there anyone else hiding in this house? We should look around…” 

 

Luhan backtracked and looked around. Had someone really broken in or had Gi Su’s silent alarm been played with by someone? Why? Whatever the case, Luhan knew he wouldn’t be able to stick around anymore. He’d be caught no matter where he went in the house.