Hyerin attentively nodded and smiled as the lady servant who dropped her off at the mayor’s office energetically told her the stories of all the mayors she had been serving in the household. All the while, two bodyguards escorted her out of the house after having a nice long chat with Jiyong.

“So far, Mayor Kwon has been the youngest I have ever served in-”

The ringing of Hyerin’s phone in her pocket cut off the old servant in her speech, making her shyly bow to the elderly one.

“I’m sorry for the interruption,” she said, walking slowly as she checked who was calling. It was Suho. “I’m so sorry. I really have to take this.”

“Oh, it’s no problem! You’re probably tired of my talking anyway,” she joked, chuckling silently.

Hyerin laughed along before answering the call. “Hello?”

“Hyerin!” Suho exclaimed desperately with loud running footsteps echoing in the background. “Hyerin, are you alright!? Is it true that you’re at the mayor’s right now!?”

Smiling, Hyerin slightly quirked an eyebrow at Suho’s alarming tone. “I am. What’s up?”

“Hyerin, get out of there right now! I repeat, get out of there right now,” he commanded. “We finally found out who’s behind all of this and it’s the mayor, Hyerin! All this disaster is caused by the mayor!”

Hyerin continued to walk despite the panic she felt jolting inside her. She blinked a couple of times to refrain her eyes from widening and pressing her lips together to keep it from opening wide from shock. The idea was extremely outlandish, seeing how she was just talking to the mayor a couple of moments ago, but if this is the truth then she had no right to question it.

“Is that so?” she asked in a light tone to refrain the two bodyguards from thinking suspiciously about her. She continued to casually walk alongside them.

“Yes! So get out of there right now before they do something to you-” The rest of Suho’s words were blocked out as she chose to observe her surroundings instead of listening to him. Her eyes passed the narrow hallway. It was only the four of them there, but she was sure once she comes out of the living room there would be a couple of servants here and there.

“Hyerin? Hyerin! Are you still there!?” Suho exclaimed in panic.

“Suho, can you hold on for a second?”

“Wha-”

“Thanks,” she said, tucking her phone inside her pocket before slowing to a stop. The other three did so as well.

With a slow turn, Hyerin faced the two bodyguards in all smiles. In return, the two tall men exchanged looks before nodding at her.

“Is there something wrong, Ms. Hyerin?” the lady servant asked.

“Oh, no! No, not at all. It’s just that I would like to take the time to thank these two wonderful bodyguards for accompanying me today, as well as you ma’am,” she said, nodding to the woman.

The two men exchanged another look before the other deadpanned, “It’s our honor to you around-”

The guard did not have the chance to finish his sentence when Hyerin kicked him in the stomach, all the while handling the other's head in between her hands and twisting his neck. With a loud crack, he fell limp to the ground, making the lady servant back away from terror.

She was about to scream when Hyerin fished out a knife from her waistband and pointed it at her face. “Scream and I’ll kill you.”

“Please!” the lady servant begged. “Don’t kill me!”

“Do you have anything to do with the mayor’s nasty deeds?” she questioned.

“A-Are you an assassin!?”

“Answer my question.”

“Please spare my life–oh! Look out behind you!” she exclaimed.

Without so much of a glance, Hyerin stabbed the other guard in the forehead with the trench knife in her hand, letting him fall to the ground lifelessly.

“I said answer my question,” she said through gritted teeth. “Do you have anything to do with him?”

“No! I’ve been serving this household for years and I’ve never been-”

“Then go,” she said, pushing the lady servant away. “Go run away and never look back. Don’t tell anyone of what happened or I’ll make sure to hunt you down and kill you.”

With terror-filled eyes, the servant nodded before running down the hallway and disappearing.

With a sigh, Hyerin turned around to start down the other side of the hallway, fishing out her phone in her pocket. Suho was still on the line.

“Hello?”

“Hello? What did you just do!? Are you out of the house yet!?” Suho questioned.

“No and I’m not planning to get out of here just yet,” she muttered, looking from left to right before heading towards the right hallway. “I’m going to find out what this is all about once and for all.”

“Are you out of your mind!? Save that for another day, Hyerin, a day when we’re all together! You’re the one we’re keeping from the mayor and now you’re in his own house! Get out of there now!”

“I’m taking advantage of the opportunity, prez! Who knows when I’ll be able to come in here again?”

“Kim Hyerin, if you don’t get out of there right now I’ll-” Hyerin unhesitatingly ended the call and tucked her phone back inside her pocket.

She started on the pathway and from there, she turned so many corners that she wouldn’t possibly know how to come back to the main entrance. She’s gotten so far that the pathway she was now walking along was lit up with torches instead of the fluorescent ceiling lights.

With rushed footsteps, she walked some more until she reached a dead end. It was a wooden door with torches on each side of it. Taking one of the torches in hand, she opened the door and stepped inside.

It led her to another hallway; definitely narrower than the ones she’d been earlier. There were no lights this time, only her in a cramped up pathway and walls lined up with doors that lead somewhere she wouldn’t know. She opened each and every one of them, but it was either they were spare bedrooms, storage areas or completely empty.

But then she spotted a slightly different door, only because it had a padlock on it. She shook the handle a little bit before backing away and cracking her neck from side to side.

With one hard kick, she managed to bust the room open, releasing a wave of indescribable stench that threatened to trigger her gag reflex. Nonetheless, she walked in.

The smell was unbearable and rotten; a putrid odor of decay with the slightest hint of sweetness. She couldn’t see anything, but when she walked further in and placed the torch on the holder at the wall, she almost released a scream if she didn’t put both her hands over .

It was the most horrifying, most disturbing thing she had ever seen. She was standing in the middle of a bloodbath. Around her, scattered on the ground, were stray human limbs, ranging from decaying to freshly amputated ones. She walked in further, old drying blood sticking to the bottom of her shoes as she struggled to avoid stepping on a leg or a hand along the way.

The walls were covered with bloodstains, so much bloodstains, and scratch marks that sent goose bumps travelling down her spine. She could practically hear the screams of help within these walls.

She reached the end of the room, where in one corner all the heads that were cut off were piled up altogether, while on the other side were human hearts. The sight made her clamp a hand over , tears welling up on her eyes from disgust and devastation.

“What’s the matter, love? Don’t like what you see?”

Hyerin’s eyes widened as she quickly whipped around, clenching her fists as the mayor slowly walked into the room, hands behind his back with the same charismatic smile plastered on his face.

“Y-You…” she whispered, hands shaking and slowly backed away. “You’re crazy.”

“Am I? That’s too bad, then.” He shrugged, crouching down to pick up an amputated hand and studying it. “I was going to ask you to join me for dinner but I guess you don’t prefer my type of food.”

“What the hell is this? What the hell is all of this?” she questioned.

“A man’s gotta eat,” he simply said, biting a finger from the hand he picked up earlier and chewing slowly.

Hyerin wanted to gag. “You’re not human.”

“No. I’m not. I’m from Xinthesia,” he explained in between chews. “A world that’s a hundred light years away from here filled with beings called Xinths. I’ve travelled from there to here to look for another planet to evacuate to since Xinthesia is becoming extremely overpopulated,” he said in a mockingly sad tone before continuing.

“So I stumble upon this land a couple of hundred years ago and I must say, you humans are very filthy creatures.” He chuckled. “Stealing, , killing. I’ve lived too long here that I already know how you humans work. Along with my hatred towards this race, ironically, I found out that you humans could serve as a source of strength for Xinths, as well as good meals. I remember eating my first human; I felt like I could jump from building to building!” he laughed.

“And so the troubles I had of how I can summon my fellow Xinths to this glorious world vanished. Once I found out the solution, I sent some of my men to this planet, including Blue and a couple of others. They sent in technologically impossible devices in this world to help me put up a signal for Xinthesia when I finally gain the right amount of power.

“Human hearts became my life sustainer and made me look younger and gain incredible power. But it wasn’t enough. I needed more. I needed something more that will sure give me what I need.”

His eyes landed on her, making her back away. “When I found out about you, Hyerin, and that powerful heart of yours…I knew you were perfect. A mechanical heart you have there, and considering it had been keeping you alive for seventeen years, making you walk and talk and breathe and think, all the while sustaining the life and elements of twelve teenage boys…that is a lot of power. It’s not even something intellectually explainable anymore. The mix of all those hundreds and hundred of chemicals put inside you is considered magic.”

“What are you planning to do with me?” she growled.

“You’re too precious to be slaughtered and made into a meal. I’ll be draining your power, same goes to your friends.” He grinned. “And then transfer it all to me so I can make my devices work and give a signal boost to Xinthesia, telling them to take over this filthy of a planet. And maybe if you live and I become a ruler,” he closed the space between them, “you could be my queen.”

Hyerin did not even wait ‘till she pulled out her knife from anger and slashed the mayor in the face, making him yelp from the pain as he fell to the ground, clutching his bloodied face.

“Sorry, but I’m not an easy girl,” she spat. “I don’t give myself or my power to anyone that easily.”

“You !” he growled.

“And if you even try to lay a hand on the others I will kill you myself!” she added.

Jiyong looked up at her and laughed sadistically, ignoring the blood on his face. “A little too late to say that, love. I’m afraid I’m already done with the time controller.”

Hyerin’s eyes widened. “Time controller? Tao!? What did you do to him!?”

“Don’t worry, love. I didn’t eat him.” He smiled.

“What did you do to him!?” she repeated, stomping over to him.

The mayor backed away. “Ah! Ah! Ah! Kill me now and you’ll be dead in a snap of my fingers,” he said, eyeing the knife in her hands. “I didn’t hurt him too much but sadly for you and gladly for me, I’ve drained all his power until there’s nothing left. Not even a little drop of it, but hey! At least he’s still alive!” he said nonchalantly. “Now go on and leave before my minions get here to catch you. It wouldn’t take long, really.”

Hyerin shook her head in disbelief. “Why are you letting me go?”

“Oh, I’m not letting you go. I’m simply letting you roam around for a little while before I catch you again.” He shrugged. “You’re not free, Hyerin. At least, not anymore. In just a couple of days, maybe even hours, this city will be mine and soon, the world. And that means you are mine, too.”

He wiped the blood on his face before smiling at her again – the smile he wore the first time she saw him in the office. “So run along now. Go play with your friends for a little while before I take you back,” he said. “Do give me a bit of a challenge catching you, love. A little game of hide and seek wouldn’t hurt.”

“I won’t let you take me. I’d rather die and even then, you won’t get away with this. I’m not your possession and do know we will put up a fight!” she exclaimed, glaring at him, before looking away and running out of the room without looking back.

Jiyong chuckled. “I’m telling you, love,” he muttered. “A little challenge wouldn’t hurt.”

---

“Poor, unfortunate souls,” Blue cooed, walking back and forth in front of the four handcuffed agents on the floor. “Didn’t expect to be captured so soon, eh?”

“Where did you take us?” Chen glared.

“It’s not like I would tell you!” Blue said. “But don’t worry, you’ll be able to see your other friends again when we finally get them, too!”

“That will never happen!” Xiumin growled. “They’ll kill you before you can even lay your hands on them. And we won’t let you!”

Blue laughed. “You say that as if it’s so easy! Go on, then. Try to break away. Right now.”

Xiumin glared at him as he tried to summon his power, expecting ice to collect from his palms to the heavy metal chains, freezing it until it turns to complete ice making it easy to break. Unfortunately, nothing happened after trying a couple of times, making Blue laugh at his poor attempt to break away.

“Those are no ordinary chains. Do you really think we would go that easy on you?”

“I’ll kill you!” Xiumin yelled in frustration.

“If you can!” Blue cackled. “Now, children. We need to go tend to something important right now, so please excuse our temporary absence! You can try to escape but if we catch you, TOP here–” he patted the said man’s shoulder, “–will torture your mind until you go mad!” he chuckled. “Mind demonstrating, my friend?”

“I’m not your friend,” TOP deadpanned in his low, baritone voice. Nonetheless, he walked over to Lay and kneeled in one knee to face him.

Lay had his head down the whole time, struggling when TOP clutched his jaw with one hand to force him into eye contact. When their gazes met, TOP’s solid black orbs switched to a luminescent green, for some odd reason making Lay’s own pair turn the same color, before a painful jolt in the latter’s head made him yelp in pain and lie on the ground suddenly.

He felt weak, not only physically but also emotionally. His chest felt heavy and it was hard to breathe from the psychological turmoil he was under.

“What did you do!?” Kris demanded.

“That is what’s going to happen to the rest of you if you misbehave! So, I’m telling you. You can try but if we catch you, you know what’ll happen,” Blue said smugly as he wrapped a hand around TOP’s shoulder and leading him outside the door with two guards escorting them.

“The two of you,” he pointed to two Immitis members, “go get the time controller from the other room and bring him here with the others. Baekhyun, keep an eye on these fellows, will you?”

“Of course.” Baekhyun nodded, stepping forward with his hands behind his back, gaze set on the glass window just above his former comrades’ heads.

“Fantastic. Later, boys!” Blue exclaimed before walking out of the cramped room with TOP. Immediately, the guards inside closed the door.

Chen frantically nudged Lay’s unmoving body with his knee. “Lay, are you okay?” he asked. “Lay, get up!”

Lay moaned groggily, stirring slightly before struggling to sit up once again.

Kris shook his head in dismay, helplessly looking away from Lay. Instead, he focused on his surroundings; the old wooden floors, the dusty ceiling, the blurry windows, anything but Lay, Chen, Xiumin or Baekhyun. Torturing himself with the sight of his brothers hurting was too much to bear, especially when the person responsible for all of this was a person he trusted.

The violent bang of the door suddenly opening made all of them turn their heads. The two gang members from earlier walked inside the room, dragging an unconscious Tao along with them. The other members in their breaths as the two threw the time controller to the ground in front of them, completely unrecognizable and battered and dirtied up as if he were a pig receiving constant abuse from his owners.

“ZiTao!” Xiumin yelled in shock, not even sure himself if the younger boy was still breathing.

Tao’s hand gave a slight twitch, telling them that he was still alive, though barely. He looked like a completely different person now; his usual strong frame was now skinny and weak and his sculpted torso was now unhealthily flat. His arms that used to be bulky and firm now looked like skinny breakable pair of twigs, his well-defined features swallowed by the deep hollows of his cheeks.

One of the thugs kicked the unmoving boy in the gut. Tao didn’t even flinch.

“Tao!” Xiumin yelled at the top of his lungs, eyes pooling with tears.

“Quiet,” Baekhyun demanded, eyes still trained on the window.

“Baekhyun, please,” Chen begged, fighting to keep himself together. “Tao is badly hurt. Do you see all the deep wounds on him? It could get infected and it will seriously-”

“I don’t care,” Baekhyun cut off.

“Baekhyun, please-”

“Are you happy with this?” asked Kris, glaring at the boy with murderous eyes. “Is this what you’ve been wanting all along? For all this to happen to us?”

Baekhyun didn’t move an inch nor spared him a glance.

“Since when, Baekhyun? Were you a part of this from the start? All this time…you were just waiting in the sidelines for this to happen?”

“Keep your mouth shut.”

“We should have known, I should have known, why the enemies are having such an easy time with us. It’s all because of you.” Kris gritted his teeth. “Does that make you feel good? Does it, Baekhyun? Does it feel good to know that you’ve betrayed the people who have been there for you since the start? The people who chose to accept you when no one else did? The people who loved you?”

“I said keep your mouth-”

“What do you think Hyerin would say about this?”

Finally, Baekhyun’s eyes landed on Kris, his gaze distant and unreadable.

“I can already imagine how upset she will be. Her tear-streaked face contorting into anger, basking in her own regret from having even an ounce of affection towards a betraying bastard like you,” he hissed. “I hope everything goes well for you. In fact, I hope you live through this war just so you can see what kind of hell you put everyone through. When everyone’s dead and there’s only you left…spending every single day thinking about how you betrayed the trust of the people who love you until the day you can’t take it anymore and go mad-”

“Shut the  up,” Baekhyun ordered, jaw clenching and unclenching as he stared at Kris dead in the eye, “or I will ing kill you right here, right now.”

“Go on.” Kris shrugged. “See if I care.”

Baekhyun dropped his hands to his sides, fists clenched so hard that his fingernails left red marks on his palms. His face flushed, nostrils flaring from his rising temper as he looked away from Kris, leaving the room heavy with dead silence and harrowing betrayal.

---

Kyungsoo stepped out of the black and silver Aston Martin parked several blocks away from the mayor’s mansion, tucking a gun into his waistband along the way. He slammed the door shut as he made his way to the mayor’s mansion.

He ran and ran and ran. Agent M’s words were repeating itself in his mind, and at that moment, it was the only thing he could think about.

I told Suzy no such thing, he said. Just from that, it was like all toughness and rationality left him, and he was out the door in less than a minute. The fact that a fellow agent of his was in a dangerous territory alarmed him, that in any minute this fellow agent could die. The idea disturbed him to no end, yet amidst thinking about all these things, he knew that the reason why he was doing this so impulsively was because this fellow agent was not just any fellow agent.

Kim Hyerin. That’s who she was, and frankly, that was all the reason he needed to get him on his feet like this, sprinting like his life depended on it.

Finally, he reached his destination. With labored breaths, he pressed his back against the wall just beside the guard’s watch station, pulling out his pistol and preparing himself to jump out and shoot whoever stood in his way.

He closed his eyes briefly to collect his thoughts. He opened them shortly, ready to break into the household, when multiple gunshots – around three – resounded in the air, making his already rapid heartbeat quicken. There were only two possible scenarios at that moment; either Hyerin was the one shooting or she was the one being shot.

Whispering a silent ' it', Kyungsoo jumped out of his hiding spot, his gun firmly placed in front of him when he was surprised by the sight of Hyerin mirroring his exact stance; in a firm pose with a gun held in her hands.

It took a while before they realized they were pointing their weapons at each other, but eventually lowered their guns at the same time with their eyes wide in recognition.

Hyerin’s shoulders dropped in relief before finding herself in Kyungsoo’s arms, both holding each other tight with eyes shut before coming to their senses and pulling away.

“Are you alright?” Kyungsoo questioned, pulling Hyerin to the car and stepping inside before hastily inspecting her if she hand any major wounds.

“Did you get hurt?”

“I’m fine, Kyungsoo.”

“Jesus Christ,” he sighed, resting his forehead against the steering wheel and closing his eyes. “I thought you were dead! I had no idea what do and I just…I just ran out of the building and went here and I-I…I didn’t know I just–"

Hyerin’s brows curled up as she turned her head to look at Kyungsoo, giving him a relieved, troubled smile. “Thank you. For worrying about me.”

Kyungsoo opened his eyes and looked at her with distraught, head still resting against the wheel. “Are you an idiot?” he asked quietly. “Of course I’d be worried about you.”

Hyerin hesitated for a moment before saying, “He’s planning to take over the city along with his allies. He’s planning to take me too, and after that, you guys. He’s planning an invasion for his people back in his planet to live in our planet,” she explained. “He…He’s already done with Tao. I-I don’t know what he did or what happened to him, but he killed hundreds of innocent people and kept them in a dungeon-”

“Shh,” Kyungsoo hushed. “It’s alright. Don’t cry.”

“I’m not crying.”

Kyungsoo gave her a concerned look, gently wiping her cheek to show her.

Hyerin exhaled, lips trembling. “I'm sorry I just. I just can't think right now,” she sobbed, burying her face into her palms.

“It’s going to be alright, I promise you,” Kyungsoo reassured, squeezing her shoulder. “I’m here for you, we’re all here for you,” he said, eyes full of anger. “He will never lay a hand on you.”

“But what if he does?”

“I won’t let him,” he pressed, giving her arm a firm squeeze. “I promise you, I won’t let him.”

Kyungsoo stared at her dead in the eye, a stare that told her he was going to be true to his word. A stare that comforted her and assured her that although everything wasn’t going to be all right, it eventually would be. Not now, but someday.

“How are you so sure?”

“Because,” he mumbled, starting again this constant useless banter they had.

“Because?” she asked anyway.

He shrugged. “Because,” he said with finality before turning on the engine.

Hyerin didn’t say anything back, and although it was completely stupid and made no sense, this short, mindless reasoning of his gave her a sense of comfort only he could give. Then she thought it might actually not be mindless or stupid at all.

In fact, it was everything.