“Because I’m your Wu Fan.”

                Her reaction was still crisp in his mind. Kris could still distinctly remember how it was like to hear her muffled sobs through the receiver. He had sensed her ‘I knew it’ mixed at the same with the ‘Is this really happening?’ and the ‘Where have you been all this time?’ without her having to say the words. He had imagined it over and over again what it’d be like to tell her the truth. This wasn’t how he thought it would be.

                Kris was never someone who cried. He had only cried once and that was the time he thought he’d never get to see her ever again. He had often associated crying with weakness. He had to be strong. He had to be brave. This instance was different and he realized that it was because she was his greatest weakness; that he would laugh, smile or even cry for this woman.

And so when she cried, he did too.

                It took Kai and Chanyeol’s combined strength to keep him on his feet as his friends witnessed the tears they had never seen before. Though Kris was headstrong about the plan and he was confident that they could save Sooyoung and the rest of the first family, they had the first glimpse of how truly scared he was of what could happen. He really did love her, they realized, and it was tearing him apart to choose to either save her while risking her family or to make sure her family was safe to begin with as Kris had predicted she would wish.

                The drive to the verified location where the kidnappers would take Sooyoung was in silence. Kris was on the wheel with Tao worriedly glancing at his best friend from time to time from the passenger’s seat. Kai, Sehun and Chanyeol were all at the back, softly going over the plan and the blueprints over and over again. They had to anticipate each and every thing that could go wrong. There was no room for error.

                It had baffled the other four first why Byun Sang Woo was taking Sooyoung to the marina. Why not a warehouse or some vacant lot? The realization had Kris punching a mirror; the glass cracking under his fist. Yes, they could probably board some yacht or ship and take Sooyoung away. But there was also the big possibility that they were going to throw her to the water.

Sooyoung didn’t know how to swim.

                Kris stepped on the gas pedal harder as the car zoomed through the nearly empty highway; Kai nearly falling off his seat at the back at the sudden change in velocity. They were racing against time. They were racing against death. The sound of a ringing phone cut off the silence; Kris bringing up the device to his ear without bothering to look at the caller ID.

“Heechul hyung.”

“The son of a hadn’t called yet for ransom or whatever.” The other man, who had been let in on the plan, said without preamble.

“Damn it.” He growled. “We can’t keep guessing what he wants from the president. It’s such a volatile situation.”

“I know.” A beat passed. “Kris, are you sure I shouldn’t tell the president yet? He might get suspicious and I could only say so many excuses.”

“Chanyeol just spoke to him earlier. It seemed like he bought the excuse so we have some time.” Kris replied; Sehun noting that the passing scenery told them that they were nearing the marina. “Hyung, promise me you won’t tell the president until I give you the go signal. I want to have a good look at the area before you send back up.”

Heechul nodded though the younger man didn’t see. “I promise. Update me frequently, will you?”

“Will do.” He agreed easily.

“And Kris?”

“Yeah?”

“Be safe, kid. We both know Sooyoung isn’t going to forgive anyone if something happens to you too.”

o-o-o-o-o

                The marina was eerily silent when they reached the place; Kris parking the black sedan behind a tall stack of crates. It was a pretty short distance between from where they parked to the private area of the harbour that Byun Sang Woo owned. Silently, Kris, Kai, Sehun, Chanyeol and Tao double checked everything they needed, suiting up for the inevitable attack.

“Hyung.” Chanyeol put a hand on the eldest of the five’s shoulder. “I know you’re angry. I know you might want to kill Byun Sang Woo right now. But think straight, hyung. Her life first before revenge.”

He nodded shortly. “I know.”

                Checking the blueprints one last time, they took the route that was least suspicious yet least visible to the enemies. There were no signs of armed men or any odd activity. Sehun’s quick eye caught sight of a row of cars two to three blocks away from the private dock and they were certain that Sooyoung was already there. If it was even possible, Kris tensed up even more; Tao and Kai exchanging worried looks behind his back.

                They had reached the designated rows of container vans, carefully and quietly pressing against the metal walls as Kris took a cautious peek at the area of Byun Sang Woo’s private and covered dock. There were two armed men guarding outside, both noticeably freezing from the cold. Kris gave his go signal and Sehun and Tao brought out their tranquilizer guns. Silently and carefully moving, it didn’t take long before the two goons were out cold; everyone helping out in dragging their bodies to a hiding place to be tied up and gagged.

                The five ran to the side of the dock, pressing themselves against the wall. Cautiously peering through the nearest window, Kris counted less than ten similarly armed men inside the vicinity along with Byun Sang Woo. His eyes zeroed in on their hostage, tied to a chair and mouth gagged. There were tear strains on her pale face but her eyes shone with defiance. Kris couldn’t help but smirk.

That’s my girl.

He pulled away from the window immediately; his friends’ questioning gazes on him. “Nine men inside, along with Sang Woo. Sooyoung is tied on a chair, gagged, against the wall opposite where we are.”

“Do we give Heechul hyung the go signal?” Tao asked.

Kris nodded, pulling out the phone to send the all-important message. “We don’t have much time before they get here and everything becomes chaos.”

Chanyeol grinned grimly. “Good luck, hyung.”

                He merely nodded again before his friends went off to their designated place; Kris sending a prayer up to heaven before moving himself. If the plan went as planned, everyone was going to be safe. That all depended on if they really did anticipate every outcome, if they really did study Byun Sang Woo well enough to know what he would or would not do. Doing his best to ignore his fears and paranoia, Kris sauntered towards the entrance of the private dock with that coolness and indifference he was known for, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms over his chest before he made his presence felt.

“You sure aren’t hard to find.”

                In a blink of an eye, nine guns were pointed his way; Kris anticipating that at least one or even all of him would fire away at him. But Byun Sang Woo had held up a hand they immediately dropped their aim; a smirk on his face. Kris spared a glance at Sooyoung, noting the relief that first flooded her face before her eyes widened in fear.

“I must admit I underestimated you, Kris.” Sang Woo admitted as he took a couple of steps toward where Kris stood. “Or should I call you Wu Fan?”

He ignored his question. “Looks like you did.”

A look of amusement crossed his face. “You came alone.”

“I did.” The sandy blonde haired man said uninterestedly. “And?”

“Sooyoung, did you know who he was?” The head of the Presidential Security Team didn’t bother to wait for a reply – it wasn’t like Sooyoung could anyway. “How sweet is this? The banished childhood friend returns to Korea to protect and save the president’s daughter. You really do love her that much, Kris?”

“Why are you doing this?” Kris asked in return without preamble. “You have a good job. You have a good pay. The president and his family treated you well. Why are you throwing it all away?”

“You’re right. I do have money. I do have power. I do have authority.” The older man conceded. “But I want more and the president will give that to me now that I have his daughter.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Then why not ask for a promotion?”

Byun Sang Woo let out a laugh. “You’re still a kid, boy. There’s so much about this world that you don’t understand.”

“That might be true.” His shoulders lifted in a slight shrug. “But you see… there are things that even you will never understand.”

“And what’s that?”

“How much I love her.” Kris pushed off the doorframe; a dangerous look in his eyes and a deadly smile on his face. “And how much I outsmarted you.”

                As the words left his mouth, four of the five men fell on the ground simultaneously, tranquilizer darts sticking out of their necks. Kris had moved to where Sooyoung was but one of the armed goons blocked his path; Kris using his long, strong legs to kick the gun out of his hand before driving a hard punch to his jaw. He straightened up, seeing another of Byun Sang Woo’s men fly out the window thanks to Tao and Chanyeol while Kai jammed his knee against another’s gut. Turning his head, his eyes widened as he realized that Sooyoung and Byun Sang Woo had disappeared; Kris moving to get out of the dock when another enemy blocked his way, pointing a gun at him.

Sehun shot a tranquilizer dart, hitting the guy square on the neck. “Hyung, go! We’ll take care of this. Just go!”

                Kris nodded quickly, knowing that the four could handle the men until the additional help came. Kris dashed out, looking around frantically for any signs of the two. From a distance, he spotted two figures – one dragging another – heading towards the far edge of the harbour. Running as fast his legs could muster, he ran after them. He was a couple of meters away from them when Byun Sang Woo suddenly stopped a feet or two from where the harbour met the water; a death grip on Sooyoung’s arm.

“Don’t come near!” He yelled, bringing out a gun and pointing at Sooyoung’s temple; the brunette trembling in fright. “Don’t come near me or I’ll kill her!”

“Hey, calm down.” Kris held out a hand, trying to pacify the older man. “We could talk about this. Just give her to me and we can talk about this.”

“Do you think this could be settled by talking?” Byun Sang Woo rolled his eyes, taking a few steps backward and dragging the still gagged and tied up Sooyoung with him. “You’re crazy.”

“Give her to me.” The younger man reached out, growling when Sooyoung started whimpering in pain. “Just give her to me.”

His eyes suddenly lit up. “Do you want her? You can have her.”

                Kris watched in absolute horror as Byun Sang Woo pushed Sooyoung to the dark waters before running off to freedom. It was not a hard decision for Kris as he ran the remaining distance, diving in after her. He knew it wasn’t good that Byun Sang Woo was going to escape but Sooyoung came first to him before everything else. Kris swam deeper as fast as he could, knowing the fact that she couldn’t swim and the fact that that she was still gagged and her hands were bound were going to lessen her chances of her surviving if he didn’t do something. He kept his eyes wide open as he swam, catching the silhouette of a figure sinking deeper and deeper.

I have to save her. Please.

o-o-o-o-o

                Byun Sang Woo ran to the place where one of his cars was secretly kept. Sure, he lost a couple of men and things didn’t really do as planned. But he felt good knowing that it would destroy Kris and the president how they lost Sooyoung. He was certain that she was dead by now and it was his consolation for his failed plans. Now all he had to do was to get to his car and go into hiding.

                He laughed freely and maniacally as he caught sight of his car parked in the secret garage. Freedom and safety were so close that he could taste them. Coming to a screeching halt when the headlights suddenly , he lifted his hand to cover his eyes, squinting to get a better look when he heard the car doors open and close.

“Did you really think you’d get away?”

                Chanyeol was leaning against the door of the driver’s seat; his arms folded over his chest and a predatory smile crossed his face as he sent Byun Sang Woo a sideways glance. Kai had moved from the other side to sit on the red hood of the car; a dark look on his face as he regarded the older man before them. Byun Sang Woo turned right, finding his path blocked by Tao and Sehun. Gulping, he risked looking behind him, finding Heechul standing there with a dozen police officers.

Kai lifted the gun in his hand and smirked. “Looks like you lose.”

Then the world turned black.

o-o-o-o-o

Kris didn’t know how he was going to feel seeing Vancouver again.

                The place was home yet at the same time, it didn’t quite feel like it to him. He sat silently alone in the SUV; the driver having already dropped of Sehun, Kai, Chanyeol and Tao in their homes earlier. Beside him sat the newspaper he had brought from Korea; the headline detailing the kidnap and subsequent rescue of the president’s youngest daughter. The president had insisted on honouring them and Heechul for their bravery and loyalty but Kris, in behalf of everyone, decline. It was more than enough for them that Byun Sang Woo was behind bars for life without parole. Kai had even taken the tranquilizer gun he used on the former head of the Presidential Security Team with him as souvenir.

                Kris had visited her in the hospital one last time late in the evening a few days ago. She was sleeping so peacefully that it betrayed the nightmare she had went through. He came to see her one last time and it was sort of a relief to be able to say goodbye to her without her knowing. It would’ve been harder if she had been awake. And so as she slept, he watched quietly; his heart breaking that he had to leave her again. His job was done and so he had to go back to being Kevin again.

                He remembered how much he hated having to pretend back then when now, he’d been oh so willing to do just that to be near her again. But he knew everything was alright now. Sooyoung and the first family were safe. It was time for things to go back to the way they were.

                The SUV reached his house and Kris got off, thanking the driver after his suitcase had been unloaded. He watched as the SUV drove off; his last connection to everything that happened to Korea. Sighing, he finished the house key out of the pocket of his jeans, inserting it in the keyhole and opening the door.

“I’m home.”

“I believe home is on the other side of the world, Wu Fan.”

Kris froze, wanting to believe that he was just hearing things. He dared himself to look up from the floor, finding Sooyoung sitting on his frequently used couch as if she actually lived there. There was a smile on her face yet the look in her eyes told him that he was in big, big trouble. Kris could only gulp, at a lost for what to say or do.

“You can’t just expect me to be okay with letting you go after everything that happened.” She stood up, walking over to where he stood and taking his suitcase from him. “Shut the door, will you? It’s cold.”

Kris snapped out of his trance; his jaw dropping soon after. “What are you doing here? When did you get here?”

“You know that I do well in school, right? Well, I’m about to apply for transfer in the university where a certain Kevin Wu studies.” The brunette replied casually, putting his suitcase by the foot of the stairs. “I even got an English name now. How does Summer sound?”

He could only gawk. “Seriously?”

“You left me… Twice, I might add. So I might as well go after you, right?” She grinned, taking his hand in hers. “C’mon, let’s eat. The food won’t be good if it’s cold.”

The sandy blonde man didn’t move an inch when she tugged on his hand; Sooyoung turning to find a somber look on his handsome face. “I didn’t want to leave you.”

“I know.” Sooyoung cupped his face with her free hand, standing up on her tiptoes to press a kiss on his lips. “I couldn’t let you go especially after you told Byun Sang Woo that he didn’t understand how much you love me.”

Kris winced slightly at the memory. “Do you?”

“I think I have a good idea.” A knowing look suddenly crossed her face. “Would you like to show me though? Just so I’m sure if I got it right?”

It didn’t take long before she was in his arms and he brought her upstairs; her whispered words ringing in his ears as they fell on the bed and their lips collided with each other’s.

I love you too, my Wu Fan.

I'm so sorry it took so freaking long for me to finish this three shot T__________________________T I guess you can call this one of my earlier Christmas gifts to all you Ninjas out there! Special dedicated to Ken unnie, who has been so patient with me! Thank you so much <3