Hand in hand, Micha and Yongguk walked along the pavement. They had settled in a comfortable silence as they enjoyed the fresh air outside and treasured each second of that peaceful moment they were together. Yongguk looked to his right and could not restrain himself from smiling when he saw Micha walking by his side. She may have bruises and cuts on her face, but he was the one who treated those wounds and that made him feel good. Yongguk tightened his grip around Micha’s hand and exhaled pleasantly for being able to hold her hands at these critical moments.

                Small things such as being able to hold her hands and treating her wound prevented that feeling of hopelessness inside of him to resurface. “I love this,” he spoke his thought out loud, catching Micha’s attention.

                “What?” Micha looked at him, “You like the walking outside part or the holding hands part?” she joked.

                Yongguk pulled Micha close, “I love the fact that you let me stay by your side and for trusting me,” he answered.

                Micha sighed. “I’m sorry for leaving you before,” she mumbled.

                “Didn’t I tell you that you should stop apologizing to me because of that?”

                Again, Micha sighed. “Alright, I will.”

                Feeling satisfied, Yongguk rubbed Micha’s shoulder in comfort as they continued on walking to L.Joe’s ramen shop. “I heard from the boys,” Yongguk began, “They told you about their parents? Their life. The dark pasts,” his voice darkened.

                “They did,” Micha sounded unsure about the response she should have given towards Yongguk’s sudden statement. “I didn’t force them since I respect their privacy but in the end, the spilled everything to me. At first, I didn’t know how to response but…” she trailed off making Yongguk lift his head to look at Micha in curiosity.

                “But what?”

                “In those kinds of situation, how I response afterward doesn’t matter. What matters was that they actually trusted me. It would’ve been awkward if I started to comfort them right? Different people have different problems and who am I to give advices? But, it felt good you know? To know about each other’s pain and talk about it,” she said and then shrugged, “Besides, backgrounds doesn’t bother me at all. People who give about backgrounds are just sick people.”

                “Micha,” Yongguk held Micha’s wrist, forcing her to stop walking.

                “What is it?” she grew worried at Yongguk’s tone but then she saw the look in Yongguk’s eyes. It was something she had never seen before. She saw hesitation and pain roaming around in him. “Oppa,” she called out to him softly, “You don’t have to force yourself to tell me about your past. It’s alright. I’m always here by your side, so, tell me when you’re ready,” she patted his cheeks lovingly.

                Before they resumed walking, Yongguk took another long look of Micha’s face. “I love you,” he breathed.

                “You told me that this morning,” Micha giggled.

                “I’m telling you again, then,” Yongguk grinned.

                “You’re so cheesy,” Micha shook her head as the two of them started walking again.

                “I know,” he winked.

                Their laughter never died down as they were truly making use of their free time together. Time seemed to be slipping through their fingers like fine sands as they found out that they were already standing in front of L.Joe’s ramen shop. A pang of disappointment hit them but knew what their priority was and stepped into the shop with smiles on their faces. “Hey,” L.Joe greeted the couple happily but his expression dropped when he saw Micha’s wounded state, “What happened?”

                “Long story,” Micha waved her hand nonchalantly.

                “We’ll tell you about it at school tomorrow,” Yongguk patted L.Joe’s back, “So, where’s Chunji? We’re kind of in a tight situation and need to ask him about some stuff.”

                L.Joe led them towards a table placed at a more secluded area when compared to the other seats. Chunji who had been waiting for their arrival waved his hands in enthusiasm. “What’s up, man?” he bumped his fist with Yongguk and then with Micha, “I didn’t do anything wrong right?” his face turned pallor in seconds.

                “No, no,” Micha told him and took out the piece of picture of Dongman’s golden key, the one Youngjae had printed earlier.

                That had caught L.Joe and Chunji’s interest. “We need your help but promise us that you will not breath a word about this matter to anyone. Not even the rest of your gangs alright?” L.Joe and Chunji nodded, obediently following Yongguk’s instruction.

                “Can you tell us a thing or two about this key?” Micha finally let out the question.

                “Key?” L.Joe’s brow rose, “Are you guys going on a treasure hunt or something?”

                “Not going to tell you,” Micha waggled her brow.

                L.Joe jokingly growled and scrunched his nose sulkily at Micha.

                Meanwhile, Chunji held the picture of the golden key and started to examine it. “I’ve seen my father work on these kinds of keys before. They cost a fortune,” Chunji explained with crinkled forehead, gaze never leaving the picture of the golden key, “Can you see the teeth of the key?” he pointed at the picture.

                The one who answered was L.Joe, “Normal keys have like this sharp triangle kinds of shape for its teeth but this one is almost…” his voice trailed but he eventually ended his sentence with, “Square? Is it like that or am I the only one seeing this?”

                “I see that too,” Micha said.

                “What does it mean?”  Yongguk asked Chunji, “Does it even have any meanings?”

                “They are unique and specially made keys,” Chunji put down the picture, “And, to complete its teeth in order to unlock something, it requires another key with has the other half of the complete teeth of the key.”

                Micha sank down in her seat with a pout, “This is getting harder.”

                “Maybe the owner of this key gave it to their children or something?” L.Joe gave a suggestion.

                Agreeing with L.Joe’s thought, Yongguk nodded, “It could be one of them, Micha,” he was implying Daehan and Dongjun, “Who else would have Dongman’s trust? Blood is thicker than water.”

                “But not as tasty as my ramen,” L.Joe’s mother appeared with a few bowls of ramen in hand. Micha stood up to hug Mrs. Lee as the mother patted her on the head. “It’s nice to see you again, Micha,” Mrs. Lee said.

                “Thanks for the food Mrs. Lee,” Yongguk voiced out.

                “You need to fill up your stomach before going out on a battle right?” Mrs. Lee brightly clapped her hands.

                Micha and Yongguk looked at each other and then said in unison, “Exactly.” They pushed the picture of the key and started to dig into their bowl of ramen and made noisy slurping noises. For now, the thought about the keys were at the edge of their minds as they prioritize their hunger over revenge. Mrs. Lee was right. Empty stomachs must be filled to their limit in order to jump into a battle and win gloriously. 

                At the mansion, Himchan was sprawled on the floor in the living room in between Jongup and Zelo. Daehyun sat on the couch lifelessly as the dark circles forming under his eyes were almost reaching his chin and Youngjae was knocking his head against the wall. “I’m ing hungry,” Daehyun growled.

                “Micha and Yongguk hyung has gone out for a couple of hours. Why aren’t they back yet?” Zelo whined with his hands pumped in the air in frustration.

                Youngjae suddenly sat up straight and gasped attracting attention, “Do you think L.Joe’s mom gave them ramen?”

                “Kids!” Himchan clapped his hands for attention as he sprung up from his previous lazy position, “We’re going to hunt for Micha and Yongguk. Let’s head to the ramen shop first and if they’re eating there, we’re going to kill them and grill their flesh.”

                “That sounds appetizing,” Jongup patted his stomach.

                The next morning at school, Micha stayed seated at her place beside Zelo while the other members of BAP were busy roaming around the class. “Daehan has the same golden key around his neck. It’s exactly like Dongman’s. Do you think he has the other half?” Zelo whispered at Micha who was half-awake.

                “P.O told me that he saw the same key around Dongjun’s neck too,” Micha muttered.

                “You mean…” Zelo restructured his words in his mind and then finished off his sentence, “Dongman is trying to trick us? One of his sons could be holding onto the right key. Is it like that?”

                Micha just nodded. The truth was she was getting frustrated and tired. Sleepless nights filled with reviewing reports, watching the security cameras in Dongman’s building, planning about their next step. It was taking a huge toll on Micha’s body. “I’m getting sleepy again,” she yawned and stretched.

                “When was the last time you had a good night sleep?” Zelo asked.

                “2 days ago, I think,” the female replied as her eyes focused on Jongup who was playing basketball with Yongguk and L.Joe. “I think I need to go and wash my face before I fall asleep,” she told Zelo.  Before Zelo could even have a chance of giving her a lecture about the needs of good sleep, Micha walked out of the classroom while running her fingers through her messy hair.

                A sense of freedom came to her when she could finally walk around in the hall all alone. Having her members by her side every single second was something she was grateful for but it could be suffocating too. She took a lungful of fresh air and was about to exhale it gladly when a force had pulled her arm. In seconds, she was in a small dark room which she recognized as the janitor’s room. “Who is it?” Micha sternly asked.

                “It’s me,” a voice emerged in the dark.

                “Jessica?”

                “Yes,” Jessica said and moved forward to face Micha. “Please hear me before you do anything.”

                “Why would I want to do something stupid like that?” Micha snickered.

                “Because I want to straighten things between us,” Jessica choked out her words, tears were visible in her eyes, “I’ve made the wrong judgement and I am feeling guilty about it. God is punishing me. I can’t sleep or even eat properly. All I could think of all this time was my stupid action. I really am sorry.”

                There was nothing Micha could say at that moment. She could only stare at Jessica with a indifferent look on her face as she momentarily felt sorry for the female before her. Jessica was wrong for working with Dongman but she was manipulated. If Micha was in her shoes and her brother was shot, she would probably have done the same thing as Jessica had- seek for revenge. “Why are you doing this?” Micha’s voice was still full of doubt. “Did Dongman ask you to do this?”

                Jessica shook her head and sniffled. “Like I told you, I’m trying to make things right.”

                “How exactly are you going to straighten up this mess?” Micha sighed and leaned against the wall.

                A moment of silence came by but soon sped away when Jessica rummaged through her bag to take out a brown envelope. She held out the envelope towards Micha asking her to take it, “This is how I’m going to straighten things,” Jessica whispered, “Please, I’m the only one who knows about this information. If Dongman ever knows that you have this information is in your hand, he would chop my head off.”

                Seeing that Jessica was actually serious, Micha stood up straight and took the envelope carefully while asking, “What is this?”

                “The key around Dongman’s neck will only be with him for a week or so. After a week, he would wear a fake key to confuse his enemies. In this envelope, you will know where he keeps the real key when it’s not with him. The place where he keeps his key changes every 3 days and he only have 4 places to keep the key,” Jessica explained.

                “Is it true that the key opens up a safe?” Micha looked at Jessica.

                “Yes it does,” Jessica answered, “The position of the safe is also inside the envelope and unlike they key, the safe had been kept away only at one place. To open it, you have to have a pair of keys.”

                “So we were right about needing two keys,” Micha mumbled to herself and bit her inner cheeks while ruminating, “But, what about the other key? Do you know where it was kept? Is it with one of his sons?” However, a look of disappointment emerged on Micha’s face when she heard Jessica’s reply.

                Jessica’s reply was, “Dongman had not revealed about that. Even his sons don’t know which one of them is wearing the real one,” she looked at her watch and then hurriedly said, “I need to go to class now. Make sure this information is not leaked.” She was about to walk out of the place when Micha pulled her. “What?” she turned around.

                “Why are you really doing this?” Micha said in a low tone. Their eyes met as Micha urgently tried to read Jessica’s mind.

                “Just make sure you catch Dongman. I want to live freely,” Jessica said her last words and walked out of the room leaving behind Micha in perplexity.

                “What in the living hell just happened?” Micha could not stop herself from gawking alone. “Like what the ?” she screamed while facing the lifeless and innocent wall.

                While Micha was still in her dumbfounded state, Yongguk on the other hand was searching for her around the school frantically. “Where is she?” he looked through every room he could find. “Yah-” he was about to shout his girlfriend’s name when he heard a deep sigh coming from the janitor’s room along with a loud voice saying, “Like what the ?” Yongguk knew who it was and went straight towards the door.

                Turning the door knob, Yongguk heard Micha’s voice again. She was muttering things he could not understand. Something had happened. Good or bad? He does not know. “There you are,” Yongguk came into the small room and closed the door behind him. “What are you doing here? Are you doing some weird ritual because I can hear you sputtering some unknown words?”

                Exhaustion took control of Micha’s body at that time as she slid against the wall and pooled on the floor. “I feel so tired right now. My head hurts,” she closed her eyes. Jessica’s words rang in her mind as she could feel the burden of the information weighing on her. Another change of plan was needed. Another sleepless night. Just when she was about to let out another sigh, Yongguk held onto her hand.

                “You’ve never once said that you’re tired doing all this,” Yongguk smiled.

                “Well, you look happy,” Micha grunted.

                “Because you are finally telling me your real feelings and not only putting on that fake smile to not make me worry about you,” Yongguk’s reply made Micha look at him in awe. “Why are you looking at me like that?” he let out a small chuckle, “I’m too handsome right?”

                “You can be so vain at times,” Micha rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder playfully.

                They let a few minutes of silence passed by. Yongguk who had seen the envelope in Micha’s hand for a while now proceeded in asking her about the item. “So what’s up with that envelope? And why were you hiding and screaming in here?” Micha twisted her lips and stared at the envelope. Once again, the information she had received previously came to mind.

                “Jessica gave it to me saying that it would help me to catch Dongman,” Micha said.

                “Jessica?”

                At the sight of Yongguk’s funny perplexed reaction, Micha burst out laughing. She clenched her stomach as if it was going to burst and continued laughing at her boyfriend. The way his face changed and his tone went on a slightly higher-pitched when Jessica’s name was mentioned had ticked of the laughing button inside of Micha.

                “Yah,” Yongguk rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, “Don’t laugh at me.”

                “Let’s go,” Micha let out a few set of the leftover laughter she had.

                “What?” Yongguk stood up, following Micha’s act, “You haven’t told me the whole story.”

                “I think I got a plan, oppa,” Micha stated, “I’ll tell you what Jessica had told me on our way back. For now, I need to call Hoya oppa to tell him about my new discovery. We need to let CAP oppa know so that he can keep an eye about this matter for us.”

                “Exactly what is going on?” Yongguk whined.

                “Just follow me,” Micha pulled his hand and walked out of the janitor’s room.

                After receiving a call from Hoya about Micha’s new information which she had gotten from Jessica, CAP tapped on the red button of his cell phone. His new desk was located right beside the door inside of Dongman’s office. He calmly pushed his chair to the back and stood up. “Do you have some bad news for me?” Dongman asked the moment he saw CAP walking towards him.

                “Yes,” CAP nodded.

                Dongman gestured for CAP to continue on.

                “Kwon Micha has the location of the place you had kept the key,” the moment those words slipped through CAP’s lips, Dongman slammed his table and roared. “Sir, you must calm down. We have to search for another plan to avoid Micha from getting the real key.”

                Pacing back and forth in one small spot beside his table, Dongman voiced out hoarsely, “I should not have trusted that little ,” he was implying Jessica, “She stabbed me on the back! Because of this, I can promise her that she would not be able to live a quiet life. I’ll make her suffer and she will beg me to kill her,” Dongman snarled. Then, he turned towards CAP, “Get my car. We have things to do.”

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Author's note:

Hi guys^_^ How's the chapter? Actually, this is only the first part for this chapter. The second part is still in the process of typing. I didn't like the way I put things for the second part so I just erased everything and decided to start back. I don't think the second part part is gonna be that long. But, we'll see. I would probably add some stuff. *sigh* I think I can see the end of this story. Not now. But soon... I hope you guys would stick with me till the end:) 

Let's not think about the end when we still have work to do now alright? So leave a comment and tell me what'cha think about the first part. The second part would be up in a few days. Tomorrow, probably, but I can't promise anything^^ Till then, buh-byes!!!