The shadow went through the window. We lowered ourselves down, waiting, not knowing whether he would open it.

But then, they turned. The same stepping sound came down the stairs.

What.

What happened?

All of us looked at each other. The barking started to die out and there was the sound of engines as cars drove away.

We didn’t move just then. There was no knowing whether it was a trap or not. Our leader pressed Jongup hyung into checking. Slowly he went to the door, opening it very cautiously.

He then turned to face us. Why did he look so confused?

“T-they’re gone.”

“What?” Yongguk hyung stood and joined him. The door was opened and we all looked out. “But how; why did they just leave?”

“Could they have been called out for a different reason?” Himchan hyung suggested. He stood and stretched his arms. “Let’s see if they took the ambulance.”

So we all left the warehouse but going out in fear. None of us were sure what to make of the past few minutes. The ambulance was gone and there was no trace of the police or anyone else.

Scratching our heads we tried to take in the situation but then changed our minds. Yongguk hyung suddenly looked thrilled and we were all hustled into a hug.
“We’re going to make it we’re going to make it!” All of us started to chant happily but then ran back inside as a vehicle sounded like it was close.

Hiding behind one of the doors we saw the plain car drive past. Now we could sigh out in relief.

“So now we just wait?” Jongup hyung asked our leader who nodded.

“Ok we’ll stay close to the doors. One person will guard and will swap after watching for an hour and a half alright?”

We agreed with him. “So who will guard first?” Daehyun hyung asked him. I suddenly got several pairs of eyes staring at me.

“You’re the youngest so you should go first.”

Ah these hyungs… They could have just told me they’re tired.

“Make sure you walk down both sides of and check the windows.”  Yongguk hyung instructed me. “Also keep your eye for any suspicious noises or sights.”

I agreed and started to walk. I heard them in the background as they lied down and started to sleep. Going down to the end I slowly strolled and turned, keeping my eyes glued on anything or anyone.

*

A few vehicles drove past and people walked but no one seemed interested in entering or stopping for long enough to possibly hear Yongguk hyung’s snoring. After going up to check the clock after a while I found that I only had fifteen minutes left of my watch before I could go to rest.

Eventually my turn came to an end. I woke Jongup hyung who grumbled for a while before eventually getting up. I lay back on the ground, not caring how hard or uncomfortable it was. If I could I would sleep for hundreds of years. Shutting my eyes the last thing I saw was the ceiling of the place.

“Jun Hong, Jun Hong wake up.” Someone was shaking me hard. Forcing my lids open I saw Himchan hyung staring at me. We both had a fright as he dropped me unexpectedly.
“Ok he’s awake!” Sitting up and yawning, I glanced around to see the others were awake and on their feet. What was going on?

“Can you see them?”

Yongguk hyung who had his face against a window peeled it away. “Yes they’re all parking nearby. No signs of any movement or lining up.”

Himchan hyung was the fifth member that had to keep guard. So we’d been resting for almost eight hours. It was dark so it had to be night time.
“Hyung what’s happening?”

“The vehicles are arriving. The border will be opening soon.”

Yongguk hyung gathered us together. “Alright search for a truck or a van and then we must hurry into it. They cannot know we’re joining them.” Placing our hands in the middle we gave a quick cheer before we snuck out, careful to shut the doors behind us.

There were a lot of large trucks, a tractor and a few small cars. The drivers were sitting in their vehicles listening to the radio, eating junk food or talking softly on the phone.

“What do we do?” Daehyun hyung asked slightly fearful. Glancing around again Youngjae’s eyes went to one of the trucks. The sides were open and there came noises from inside.

“Let’s go in there.” Yongguk hyung seemed reluctant but then agreed. We crouched down and started to hurry towards the truck. Getting at the back door Himchan hyung fiddled with the catch until it opened.
 

*

We had to make him be quiet because he was causing a lot of noise. However the door opened down. It fell with a clang. The sound rattled through the area.

“What was that?”

“Who is causing that racket?”

Yongguk hyung started to push us inside. “Get in.” We had no choice. Himchan hyung came in last and closed the door, holding it.

“Damn it can’t be shut from in here.”

Youngjae hyung shifted and then there was a squeal. Startled he almost banged into Yongguk hyung. “Umm, hyung it looks like we aren’t alone.”

“Well that explains the smell.”

In the dim light we made out the shapes of pig bodies with four legs, snouts and small eyes. Indeed we were not alone but we couldn’t have picked messier animals to be with.

"Are they going to be pork or bacon?”

 One of us had to nudge Jongup hyung in the side. We weren’t sure if they could tell but pigs may be rather sensitive to such words.

“Just don’t stand on any of them.” Yongguk hyung instructed as we heard the door being shut properly with a bang. The animals went berserk, squealing away in panic. We all found ourselves standing with our backs against the walls to stop ourselves from getting trampled.

Then the ignition started and we felt a rumble as the truck started moving. This was it; we were going to make it. All of us stood close together, watching the pigs as they scuffled around anxiously. Now we would cross the border and make it into the south.

“Are we there yet?” We all eyed Himchan hyung. He’d been asking this for the past God knew how long.

“I don’t know.” Yongguk hyung said with a sigh. We all felt for him, his wound must be sore from the bustling and the rumbling of the truck. There was a bump as we hit something on the road but at least the pigs were less scared than before.

Soon we started to slow and the vehicle came to a halt. We gathered towards the door as someone walked towards where we were. There was a click as the switch was undone. Wherever this was, it looked as though we had arrived.

It had just been opened when the man saw us and swore. “What the hell are you—“

“—Run!” We jumped out as soon as we could, shocking the man as we ran. Glancing around all of us noticed where we had been taken. It was a butcher. Men came around to try and herd us in but we sprinted as fast as we could through the gate to the other side. They could do nothing.

We ran down the street to the end. As soon as we arrived Himchan hyung had to sit on the floor, Youngjae hyung held his side while Yongguk hyung gripped his shoulder, his face showing discomfort.

“W-where are we?” Jongup hyung asked looking around. “Why does this look so familiar?”

Daehyun hyung scanned the area. “I think… I think we’re in Seoul.”

“Seoul so does that mean—“

“We did it,” all of us felt our spirits lift as we realised. Standing around no one spoke. It felt so good to be back but at the same time another sensation kicked in. It was relief which made us all emotional.

Blinking hard I had to wipe my eyes. Crying wasn’t something I usually did but for some reason it happened without warning. Fortunately Jongup hyung was there to comfort me. He gave me a big hug and I kept wiping.

“Zelo did well for his first mission right?” He asked them. There were some nods and murmurs of agreement. I just wanted to cry some more but I was already causing a scene.
 

*

After our moment we walked for a while before we came across an internet café. We didn’t have any money on us so Himchan hyung had to negotiate with the owner. He made a bargain which was that we would pay him back once we had returned to headquarters.

Online we sent a short email straight to the personal address of our supervisor.

At ****, mission was aborted.

Now we would have to wait. He would probably receive it soon by his phone. Sitting on the curb all of us contemplated the past weeks or months we’d been away.

“I can’t believe we had to abort mission.” Yongguk hyung sounded disappointed though we were sure he probably was glad to be back in the south.

Himchan hyung patted him on the back. “Still,” Youngjae hyung began. He winced before continuing. “It was a good experience; apart from when I got shot in the gut.”

“And when Yongguk hyung was injured.”

“And Himchan hyung trying to kill himself,” after Jongup hyung said that Himchan hyung gave a scowl.

There were some other things amiss. “Those rabbit names didn’t make much sense.”

“It’s because we were being held prisoner in secret.” Daehyun unexpectedly told us. Now we were curious. Yongguk hyung encouraged him to continue. “Well, the government had no idea about the experiments, the hypnotism or the brain washed girls. They were under the impression that we were just at a concentration camp.”

It felt weird. To think we were a secret, listed as an animal because our identities were crucial.

“Ah it’s hyung.” Yongguk hyung pointed to a familiar van that pulled up beside us. It stopped and a man jumped out. Seeing us his eyes widened and he blinked.

“You kids…” He ruffled his hair, a small smile coming on it. “You have a lot of explaining to do so I guess we should hurry. The boss is not keen.”

Nodding we went to the vehicle, helping Youngjae hyung and Yongguk hyung inside. We had to make the best of the situation. Just because all six of us were tired, hungry and sore didn’t mean that the head of the organisation would be lenient.

*

Outside the large building we were filed in from the back. Our supervisor led us down the hall to the back room. At a round table in clear view from the glass wall we saw him, the man that we feared the most. He was the top dog, the first spy and the best one at that. He was the president.

“Yongguk and Himchan are to see me first. The rest of you can wait outside for your turns.” We were made to have seats while he had them join him in the room. No one could hear what was being said but Yongguk hyung suddenly flinched as the president threatened to throw something at him.

Afterwards the two were let out of the room. Himchan hyung visually showed how upset he was. Our supervisor had to take him outside for a bit while Yongguk hyung slumped down into a chair. We didn’t ask what happened. Daehyun and Youngjae hyung were the next two to go in.

The discussion from our angle seemed to run smoother but something one of them shared appeared to make the president scowl. He dismissed them soon after that moment.

Now it was me and Jongup hyung’s turn. Taking deep breaths we walked down the hall, trembling with each step as we came in.
“Take a seat,” his voice was unfriendly. Jongup and I shifted nervous glances at the other before doing this.

“I’m disappointed to hear that your mission was a failure. What do you have to say for yourselves?”

Jongup hyung swallowed. “W-we’re glad to be alive and—“

“IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY!” He banged a fist on the table. Flinching we waited for him to continue.
“And you Jun Hong… Do you know why you were sent on the mission instead of your hyung?”

What was he talking about? What did my hyung do? What did my real life hyung do?

“Your hyung started saying nonsense about seeing aliens and being around them. So I thought that you would be a better pick because clearly you aren’t crazy. But then why did I damn well hear from your members that you pretended to be insane?!”

That was a hard blow. Hanging my head I let him continue. “Are you both going to reflect on your mistakes?”

Jongup hyung stammered as he answered, “y-yes sir.”

Making myself nod I said the same thing. Leaning back in his chair he groaned. We waited for his verdict.
“Alright, your whole team is on temporary leave for two months starting today. During that time you will be re-assessed to determine if you can continue with us or if we have to cut you lose. For Jun Hong he will undergo counselling and a psychological examination to see if he is in his right mind after all. We’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you sir,” it was better than we had hoped. Bowing to him like we had done when we entered Jongup hyung and I took our leave.

The members were waiting for us as we came to the same waiting area as before. “So, what do we do now?”
 

Yongguk hyung turned to Daehyun hyung and patted him on the head. “I guess we can go home for a bit. But before that.” A grin came to his face. “Let’s get something to eat; my treat for the best team in the world.”

This brought joy to all of us. We all left the building walking together. There was a place close by that sold pig skins for a good price and the chicken gouts were well done too.

Walking down it was me and Yongguk hyung, Himchan with Jongup hyung. The other two trailed behind both close together. Checking behind again I was a little surprised to see their hands interlocked.

WHAT ON EARTH?!

THEY WERE HOLDING HANDS?!

“Don’t mind them.” Yongguk hyung said after seeing me glance back at them. “They need this time together while they can…”

Something was wrong.

I noticed he still smiled but hyung wasn’t being completely honest. “What do you mean hyung?”

“I mean…”

Instead of finishing his sentence he ruffled my hair which caused me to exclaim. “That you shouldn’t worry, it will work out in the end I’m sure of it.”

“Ok,” I would live with not knowing for now. Sooner or later we would find out. Even though we would be separated for a time it meant I got to see my family again.

My hyung had a lot of explaining to do!

I was the one who came up with the aliens!

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Haha well there you have it folks. The long winded fast paced ending. I hope it doesn’t disappoint and if it does then I’m sorry. I’ll add additional thoughts and comments in another chapter