Warm air suffused through the cracks of Nichkhun’s window as he perused through the files he had acquired from Park Yoochun’s office. Together with Jinwoon and Junsu’s data, the Fortuna Project was slowly materializing before his eyes. While the puzzle pieces still did not fit as well as Nichkhun hoped, it pointed towards another target, one Nichkhun was taking upon himself to bring down on his own.

At the moment, all they had were their past victims and how they linked to one another. It wasn’t nearly enough. There was a larger hand at work, and Nichkhun’s brows furrowed at that realization. He leaned back on his chair and stared hard at the large brown smudge on his old white walls.

His room took most of the third floor. It wasn’t a large building, but it was enough to accommodate all four assassins under one roof. Upstairs, he could hear Rai’s padded footfalls pacing round and round. It was the limp she had that made her otherwise silent feet audible from where Nichkhun sat. In a vague sense, Nichkhun knew something was bothering her.

His eyes shifted towards the low bookcase. Several books were stacked haphazardly, some toppling over the other. If one were to look closely, it would be noted that the material of said books were not of Nichkhun’s interest. Different tomes and volumes of scientific text lay scattered across that one small area he considered his library. Notes were as numerous as the texts, quite possibly more in number. On the cover of each book, in permanent marker, was a name in a fine hand. The straight ticks of each letter were written without hesitation, someone straightforward, analytical, and highly ambitious. June Aybarra.

Nichkhun’s hand twitched, his nails scratching softly over the soft leather bound journal under it. On his table not only lay his latest findings, but also several of June’s research, but most important and Nichkhun’s main source of clues, was her personal journal.

An involuntary shudder ran across his body as his thoughts brought him back to the last day he saw her vibrant and full of life. It was the day before June’s graduation rites, and she, the workaholic that she was, had been spending the day inside her laboratory. Nichkhun never understood what charm a white-tiled room had over him, and many times he had gone over and through the window just to steal her away from the evil lab rats he knew resided in there. That day was no different, if anything, for Nichkhun, that day was special, and it demanded celebration.

The building was off-limits to non-personnel, a warning mostly sent out to misbehaved students as Nichkhun was. Of course, June had oftentimes warned him about getting caught but he paid no heed. Not when he was certain she secretly liked that small sense of danger Nichkhun brought with him. He easily slipped through the back wall- he had long ago dislodged a brick and turned it into a foothold. Somehow he had always known that his visits to the lab would have been more frequent.

The first time Nichkhun snuck into the facility was when he was a freshmen at the academy. On a dare from his seniors, he was told to steal one of the name-plates found on the lab coats the researchers used. The nameplate was an access key to everything in the lab, and while none of them in the tactical division would have any actual use for it, it would put one sorry person in a lot of trouble.

The halls had not changed since he first came to the academy and his shoes made the same sound they did as that first time. Cold, hard, distant. That was what a laboratory meant to a seventeen year old Nichkhun Horvejkul, nothing warm or beautiful would ever bloom there. Six years later he then knew just what beautiful things one could find in the least expected of places. He passed by the main anteroom before the main labs, and he chuckled softly to himself remembering clearly how the dare played out.

Feeling confident that he would accomplish the dare easily, Nichkhun had swiped a random name-plate from the rack of lab coats behind the counter. He shook his head thinking that if the administrators went through such efforts to create the plates and ID systems, then maybe they should have had put in more measures to prevent them from being stolen as easily as he just had.

“What are you doing?”

Nichkhun froze on the spot hearing a bossy voice from behind him. His only consolation was the fact that it was a female voice. Maybe he could talk his way out of trouble. He turned around as suavely as he could, giving out the killer eyes and smile combo. No one could resist his gray eyes and platinum blonde hair. It was sure to work. “Hey-”

Although it was the opposite that had occurred. Instead of freezing her on the spot, it had been him that had been dumbfounded and left slack-jawed staring at her. Fiery chocolate brown eyes stared back at him, arms crossed at her chest, chin jutted out, one brow quirked at him, it was her long black hair that he noticed the most along with her narrow pink lips.

“What are you doing here?” she said again. “And who are you?”

It had taken him three seconds to regain his bearings and he gave her a lopsided grin and leaned back against the counter. “Just looking around, what are you doing here?”

It had been a stupid question as she wore a lab coat over her uniform. It was at that point that his greatest idea of all time had struck him and he tossed back the name-plate he had just snatched.

“I live here,” she answered nonchalantly with a wave of her hand. “What do you want?”

Nichkhun peeked into the buttons of her coat, counting off the lines on her badge and decorations. She was a freshman just like him. He had ignored the part where she said she lived inside the laboratory, though he kept that fact somewhere in his mind. “Just looking around.” He pushed himself off his leaning repose and walked towards her.

She remained where she stood, meeting his eyes steadily. “Looking around? For what exactly?”

He grinned, and with a quick snap of his wrist he snatched her nameplate from her pocket and raised it high above his head to read off her name. “Interesting name, can’t imagine letting anyone call you that. Let me guess, your nickname’s June?”

With an exasperated grunt June hopped up and down to retrieve her name-plate, but to no avail. Even when she reached out for his hands, Nichkhun was a full head taller than she was. They twisted and turned around, engrossed in their little game, until the sound of doors clicking had Nichkhun’s head snapping towards its source.

“Someone’s coming,” he said under his breath. Unceremoniously, he grabbed her by the waist and threw themselves into a nearby tool closet, pressing himself tightly against her in the small space.

“What are you doing?!” June struggled against him, pushing him off her.

“Shhh!” He clamped his hand on , listening intently on the sound of footsteps getting closer. A flashlight beam shined through the bottom cracks of the closet, and Nichkhun momentarily stopped breathing. Thankfully there was no further investigation, and the footsteps slowly faded away into the long halls.

He slipped his hand off her lips. “H-how did you know that? she asked, eyes wide.

Nichkhun shrugged. “I heard him.”

“You,” there was an unmistakable incredulity in her voice, but also at the same time it was obvious she was very impressed, “you heard him?”

“I hear lots of things,” he said, letting his voice drop to just above a whisper.

She shrank under him as he leaned his forearms next to her head. “Like what?” Her voice was steady, but Nichkhun knew better.

“Like the sound of your heart. I can feel your heartbeat- or, well, I can hear it.”

He laughed at the memory. June had slapped him that night, but he got back at her by not returning her name-plate until the next night. He met her again, at that same place. He was sitting on the counter when she passed by, this time a bag slung over her shoulder. She didn’t live inside the lab, but instead in the student dormitories just as he had. It was that night that he found out where exactly she had lived. It was those two nights that had changed his life forever.

That night too, as he walked to meet her the night before June graduated her Ph.D. officially from the academy. June met him at their place. That corner counter at the ante-room. She was dressed in a white dress and a smile, always the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. She stood up to his chin, slender and awkward. Her eyes were a rich shade of brown, earthy, deep, and haunting. They illuminated as if they carried their own light source instead of simply reflecting it.

There should have been a more romantic moment for what Nichkhun was about to do then, but that little corner had meant so much, and what better place than there?

He didn’t speak, and he knew she found it odd. Instead, he pulled out his hand from his pocket, took her hand, and dangled a sterling silver and pearl camellia pendant on a thin silver chain from his finger. He watched her as her eyes grew wide, and he laughed nervously.

He cleared his throat as he slipped behind her and clasped the necklace around her neck. “We- Wooyoung and I, we’re going to have to go away for a little bit,” he started, laying his hands on her shoulders and turning her around to face him. “So you have to wait for me.”

Tears shone in her eyes, and he was taken aback by her sudden show of emotion. “Listen, don’t be an idiot and die out there, okay? Please be careful.” He laid his forehead against hers, just letting her warmth fill him. “Nichkhun, you have planted seeds in my heart, grown flowers where I thought only dust and dirt existed. Know that in this assignment that you insist on taking, if you die there, I will not survive you long.”

He should have known better than to let her go that instant. June had gone back to the lab to switch off the main power source before leaving. It shouldn’t have taken a minute, but the clock ticked by, and Nichkhun grew restless.

Then he heard a loud crackle of gunpowder, followed by June crying out his name.

Blood was everywhere. It pooled under her body, and it seeped down on the carpeted floor. A clean gash crossed her chest, and soot stained her clothes. June lay there at a painful angle, one leg folded under her, her hands clawed and reaching out for the door. Her eyes, Nichkhun fell to his knees. Her eyes were open, almost rolling to the back of her head, her lips agape crying out his name.

He remembered nothing more about that night. Not the paramedics coming, or even the graduation rites and decorations awards ceremonies he couldn’t bear to attend the following day. All that burned into his memory was the sight of the woman he loved bleeding on the floor.

His heart pounded loudly into his ears, and he heard nothing more. Her weakening voice called out to him even in his nightmares. Sleep had been elusive since.

Presently, his hand tightly gripped the body of his sword in its scabbard. On the handle, twined in leather, was the silver chained camellia- it had been meant for her to wait for him. Now it was Nichkhun painstakingly waiting for June to wake.

He was reeled away from the memory by the sound of the phone ringing- it was Jinwoon calling.

“Hi Nichkhun, come down for a moment, please? I think we found something else about Fortuna.”

He was in the backroom in an instant where Jinwoon, Kwon, Fei and Jia were waiting for him. On the desk were a copy of the files from the White Tiger laboratories.

Kwon wasted no time. “We need to find out where Fortuna’s main laboratory is. So far, Andy Lee, Hu Fengmin, these people have been operating outside the main labs with Park Yoochun backing them up. We’ve uncovered another kidnapping ring, this time targeting young children for their studies. These genetic alterations are not a trifle matter. It knocks out pain sensors, over-stimulates epinephrine releases, increases muscle mass exponentially- they’re creating armies of genetically modified humans. These people are building super humans for only they know why. I doubt this is done without someone in the higher-ups backing them up. Park Yoochun was a very well connected man. He has friends in the military, be it in the ranks or in the research facilities.”

“Your next targets are the rest of the scientists we’ve uncovered from the files,” Jia continued. “Take them down one by one and find out who is behind all this.”

“Nichkhun,” Fei’s voice rung like a bell, and he turned to her, “the man you are after is somewhere in these ranks. Dr. Aybarra somehow had some connection in uncovering Fortuna too, I know she knows who is behind all this. If you show me her letters-”

“No,” Nichkhun answered sternly. “I’ve shown you enough. I’ll figure it out on my own.”

“You understand why they wanted her dead.”

Nichkhun met Kwon’s eyes. He never wanted to involve June in this, but Fei and Jia had found out how Fortuna linked back to June- now they demanded to know everything about the last piece of research she had done. “The Academy is involved,” he said. “Possibly the military too, shouldn’t that be your concern?”

“You’re a concern too, Nichkhun.”

He eyed Jinwoon from the other side of the room. Jinwoon had been on his computer, the sound of his keyboard barely registering at the back of Nichkhun’s mind.

“Dr. Aybarra’s knowledge might help us, but I understand if you don’t want to open that up.” Jinwoon’s eyes bore straight into Fei’s. “Besides, I’m sure we can figure it out even without her papers. Unless she directly wrote down who it is, which is unlikely. Dr. Aybarra wouldn’t risk that.”