Min Ah pressed her toes onto the hardwood floor as she listened to Jong In quietly whisper what he had heard from Kris. She pushed down harder as she heard him describe the image, his voice losing all emotion and taking on a cold tint. She didn't say a word as he explained how the girl was a warning and that she had been with Kris for the past two weeks. They sat in a room she hadn't been in before. It was plainly decorated, nothing too extravagant. There was an old couch in the center, a shabby coffee table, and a bookshelf filled with old books that would have otherwise interested her had what she was hearing not been so terrifying.

"I think he's right. This is different than anything we've dealt with. You need to leave" Jong In finished quietly as he stared at the muted light streaming in from the dirty window in front of them.

She was quiet as she spotted a dust particle floating aimlessly before them. It was completely unaware of the chaos racing towards the people in this house. She should have agreed and a part of her did, but it wasn't dominant enough.

"I'm staying. Regardless of how you guys see me, I can actually help. I won't abandon you guys again" She said crossing her arms in front of her and fighting the sudden chill that came over her.

"It's not abandoning us, but he was right. You're a liability. You're his weakness, no matter how much he doesn't want you to be" Jong In said, but his tone was resigned. He had already known even before making the decision to tell her about all this, that she wouldn't leave.

"Where is he now?"

"He's off trying to get some information on this guy. He won't be back until later tonight probably"

"Good. As soon as you hear anything from him we're going to the busiest internet cafe in the city. I have access to a lot of resources too. As long as I can mask where I'm logging in from I can get more information on this guy. Whoever he is, his son is an idiot and he's definitely been around for a while. A guy like that leave traces behind. He's definitely Korean so I'll be able to find something" She said confidently.

"I still think you should leave... but thanks for staying I guess"

She nodded absentmindedly, her mind already trying to think of a plan. There had to be some way of getting them out of this. She glanced at Jong In, hands shoved deep into his pockets and a fierce scowl on his face as he too wondered what they were getting themselves into.

~~~~~~

Everyone had been tense all day. The house had fallen into a deeper silence than when Min Ah had even arrived. At least before there had been the undercurrent of voices, murmurs, random yells and curses. Now it was silence while they waited impatiently for something to happen. People had been in and out of the house ever since she spoke to Jong In. So much so that the constant slamming of the front door had become a familiar sound to her. They were all trying to get information on this mysterious man. Meanwhile Min Ah just walked around aimlessly and feeling useless. She couldn’t even go out and try to help right now, she had no contacts here.

It frustrated her to have to sit back and solidify the concept that she was useless.

“Min Ah” Jong In said anxiously as he walked into the empty room she was in.

She turned quickly and took in the set of his shoulders and the way his eyes were set.

“You’ve got a name?” She asked cautiously.

“Yeah” He said with a nod, “Let’s go see if you can get anything”

Min Ah followed Jong In past the kitchen and down a hallway she had never bother to go down before. He handed her a large black hoodie and she raised an eyebrow in question as she took the oversized clothing and held it in her hands.

“It’d be better if that man never finds out that there’s another girl living here” He explained quickly and at the reminder of the girl from the photograph Min Ah didn’t complain as she slipped the black  hoodie and drew the hood up, hiding her long hair.

The reached a black door with three different sets of locks on it and a key pad besides it. Jong In blocked her eye line as he typed in a six code number and the red light on it flashed a bright green. One by one the locks tumbled as he turned the knobs and pulled the door open. There was a small alley behind the house and they stepped out cautiously, both of them on edge as he closed the door behind them and locked up.

It was already beginning to darken outside, but behind all the houses it seemed much darker. The houses pitched dark and disfigured shadows that were beginning to fade into the darkness. Jong In headed towards a small red car. It was nothing like the cars parked out front. Instead of being sleek and modern the car was quite a few years old. Rust crept up on it from the edge and two of the rims were missing on it. She reached for the handle only to have to wait until Jong In got inside to unlock it for her instead.

“Whose car is this?” She asked curiously, running finger on the dusty dashboard and noticing that clearly it wasn’t used very often.

“It was my first car. It’s old so we park it back here, but it helps when you have to sneak out without anyone out front noticing” Jong In explained, a hint of a smile on his face as he seemed to remember memories that were clearly special to him and she regretted not being able to be around for them, “But anyways, how are you going to handle logging into your resources without them finding out you’re in China?” He asked curiously as he started the car.

“That’s the easy part. Someone I work with taught me this type of stuff a long time ago” Min Ah answered easily, smiling when she thought about Woohyun and she wondered how he was dealing with Myungsoo.

~~~~~~

“This isn’t right! I wish I had more access to what I needed! If only I was back in Korea and had access to the mainframe of the database…” She trailed off angrily as the car slid back into the alley and she glared at her hands.

“It’s alright. We’ve found enough” Jong In comforted her, turning off the car and they both stepped out.

“Basic things. He had a wife who disappeared a decade ago, a son, he was an entrepreneur with a failing business until he suddenly went off the grid for 5 years and suddenly reemerged as a wealthy man? There has to be more to this! If only I could run some more comprehensive searches…”

“If you stayed online any longer it was going to make us all easier to track. We take what we can get” He explained.

“That’s not enough Jong In and you know it” Min Ah said with a sigh as the door shut securely behind them and Jong In locked it up.

“Did you find anything” Tao asked when they returned, not liking the tension in both of them as Jong In shrugged unhelpfully.

“Is he back?” Min Ah asked instead, holding the papers they had printed out in her hand. It may be unhelpful, but it was better than nothing… and it was a reason to see him.

“I don’t think he’s really up for conversation. He’s been shut up in his room since he got home a few hours, but you can try” Tao said as he held Jong In’s gaze, they needed to talk about something.

Min Ah nodded and went upstairs, oblivious to the looks Jong In and Tao had exchanged. There was a dull excitement running through her body as she approached the room that Tao had pointed out to her earlier. It was dull because of the situation, but it was still excitement because of him. She paused in front of his door. It was tall and made out of a dark wood that was somehow as intimidating as he was sometimes. She listened quietly, but only a dense silence replied back. With a deep breath she knocked on the door three times. There was no answer.

She knocked three more times. Still nothing.

“It’s Min Ah…” She whispered into the wood as she placed her hand on the cold metal doorknob and twisted it open.

The first thing that struck her was how dim it was in the room. The only small lamp that was on gave out one of those half dead types of lights that casted a yellow glow on the few things in the room. The door gave a slight squeak as she pushed it open just enough to slip inside and closed it gently behind her. Ah, it was like she expected. The room was bare. A bed with plain white sheets on it, a laptop on the side, a bathroom and a small table off to the side with a couple of chairs on it. Bottles of liquor stood at attention on the table and she spotted him head down on the table.

She counted the crystal bottles and sighed in concern, he must’ve been so worried. His eyes were closed and she quietly went over to his laptop and placed the papers on top so he would find them easily. That was really the extent of what she had to do so theoretically she could have left, but she glanced at him and bit her lip nervously as she approached him.

“W— Kris… Get up” She said softly as she placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him.

His eyes opened lazily, no particular focus to them as they ever so slowly slid up her body until they reached her face. He blinked a few times and sat up in his seat. Her lips quirked with a smile as she spotted the way the left side of his hair stuck upwards because of the way he had been resting his head. His body swayed and she quickly grabbed him by the shoulders. He must be really drunk she realized as he struggled to get up, still not saying a word to her. Was he even aware she was here? She kept him upright as he stumbled over to his bed and finally finding it, sat with a thump on the edge.

“Ah… Ji Sun… how did you get in?” Kris said with a roll of his head and Min Ah froze on the spot.

He was drunk she reminded herself. They hadn’t even seen each other again in so long she reminded herself. Who cared if he called her by another girl’s name?

“You’re a jerk you know that. I came for all three of you, but you should know by now how I feel about you and yet you still treat me like that” She whispered despite herself. He was drunk out of his senses anyways she thought in relief. It helped her feel better to be able to tell him this, even though he wouldn’t remember a word of it.

“Ji Sun… I love you” He whispered and Min Ah’s body froze in horror, “Why don’t you spend the night here. I’ll m-make it worth your while” He drawled as he placed a hand on her arm and pulled her down close to him.

His lips were so close to hers that she could have leaned in and played along, but too bad anything romantic she might have felt was snuffed out like a lonely match in the rain. Love? There had been another girl… There was another girl… was that why he was so desperate to get her to leave? Oh god it hurt she suddenly realized as her eyes teared up. He ran a hand through her hair and suddenly let go. Leaning back he clumsily tore off the white shirt he wore and laughed harshly as he laid back in the bed, his head lolling back to the side as he closed his eyes. He must’ve passed out she reasoned as she stepped back and took a shuddering breath.

“What should I do when I love you so much?” She said quietly as she pressed her palms to her eyes to keep any tears from escaping. She reached out for him and dragged him into laying at a better angle, “It’s so disappointing to know I’ve been the only one thinking about you” She continued, her hands shaking slightly as she pulled the thin sheets over his body.

“You’re so cruel… you should’ve told me there was another girl before. You’re so cruel and I’m a coward for confessing my feelings to a man who can’t even hear me” She took a seat on the edge of the bed and longed to reach out for him, “The people who raised me said they’d let me return to Korea when I turned 18. I couldn’t leave them after all the wonderful things they did for me so I stayed. I don’t know why I assumed you’d wait. By the time I got here there was no trace of you guys so I was left alone here. My parents passed away and I met a guy who helped me out a lot. I almost fell for him, but I couldn’t in the end because the memory of you was too strong… I’m an idiot” She whispered half expecting him to stir awake.

Instead she stayed in place as she watched his chest rise and fall steadily with every breath he took. She finally understood why one sided loves were so painful especially to someone so near you. She could have reached out for him, but it would be futile because he would never respond.

“You’re an idiot too” She suddenly snapped standing up, “You weren’t supposed to fall for anyone else” She finished as she straightened out and walked out, shutting the door firmly behind her.

Min Ah walked down the hallway only to run in to Tao.

“Did something happen?” He asked, instantly picking up on the way her shoulders were slumped and her eyes were red.

“Nothing at all. Kris was drunk and passed out so nothing happened…” She whispered, “I need to sleep” She said solemnly as she slipped past him and went to her room.

Tao stared after her and frowned as he went to Kris’ room. He never passed out. So without bothering to knock the younger man walked naturally into the room. Kris was standing up, a serious look on his face as he scanned the papers Min Ah brought in.

“Don’t tell her I wasn’t drunk” Were the first words out of his mouth.

“You lied to her? Why?” Tao asked with a frown as he closed the door behind him.

“I lied to her, to lie to her”

“What?” Tao asked confused.

“Was she crying?” Kris asked suddenly, and Tao controlled the surprise on his face at the glimpse of concern that momentarily flashed through Kris’ face.

“No, but she looked like she was about to. What did you say to her?”

“A lie” He answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I updated twice! I don't know about you guys, but I'm proud of myself lol Anyways I wrote this all choked up with EXO feels and listening to Baby Don't Cry which I swear to god better be on the next album or I will cry forever... T____T

Anyways, ignore my EXO rants (they'll probably get worse once they comeback) and thank you for reading!