The Night
Without a Trace
A couple hours passed and it was now time for Byunghun to get ready to go to that dreaded party his parents were so giddy about. Honestly, he couldn't care less. He was bored of them. He went to a party at least once a week and all he ever did was just stand there. What was there to do? Socialize? Everyone who usually went to those things were fake as well. Money this, buying that, taking a month long vacation in the Bahamas just because we can... The list went on and on. There was never a kind 'How have you been doing?' anymore. It was more 'How have your stocks been doing?'. Not to mention everything was too flashy. Sequence dresses were apparently 'in' so women always wore them, blinding Byunghun's eyes when the light hit it.
And that's only one reason Lee Byunghun wasn't going to that party. The other was that he already had a previous engagement with his friends.
He was dressed and ready to go in his black shirt, jacket, pants, shoes..
"Byunghun, are you ready to go yet?" A voice belonging to his mother called from the hallway. "I'm coming in." Byunghun's eyes widened and he hopped in bed and pulled the covers over himself, hiding the clothes. The door opened and in came his mother, hair up and curled, long green dress, sequence, and layers of makeup caked on her face. "Byunghun, what are you still doing in bed, dear?"
He faked a cough. "I don't feel good. I think I'm gonna stay home tonight."
"Are you sure? You were sick last time too." She frowned.
"Yeah, I want to go to school tomorrow."
His mom sighed. "I guess you're going to have to skip out on this one too. But this is the last time. You're coming to the next one, you promise?"
Byunghun nodded a little too eager. "Yes, mother, I promise."
"Then I'll go tell your father." She stuck her head in as she was closing the door. "Get better." She closed it and he heard her heels from all he way down the hall. At least his mom cared for him, even if it was just for him to get better for the next party.
He stayed in his bed for a good twenty minutes before checking outside until he saw his parent's car drive away. After that, he got up fresh and energized.
He ended up down at the end of the stairs to check with one of the maids. "Yah," he called one over. She stared, confused, but went over. "Have my parents left yet?"
She looked down as she nodded. "They left five minutes ago."
He nodded himself. "Then can you go get my driver, Jongjun?"
"Ne." She bowed and left to fulfill her duty.
A minute later, Jongun walked up behind Byunghun. "You needed me, sir?"
"It's time." Byunghun answered. "Take me to my parents' office building, please." Jongjun trailed Byunghun to the black car that was barely hidden in the driveway, but was ready to go. Byunghun got into the back seat like usual and Jongjun drove out towards the building.
When they pulled over in the alley next to it, Byunghun got out and got Jongjun to lower the driver's window. He leaned on the side of the car. "Just be back in about, let's say.. Four hours?"
"You got it, sir." Jongjun saluted and pulled out into the street, leaving Byunghun by himself. He turned around and saw Minsoo and Daniel already waiting. He wondered where the rest were.
"They're all coming together." Minsoo read his mind. "Chanhee said they're a minute away."
Daniel grinned. "Speaking of those devils.."
Chanhee, Changhyun, and Jonghyun made their way down the alley as well, side by side as a car drove off. "Well, got out of another party." Changhyun shrugged. "That's always good."
"So we all get what we're doing tonight?" Minsoo brought them all in a group huddle.
"Aren't we just getting a key?" Jonghyun asked.
"Yep. And it's in my dad's office." Byunghun confirmed. "It's what we need to open the safe downstairs and get out those valuables downstairs."
The whole reason for the mission was this: their parents had told their clients that just a simple payment couldn't compare to what they owed to the company, so they had to seize some of their possessions too to compensate. Which was obviously a total lie. The company would probably sell them for vacation money or something. And that's what the boys were there for. To take them back and give them to their rightful owners.
"Tonight, Changhyun, you're the watchman." Minsoo ordered.
"Why?" He whined. "That's no fun! I'll just sit outside for a good hour!"
"It's because you're clumsy as hell, you idiot." Daniel answered.
"I see how it is!" Changhyun straitened up. "Let's see who gets Christmas presents this year."
Chanhee slapped him on the back of the head. "Focus, we don't have all night." Changhyun pouted but listened in anyway.
"Byunghun, since you know where everything is, you're going into the office." Minsoo continued.
Byunghun nodded with a thumbs up. "Sounds fun."
The boys all felt in their pockets and pulled out the most needed thing for them to keep their identities a secret from the police. They out on their masks one by one, covering everything but their eyes. Since Byunghun was blonde, and Chanhee had red hair, they put a hood over their heads for extra measures.
CAP nodded. "Let's get going, boys." He clapped and they all made their way to the building back door.
Chunji flashed a grin which couldn't be seen, but the rest knew about it as he held up a key. "I got it! Yes, praise me!" He bowed and unlocked the door, allowing five boys to go in, leaving Ricky outside.
As they closed the door, Ricky walked around. "All right, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." He nervously laughed. "It's just that it's nighttime and it's dark out here. Besides this flickering street lamp. Everything's cool. Just great."
Meanwhile inside, CAP, Niel, and Changjo went downstairs to wait while Chunji and L.Joe made their way upstairs.
Chunji held L.Joe back. "Watch it, camera." He pointed to one of the corners in the hallway, the light flashing red.
L.Joe nodded. "Thanks." He nodded. Thankfully, the camera was on their side of the hallway, so all he had to do was block it. He got out his small can of black spray paint and reached up and covered the lens so the two wouldn't bee seen.
They walked down the hall with ease and into the office area with lowered cubicles, the main offices on the outskirts of the room. Desk lights were still on showing the papers and files on the employees' desks.
"My dad's office should be that one." He told Chunji. L.Joe stepped forward but stopped. "Block the cameras and trash the room a little. Make it look like we're random robbers without a purpose."
Chunji saluted. "Got it boss." He said sarcastically. Just like he was told he blocked all four cameras, and opened up almost all files and just making the room a mess to clean up.
L.Joe unlocked his dad's office door with the key card he had stolen earlier. When the door was open, he went straight up to the windows and blocked them. Since it was a corner office and two of the four walls were made of glass, it was a lot.
After that was done, he strode to his dad's desk, opening and closing compartments and drawers, trying not to slam them when he didn't find anything. He reached under the desk and didn't find anything there either. "Damn!" Where was it?
His eyes trailed the bookshelves and stopped on one particular book that was put in on its side. He calmly walked to it and pulled it out. At once, a small, shiny silver thing fell onto the floor.
L.Joe widened his eyes and reached down to grab it after putting the book back. He held it up closely to his face. On its side it said 'X46T9'. That had to stand for something, right?
He looked back in the office. He better mess a few things up, right? Just like Chunji, he threw things across the room and opened a few desks as well.
He closed the door on his way out and pressed a button on a small device in his ear. "We're coming down now. Knowing my dad, we need a handprint or something right?"
Downstairs, CAP nodded. "And an ID scanner."
L.Joe hit Chunji's arm lightly and they both left for the stairs. "There should be a night watchman on the first floor right by the entrance. I'd I remember right, he shouldn't be that hard to get the card from."
"Got it." Niel gave a thumbs up to CAP and Changjo. "I'll be back."
"Then we're coming down." Chunji sang as he jumped down the floors with L.Joe trailing behind him.
After running down fourteen floors of stairs, the two ran down the hall, almost running into Changjo and CAP. They were still eyeing the security system.
At the same time, Niel was also coming down the hall, but he wasn't exactly walking with the security guard. The guard's arm was wrapped around his shoulder and Niel dragged him down the hall. And the two looked totally opposite, Niel being small, the guard looking huge.
Immediately, Changjo went over to help pull him to the door.
"What's this?" Chunji asked, eyeing the guard.
Niel readjusted his hold. "Didn't you say we had to get a handprint too? Wouldn't this guy's work?"
Chunji shrugged back. "I guess we can always find out." He took the ID card from Niel and scanned it. When it beeped once, it asked for the handprint, which Changjo took care of. He held up the hand of the guard and held it on the monitor until it beeped again and the light went from red to green.
After they heard the door unlock, the boys were about to go inside. "But what about this guy?"
CAP shrugged. "I don't know. Just put him somewhere where he can't see us when he wakes up."
Niel looked back down and groaned. He ended up putting him in the storage closet down and across the hall. He then entered the room with the rest of the guys, who were all staring at another locked door. This one worked the same way as it did upstairs in the offices, and L.Joe smirked as he got his dad's office key out again. It was the master key that worked wherever he went inside the building.
It opened up yet another room where the group went into. Bit this room looked more like a mini storage facility. It was a hall with garage looking doors that needed to slide up. And it just so happened that while they were walking down that hallway, L.Joe noticed numbers and letters printed in black on the doors, and one matched the thing written on the key.
He pushed through and inserted the key and lifted the door up.
Niel smiled. "Jackpot."
Inside were the items they were looking for that matched the descriptions. A rug made by one's great-great grandmother, a clock handed down from generations, a violin played two hundred years ago...
"Hyung, get the car." L.Joe told Minsoo, who ran out the room. At the end of the hall was another lift that led to the outside where cars backed up and unloaded.
Changjo lifted it up as the rest piled the stuff next to the opening. Minsoo was already there with the huge van and trailer. He got out and started to help load everything in the trailer.
It took roughly fifteen minutes to lift everything and load them. Some of the things were heavy and took four people. When they were done, they closed up the storage area and dropped the key down the sewer. But not before running over it first.
They piled in the van and picked up Ricky who was just sitting on the steps, playing with his shoes. He was the one who wanted to leave the most. "What took you so long? I was out there forever! People passed by and thought I was homeless!"
"We had to get everything on. Which we did." L.Joe answered.
"Then, where are we going now?"
"To drop them off of course! We can't keep them overnight, someone might find them." Chunji punched his arm a little.
Just like they said, they went to every single house that night. There were about twenty houses to deliver everything to. Most of whom weren't the most good looking. They just held onto everything they could.
The looks on their faces were the most rewarding. As the boys handed the stuff back to their rightful owners, some people cried, and there were a couple that hugged them out of gratitude. Of course, Ricky was sitting in the van watching the scene letting out a few tears as well. "It's just so.. Beautiful!" He explained himself to CAP who patted his back silently.
They arrived back to the alley after dropping the trailer off in some abandoned barn on the other side of town.
L.Joe bid goodbye to the gang and got into Jongjun's car, which was already waiting for him. He put his hood down and took off his mask.
"Was it successful, sir?" Jongjun asked.
Byunghun nodded. "Of course! Are my parents on their way home yet?"
"They reported that they'll arrive home at one thirty. Which is in fifteen minutes." He said.
"Good. Because I'm tired as hell." Byunghun closed his eyes.
"Sir?"
Byunghun shifted. "What?"
"Congratulations."
He smiled. "Thanks, Jongjun."
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