"Can't bring yourself to leave?" Suho sat down by him.

"I," he began, "kind of hate you right now."

"Me?" Suho's eyes widened, shocked. "Why? What did I do?"

The corner of Kris' lips drew up, realizing he was being foolish himself. "You never have to struggle to be near her. I always have to find some reason. She probably hates me now."

"You two were on good terms, weren't you?" Suho asked.

"I don't know." His voice was as bland as his answer.

"Namjoo is upset about losing the baby. It's really hard seeing her cry about it. Although I can't say that she'll get over it, I'm sure she doesn't blame you. If you think about how fast she reacted when you were separated from Victoria, I think that shows something else."

A moment of peace brushed by and Suho glanced up when the clouds made way for the sun rays. The day was getting clearer, so was his fatigued mind.

"Let me ask you," Suho started again, "are you serious about her? I, too, feel apologetic that this happened, but if you aren't, I'd advise you to leave it at this. Namjoo is an important person, friend, and colleague to me. And if she doesn't feel the same way about you, I'd like you to leave it at this too. I don't think Donghae would permit you to go any further, unless you're willing to show you're serious. I know finding out about the baby this way wasn't pleasant, but you two need time apart right now. So until Namjoo gets discharged, wait till then to sort things out with her. Go home and get some rest. I promise I'll let you know when she gets out."

~_____~

The lights hadn't been touched, there was no food on the table, and it was as quiet as if the studio had been abandoned. Tao was supposed to be in, at least according to Suho. Donghae walked further into the studio, pausing in front of Tao's bedroom.  

Since the hospital Donghae hadn't thought about Tao or how he was faring at all. It’d been clear his feelings for Namjoo and he’d pushed them toward something unreasonable, a bond that couldn’t be. He was at fault for hurting the two of them. Imagining how Tao must be feeling right now was painful. He’d cried out there, a sight Donghae would never be able to forget.

Pulling the door open let him see Tao laying on the bed, his back to him. Donghae thought he heard a voice in the silence shooing him out. The curtains remained closed, refusing to shed light in. It gave the room a heavy, gloomy aura. The silence again spoke that the world had betrayed him, just like he knew it would.

How long had he been laying there?

"Tao?" Donghae called out, received no reply. "Are you ok? Have you eaten?"

He decided to wait for a response, none of which he got.

"I won't bother you then, but if you're hungry I'll make something and leave it in the fridge for you." Donghae stared at the lonely back staring at him, feeling sorry. "Namjoo woke up, I thought you'd like to know. I'll be here until late afternoon, so if you need anything I'll be in my room."

Donghae, again, waited a few seconds for Tao to reply. When he didn't, Donghae closed the door.

~_____~

Namjoo was awake, but lying down as should be. The sight was a relief when Suho walked back in. Silence evaded the atmosphere heavily like the aftermath of an explosion. Tension gnawed at him, but he knew the turmoil in it wasn’t directed at him. Once more his eyes traced the cords attached to Namjoo, the intravenous fluid dripping per second. She must have shed some weight due to the tremendous blood loss. Donghae hadn’t allowed anyone to touch her for fear of worsening her injury. All the while they waited for the rescue that seemed to never come, Namjoo had lain there in her own puddle of blood with a piece of his torn shirt pressed gently against her torn belly as the fetus died.

Stepping up he glanced at the untouched food Lay kindly brought earlier. The contents gone cold by now.

“Are you hungry?” Suho perked up.

“No.”

“You haven’t eaten all day.”

“This is food,” she weakly held up the hand with the IV needle inserted into her wrist. Her eyes were trained out the window, never once looking at him. For a moment he pondered over whether she was angry at him too.

Walking past the bed he stared out. Clouds drifted far from the sun, allowing it to shine the ultimate of its light onto the earth. It seemed to be telling of good news as it shone their way. Pushing up the window to let fresh air in he smiled, turned around. “The sun’s really bright.”

When he turned, Namjoo was facing the other way. The smile dropped from his face and he forced himself toward her, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

“What’s wrong?”

Silence.

“Namjoo…” his eyes drifted down when she clutched the sheet into her grasp. “Are you hurting somewhere?” He nearly jumped off the bed. “You have to tell me if you’re in pain.”

Suho merely grew surprised when Namjoo gently snatched his hand, “I can take it. It doesn’t hurt that much.” Her teeth clenched, but she didn’t dare show it on her face.

Sitting back down he patted her hand with his free hand. “I told Kris to go. He seemed really tired, but you don’t have to worry about him.”

“I don’t care.”

He was struck by the cold attitude in her voice. With a sigh, “Ok, I know. Sorry for bringing it up. Are you sure you don’t want to drink Lay’s soup? It looks delicious.”

At the opening of the door his attention swerved to find Chorong at the doorway. Something permeated at the bottom of his guts and he turned away from her.

“Hey,” Lay’s voice popped up, making him turn to find him behind Chorong. They both walked in and as they neared, Namjoo unwrapped her hand from around his.

“I wanted to see how you were doing, so I asked Lay to bring me here.” Chorong started.

“You wanted to talk?” Lay reminded. “Since Chorong’s here, lets head out for a moment.”

“Sure,” Suho glanced at Chorong and Namjoo once before heading toward the door.

~_____~

A sensation washed over Chorong when Suho brushed by, a trail of the wind swept up by him flowing up her nostrils. Sudden guilt spread through her, leaving her confused. Did he feel embarrassed? But for what? Their conversation the other night? Because he’d hugged her when she cried? Or because they’d seen him and Namjoo holding hands? But everyone knew he and Namjoo’s friendship were close in terms no one could define.

Then…why did it feel like something was off?  

“Are you still in the hospital?” Namjoo’s voice brought her mind back to where she actually was.

“Oh…yea. They had me stay one more day to confirm I’d be ok.” Chorong replied.

There was an almost soft smile on Namjoo’s face before she patted the bed, “You can sit down, you know.”

“Right,” taking the offer, she plopped down. It almost felt awkward, but she let their newly founded friendship take over to steer them more comfortably. “When will you be going home?”

“Don’t know. I hope soon.”

“I’m completely bored out of my mind here,” Chorong joked, hoping she could ease Namjoo’s mood. A moment of peace passed before she said, “I’m sorry, for what happened.”

“Lets not talk about it. It’s over and done with already.”

One look at Namjoo and Chorong could see the pain laced in her eyes, her heart, mind, body and soul. She could only wonder how it felt to actually go through it. The pain, the loss forever etched into memory. The scar an infinite reminder of what had happened.

Perking up, pulling a cheery hopeful smile on in order not to bring down the mood, she nodded.

“Suho’s a shield for me in times of crisis, one of which is now,” Namjoo spoke. “Think of it as a friend begging for company.”

The corner of Chorong’s lips started up in an effort to be amused, “I didn’t say anything.”

“I know,” Namjoo glanced at her, “I just want you to know.” Then her voice grew quiet, “I don’t have anyone, but him.”

Chorong focused her eyes on her feet. The shoes she’d worn out the day of Victoria’s disappearance were still there. These shoes carried memos of being kidnapped and laying there in that dark room with her head bleeding. Memories of standing at the front line as a bargain for a life and the worst happenings so far were etched into these very soles. If ever she set eyes on these shoes when she got home, she’d recall everything.

She should burn them. Buy new ones.

“You’re not…”

“If it had been Suho who’d gone missing,” Namjoo cut her off, “I would have been first to jump into the field.”

Her eyes glazed with truth. A part of Chorong felt foolishly crushed. Her devotion to Suho…how far did it go?

“If I were you, I’d give him time before trying to hit the movies again,” Namjoo suggested. “Chorong, Suho is thinking about it. He has a soft heart, very frail. So you just gotta be patient a while. He’ll come around, shortly.”

“I hope you do too.” Chorong was sincere about it. Namjoo turned to look at her, looking as if she’d been accused. “I heard you left the truck despite orders. You went to save Kris.”

“Oh please…”

“You can’t avoid it. I just hope you can face what you’re really hiding,” Chorong eased herself into Namjoo’s personal space carefully, mindful that she could ignite a bomb if she chose the incorrect words.

“I realized you and Suho are all about work. You two are always in on everything together and I know you two have been working on something apart from our main mission.” She watched carefully for the surprise in Namjoo’s face. There was none. Her steel gaze remained undisturbed. “I know you two are close, perhaps what we call platonic. I admit, I used to be jealous, but in your line of work where day in and day out you’re only surrounded by each other, it’s normal. I know Suho has been through an ordeal that’s taken him a long time to heal from. I know you two have probably shared secrets, know more about each other than anyone else will.

“If I have to wait for him, I will wait. Even if it hurts, I’ll still do it. And Namjoo, I know Kris will wait too. There are too many circumstances at fault and neither is any one of us to blame for it. I hope you and Suho can stop being afraid of losing those around you.”

~_____~

Stopping at the back court outside, Suho plopped down into a handmade bench. Lay decided to sit on the arm rest opposite of him. The view of the manmade lake beside the hospital was a fine scenery. In this warm weather, the water made a good spot for vacationing ducks. The sight was calming almost, even beautiful.

“I’m going to need your help,” Suho cut to the chase. “You only.”

Lay raised a brow, glancing back at his teammate. “What is it?”

“No one else knows for now.” Suho trained his eyes on him. “Not Donghae. Not Victoria. Kris or Chorong. Even Tao.”

The lightheartedness Lay had come with slowly crawled out through the gaps in his ribs, leaving his heart heavy. Suho meant business. Whatever he and Namjoo had been keeping prior the recent incidents was coming to light. Lay was anxious at the same time, downright nervous. He suddenly realized that what they’d been conducting in secret may have their lives depending on it.

“Go on.”

Suho clamped his eyes shut tight for a few seconds, opened them, and sighed a deep long one. “Eunhyuk has a twin.”

The whole earth shook and Lay, unable to steady himself of the news, leapt off the arm of the bench. The shock spread through him at a wild speed. All he could think about was how they’d had the nerve to keep this secret! The betrayal!

“Look,” Suho started.

“How could you guys do this?! You stayed silent all this time! We were supposed to trust each other! Eunhyuk has a twin?!” Lay’s voice rose. Birds nearby shot up into the sky, scattering away. The rage, the anger, the disappointment swirled inside him uncontrollably.

“We don’t have time for this,” Suho was forced to his feet.

“You’re damn right we don’t!” Lay began to swerve around. “We have to let Victoria know.”

“No!” Suho dashed around to the front, blocking Lay from further movement. Their eyes met in competition, each one trying to send out signals of foreworn warnings. “This is not the time. Lay I really need you to work with me.”

A huff escaped Lay’s lips and he turned to glare off elsewhere. If he looked at Suho any longer, he’d only feel urged to dig his eyes out. Maybe beat him.

“Someone tried killing Namjoo, they almost succeeded,” Suho pointed facts out. “Victoria barely died too. Donghae could be next, either one of us could be next if we’re not careful.”

“Get to the point, Suho,” Lay growled.

“Namjoo and I haven’t figured out if Eunhyuk is really dead or if he and his twin are working on this together, or if it’s just twin alone who’s playing dirty. What we know is, Eunhyuk, Hyukjae, or his twin tried killing us a few times already. They have information on us, every one of us. They know our skills, our positions in the group,” Suho stared him right in the eye. “Donghae’s intent on getting to Hyukjae alone. He believes they’re both working together, but that’s not for sure. We have to be cautious when approaching that.

“We can’t let Donghae get to Hyukjae first. He could let him go or he could be killed, so before Donghae does, you and I need to.”

Lay’s brows crookedly twisted at the absurdity of it.

“Namjoo’s down, it’s unreasonable to let her work in this state,” Suho said, “That part, Donghae doesn’t know, but he’s sent us to scout for Eunhyuk and his twin in Wonju – it’s where Namjoo and I believe his headquarters are.”

“Wonju?” Lay recalled the shooting mess that had occurred within the woods. He’d never questioned why Namjoo, Kris, and Tao were there. He’d forgotten to.

“They kidnapped Namjoo once, told her to bring Donghae. It’s where Namjoo and I discovered the documents on us, where Hyukjae tried running us over. Two girls were also attacked. They could have information on the men who did it. I’m waiting for their call.”

“Is that it?” Lay’s eyes had gone cold, glassy. “What you’ve been hiding from us? You and Namjoo, information gathering behind our backs?”

“Yes,” Suho breathed out the answer. He was sorry, he was sorry indeed. That everything had failed, come to this. “I’m sorry, Lay. We’ve never worked against you…”

“Don’t apologize to me,” Lay stared back at him. Lies were a breach of contract, teamwork. Turning around to start toward the hospital he said, “Better wait till your partner leaves the hospital first. Donghae likes keeping his team tight, doesn’t he?”

Biting his tongue he entered the front doors without waiting for Suho. He would have, but he didn’t want to. During all this time, he’d sincerely trusted Donghae’s team, had even stood up for them when Victoria accused them. Now that he thought of it, the anger it gave him was indescribable. He felt used, his team had been used, fooled by Donghae’s.

They were supposed to be a team!

He could only imagine all the lies Namjoo, Suho, and Donghae had weaved together in front of their faces. It was no wonder every mission thus far had come to ruins. What Donghae’s team had sought out were never the girls to start with. They were only after Eunhyuk and his brother.

How long had they known? How long had this charade gone on?

Lay felt the anger pulsating through him as he strutted down the hall toward Namjoo’s room. He’d have to swallow his pride, pretend like nothing had happened, like he’d never learned of Donghae’s team’s tricks. Knowing that made him hate himself. It violated his moral code, what he stood for personally.

Sliding the door open, he peered into the room to find Chorong sitting on the bed with Namjoo.

Namjoo and Suho, they were definitely a daring pair.

“Chorong, lets go. I’ll walk you back.” 

***Woot! Finally an update! Thought I'd treat myself to my fic after working so hard. And now Lay finally knows the truth! 

***By the way I haven't ditched aff yet. I'm majorly done with writing on here, but I have yet things to start and complete. I may be occupied and busy with my freelance work, but I'll make time for an update once in a while :)