~_____~

“I told you to go to the fourth shop at 7, didn’t I?”

 “There’s a rendezvous at the fourth shop. There’s a window with a hole at the back. If you want to know more, you go hide there and listen to them. I only know that much. Now let me go!”

Fourth shop. At 7. To go or not to go?

They resumed to searching around again after lunch and split up. There were no more sudden attacks. People shook their heads and resumed to their daily lives after she asked about Hyukjae. Either they were in the crew of the gang, or they really had no clue. Victoria couldn’t continue to press on without more information.

She called Chorong and Lay back around six and they searched for a place to stay overnight. Chorong seemed surprised by the suggestion, but Lay, as expected, was very calm about it.

“We’re going to need more time to look around,” Victoria reasoned, “I’m not going back empty handed.”

Chorong seemed kind of disappointed that she wasn’t heading back to Seoul, but voiced no complaint. While they searched for a place to sleep, Victoria locked her eyes on her watch. She couldn’t be late, but she couldn’t be too early too. And she had to be prepared for the worst. But problem was, how would she go out without Lay and Chorong?

It wasn’t too big of an inn they found and the room didn’t look all that magnificent, but it didn’t quite matter. After paying for it Chorong immediately sat on the ground and leaned against the wall. After walking and running around majority of the day Victoria hoped she was tired.

“You look tired,” Victoria commented, “why don’t you stay here with Lay while I go out and patrol some more?”

“I’m fine,” Lay shook his head. “I can come along with you.”

“You should rest up. Maybe sleep early or find something to eat after relaxing some,” Victoria suggested. “I won’t be long.”

Lay seemed conflicted, but nodded at last. A sigh of relief quietly escaped her.

“Then, I’ll be back in a moment,” Victoria told before leaving.

Fourth shop. Fourth shop.

Victoria retraced a map of the city in her mind and immediately started down the street.

~_____~

After they stepped down from the taxi Namjoo walked toward the sidewalk and immediately dragged out her phone to call Suho. She was worried. Why had she been threatened to call Donghae? Why had they wanted him to come? Was Eunhyuk…Hyukjae really here?

“Pick up, pick up,” Namjoo quietly pleaded while she listened to the tone ring continuously.

~_____~

After Donghae walked away Suho found himself standing in the lounge staring out the long window that served as a wall. A door sat on his left leading out to the yard outside. A few circular handmade wooden tables and a bench had been set outside to help add to the scenery of long grasses and wild flowers donated there by Lee Suk Jin’s son. Donghae had told him that it was to help promote the natural environment. The calm Donghae then had now transformed into a frantic person who would do anything at all costs to get his friend back. But he wasn’t thinking of himself and it felt like he wasn’t thinking of them either. It felt more like they were excuses he could use rather than his comrades or assistants.

Suho was conflicted. What was he to do? Namjoo trusted him and he didn’t want to break that trust this time. But Donghae was really going to go out there without him and Suho didn’t want to let that happen either. The ringing of his phone intercepted is thoughts and he stared at the screen for a long time when he saw that it was Namjoo. What should he tell her?

“Oh, Namjoo,” he answered.

“What took you so long?” she sounded impatient. “Is everything ok over there? Is Donghae with you?”

He quieted. What to do?

“Suho?” Namjoo asked.

“I’m sorry, I was thinking of something else,” Suho apologized morbidly.

“Is something wrong?” Namjoo worried.

“Suho!” Donghae raised his too. “If you don’t want Namjoo to die out there, you get that troop ready, and prepare those guns. If you insist on stopping me, give up on it. Stay here and suit yourself because I’m not giving up the only chance to bring Eunhyuk back.”

That autumn day flashed into his head. The red and blue lights of the police cars as they came streaming toward him. The call of the ambulance, hushed voices, panicked expressions of everyone, and the long hair that had flown through the air before landing by his feet. A gun dropped from his hand. Suho was bloody. His heart was stained red as well as his eyes. The blowing window scattered dead leaves from the sidewalk toward him and he watched as they skipped over her open eyes before floating away.

His heart sunk. He didn’t want Namjoo to go the same way. She had become an important friend to him over the years and he knew she trusted him. But Donghae was making him sink.

“It’s nothing. I’m just getting a little down,” he answered.

Namjoo seemed to laugh at him from the other end of the line, “Cheer up, Suho. At least you can go home early. Go watch Pocahontas or something.”

A baffled snort dropped from his lips. “I’m sorry, Namjoo. Everything’s fine over here. Don’t worry about us. How is it going over there?”

His apology meant a few different reasons. First, he was apologetic if he made her worry. Second, he was apologetic toward the fact that he was lying. Third, he was sorry to himself for being incapable.

“Not much so far. Caught a thief this morning.”

“Sounds hectic,” he commented with a forced laugh. “Call me if you need anything.”

“Will do.”

When they hung up, Suho stared out into the yard. He would go to Wonju. He would do it because Donghae had kicked that spot in him.

~_____~

After hanging up Namjoo was suddenly dragged forward.

“Wha…” she started confused then saw Kris and shouted, “ugh…let go!”

She felt belittled, looked down on. His hand had clasped itself over her arm and wasn’t letting go. Namjoo was struggling so much that she didn’t realize where they were going until a glass door opened and a bell above the door chimed. Namjoo literally bumped into him before spotting the medicinal supplies and boxes of pills stored around on the shelves in front of her. They only stopped for a brief second then he continued to pull her along.

“Yes, how can I help you?” the pharmacist behind the shining white counter asked.

A glare shot out of her eyes at him when he pulled her up beside him.

“Do you have anything to clean cuts to prevent infections or anything like that?” Kris asked. “And do you also have a towel or some napkins?”

The woman nodded, disappeared, and then returned with a white towel before handing it to Kris. He shoved it into her face. “Here, wipe yourself.”

As if offended she stared at him with a contorted face before rudely taking it from him and wiped the dried blood on her arm off.

“Do you have some pain relievers? Can I get some of that too?” Kris questioned.

“What are you? A guardian?” Namjoo asked.

“Yes,” he shot back, “because some people are incapable of taking care of themselves.”

“Incapable?”

“Isn’t that what I said?” he shook his head in retaliation.

“Well, excuse me, but no one asked you to care!”

“If it weren’t for me you probably wouldn’t have even made it through the day.”

Ugh…he was getting on her nerves so bad whether he was doing it on purpose or not. Namjoo had run out of patience the second that man had mentioned Donghae.

“Don’t imply that I’m going to ask for your help every time!”

“I placed some swabs and bandages in here for you,” the pharmacist returned and placed a white paper bag on the counter.

Namjoo turned away from him with a glare, pulled her arm out of his grasp, and took the bag. Without a further word she stepped out and found Tao leaning against the side of the door. She tossed him the bag and began walking toward Kris’ car.

“You’re sitting in the front this time!” she shouted.

~_____~

The fourth shop was an herbal store with poor windows. It was a connected to the shabby gray building that ran a ‘Stich & Seams’ shop. The words belonging to the man in the sun hat suddenly became more reliable when Victoria saw that the shop had closed down for the day. Pale yellow window blinds were now closed and not a single thing could be seen from the outside.

Shoppers walked down the street cooped up with their daily lives and none cared to see where she was headed. A few steps forward led her to spot a thin alley by the side. Wondering it if would lead her to the back she quickly peered around before entering.

Nasty leftover foods had been tossed on the ground and cats were scavenging for any more leftovers. It brought a stink up to Victoria’s nose and she immediately plugged her nose with her fingers. Carefully leaping over a fat cat on the ground she noticed the sharp corner of the back of the herbal store and walked around it. A broken bench with a missing leg had been propped up against the wall opposite of the backdoor. It was a dead end out there. If she was caught and cornered there’d be nowhere to run.

Stooping low so as not to be seen she crept onto one knee and peered in through the dusty window. As promised, there was a hole in the window. Victoria spotted a few men inside sitting in a circle. One of them was pacing back and forth in front of the cupboard of herbs. They were having a meeting, she assumed.

“Did she call him?” the man who was pacing asked.

“No.”

The man by the cupboards paused and grabbed the box of tissue on the counter to toss it at the man who had answered him.

“How did you do your job!? Why didn’t she call!? Didn’t I make it simple and clear that you’re to have Lee Donghae come here!?”  

Victoria’s eyes widened.

“What are we going to do now!?” the man shouted and pounded his fists against the countertop. “You bring Lee Donghae’s assistant back there. Don’t hurt her and do your job well. We need to get rid of him before he finds Hyukjae and gets rid of us.”

Donghae’s assistant? Victoria turned away from the window and leaned against the building. Namjoo? It clicked in her head. Namjoo was in danger.

~_____~

“It’s barely 8 and I feel exhausted already,” Chorong muttered from the futon she had spread out on the ground.

Lay glanced at her from where he was sitting and set his phone down.

“I don’t recall ever having gone to sleep this early.” Lay said.

“You’re an energetic person.” He didn’t know if she was being sarcastic with him.

“You don’t like running, do you?” he asked.

“I don’t run,” Chorong yawned, “I’m an assistant inspector. The job doesn’t require me to run.”

For some reason he laughed at her.

“I’m beginning to wonder why I was offered this job,” Chorong slightly closed her eyes. “You, Victoria, and Kris are probably used to chasing the bad guys.”

“Not particularly,” he said, “I hunt them down, but I’m not as active in the process. I doubt Victoria is too. Her job SWAT unit missions require her to trap them and capture them.”

“Oh…well that’s pretty much the same deal,” Chorong reopened her eyes.

“Weren’t you trained for field experience when you were in the Police Academy?” Lay questioned.

Chorong stared up at the ceiling and blinked her eyes. “I was cut out early.”

He felt an eyebrow raise itself.

“I was graduated early because of my uncle,” Chorong admitted, “District Attorney Lim. For generations my family has worked in the police department. I have a whole family line of connections, so it’s quite easy to get anywhere. Because of that, that they took it easy on me while in was in the academy and passed me early. Majority of my family members who worked for the police worked in action. They would have given me the job even if I didn’t put in any effort, but I don’t like those expectations. I’m assistant inspector because it doesn’t require me to run or chase anyone down. I don’t want to do what they did, but I feel like I’m doing the same thing they did by coming out here.”

Lay suddenly felt a little sorry toward her. He hadn’t known. The expectations, the talk, and the rumors that spread around when a person had it easy must have been a tough experience. So Chorong had tried to avoid that talk by doing something different. If she had become a Commander in General people would have said she’d gotten it because of her connections. He wondered if those talk lowered her self-esteem.

He suddenly felt like he understood his team mate on a whole different level.

“People talk because they envy,” Lay said, “but you work hard. They’re going to have to see that someday. Maybe you were recommended for this job because you do have the skills. I don’t think it matters what you become as long as you enjoy it.”

Silence.

“Chorong?” he called out.

She still didn’t reply. Curious he leaned over to see that she had fallen asleep after talking and laughed a little. Lay turned at the sound of the door opening and saw Victoria walk in. She looked somewhat flustered and troubled. Something didn’t seem right.

“What is it?” Lay questioned moving back to sit by the wall.

Victoria glanced down at the sleeping Chorong and stood where she was for a long time.

“We have trouble,” Victoria spoke.

Lay frowned a little before he stood. “Why?”

“I sent Namjoo’s team back to Seoul.”

“What?”

Victoria pressed her lips together and looked around the small room before she walked over to the window and closed the curtain. Alerted with the way she was acting Lay followed her.

“What’s going on?” he wanted to know.

“They’re after Namjoo. They’re going to use her to get Donghae down here,” Victoria replied.

“What?” Lay exclaimed shocked. “Why?”

“They don’t want him to find Hyukjae because when he does, their human trafficking business will come to an end too.”

Lay slightly narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t know how many there are,” Victoria told, “we might need the cops. We have to get to their rendezvous spot before they make it there. Before anything happens to Donghae’s team, we have to stop them.”

***Poor Chorong :( Can't escape her fate.