Honestly his heart was racing in severe panic.

“Namjoo!” he screamed when he reached her, but before he could hoist her up Namjoo was already sitting up on her own.

Stupefied, he quieted and watched her her shirt before rubbing her chest. When he ran his eyes over her he spotted that black vest underneath and felt like laughing at himself. Of course, Namjoo was prepared for the worst. She had even worn a bulletproof vest before adjourning on the trip to Wonju. He should have known. Namjoo had been in this dangerous field with years of more experience than he.

“Aish…that hurt,” Namjoo muttered while getting up to her feet ignoring both of their existence. “I’m going to get him,” she grumbled before taking a step forward.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Kris questioned stopping her.

“It’s none of your business,” she shook him off and stomped forward.

The two of them stood uselessly as the man tossed the gun to the ground in preparation to fight Namjoo. Namjoo was quick with her fists. Before he had his punch swinging at her Namjoo was already taking him down. A punch across the face forced him a step back before she kneed him in the belly, stepped back, twirled in a half circle before her flying kick sent him to the ground. Kris thought he could see the fury flying from out of her like fire when she sat on him and hoisted him up by the collar of his shirt.

“Who are you!?” Namjoo ordered. “Why are you asking for Donghae and where’s Hyukjae!? What did you do with him!?”

Tao felt his ears pick up some strange sounds before his head suddenly shifted to the right and he spotted heads in the woods. It didn’t take long for him to realize that they were making an aim toward Namjoo.

“Namjoo, get out of there!” Tao suddenly shouted.

Kris turned to look around alarmed, but before anything else could happen Tao had already jumped out. He watched Tao grab Namjoo and push her to the ground just as a bullet flew passed them and into a tree. Then Kris finally heard it. Footsteps. The crunching of dirt below heavy feet. In alarm he pulled his gun out from his jacket and turned around to point it at Lay and Victoria. His defenses dropped in shock.

“What are you doing here?” they asked each other, but before they could answer Kris ducked when a bullet flew toward them and zipped pass the bark of an oak tree.

But Victoria wasn’t giving him any air yet, “Namjoo said you already left Wonju!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. She didn’t tell me anything,” Kris quickly replied before another round of bullets came flying their way.

All he could do was pull his arms over his head and remain low on the ground.

“Looks like we stepped onto enemy territory,” Lay whispered slightly pushing himself up.

Chorong let out a frustrated gasp and clamped her eyes shut for a mere moment before opening them. She wasn’t used to this. A surprised shout snapped from her when Victoria suddenly went running and more gunshots were made. Kris watched her run crazily through the air raid and tightened his fingers around the handle of the gun.

“Aish…just great. Now we’ve got two more crazy people,” he murmured.

The three of them weren’t given a chance to move or run at all due to the constant shooting coming from the gunmen who had appeared from the shed and surrounding trees.

~_____~

Suho and Donghae paused in front of a row of thin lined trees to listen to the numerous gun rounds going off. Suho could feel his heart race. He hadn’t stepped out onto the battlefield for quite a few years. Could he do this without losing it?

“It’s already started,” Donghae stated then turned around to look at the 10 men they’d brought with them. All were armed with long rifles. They were uniformed men ready for pursuit. “Take down anyone you see, but leave them alive.”

“Yes, sir!”

~_____~

It was crazy. After the first gunshot Tao quickly pulled Namjoo up and they crawled forward until they reached the end of the shed. Away from the fire they sat against the structure and listened to the ongoing battle. His heart was crazily palpitating, but Namjoo seemed so calm. She kept leaning forward to look around.

When the sound of a footstep resonated into his ears he quickly turned to see someone pointing a gun down at them. Before his thoughts could process, Namjoo pushed him back after reaching for the gun tucked into her pants. The gun went off and his heart pounded in his ears.

“Can’t you be any more careful!?” she screamed at him.

“Who’s the one that isn’t being careful!?” he shouted back at her. “It’s your fault I’m out here!”

The bullets that pattered against the shed made him jump in spot. Without much thinking he grabbed her hand and ran back the way he had come.

~_____~

Someone was running in the midst of the attack. What if he was using this to detour them while escaping Wonju? That was first thought that occurred to Victoria before she suddenly jumped up to go after him. The wilderness scratched her arms and she kicked up dirt along the way. With her head slightly turned to her left she kept him within sight and followed from afar.

The blue jacket he was wearing was giving him away. Victoria tried to get a glimpse of his side profile, but the trees that had sprouted up all over made it difficult as they flashed and blocked him from view. After about a minute she finally decided to make an all kill and instead of keeping him in sight she charged right at him. A rough echo of the bullets springing through the air sounded like light tornado bombs through the air behind her when he suddenly switched direction and Victoria was now facing his back.

Victoria quickened her speed and heavily sprinted through the air before her knee bolted against his back forcing him to the ground. The man who seemed of young age struggled underneath her to escape, but Victoria grounded herself and forced him to turn over. He clawed at the ground in retaliation, but with a grab of his shoulder she flipped him and sat atop of him. A few worn out breaths escaped her when she stared down at him.

Bringing Donghae into her mind and comparing the age of their faces, Victoria suddenly wondered why she hadn’t asked to see the picture of Eunhyuk. This young man looked like someone in his early 20’s. His hair was dark black and trimmed to the side with long bangs. Was this Eunhyuk?

“Who are you?” Victoria deepened the tone of her voice.

“In…In Hwa…”

Not Eunhyuk. So she’d gotten the wrong person. Victoria wanted to beat herself for being foolish, but she since she had him there was no point in letting him go.

“Where are you running?” Victoria questioned.

“I…I didn’t want to get in the fight.”

“Are you lying?” Victoria immediately cupped her hand around his throat. If he was the wrong guy, she’d need to make this quick. Get from him whatever she could and return to the others. “Where are you going, where’s Hyukjae?”

“He isn’t here.”

That answer really blew Victoria’s mind. She narrowed an eye, “Not here? He’s not in Wonju?”

“He’s gone to the ion camp in Yeongwol.”

“Yeongwol?” Victoria repeated quietly before she suddenly tightened her hand around his neck. “You’re lying, aren’t you?”

The young boy furiously shook his head. “No, no, I’m not. He left yesterday. You’ll find him there. I promise.”

“Where in Yeongwol?”

“In the area where the night clubs are. I promise, you’ll find him there.”

~_____~

“What?” Suho suddenly turned when Donghae stopped in his tracks and glanced off toward his right.

“Never mind,” Donghae turned back. They continued on with a quicker pace now. Donghae suddenly stopped again and turned to him. “You go ahead. I’ll come find you.”

Suho’s mouth dropped open before he watched Donghae run off. Voices suddenly splurged into the air and Suho turned toward all the noise. Choking on his breath he darted forward with the troop behind him.

“We have to run!” he heard Lay shout before he suddenly stood up.

“Cover him!” Suho ordered.

One of the soldiers stopped, readied his rifle, and shot at the man who had aimed his gun toward Lay. When he dropped to the ground Suho watched Chorong turn to glance him before she jumped to her feet as well. As the other soldiers got into position and took the gunmen down one by one, Suho ran his eyes over everyone. Namjoo wasn’t there. When he opened his mouth to speak, he suddenly stopped when he saw two figures dashing into the trees at the end of the shed. Four men were currently tailing them while everyone else remained caught up in their own affairs.

His eyes darted around almost crazily before he turned to look at the soldier closest to him.

“Give me your gun!” he ordered.

“Eh?” the soldier asked confused.

Without further ado he grabbed the strap of the rifle and slid it off his shoulder before slinging it around himself. Alighting with a run he started after the men after Namjoo.

“Suho…” Chorong softly called out when he dashed pass her. Her head turned to follow before her whole body eventually ran after him.

Kris quickly shot Lay a glance before following Chorong.

He had to keep them in sight. Suho had to keep those men within view if he wanted to shoot accurately. Quickly urging himself to speed up he finally stopped, grabbed the rifle, and felt his whole being tremble from just the touch of the coolness of the gun. For 6 years he hadn’t touched one. Not since that autumn day…

Suho gulped and closed one eye.

“What’s with your voice?” Namjoo questioned. “You got injured, didn’t you? You did something reckless again, right? Right? Ugh!” Namjoo tossed her head back. “How stupid are you, Suho?”

Namjoo only yelled because she cared. That was how she showed affection. She had a difficult family life so she had never been one to become intimate when showing her feelings. She was his friend, and over the course of 5 years they only had each other to rely on. He knew Namjoo would definitely kill if someone harmed him. Suho knew he would do the same.

Those men that were following her were almost hot on her trail. Suho’s fingers shook continuously and he swallowed again before he finally pulled the trigger. The rifle shot back from the impact and crashed into his shoulder, but he couldn’t stop now. There were three more men he had to take down.

~_____~

“Where are you going!?” Namjoo shouted after Tao who was just seemingly dragging her along.

They were going too fast for her to pull them to a stop.

“I don’t know!”

“You don’t know!?” she shouted back.

The two of them had gone too far from the battlefield back there. The shooting had become almost distant and the shed she first came across was just coming into view. Namjoo slightly glanced back to see four men chasing after them and tugged on Tao’s hand when she saw one of them fall. Her eyes swarmed over to the thick forest. Who was there? Had Kris come after them?

Then another one of the men went down. It didn’t sound like a handgun.

“Tao, stop! Stop!” she raised her voice before he finally stopped and she pulled her hand out of his.

Namjoo let her eyes run wide before she skimmed the forest and watched the last two men fall down one by one. Good aim. This person had good accuracy. Who else was there?

Reaffirming her grip on the gun she slowly started forward.

“Where are you going?” Tao asked.

She didn’t reply and crept forward slowly. When the leaves of a tall fern plant swayed she immediately raised her gun alarmed and felt her heart stop the moment she spotted Suho with a rifle in hand. During that moment everything else ceased to exist. The surrounding forest blurred and Suho’s image only became clearer by the second before Namjoo dropped the handgun. Her eyes sat on the rifle in his hand and watched his whole arm tremble.

What had he done…

The rifle dropped from his hand and his face fluxed with all these feelings of frustration, despair, and relief. She thought his eyes became watery before she quickened her steps forward and hugged him.

“Oh…Suho…I’m so sorry,” she apologized.

~_____~

Chorong hated to admit it, but she felt jealous. Suho had been so genuinely concentrated earlier that he hadn’t cared about anything else. She had seen determination on his face and he had seemed so panicked just a few seconds ago while taking those guys down. She didn’t enjoy the fact that he was practically gripping Namjoo’s shirt into his whole hand. All she saw was the care and affection he had for his comrade in arms.

~_____~

His brows slightly tensed before they relaxed. Kris thought Namjoo and Suho were only colleagues, or rather friends. Didn’t she have a boyfriend who would mind her being this close with another man? And he was sure he saw confusion emit itself onto Tao’s face as well when he looked up to see him standing behind Namjoo.

~_____~

Donghae paced on for quite a bit before he slowly, took another five steps, and stopped. His eyes slightly narrowed when he spotted Victoria trapping someone underneath her.

“Victoria?” he called out and shifted his whole body to start toward her.

He watched the man underneath her push her off before she let him make a run for it.

“Who is he!? What are you doing out here!?”

Victoria opened to speak suddenly intimidated before she realized who was the one in the real wrong here.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked. “I thought I told you to stay back. Is Lee Donghae a person who can’t keep his words?”

“Where’s everyone else?” he interrogated.

“Are you trying to get your team members killed?!” Victoria raised her voice. “I specifically told you to stay back! You promised not to interfere, so what the hell are you doing here!?”

Donghae gritted his teeth together. “You thought you could do this alone? With those gunmen, you think you can fight against them with just mere handguns!? You should have been better prepared, Victoria! Now where are Namjoo and Tao?”

They stared at each other furiously before he started to walk away, but Victoria grabbed his shirt from behind forcing him to face her.

“We’re not done yet, don’t you dare walk away,” Victoria growled.

Donghae spun around to face her. “If you’re so capable, where’s Hyukjae? Where’s the information you promised me? Give it!”

“How could you break your promise? Do you know what you’re doing!?”

“Don’t switch the damn topic on me!”

“You’re the one who’s doing it! How dare you come out here!”

She was pissed off. Donghae was irritated with how unprepared they had been. Professional gunmen, they had gone up against professional gunmen. How could she have not planned any better beforehand!?

They continued to breathe at each other angrily before they turned at approaching footsteps and spotted the gang staring at them. Donghae saw that Suho’s face was flushed as if he’d done something that took all of his energy. Namjoo, though, had an expression that told him she was upset with him.

He noticed the handgun in hand and the rifle slung around her shoulder before she stomped over to him. With a shove she raised her voice, “What are you doing here!? Why’d you bring him with you!?” 

***And here's the start of HaeToria's hate relationship

***Suho's story behind his fear of guns will be revealed next chappie 

***P.S. this might be a long story which I mean might be more than 40 chapters