When he got to Victoria's room, Donghae was getting up to leave. 

"Where are you heading?" Lay started. 

"I have some things to check on at headquarters," Donghae explained. "I was hoping you'd come back to look over Victoria." 

"All right," Lay nodded. 

"Let me know if Victoria wakes," Donghae ordered. 

"Are you going to investigate her?" Lay wondered. 

Donghae paused in his steps and turned his way, "I'm not cornering her. I have to know what and why she was in Yeongwol."

"Is keeping a tab on her important?" Lay asked. "Why?" 

Donghae questionably ran his eyes over Lay's sudden interrogation. "I'll be back." 

Lay turned his head to watch Donghae leave; part of him even more urged to discover why he wanted to know so much about what Victoria was after. In particular, they were both after the same thing, Hyukjae. Yet, why was Donghae so intent on taking control of this whole job? Why?

The answer might lay in Suho and Namjoo's hands, but even if interrogated they probably wouldn't say a thing right now. Lay had to wait for the right timing. 

Right now, he needed Victoria to wake up first.

~_____~

Kris stared back at Namjoo, wondering if he was seeing correctly. 

"My legs hurt, can I come in?" She asked. 

"Huh? Oh...yea, yea," stepping back he held the door for her and turned his head to watch her walk inside. 

His eyes traced her over in awe, as if he'd never seen her before. Lowering his eyes to watch her take her shoes off and take a few steps he noticed how she was limping again.  

"What's wrong?" He wondered. "Did you get hurt?" 

"Yea," she simply replied walking out of the kitchen to the next room. He followed to hear her say, "You live alone here?" 

"My brother and his wife are visiting her parents," Kris explained. "Why? You think it's interesting?" 

"No," Namjoo glanced over her shoulder, "you don't look like the type to live alone." 

He frowned, confused about what she meant exactly. Quickly hurrying after her he grabbed her arm, "Where did you get hurt?" 

Shrugging her arm out of his hold she hobbled over to the couch and invited herself to sit down. Kris watched her sink back into the couch and finally caught sight of the red of her face. 

"Did you see a doctor?" He worried. "If not, should I take you?"
 
"I just need some rest," Namjoo muttered. 

"Here?" He raised his brow a little excited. 

With a turn of her head she shot him a glance, "I'm hungry. Can you cook?" 

"Me?" He asked, surprised. "Well..." 

"If not, forget it." 

"No!" He quickly said. "I...I can. I didn't eat yet either, so lets eat together. Wait here."

He was excited, a little thrilled with her sudden visit. Kris would have never imagined seeing Namjoo on his doorstep. What had made her come all this way? Did she miss him after having a tough day? 

The silly thought made him smile happily like a fool as he set himself to work. He wasn't a great cook, but he knew the basics. Just in case he messed up, he pulled out his sister-in-law's cookbook to help guide him and once the food was all ready to go on the stove he hurried back into the living room to find Namjoo asleep on the couch. 

A smile flashed over his lips as he knelt down to watch her. The sudden flashback of how he'd watched her sleep in Wonju appeared in his mind. Watching her sleep was a privilege he didn’t want her to give anyone else. 

"Namjoo," he called, "you still hungry? If not, I might eat you instead." 

He would have expected her to hit him, but she tiredly slept the minutes away. An amused smile entrapped his face and he reached forward to pull her up. Having her here warmed him up. The little bolts of joy thrashing through him couldn't have made him treasure this moment any less.  

Her head gently landed against his shoulder before linking his arms underneath her legs to lift her up. A soft gasp escaped her lips while she buried her face comfortably into his arm. Without turning the lights to his room on he cautiously placed his exhausted person onto the bed and draped his blanket over her. 

"For once you're finally sleeping," Kris told sitting down at the edge of the bed and her hair. "You should have come earlier."   

~_____~

Suho was exhausted, but his head hurt too much for him to sleep properly. After half an hour he was up and about in his kitchen in search of something to eat. He wished he had something he could immediately warm up and spill down his throat, but he had none of the sort. Digging through his freezer he resorted to some microwaveable food and sat alone to eat. 

While the tasteless food slid down his throat he thought back to how proud he'd felt upon rescuing Victoria. The moment had been shared with Chorong, who he hadn't seen since waking up. For sure, he'd seen that person creeping up behind her. She would have seen another one coming up behind him too, but it had happened too fast for him to do anything. 

Was she hurt bad? If so, she would have been in the hospital too. Had she been spared from the pain and blood? 

He couldn't forget that she'd already been injured from the crash that morning. Was Chorong faring along well? 

He thought to call her, but assumed she was probably resting and didn't want to bother her. Probably when they met in the morning, he'd talk to her then. At least, avoiding the matter of her confession, they should get along as colleagues who worked well together. Suho also cared about her well-being and he'd feel guilty if she'd been injured badly. 

Tomorrow, tomorrow for sure he'd talk to her. 

~_____~

The mood at headquarters was dead and quiet. Donghae made his way to his office and immediately strutted toward the fax machine. The papers he'd requested from the police station were there. Anxious he sloppily snatched them and held them underneath the light. 

No picture was given on the top file, but there was a profile listed. Born in Seoul; Birth Date: 4 April 1986; : M; Family: parents deceased. Underneath the rest of the profile was a list of relatives and an unnamed guardian he'd grown up with including a note of an offense he'd committed in his youth. Other information of other Lee Hyun's documented men who were working for major corporations; normal men who had completed a level based education and was out in the world making a living.     

That was all the information listed on the paper.   

Useless, useless!  

What kind of information was this? How the hell was he supposed to find out who Lee Hyun was from these papers? The information was too vague.   

Donghae could feel a headache throbbing at the back of his brain and slumped into his chair. Groaning he leaned his head back into the chair. 

Why had Victoria asked him about Lee Hyun? What exactly did she know about this man? Did he have something to do with Eunhyuk? 

The many questions popping in his head made his headache even worse. He couldn't wait until she woke up so he could talk with her. 

Morning had arrived when Donghae woke up in his office after deciding on a nap, which had lasted longer than expected. He first sought for his phone in case Lay called, but discovered no missed calls. Tucking the papers into a cabinet he started out of the building for a shower, a change of clothes, and some breakfast. Upon arriving home he discovered Tao up and about in the kitchen. 

"What are you doing?" Donghae wondered and glanced at the clock. "You're up early."  

"Can't you see?" Tao asked without turning. "Cooking."  

Donghae's eyes trailed over to the pan on the stove, "Just don't burn the house down."  

Walking away he grabbed a change of clothes and headed toward the shower. The warm water helped relax the tension in his shoulders and clear his head for a few minutes. When he stepped back out he put himself to making some coffee, opting to taking his time before heading back out. He was certain that by the time he arrived at the hospital Victoria would still be unconscious. 

His nose twitched upon smelling the chicken Tao was boiling, "What are you making?" 

"I'm trying to make some medicinal food," Tao replied. "Does it smell weird?" 

"What'd you put in there?" Donghae frowned toward the boiling pot on the stove. 

"Some herbs I bought yesterday." 

"Are you trying for longevity?" Donghae wondered. 

"It's not for me." 

"Then who's the lucky owner of that food?" 

"I'm making it for Namjoo." 

Donghae barely choked on his coffee and stared at Tao in disbelief, maybe with a little disgust on his face. "Oh...she's gonna be real grateful for that." 

Tao turn to shoot him a contradicting stare.

"I just mean, maybe you shouldn't have wasted your money," Donghae slightly shrugged afraid he might have offended Tao. "Namjoo's not the type for oriental medicine." 

"Really?" 

Donghae nodded then got to his feet. "Try giving it to her anyway and see how reacts. Good luck with that though." 

When he walked out the door he heard Tao shouting, "Are you encouraging me or not?!" 

The first thought to enter his mind before making his way to the hospital was to check his mailbox for any sort of news. Current events were important in his line of work and he liked keeping up with what went on globally. To his unexpectations, his eyes widened when they landed on the front headlines. 

~_____~

Victoria had awoken at dawn, but Lay honestly had no plan to call Donghae. Where he was and what he was up to was of question to him. The longer the case progressed, the more Lay realized, after Victoria pointed the clear facts out, he was suddenly finding it more difficult to trust Donghae's troop. 

Drugged from her long sleep Victoria's eyes lazily roved throughout the room. The doctor had clarified her condition stable and that the seatbelt she'd worn had majorly saved her life during the crash. Other than the many cuts on her body from the broken glass, her gunshot wound didn't seem very affected by what she'd gone through. 
 
The news was relieving.  

"What's going on?" Victoria asked during early morning once she'd stopped feeling so groggy.  

"You were kidnapped after the crash," Lay explained. "We had to call Donghae and the others to back us up." 

"How long was I out?" 

"Half a day, maybe a little more; I really can't say," Lay replied. "I heard Donghae saw Hyukjae in Yeongwol." 

Shock and surprise fluctuated through Victoria's gaze. 

"I heard from Namjoo," Lay further explained, "and I think you're right. For whatever reason there is, they're hiding something from us." 

"So where is he?" Victoria asked. "Donghae, I mean." 

"He said he was going to headquarters," Lay answered. 

A triumphant smile of sarcasm wielded Victoria's face, "He must not be too happy that we went there." 

"Victoria," Lay spoke, "can't you two stop fighting now?"

Slightly shaking her head she said, "I can't pull back until I find out who Hyukjae really is and why Donghae doesn't want us intervening any longer. If I stop, he's going to find some way to boot us off the case and I'm not willing to get fired like that." 

Lay immediately turned when loud, urgent footsteps neared the room. In another instant Donghae was inside with a newspaper rolled up between his hand. 

"Would you look at this," Donghae unpleasantly murmured at the sight of Victoria sitting up in bed with a pillow propped up at her back, "look who's awake?" 

Victoria stared back at him without say. It was as if she'd expected this much. 

"You're so confident, aren't you?" Donghae started; his eyes gleaming with roaring displeasure and anger. 

"Donghae," Lay tried in hopes of calming his rage for whatever reason there was behind it. 

"Get out, Lay. I'm going to talk with Victoria." 

Refusing to budge, Lay remained rooted to his spot. 

"Do you know what you just did?!" He raised his voice. 

Lay's eyes widened, but Victoria remained calm in the face of the storm. A split second passed before Donghae threw down the newspaper at her feet. It landed loudly, its thick pages flapping as it stilled. Tension and silence built a wall inside the room as they all stared at each other. Making movement, Victoria leaned forward to take the newspaper. The front headlines read of twenty-five missing girls from Yeongwol along with a picture of a mysterious van, unidentified. The time it was captured on camera was exactly the moment they'd all gathered in Yeongwol; eleven in the morning. 

Both Lay and Victoria shot their heads up to look at the furious Donghae. 

"Did you or did you not realize that we're all being watched?!" Donghae blatantly screamed again. "You put your team in danger and barely cost my team's lives! It was a trap, dammit!" 

A baffled breath from the sudden blame and assumption bewildered Victoria. "In what position are you to be pointing your fingers at me? I didn't know of any missing girls stationed in Yeongwol. I simply went there because I could not trust you!"

"No, but because of your reckless nature we just lost twenty-five girls! Do you know what kind of lives those are?! If you weren't so insistent on moving out on your own, we could have done something! But no, you had to go missing."

Victoria's lips dropped in utter exasperation, "You're blaming me? Where were you when all this was happening? Shouldn't you have been at headquarters supervising your people? No, you were missing, didn't even come in to work. What were you doing during that period of time in which those girls were being transferred? What makes you so great, Lee Donghae!? This is your mistake too!"

"The point is, you messed up!" Donghae went on angrily. "You went out without planning ahead. Your people had no weapons, nothing! You were so distracted by some random information you gathered and dismissed all other accounts of activity! If you hadn't screwed up and gotten your team injured, we could have still assembled and saved those girls."

Lay could see another image of him blowing up from their baseless argument. 

"Stop," he began, "just stop it! The both of you shut up!"

Suddenly silent, both Victoria and Donghae turned his way. With their attention on him, he heaved an utterly deep breath before staring the both of them down impatiently. 

"All you two ever do is throw the blame back and forth! You're not leading the teams, you're making us to war against each other!" Lay spoke sternly with an emphasis of earnesty. "All you two care about are your own goals. What about us? What about our opinions? We're being ordered to do this and that while all you two do is fight. You two aren't team leaders. You're even worse than children right now. What is the damn point of working together when we're all doing our own thing? This shouldn't even be considered a case at all. What the hell is wrong with you? We're all working toward the same goal! We're supposed to be a team!"

Probably shocked by his outburst neither of them uttered even a breath. 

"You two deal with your problems today," Lay finished, "the rest of us are in control of ourselves, so don't even bother worrying about us."
 
Just as Donghae wanted Lay somberly exited the room. The moment he started down the stairs he was ready to call the others up. 

They were going to convene and come up with a plan in order to save Chorong. They were going to do this without Donghae and Victoria in charge. Their fight had gone on too long and Lay was starting to tire of the tension between them at work. Their safeties had been abused and if they continued working under such dismantled leaders, all of them would end up dead. 

Lay had the basic layout of their mission planned out, but he didn't know how to utilize materials at work to its max. Thus he would need both Namjoo and Suho's full cooperation, which he was confident they would give without much say.  

And he knew that this search for Chorong would entail dangerous obstacles. Compared to their incompetent leaders, the rest of the team had better teamwork. Suho and Namjoo; the strongest combination since they were familiar with each other's strenghts and weaknesses, Tao and his strength, and Kris and cautious nature would ensure their safety. And Chorong...if Chorong were here she'd be the best aid, but she wasn't.  

Lay feared what could be happening to her this very moment. Although he was certain she was a strong girl, he couldn't assure himself that she was safe. He worried that she was scared. Plus, she'd been heavily injured from the crash and like Suho, must have been knocked out by the head. 

Was she even conscious at the moment? 

Lay listened to the dial tone ring and waited. It didn't seem like Suho was up just yet and suddenly growing impatient Lay bit his lower lip. 

He heard the reciever being picked up and felt his eyes land on the automatic door of the hospital. 

"Hello?" Suho answered. 

"Emergency meeting at headquarters," Lay commanded. "Now."

***Operation "Save Chorong" is about to get going.