~_____~         

All Chorong recognized was the cold creeping up her arms, legs, and into her clothes. A darkness prevailed around her gloomily and her eyesight fazed to and fro fuzzily. Other than the cold, she was drowsy with a headache booming in her head. Both her arms felt immobile; her fingers numb. She could feel the tips of her fingers touching the cold floor as her arm strung over her torso. 

What was going on? 

A silence swam all around her. Her eyes traveled amidst the room, but unable to make out anything lazily closed her eyes again. Tired, she was very tired. 

Chorong's eyes opened again when she heard quiet murmurs around her. Unable to tell who was with her or what they were, her eyes closed in on her once more. Very soon she was trapped in a quiet box of black. 

~_____~

The back of his neck was sore when he sat up first thing in the morning. Sunshine was streaming in through the windows and dust floating about like flakes. Stretching, Kris got to his feet and moved toward his bedroom. Pushing the door open revealed to him Namjoo deep in her slumber. He almost wanted to laugh a little, awed by the fact that she was probably sleeping better in his home than her own. 

Walking away he set himself to preparing some eggs for breakfast so that she'd have something to eat once awake. Even if she refused he'd sit her down and feed her anyway. Once the kitchen was filled with the scent of cooked food he returned to his room to see Namjoo twisting and turning, but with no intent on waking up. If she didn't, he thought he might just keep her here with him, present her to his brother and sister-in-law. The thought was amusing before Namjoo's eyes really opened. 

At first she only stared up at the ceiling, as if the room was distorted and she couldn't tell where she was. With the corner of his lips shifting up he knocked his knuckles against the door for her attention. 

"Morning'," he greeted. 

"You should've woken me up," Namjoo grumbled, rubbing her eyes along the way to the door. 

Letting out a breath of disbelief he told, "I did. You think I didn't try?" 

She shot him one of her most common stern stares she always gave him, "Yes." 

Rolling his eyes he grabbed her arm before she could get to her shoes he'd planted by the door. Spinning around she glared up at him before he pulled out a chair to sit her down and took the one beside her. 

"A host never lets his guest leave without feeding her," Kris started as he gestured toward the food on the table. A smile perched itself on his lips as he anticipated her reaction, "Told you I can cook. Taste it so I can impress you." 

But she only stared at the food. Grabbing a spoon he placed it into her hand and pulled her hand toward the food before making its way to .

"All right, stop it," Namjoo ordered. "I can eat on my own." 

Letting go of her hand with a short laugh he watched her eat and smiled broadly when she swallowed. 

"Is it good?" He asked anxiously. 

Namjoo's expression never changed, but her, "Yes," made his heart leap. The fact that she liked it was enough to make his day. 

"Eat more," he urged. 

"Stop watching and eat something too. You make me feel weird with your staring." Namjoo mumbled. 

"I had leftovers while I was cooking," he told. "It's my sister-in-law's recipe. It's really good, isn't it?" 

"I already answered you." 

"Fine, I won't bother you anymore." 

Engulfed in silence he listened to her chew, his eyes drifting around every corner of the homey kitchen before making its way to her again. Leaning toward the side real quick he gave her a quick peck and sat back in his seat. Clicking her tongue against her teeth she immediately pressed a hand to her cheek. 

"Ow! That hurt!" Namjoo complained. 

Kris stared back at her blankly before realizing he'd touched the bruise on her face. 

"Sorry," he quickly apologized. "I forgot about it for a second. Wait here." 

Getting up he hurried toward his bother's room and rummaged around his dresser before making his way back to the kitchen with a balm. Unscrewing the cap he swiped a finger through the ointment and reached out for Namjoo's face. She eyed his hand like it was a foreign thing and flinched back. 

"What is that?" 

"It's something my sister-in-law gave my brother when he got hurt," Kris explained. "I think it works well."

"Am I supposed to trust you?" She frowned, her eyes still on the cream. 

Kris wanted to laugh, "You trust me." 

Namjoo let out a yelp and moved back when he started to spread it over her face. "It hurts! Can't you be more gentle?" 

His jaw literally dropped at her exaggerated reaction, "I didn't even put force in it. As I recall you're the one who can't deal with the pain." Then with a smirk leaned toward her, "Should I help you kiss the pain away?" 

Her brows crossed as she scowled at him and grabbed his shirt to push him back. Just when he was about to laugh at the tease his phone rang. For once, it was his phone instead of Namjoo's. 

Turning away he answered it and felt Namjoo's eyes attentively watch him before he hung up. 

"Who was that?" 

"Lay," he answered looking at her. "Emergency meeting." 

~_____~

Suho was first to arrive at headquarters. The meeting room was empty, so seating himself comfortably he waited for the others. Tao was the first to arrive with some kind of weird smelling packed lunch in a bag. 

"What's that?" Suho leaned across the desk curiously. "Did you make it?" 

"It's not for you," he defensively stated, which sent a smile across Suho's lips. 

"Well I'm glad it's not." 

Tao's extremely calm face turned into a frown, "Why are you and Donghae acting like that?" 

"Really?" Suho questioned then shrugged with his lips jutted out. 

They shifted attention toward the doorway when footsteps shuffled by. Lay entered the room with swift steps, a studious expression written on his face. A minute later Kris and an oily-faced-looking Namjoo followed. 

"Are you ok?" Suho greeted Namjoo upon noticing her limp and the redness of her face.

"What about you?" Namjoo stared at the white cloth bandaged around his head when she took the seat beside him. 

Laughing in a silly manner he smiled, glad to see her before all their attention were taken by Lay. 

"Lets talk."

"Just us?" Tao asked, looking around. 

"Yes," Lay nodded, sitting near the corner of the table. 

That was when Suho felt his eyes rove over each one of them, finally taking notice that Chorong was absent. 

"Where's Chorong?" Kris asked in place of him. 

Everyone's eyes floated around the room as if they might be able to summon her up. A gradual silence grew. The obvious mood of being in an emergency state began to sank in.         

"That's the emergency meeting," Lay explained. "We need to draw up a plan as soon as possible. Not a second can be wasted." 

"What does that mean?" Suho wondered, the worst of his feelings taking over his guts.

"We need an operation to save Chorong," Lay ran his eyes over each of them, examining how liable each one of them could be while carrying out the job. "Setting aside personal affairs and injuries, all of us will need to focus."

"Chorong's missing?" The surprise in Kris' voice was apparent on all their faces, excluding Lay. 

"Yes," Lay replied in the most calm manner possible while Suho's eyes continued to enlarge. "When we got to the nursing home, only Suho and Victoria were present. That means they've taken her. Chorong is injured and we don't know the extent of her injuries, so we can't waste time. Twenty-four hours have already gone by and taking in the possibility that if she's overdue for a medical examination, it will put her life in danger. The other accountable reason for us to move out, is that those people are gunmen, who won't show mercy."

"She won't be at the nursing home," Namjoo shook her head. "They wouldn't be in that area when they just left it." 

Lay nodded already acknowledging the fact, "Twenty-five girls went missing during the time we all split up. I'm hoping that if we head in the right direction, we can rescue them along with Chorong." 

"That possibility is too far-fetched," Tao shook his head. "Would they really keep Chorong with those girls? Would it be that easy? What if this is a trap?" 

"Then they should be expecting us," Lay replied matter-of-factly. "We're not leaving a teammate out there."

Suho felt his mind race. All of a sudden he could only think about the moment he and Chorong had last looked at each other proudly after saving Victoria. Two of the slowest on the team had finally achieved something together. That was the rarest moment in which he felt they were on the same wavelength. The memory of that shadow creeping up behind her physically disturbed his memory. 

Chorong...

It was his fault. He should have been more careful. If he hadn't been the one with her this wouldn't have happened. He was still so incapable.

"If they're keeping watch on us somehow, they'll leave a clue somewhere," Namjoo figured. 

"I was thinking," Lay proposed, "how about raiding the brothel?" 

"The brothel?" Kris repeated, appalled by the suggestion. 

"Hasn't that place always been of suspicion for us?" Lay asked. "Donghae has pointed out many times that Yeongwol is full of activity. We can only assume that someone there may know something about those traffickers."

"Did you listen to me earlier?" Tao asked, as if offended. "What if those twenty-five girls aren't with Chorong? What link would their disappearance have to do with the brothel? You want to save her, don't you? Then we need to put aside one matter for the other. Not all answers are inside that place. You people are educated, shouldn't you think outside the box a little?"

"This is the most viable plan with the highest probability of success," Lay pointed out, "we can't be running everywhere right now. Do you think I haven't thought that through? The point is that we know the brothel and activity last took place there. People frequent that place, information comes and goes. The brothel is a medium."

"Maybe Tao's right," Kris surprisingly spoke in support of him. "Maybe it's not the brothel. We've been to Wonju too."

"Lets do it," Suho lifted his head up, his eyes full of resolution. "Lets raid the brothel." 

The room seemed to dissolve into a mass of shock at the support coming from him. 

"We hold the others down and corner the Headmistress in order to get her to talk. Yeongwol is where transfers take place. We target them first."

Again, taken by surprise, everyone sat quietly for a few seconds in order to sink in the sudden scheme.  

"When do we leave?" 

"We leave now," Lay declared and at once everyone got to their feet. As they started out of the room Lay asked, "Namjoo, is there anyway you can get us arms, just in case?"

Namjoo nodded. Within a short span of half an hour they were outside, all trapped in one car together; Lay at the wheel with Kris beside him and Tao, Suho, and Namjoo in the back. They were going to set off casually so as not to draw attention to themselves. Usually, if the team was heading out in a group on a raid a large van stuffed with toy machinery and computerized tools would be of use. However, because this operation had first been uncalled for they could only informally move out.     

"They know we're coming for them," Lay continued, "so whatever happens, we regroup no matter what. We're all leading the operation together, so decisions are your own responsibility, but no one shoots unless they're in danger."

"I was just thinking," Tao spoke up, "what if they kidnapped Chorong because they want something from us? It's a conceivable argument, don't you think?" 

"What do you think they'd want from us?" Lay wondered. 

Tao shrugged, realizing he may have spoken too far ahead of what his brain could handle. He seemed to hesitate upon what had struck his mind, but when the silence longer ensued while the others waited he finally spoke his mind, "Maybe to kill us." 

A silence mixed with uncertainty about whether to take what he'd just said seriously or not distilled the air in the car. Yet, no one seemed to deflate his theory either. No one spoke, but Suho lifted his head look up from the carpet underneath his feet. An alarm had just been triggered.    

Their leader was in danger. Hyukjae's men could be targeting Donghae's blind spot since the rest of them weren't in the city any longer. All the effort he and Namjoo had put into protecting him would become nothing but imaginary ashes. 

"Where's Donghae?" He asked. 

"With Victoria."

"Where?" 

Namjoo turned to look at him, probably sensing the whereabouts of his thoughts. Unable to speak about their problem he just lowered a brow and shook his head.

"They should be at the hospital," Lay answered. "Why?" 

To thwart his curiosity Suho went on, "How is she?" 

"She woke up. There's nothing wrong."

"That's a relief." 

"By the way," Tao spoke up again, "I thought we weren't supposed to conduct our own missions. Didn't you guys get in trouble for it last time?" 

"Donghae and Victoria have no say in this." Lay indicated confidently. 

"Really," it wasn't a question, but more like a statement of awe from Kris. 

"Don't worry about them," Lay persuaded. "Today, they're on vacation." 

Namjoo raised her brow; both her and Suho turning to each other for a possible explanation. 

There was a monotonous laugh from Tao, "Vacation? Donghae?" 

"They're people too."  

While the churning of the wheels against concrete continued ricocheted in Suho's head, he stared at his feet dazed. Donghae could be in danger and Chorong's life was at stake. Both their names continued to fly around in his head calling out for his responsibility. Their safeties were in his hands. This time he really couldn't mess up. 

For once, he needed his confident strength back.

***Suho's blame game was expected, right? Operation Raid has officially started! Lets see how things turn out! And get that Lay says that they're all leading the operation. He wants equality among the team; no one is leader and no one is under.

***Chorong isn't doing so well, uh-oh. HaeToria up next!