The flamboyant glow of the disco lights floods his vision. Hues of magenta and yellow dance on all sides; hurting his eyes concurrently. A thick haze of smoke sweeps around his nostrils, making him cough involuntarily just as he steadies himself on the high chair beside the counter. He hastily shouts for another drink. The bartender gives him a glare as he hands him his shot glass. He twirls his index finger on the cube of ice and he scoffs, seeming to enjoy some kind of private joke. Tunes of avant-garde metal rock glide its way to his ears. He then turns and his head to the side, examining the people on the dance floor. He spots a young man in his early twenties swaying his hands back and forth in a ridiculous way. Drunk men, he chuckles and shakes his head in amusement.

 

The man staggers toward him. He grins widely, flashing him his perfect white teeth. He scrambles to a seat next to him and yells for a glass of tequila. The bartender smoothly slides the small glass on the brass table.

 

"Aren't you too young to drink that?" Kyungsoo snaps at the younger male as he looks at his features. His black hair complements his olive skin. There are black circles under his eyes. He drinks his own shot of tequila and smirks at him.

 

“You think so? I’m never too young for anything. Didn’t even experience my childhood.” He gazes at Kyungsoo as he shrugs and continues, “I don’t even have a damned name.”

 

“What kind of person who doesn’t have a name?” He furrows his eyebrows. He doesn’t really disapprove of the rule “Don’t Talk To Strangers”. This man is an exception, though.

 

“Perhaps I’m not a person. I don’t know. Folks ‘round here call me Kai. They just started calling me that since I don’t know when.” He wheezes, his eyelids already half close.

 

“You’re drunk. Go home.” Kyungsoo simply replies. He stares at him with awe. His physical attributes are feast for his eyes. Attractive men aren’t really trustworthy, a voice inside his head warns. He remembers his ex-boyfriend, Chanyeol. They didn’t really have the spark so he left him for a guy named Byun Baekhyun. He heard that he sings better than him and he’s pretty alluring, too.

 

He shakes his head to clear his thoughts. He’s not here at the bar to further think of them. He should be having fun and rocking the night off.

 

“I’m not drunk. I’m Kai and I’ve never been drunk.” He grumbles on his 7^th shot of tequila. Kyungsoo has mindlessly started counting every drink that Kai consumes. He still gapes at the latter for a lengthy second. Then, he looks away and rolls his eyes at him.

 

“Don’t do that.” Kai says to him, his eyes are cold.

 

“Do what?”

 

“That look. You looked at me like I’m a homeless child. It’s like - ”

 

“Aren’t you?” Kyungsoo cuts him off. He’s practically aware that he sounded rude at his foolish remark. Well, he doesn’t really care. He could tell by the look on Kai’s face that he’s right. His face momentarily gives an appalled look. Kyungsoo shrugs off the matter and pretends not to hear any of the stranger’s rants and protests.

 

He lets a couple of song switch on his background as he continues to play with the remaining blocks of ice in the transparent glass resting on his palm. He stands up, his eyesight blurry not because of cigarette smoke but because of the alcohol. He just drank a glass or two. He waits for his vision to clear before he sets off towards the exit of the club.

 

He starts the engine and presses on the gas pedal. The car lurches forward as a dark hooded figure jumps right in front of him. He immediately hits the brakes. After a couple of second, he recognizes the figure. The figure walks towards his side and knocks on his window. He hesitates for a moment. He looks at the boy outside.

 

“What do you want?” He mouths.

 

“You.” The other boy smirks. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes in response. Then, he lets down the window.

 

“Thought you’re gonna kill me and ignore me after all.”

 

“I thought of that. I just realized that you’re not worth the bumper and the car paint. Oh, and the gas, too.” Kyungsoo mutters, the tone of sarcasm fills his voice. “Don’t want some blood on my wind shield.”

 

“You hate me, don’t you?”

 

“No. Of course not, Chanyeol.” He smiles at Chanyeol. Then, he continues, “I despise you - enough to tear you into pieces.”

 

“Haven’t you moved on? What a pity.”

 

Kyungsoo blinks since he feels a lump forming on his throat. He stares at the road ahead. Yet again, Chanyeol caught him off guard. He still has that effect on him. He sighs and glares back at him.

 

“What do you want, really?”

 

“I told you already. I want you.”

 

“What?” Kyungsoo breathes. His pulse hastily drums on his temples. He feels his cheeks hot despite of the autumn air. He opens his mouth to say something smart but closes it again.

 

“Chanyeol?” calls another voice. Chanyeol jerks his head towards the direction of the voice.

 

“Baekhyun!” He greets with unnecessary affection in his voice. He then turns to Kyungsoo and grins. “See you. Hope when we see each other again, you got over me already. Miss you.”

 

He winks before turning to Baekhyun who’s waiting at the entrance of the bar. Kyungsoo bits his lips and fidgets with his fingers lingering on the steering wheel. He sniffs and gazes at the couple again. They’re gone, he thought. Someone catches his attention. Kai is staring at him intently. He glowers at Kyungsoo. He strides towards his car.

 

“Your car looks good. You’re rich, aren’t you?” He asks as he gawks at the interiors of the car. Kyungsoo stifles a laugh – the first laugh that he let out since last month. Kai looks at him with an unfathomable expression. His lips are curling into a confused smile. An awkward silence etches on for a mere second.

 

“You don’t know who I am, do you?” Kyungsoo manages to reply. The ghost of his laugh is still hanging on his lips. For the second time, he inhales the beauty that is laid before him.

 

“You’re right. I don’t know you. You’re rich, huh. So, are you a son of the President of Korea? An heir of an old man?”

 

“No. I’m definitely not a son of the President nor an heir of an old man. My grandfather is still alive. He usually jogs every morning. He’s more physically active than me.” Kyungsoo snickers.

 

He doesn’t really brag about the wealth of his family. His father never taught him to be. He was taught to be a man of integrity and honesty.

 

“So, what’s your last name?” Kai’s mouth forms into a smirk.

 

“Do.” Kyungsoo replies flatly and waits for the other’s reaction. He counts one to three inside his head. He imagines Kai’s eyes to widen and bulge out of its sockets. Kyungsoo restrains himself from chuckling.

 

“Son of Director Do?” Kai asks for confirmation, his face impassive.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Oh, that’s why.”

 

Kai straightens himself and glances away. He waves his hand goodbye. He abruptly walks away as he shakes his head. He runs his hand through his hair with a distressed sigh. Fate or fortune, he muses.

 

Kyungsoo, on the other hand, is indubitably disappointed by the turn of events. His expectations were rather too high. He places his head on the head rest as he finally lets out a short, suppressed laugh. He revs up the engine and drives his way home.

 

 

 

“Kai!” A voice says on the other end of the hall and starts to talk incessantly. Kai strolls on the hallway of the Library. He still couldn’t forget about the man that he met earlier that evening. He can perfectly remember his wide eyes that flatter the contours of his nose and his plump, pink lips. The way his lips moved when he laughed and spoke to him with his voice of deep baritone. His features were like an angel to him, engulfing him in a wide embrace of light coming from the heaven.

 

“Kai! For Pete’s sake! Are you even listening to everything that I said for the past ten minutes?” Lay’s voice cuts his trance. He blinks a couple of times and eyebrows wrinkle at him.

 

“What? Of course, I was listening!” He defends himself.

 

“Really? Then, can you summarize my briefing?”

 

“Briefing? Were you really briefing? On the corridor? Are you even sure? What kind of OIC are you? I’ll tell Chief about this when we meet at the next Seekers’ meeting.”

 

“What? You’re gonna tell Chief that I was briefing on the corridor?” Lay repeats with a tone of mock horror in his voice. Then, his voice drops into a sickening whisper. “You really intend to scare me that way, Kai?”

 

“Nah. Not really. I’m trying to make you laugh – laugh your out until it burst out the excess carbon dioxide in your body that is silently eating up your well-being. And, you’re supposed to do that briefing with the other Seekers not just me.”

 

“You know that I love spending some time with you.” He scorns and bats his eyelashes.

 

“I knew it.” Kris butts in and sneers at them. “I knew you’re gay the moment I saw you.” He stands at the doorway on one of the rooms at their left. He’s in his fighting gear – the black fitted overalls that he hardly ever wears. His honey-colored hair is tousled as always. He rarely combs his hair. Kai remembers Kris saying that messed up hair means y hair.

 

“Kris, are you by any chance a stalker of Lay?” A voice says. The three Seekers turn their heads shortly toward the other side of the hall. A shadowy figure leans on the wall while his hands are crossed over his chest. His dark eyes are watching Kris keenly.

 

“When did you come back? I thought you’re still with Chief in Daegu.” Kai asserts, his eyes narrowing as he scrunches his nose.

 

“So, what happened? Can you tell us everything? Spill the beans now, Tao.” Lay bombards him with questions about his previous mission. Tao heads to them slowly. It is as if he is taking his time walking to their direction – which is probably an irony for a person like Tao who hates wasted time.

 

“I’ve killed two of the Thirteen Brothers.” He replies softly and smiles. He looks like he, himself, could not believe what he has said. “Basically if I’m not mistaken, there are only nine left of them if Chen has killed the first two.”

 

“What- Really, Tao? That’s cool!” Kris assents with a nod.

 

“In that case then, we need to train further to finish the other nine.” Chen declares as he emerges from the stairs leading to the training ground of the Library. “I’ve been assembling our training ground. Jin wouldn’t like it messy.”

 

“You’re such a respectful, young lad.” Kai says, false admiration written all over his face. “Since when did you start calling Chief by his first name? He’d be really delighted to hear that.”

 

“Oh, shut up, Kai. I don’t need your sarcastic remarks right now.” Chen snaps with a roll of his eyes. “You should concentrate on your target. Not on how I call Chief.”

 

“Yeah, right. I’m sorry I can’t focus on my target well because my awesomeness gets in the way most of the time.”

 

“Towering sarcasm and state of the art confidence is equal to Kai. An equation for disaster, isn’t it?” Kris observes and raises an eyebrow. Kai’s lips twitch into a grin as he follows the others to the training ground.

 

 

 

“I really think you should give yourself a break.” Sehun examines a glass of red wine. He leisurely whirls the glass in his hands and inhales the scent of the wine. “Chanyeol is just making things worse. Do you want me to talk to him?”

 

“No. You don’t have to do that. I’ll just look like the man who can’t be moved.” Kyungsoo replies when he finished his slice of blueberry cheesecake.

 

“Well, aren’t you, Kyungsoo?” Sehun stiffens at his stupid retort. He calculates the older boy’s reaction. He waits for an outburst but all he gets is a deadpan response. He puts down the glass of wine on the coffee table near him. “I’m just kidding, you know that.”

 

“No. You call that slip of the tongue.”

 

“It’s not. I was just trying to tease you. You just took it seriously-”

 

“Slip of the ing tongue.”

 

“Hell yeah. I can’t argue with you, anyway. What’s your plan for next week? Your dad probably wants you in the meeting of the delegates from Japan and Thailand.” Sehun asks him as he plays with the antique dagger. He makes some graceful moves that he learned from their fencing lessons when they were still in middle school.

 

“I don’t know. Maybe just go on with the flow. I can’t say no to him. He’s my father after all, isn’t he?”

 

“Your father probably thinks that you’re gonna follow his footsteps.”

 

“No. I don’t want to be in politics. Seriously, Dad’s life as a Director is really full-time. He’s dedicating his whole life giving everything for the Unit.”

 

“You can’t blame him. The Unit is the main reason why you can buy expensive things. Just like these freaky antiques that you love to collect.”

 

“Oh, I love those – especially the throwing knives. It’s worth half a million.” Kyungsoo nods towards the set of silver knives hanging on the wall near his bed. His phone rings suddenly, making him throw a hand on his pocket and fish for the handset. He fetches it in one effortless scoop and props it on his right ear. All he hears is static.

 

“Who’s that?” Sehun mouths as he treads softly to him. He leans over to hear what the person on the other line is saying.

 

“Who’s this?” Kyungsoo asks with a tone of full politeness. He then looks back at Sehun and taps the loudspeaker button for the sake of the latter. “It’s an unregistered number.” He adds.

 

“It’s me, Suho.” He says with a wobbly voice after a few seconds. “Something happened.”

 

“What’s the matter? Are your stupid ducks on the loose again?” Sehun scoffs. Kyungsoo gives him a weary look. Suho doesn’t respond.

 

“Why? What’s wrong?” He asks after some moments of silence.

 

“He- He was killed. I’m still here at our house. Please- please come here. Dad made me hide in the basement. They killed him, Kyungsoo.” He chokes on every word that he says. Kyungsoo feels a tug in his heart. It only takes him a split second to decide.

 

“We’ll be there in a matter of minutes. Stay there.” He states with much seriousness in his voice and clicks the phone shut. He grabs his car keys and drags Sehun towards his car.

 

“I couldn’t even believe Uncle Kim is dead. Maybe –”

 

“No, Sehun. Suho wouldn’t lie about those things. He wouldn’t dare. He loves his father very much. Though he’s a very mischievous brat, he still cares for his family. Besides, the last time he played a prank on us was decades ago.” Kyungsoo cuts him off. Sehun lifts a shoulder with a sigh.

 

 

 

An eerie silence envelops the house. The guards of the Kim manor are helplessly lying around. Some of their heads are planted with bullets while some of them have daggers protruding on their chest. A man is weeping agonizingly on the cold marble floor. A dead man leans on his lap as he cradles him. He hears an engine on their driveway. He grabs for the cane on his side – ready to strangle anyone.

 

“Suho, where are you?” Kyungsoo’s voice floods the sitting room. Sehun walks behind him as he holds a pocketknife on his left hand. Though he knows it wouldn’t be much of a help when someone attacks them, at least he could defend himself.

 

“Over here!” Suho replies. A wave of relief rushes to his veins. At least he is safe now. He is finally with his friends – the closest thing to a family. He tries to forget everything about his father’s death. Everything will be alright.

 

Kyungsoo breaks into a sprint toward the lad. He stops midway when he finally notices a bump on the floor beside him. He sees a man slouched on Suho’s lap.

 

“Help us. Please, Kyungsoo.” He whimpers. Sehun hurries to his side and cups his face, examining for wounds. Then, he hugs him without further ado. Suho’s eyes widen at the sudden affection of the boy. He cries louder into his shoulder subsequently. His figure shakes from his sobs and screams. Sehun just pats his back and lets him carry on. Once he calms down and they silently wait for the police, he begins his tale on what happened.

 

“They were armed. I didn’t see their faces, though. It was dark. They must’ve tampered with the electricity. Dad pushed me toward the hidden staircase on his library. They probably didn’t see me because if they had, I’m probably dead now.” He shifts his gaze on the large window. His eyes are brimmed with tears. “I didn’t even protect him. I was defenseless. I was only holding this cane.”

 

“They? How many are they? Five? Seven? Twelve?” Kyungsoo asks as he cracks his knuckles. “There must’ve been many of them. Seems like it only took them minutes to bring down the entire pack of guards waiting for them. And, they knew the manor like the back of their hands.”

 

Before Suho can answer, they hear a siren outside. In a tick, policemen crowd the whole manor house.

 

 

 

The cold winter air seeps into his bones as he trudges forward his target’s house. Days have passed since the Seekers last killed a member of the Brothers. Kai breathes out a vapor of smoke. He throws his stick of cigarette on the pavement and instinctively crushes it with his leather boots. He makes his way to the hidden pathway at the back of the edifice. He finds himself in a maze of dimly-lit corridors and doors. It is certainly huge for a Senator’s lair, he ponders.

 

“I’ll go to the other side of the house,” Lay tells him in a low voice. “Let’s meet at the car after this. If one of us doesn’t arrive in five, the first should leave. All right?”

 

“Yeah, you don’t have to give me a ing lecture about helping myself to survive. Done this all my life, Lay.” He reminds him with a sour expression.

 

“Whatever. Just stay alive. I think half a hundred guards round here all the time.”

 

“Oh, God. That’s so scary.” Kai fakes a shiver. “Go on. Leave. I can hear their footsteps already.”

 

Lay nods his head in response. He sprints towards the other side of the hallway. Kai waits for a few seconds before he continues to walk soundlessly through the passageways. He sees a shadow just beyond the wall beside him. A man rounds the corner and stands for awhile with his back to him.

 

Kai grabs the gun from his waistband and lunges towards the man on the doorway. He pulls the trigger and he hears an earsplitting bang. The man totters as blood oozes out from his mouth. He falls to the ground with a thud.

 

Kai runs through the hallways shooting anyone that blocks his way. A dozen of guards surround him in less than a minute. Time for some serious action, he laughs in his thought.

 

He decides to leap on the second landing several feet below him and continues to advance swiftly to the study room. He finally comes to a halt as he opens the door feebly. He finds a man leaning on the desk.

 

“The Unit will not approve of this.” The man says to him quietly almost into a whisper. “You, Seekers, always get in our way. We aim for peace and union of all the people of the Unit and of course, the Seekers. Don’t you think that will make this world easier for all of us?”

 

“I appreciate your proposal, Mr. Kim.” Kai flatly replies. “I really think that we could use the taxes that the people pay you. Those taxes would be extremely lovely. Oh, I forgot. Those go straight to your pockets. Sorry about that.” He adds in a jeering manner. He doesn’t wait for the older man’s response. He aims the gun on the latter’s heart and fires. Blood squirts out of his chest as he drops to the floor.

 

“You think you can go out here alive? Think again, Seeker lad.” Mr. Kim chokes through the haematic, red liquid trickling out of his mouth. He looks at Kai with deep hatred. “The Unit will destroy every Seeker in Seoul. Believe me.

 

“You haven’t seen me jump off skyscrapers, Sire.” He sneers back while he heads to the window a meter away from the motionless body. “Oh, and we’re planning a relocation by the end of this mission. So, there won’t be a single Seeker here in Seoul.” He opens the ledge and steps on the edge of the casement. He bends his knees as the door behind him opens, revealing a horde of guards armed with technologically advanced rifles and pistols. They shoot him before Kai could even jump off. He loses his footing and his body plummets to the earth below him. One or two bullets have reached his back. He grunts and rolls over the cold soil. He gets to his feet and scurries to the fence of the mansion. He climbs rapidly then darts to his car a few blocks away from the house.

 

“Oh, my God.”  An all-too familiar voice gasps.  Kai turns his head around, searching for the owner of the voice. He sees him standing beside his car.

 

“Angel,” Kai states softly, almost inaudible to the other’s ear. He smiles at him while he grasps his injured arm.

 

“You’re the guy from the bar.” He responds, eyes staring at his lacerations and bruises. After a while, his eyes land on Kai’s limb. “Involved in a cat fight, then?”

 

Kai doesn’t answer. He is pretty much thrilled of the fact that Angel, his only Angel, stands before him again. Though it hurts badly enough, his lips break into a toothy grin.

 

“Gosh, did you lose your ability to speak? Was your tongue cut out? What happened?”

 

“I just,” He starts and he hears gunshots and some shouts a few meters behind him. “. I should go.” He grumbles as he limps to his car. He feels a hand behind his back.

 

“I’ll go with you. You need some serious medical help. I’ll drive you to the hospital.” Angel announces and puts an arm around him to steady him.

 

Kai stiffens. He didn’t expect this. He wasn’t thinking. He knows he shouldn’t let Angel go with him. Suddenly, he feels a moral obligation to protect him from everything that may harm him. He stops walking and faces him. He shrugs off the arm that supports him.

 

“I can manage myself very fine.” He huffs. “I don’t need your help. Go home, rich kid. You can’t help me. You can never help me.”

 

“No. I help everyone. Everyone involves you.”

 

“What’s this about? Promoting your family name to higher prestige? Or is this really about the common good of the citizens of the Republic of Korea?” Kai asks, turning away from the latter and climbs onto the sedan. He shuts the door with a bang. “Oh, your Dad would probably like the first. That makes sense. It’s brilliant yet stupid. He makes his son go around offering help to make his name sound good.”

 

He hates to be like this around Angel. He can’t think of any other way to keep him from this mess. It’s better than nothing.

 

“Don’t talk about my father like that. He’s a good man.”

 

“Look who’s talking. I should go. Move. I’ll run past your foot.”

 

Angel frowns just as he hauls the door open. He sharply pushes Kai out of his seat. He clambers to the driver’s seat, shuts the door and speeds off to the constricted street. They hear a couple of muffled shouts as they reach the curb that leads to the highway.

 

 

 

Kai finds himself looking through a window. He can’t even trust his eyesight anymore. It blurs at the edges and a patch of black blocks his left eye vision. He perches and winces on the bed as his brain tries to accumulate things. He has no idea where he is. He is sure of that. He takes a quick look of the bedroom before he sees the bathroom at the farther right. He cleans himself up and notices that his arm is already bandaged. He walks out and changes his clothes. He doesn’t look up when the door creaks open.

 

“How are you feeling? I fixed your wounds last night. You have a sprained ankle, though. Also took out the bullet on you, by the way.”

 

“I’m alright, Angel. How did you bring me here?”

 

“Angel?” He repeats, raising an eyebrow. “Who told you that’s my name?”

 

“I- I just felt that it’s your name. You know, because of your features.” Kai flushes as he glances through the window again.

 

“My name is Kyungsoo if you’d like to know.” He speaks out with an eye smile.

 

“I like Angel. It suits you well.”

 

It’s Kyungsoo’s turn to blush. He fixes his gaze on the floor. There are so many questions that run through his mind. He would really give anything to ask these to the man in front of him. He pushes the thoughts aside. He could do it later after they have already eaten.

 

“Let’s have breakfast.” He finally mutters. He manages to say a single sentence without stuttering. Way to go, he praises himself.

 

“I’m afraid I can’t. I must go. He must be looking for me. I’ll get him worried.”

 

“Your family? But I thought you said you don’t have-” He stops and continues. “Is it your lover?”

 

Kai looks at him as if he has said the most outrageous thing he has ever heard.

 

“Wait, what? Lay isn’t my lover. Of course not. I don’t do those kinds of relationships.” His lips turn into a tight line. “I guess you couldn’t help think of that. I get that all the time.” He opens the window. Cool breeze rushes in and gusts through his hair.

 

“What do you mean? I’m sorry but I don’t quite get you.”

 

“Oh, God. You think I have a lover because of my good looks and awfully-toned body. I guess having a lover is an understatement. You’re the first one to say that, too. I usually get, ‘You probably have lovers. You enjoy toying with their innocent hearts, right?’ That gives me a hard time to cope up with my life.”

 

Kyungsoo almost cries out a hysterical laugh. He clamps his hand on his mouth as his shoulders shakes involuntarily. He doesn’t really know why he is laughing. If it’s not because of Kai’s egotistical speech, it must be the fact that he doesn’t have a lover. He writes it out as the former.

 

“What’s funny?”

 

“You and your witty remarks.”

 

“Oh, I find myself comfortable with you. It must be the drug you gave me.”

 

“Excuse me? Did you just say that I drugged you?”

 

Kai moves away from him to give a way and smirks. “Go on. You can pass. I’ll let you pass even if you drugged the life out of me. People use love serum up to this age, I think.”

 

“What the- Oh, for the love of God! You are unbelievable!” Kyungsoo waves his hands exasperatedly. “You are so – Ugh. I can’t even find the right words for your behavior.”

 

“You’ll find a way to muddle through, Angel. Don’t brood about it much.” He beams and winks.

 

“Kyungsoo, breakfast is ready! Come over here and bring your guest!” A muffled voice shouts through the door with a series of knocks.

 

“That’s Sehun. He’s a friend.” Kyungsoo explains. “He sleeps here at our house. My father adopted him. We’re like brothers.”

 

Kai just nods. He makes his way to the door and opens it. He comes face to face with Sehun. He looks away.

 

“So, you’re his guest.” Sehun says with an ample amount of disgust in his voice. “Since when did this house become a home for wounded guests?”

 

“Sehun, choose your words.” Kyungsoo warns him and studies Kai’s reaction. “Don’t mind him, Kai.”

 

“It’s alright, Angel. He’s honest. I like that attitude.” Kai replies tediously. “I’ll go. As I said earlier, someone is waiting for me.”

 

“But the breakfast-”

 

“Thanks. I’ll see you when I see you, Angel.” He declares as he turns away from the door. He runs to the window and jumps off.

 

“Kai!” He shouts through the window while his eyes scan the open field.

 

 

 

“You got us worried, Kai.” Jin chimes in before Kai could even pass through the gates of the Library. “You didn’t give us a call or anything. We thought you died during the attack. And as usual, a great job from you. I’ve seen the assassin in you since you were a child.”

 

Kai shifts his gaze from him to the large, wooden door of the Library. He wonders if there will ever come a time when he can finally free himself from all the killing. He, himself, is dying gradually every time he is given a Seeking assignment. He is a monster and he is reminded of that everyday. Only monsters can kill people. Though Jin has always supplied his mind about the glitch in the Unit’s administration, he can’t still think why they had to do it this way. He can’t measure the reasons that he has said to him. Why put the decree on their hands, anyway? Why don’t they let the people of Korea decide? Why don’t they just open their eyes to see all the anomalies? Kai’s own questions submerge his mind in a complex twists and turns of uncertainty and bewilderment. He walks without acknowledging Jin.

 

“Kai,” Jin starts again. Kai had enough of these things. He has heard Jin sing his praises all the time for him. “Your new assignment will be Director Do.”

 

“Did I hear that right?” He asks and whirls around to come face to face with Jin. His eyes have those little lines that crinkle when he smiles or even frowns. His gray hair is pinned into a ponytail behind his head. Small locks of silver white hair dangle on the either side of his face, making him look like a character from the Choseon era.

 

“Yes,” He replies quietly, never meeting his eyes. Something is wrong. Jin has always looked into everyone’s eyes when he talks. “You have to do this. He’s your last Seeking assignment.”

 

“He’s my last?” Kai repeats with an unfathomable expression. “Why? There’s still seven or six of them. Then, you’re actually telling me he is my last assignment. You’re kidding me, Chief.”

 

“If you can do this, then you’ll have the freedom that you wanted. That’s an if.”

 

“Why are you doing this, Jin?”

 

“Because I have to. And you’ll do this because you have to. You swore the Vow before all the Seekers. You shouldn’t fail to do this.”

 

“Can you at least tell me if there’s something wrong? I can offer help or something.” Kai speaks smugly. “You know what I’m capable of. You saw what I did to Kris’ rabbits, right? Killed them in one blow! Well, Kris was about to kill me that time, though. That vengeful bunny rabbit of death. Never take a bunny behind his back.”

 

Jin sighs as he shakes his head in utter amusement. Although he can sense that the situation is serious, Kai can still crack his clever remarks in front of him. In a matter of seconds, he narrows his eyes and looks at him directly in the eye.

 

“Kill him, Kai. Kill him.” He states firmly with a grasp on his shoulder. He leaves without another word.

 

Kai blinks all the confusion and crazy ideas that pop inside his head. After finishing this assignment, he’s finally free. He can be a normal individual who can have fun and fall in love. His head is fed up with thoughts of Angel and his last assignment. He will kill one of the most important people in Angel’s life.