SBS headquarters was quiet.  News had spread quickly about Haha's return.  They still remembered the betrayal, when Haha had gone rogue.  

Jae Suk sat alone in his office, staring at the grainy picture.  He was sure it was Haha.  What are you planning now?

It was 2006.  Jae Suk was sitting on the floor, propped up in the doorway, watching helplessly as Haha knocked out Suk Jin. Reaching down, Haha grabbed Dong Wan off the floor.  Jae Suk couldn't believe it.  Haha, one of their own, had betrayed them from the inside.  Dong Wan tried to resist but Haha gagged him and forced him down the hall.  When they were clear, Haha turned and detonated the bomb.  Dong Wan's lab exploded, destroying any traces of his research into supernatural potions.  By some miracle, Jae Suk and Suk Jin survived the blast, buried in the rubble.  That marked the end of Suk Jin's career as a field agent.  He would never be the same after having been crushed by the lab.  Jae Suk would recover physically but had yet to get over Haha's betrayal.  What happened to you, Haha. 

In the present, Jae Suk sighed and tossed the picture in the trash.  There was no time to think about the past.  Haha was back in Korea.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haha was also thinking about the past.  After blowing the lab, he'd taken Dong Wan and interrogated him to learn his secrets.  He learned that Dong Wan was working on enhancing the human body to supernatural heights.  Super strength, super speed, even flight were all within reach.  He was close to a finished product.  But before Haha could finish the job, he'd been stopped by Jong Kook.  Haha could still see Jong Kook's face.  There were tears in his eyes.  Haha, his partner, was a traitor.  Jong Kook had always had a soft spot for Haha.  As they fought, Haha knew he couldn't beat Jong Kook.  But Jong Kook couldn't land the killing blow.  He had a chance but didn't take it.  So Haha ran.  And never looked back.  Now, he was back in Korea for the first time since his betrayal.  He was going to meet Jong Kook again.  But this time, he'd be ready.  For the last 8 years, Haha had been training hard.  If push came to shove, he would be a much harder match for Jong Kook.  

A slight noise caught his attention.  It was so quiet, it could have been nothing.  But then again, quiet was also a sign.  Haha, no longer distracted by his past, listened carefully for any sound.  He heard nothing. It was probably nothing. But he couldn't shake that sneaky suspicion.  Perturbed, he called Ji Hyo over.  

"Did you hear that?" he asked

Ji Hyo was really annoyed now.  First, he'd come in and basically taken over.  Now he was asking her about phantom noises.  This guy was just as bad as Gwang Soo.  Still, she didn't dare say it to his face.  

"No, I didn't hear anything." she said.

Haha nodded.  "Keep an eye out" he said, dismissing her.  He was sure he'd heard something.  Haha had learned from his years on the run it was better to be safe than sorry.  He'd had this feeling before.  Sometimes it was nothing.  But sometimes there was something there.  

Ji Hyo now had a case of the yips.  After talking with Haha, she was very jumpy.  He might have been onto something.  She cursed under her breathe. How was she going to get any work done if she was afraid of her own shadow.  She took a moment to calm herself and then went back to work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a meeting in SBS to decide their next move.  Jae Suk, Suk Jin, Gary, and Jong Kook were all meeting with Kim Joo Hyung, their department chief.   After a quick briefing to get them all up to speed, they planned their next move.  

Joo Hyung:  So what you're telling me is that you don't know anything but that we have 3 leads.  Haha, Lee Gwang Soo, and Song Joong Ki.

Jae Suk:  That's right.  

Joo Hyung:  And one of them is responsible for releasing the Running Balls?

Suk Jin:  We don't know that for sure.  They could be working for someone else.  They might not all be working together either.  We just don't know for sure at this point.

Joo Hyung stared at Jong Kook.  Jong Kook was his best agent after all.  "Do you have anything to add, Jong Kook?"

Jong Kook stared at the floor.  "I agree with Suk Jin.  We don't know" he said.  Joo Hyung nodded.  It was one thing for Suk JIn to say it but he wanted to hear it from Jong Kook before he would believe it.  "So we know the major players here but we don't know what they want, or if they are even working together." He pointed at Gary, "I want you to get on Song Joong Ki."  He turned to Jong Kook, "You take over on watching Gwang Soo."  Finally, he turned to Jae Suk, "I want you to bring Haha in.  He's our number 1 priority right now.  Dismissed!"  As they filed out of his office, Joo Hyung pulled aside Jong Kook.  When they were alone, he asked, "How are you doing?"  Jong Kook's face gave away nothing.  Joo Hyung looked at his eyes but Jong Kook didn't even flinch.  "I'm fine, sir" Jong Kook answered.  Joo Hyung wasn't a very touchy feely boss but he clasped Jong Kook's arms, "Ok...if you need anything..." he slapped him on the back.  "Let's go!"  As he watched Jong Kook exit his office, Joo Hyung was surprised by Jong Kook's lack of reaction.  I thought news of Haha would have affected him more.  But it seemed he was wrong.  Good for us that Jong Kook is still 100%.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haha still couldn't shake his feeling that something was off.  So he decided to go for a walk.  Outside, he tried to calm himself down when he glimpsed a flash of light.  It lasted less than a second, but to Haha's suspicious eye, it was a dead giveaway.  Someone was out there.  Haha crouched down and began to make his way towards where he had seen the light flash.  He didn't dare go straight in, but moved laterally, circling around towards the spot.  

His eyes straining in the dark, Haha couldn't see anything.  But he was sure there was someone here.  He closed his eyes and counted to 10 before opening them.  This way, he would be seeing things with fresh eyes.  As he scanned the ground in front of him, his eyes registered a slight movement.  Haha zeroed in on the spot and realized that he was seeing a person lying on the ground.  Dressed completely in black, he blended in with the sparse brush--the dark camoflauged him well.  In his hand were binoculars, modified to provide night vision.  I saw a reflection off the lense.  This guy is good.  He chose a good spot to hide.  Too bad that I'm better.  

Haha skulked back to safety.  Now that he knew the warehouse was being watched, he had to move carefully.  He didin't know how many others were watching, but if there was one there were definitely others.  Looking around, Haha tried to pick out places where he would hide if he had to watch the warehouse.  From this spot the front corner of the warehouse was visible.  There should be another person watching the back.  A third would probably be up higher, probably watching from a neighboring building.  Haha scanned the windows of the other abandoned warehouses.  He almost missed it at first but there was another spotter in a second story window of another abandoned warehouse.  So there were at least three people watching.  Now that he had their positions, he could tell Ji Hyo and Gwang Soo how to escape without being detected.  

They were just in time too.  Within a half hour of their escape, Jong Kook and Jae Suk showed up at the warehouse with a pair of SWAT teams.  They stormed the now empty warehouse, looking for Haha and Gwang Soo.  From a car parked on the shoulder of a nearby road, Haha, Ji Hyo, and Gwang Soo watched as Jong Kook threw his gloves on the ground in frustration.  For Ji Hyo, this was an eye opener.  Haha had litterally just saved them all.  She couldn't help but feel guilty about her earlier judgement about him.  Haha, for all his eccentricities, was still a former SBS agent and thus knew what he was talking about.  He's no fool. I was wrong about him.  After watching for a few minutes, Haha started the car and left without a word.  The loss of the warehouse was a setback to be sure but they had escaped and lost nothing important.  In the grand scheme of things, nothing had changed--their plans were merely delayed.