“No one touch her, alright?” A strong tall man orders as he looks at his other accomplices. Behind him is a frightened young woman sitting on a brown wood chair with her hands tied tightly behind the chair and her feet glued together with the rigid ropes. Gray tape is plastered over and her hair is messily tied up in a ponytail. However, her eyes say every feeling and her anxious figure reveals how scarred she is.

With all members nodding, everyone leaves except one young man. He was in about his early 20s, but he was exceptionally tall for his age with being over six feet tall. His dark brown hair with small highlights of black gives him a more mature look, but when the woman last saw him he was sporting blonde hair.

The male walks towards the girl slowly, the girl feeling even more scared. She shakes her head as small squeals escapes, her eyes shutting tightly. his dry lips, the man carefully peels off the tape from . Just as she was about to scream to the top of her lungs, he places his hand over . “Shh,” He whispers as looks at her reassuringly.

The female breathes deeply as she stares at him. She can’t trust anyone in this state just yet. In one moment she was nonchalantly eating breakfast in a small café and next thing you know she’s on the floor and being taken away. “Why are you guys doing this to me?” Her shaky voice echoes in the small room, almost like the rooms where police fishes for questions out of witnesses.

“They want the money,” He replies as he grabs another seat and sits in front of her, “Look, I’m honestly not the guy you think I am.”

“Then who are you?” She asks as tilts her head, her eyes squinting slightly to look at him. When she saw him with the other guys, he seemed like the most calming one. He never said anything to her until this very moment and his voice has sounded like any other person.

The male takes a deep breath and scopes around, making sure no one is by the vicinity. Out of his black buttoned shirt pocket, he takes out a small badge and I.D. “Choi Junhong. I’m an undercover cop,” He reveals as the shiny gold badge shines in her eyes. “I’m known as Zelo here though,” He quickly places it back and crosses his arms, “From my knowledge, they’re going to be making a ransom with your father for an unreasonable amount.”

“What will happen if my father doesn’t have enough?” Her small voice echoes as dead silence fills in. Junhong gulps and nibbles on his bottom lip, looking at the ground. “Will I—die?” She whispers as her eyes slowly start to fill with tears.

As he looks up at her, he takes a deep breath and stands up, kneeling down slightly to look at her face to face. “I won’t let you die. I promise,” His voice turns strong and confident, pulling her into a small, but comforting hug.

“Thank you, Junhong,” She closes her eyes as she holds her hands tightly. She wished that her hands were untied to embrace him just as tight, but unfortunately that would worsen the situation. He quickly pulls away as distant footsteps echo, Junhong gently placing the tape back over and giving a small thumb’s up.

“Zelo, what are you doing? We have to get going,” One of his accomplices says as he glances at him and the girl. Junhong nods and breathes in deeply before leaving the room, leaving the girl alone.

-

“Hey! Listen to me!” A loud deep voice echoes as Junhong stays in his own room which was quite a few doors down. He sits in his chair and props his elbows up on the table, loosely holding them together.

“Hey! Oh Hayoung, you better say it loud and clear to the camera! Do you want to get hit?” The roar from his ‘leader’ shakes Junhong. He couldn’t help it anymore and it was torturing him to the very extent. He stands up and walks towards the room, seeing a reluctant and feeble Hayoung sitting in the chair. It’s been exactly three days since she’s been tied up and captured.

“Hyung, just stop,” Junhong whispers as he takes a deep breath, “How about you just make a sign and place it on her lap?” The leader glances at him and lets out a breathy chuckle, walking towards him, “Good idea, Zelo. You make the sign.” He walks out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Junhong shrugs his shoulders and walks towards her, his eyes turning gentle as he grabs the chair and sits in front of her. “Hayoung, please bear with me. I’m sorry,” He hangs his head down as he looks at the ground. A small noise escapes her taped mouth as he slowly lifts his head up, removing the tape from . “It’s okay, Junhong. I just want to make out safe,” Her quiet voice flows into his ears, “Just promise me that you and I will be friends afterwards.”

She sounds so innocent despite being chained up by the devils. It was dreadful for him and he just wanted to take her to safety. Hesitantly, he brings his hand up and moves away the bangs that were in front of her face, and ever so gently he cups her cheek, staring at her, “I promise.”

-

It’s been another four days and after the ransom video being sent out to Hayoung’s parents, Junhong talks on his cell phone, going over the instructions his chief is giving him. “Yes, sir,” Junhong nods and hangs up, looking around his room. He was undercover for over half a year and it’s been one hell of a ride. Through the battles, wounds, scars, and screams, he’s been able to endure them all with less pain than he has expected.

Walking around his room, he takes out a black case which held two guns. Inserting the bullets, Junhong inspects his gun. “Please help me…”

“Let’s get going to the alleyway!” The leader shouts as all six members come together. “Who’s going to watch the girl?” He asks as Junhong quickly raises his hand up, “I will.” He unties Hayoung and sees the red markings that are around her wrists and ankles. Grazing his finger over her markings, a hiss escapes . “Don’t worry, it’ll be over soon,” He whispers in her ear as he helps her stand up.

12:30 A.M. – Alleyway

“Do you have the money?” The leader asks as Hayoung’s father and his four bodyguards stand beside him. Honestly, the bodyguards were also working with Junhong, hoping to save Hayoung. Mr. Oh takes a deep breath and throws the black duffle bag in the middle, “There’s the money, now give my daughter back.”

The leader walks towards the middle and opens the bag, taking out a pile of the money. Running his hand through the money, a pleased smirk tugs on his lips. “I’m sorry, Mr. Oh, but we’re afraid of your daughter revealing our identities. We’ll gladly accept the money though.”

“No, we made a deal!” Mr. Oh shouts as his bodyguards tense up, slowly grabbing out their own rifles and shotguns. “Gangs don’t keep deals. They cheat on the deals,” The leader smirks as he backs up, crossing his arms in a proudly manner.

Junhong glances at Hayoung and signals her to hide behind the wooden crates. She quietly obeys and Junhong closes his eyes for a few moments. In a sudden action, he swings his gun out and shoots one of the members in the middle of his back, a huge screech echoing in the alleyway.

The leader turns around as his eyes turns into slits, “You little—‘” He quickly takes out his gun and aims it at the middle of Junhong’s forehead, “Why the hell did you do that, huh?” Just as he was about to pull the trigger, shots are targeted towards the other gang members. The bodyguards quickly move in, shooting the members multiple times.

The leader’s eyes widen as he averts his attention back to Junhong, his finger close to pulling the trigger. He quickly ducks down and sidekicks the other’s legs, a shot being fired at the crate. A high pitch scream echoes as Hayoung covers her eyes and her eyes shut tightly.

He quickly stands up as he kicks Junhong in the stomach, knocking him down to the ground. The gun slides out of his hands and left cold on the ground. “What happened to you, Zelo?” He shouts as he grabs the younger one’s collar, bringing him up. “Do you want to die?” He shouts as he holds the gun up, aiming at the middle of his forehead again.

With two of the members still being in action (excluding the leader), one of the members quickly shoot at Junhong, shooting his shoulder. “Augh!” Junhong howls in agony, dropping to the ground while his other hand holds onto his bleeding shoulder.

The guards quickly shoots their guns at the two members, shooting them in the stomach and shoulder areas. The leader laughs at Junhong’s suffering, his gun still aimed towards him, “Have fun in hell, Zelo.” Hayoung’s eyes widen as she looks at Junhong. He’s staring right back at her as he hisses in pain, breathing abnormally.

“No,” She shakes her head and lunges for the gun, her shaking hands on the trigger. “Goodbye Ze—‘” His leader freezes as a loud gunshot resonates through the alleyway. Another shot is fired as all eyes are glued to the source. Hayoung holds the gun with both hands, tears streaming down her face.

The leader collapses to the ground, shots being fired in both his ribs and temple. “Junhong!” She drops the gun and crawls towards him, resting her hand on his forehead. Junhong laughs weakly as he takes a deep breath, looking at her, “Hayoung—I can’t believe it.”

She hangs her head down and closes her eyes, “I didn’t want to do it…but I wanted to save you, just like how you saved me.” She pauses and chews on her bottom lip, her cheeks turning a soft pink, “Besides, I didn’t want our promise to be broken…”

Sirens suddenly emerge as a crew of police and paramedics enter. “Hayoung!” Her father calls out as he jogs towards her, pulling her into a hug as he gets on his knees. “I’m so sorry, Hayoung. I’m really sorry,” He closes his eyes and holds her tightly while trying his best not to cry.

“I’ll see you at the hospital, okay?” He smiles wearily as he’s transported onto the gurney.

6 A.M. – Hospital

“Junhong,” A faint voice murmurs as Junhong turns his head towards the entrance. His left shoulder is currently in pain, but after surgery and a few hours of rest, he was able to cooperate well. He sees a tall woman walk inside with bouquet of flowers and a small balloon attached. A smile lights up as he nods his head, “Hayoung. Why aren’t you getting some rest?”

She purses her lips and places the vase on the tableside, holding her hands together, “How can I rest when I want to know if you’re alright or not?” He chuckles quietly as he adjusts the bed to make him in a slighted seated position. “I’m doing alright actually. It’s going to take time for me to recover though,” He sighs softly and looks at her, “You know the promise we made?”

Hayoung nods and tilts her head slightly, “What about it?” He signals with his fingers to lean in and as she leans in, he his fingers through her hair. With his hand resting on the back of her head, he breathes sweetly in her ear, “I think the promise might not work out. I’ve been thinking that—I might want to take you out on a date.” Her cheeks turn a soft pink as she looks at him, “H-hey, now you’re just being cheesy.”

“Am I?” He chuckles silently and presses his lips against her temple, speaking against it, “You probably have to get used to it then.”