They slumped on opposite sides of the stairway, breathing heavily. "Ah," Jin Kyong gripped her side. Hyung Jun looked at her skeptically. "Are you alright?" 
"I don't know. You tell me, you're the doctor," she shrugged. He shook his head. "Just who the hell are you? Is your name really Jin Kyong?"

She laughed a little at that. "You can call me whatever. Nadia, Naira, Jin Kyong, they're all the same to me." She caught her breath and stood up, putting most of her weight on her right leg. "Let's go. We need to make it to my room." 
 

They jogged up the stairwells, Hyung Jun trying to soften his footsteps. "It's fine," Jin Kyoung called back to him. "If they wanted to shoot us, they could've done it by now." 
 

They arrived at the room, with Jin Kyoung checking for signs of entry. She inserted her key into the slot and headed for the bed. Hyung Jun watched with a surreal feeling as she pulled out a bag from under the bed and opened it. She shrugged out of her dress shirt and covered the gash in her side with a large bandage from the bag. Hyung Jun turned as she started to pull off her jeans and felt silly. They'd just been shot at, and here he was worrying about being polite while Jin Kyoung didn't seem to care at all. His mind on overdrive, he picked up on the line of silly thoughts and pictured a movie. If this were a movie, now would be the time for me to either help her with her wounds and make out or just make out before we go out for an all out fight. He shook his head at the thought. Even getting close enough for a hug wasn't possible. He turned around to see she had on a new dress shirt and pair of jeans. She finished rolling the leg of her jeans down over the newly applied bandage before turning to Hyung Jun. "Where's your passport?" 

"In the other room."

Jin Kyoung crossed to the hall that linked their suites and broke the lock on Hyung Jun's door. "Get your passport and the camera with the strap then head back here." She watched with relief as Hyung Jun only shook his head, no questions asked, and headed into his room. He came back several minutes later to find her rifling in the back of her desk drawer and pulling out several guns. She checked each one, making sure they were fully loaded. Without turning to look at him, she waved at the bag that still lay open on the bed. "Put it on," she directed. "You're in charge of the bag, alright?" 

Hyung Jun crossed over and picked it up, weighing it in his hand. He glanced at the contents. From what he could see, there were several passports, manila folders, and pieces of electrical equipment. He zipped it shut with a feeling of apprehension and disbelief then strapped it on. "Hyung Jun," Jin Kyoung motioned him to the desk. She pointed to one of the guns. "Pick it up." The shape was similar to the toy guns he used to play with as a boy, but it was definitely heavier. Jin Kyoung held his arm steady while her fingers guided his hand into the correct position. "This is how you hold it. Firm. Don't worry about keeping your finger out of the trigger slot. Shoot first, think later. If you run out of ammo after killing one, grab his gun. Don't stop, keep moving alright?" Her voice was urgent, but at the same time unnervingly calm. Like she had experience. Like she'd shot people before. Had she shot people before? 
"Hyung Jun. Hyung Jun, look at me. Focus." 
He was shaking his head. "Hyung Jun, this is serious. They won't hesitate to kill you. I don't care whatever beliefs you have now because it's either you or them." She held his gaze for a moment, allowing the silence to emphasize what she'd just said. Then she turned back to the gun, moving his arm. "When you fire, it will retract. Like this. Brace yourself and aim a little to the right and lower than where you want to hit." She let go and picked up the other two guns, stuffing one in her waistband and keeping the other in hand. 


Hyung Jun's head was still reeling when they re-entered the hallway and as they headed for the elevators. He squeezed the gun several times and practiced holding it steady in front of him while walking. Jin Kyoung looked at him when they reached the elevators. "This is the hard part, but listen to me very carefully. You need to take the stairs -" she held up a hand, stopping his protest. "Take the stairs and use that side exit. When you get out, head for the newspaper stand and get in there. I don't care what you have to do, but make sure you get in and stay down. If I'm not out in twenty minutes, head for the airport. There's a cellphone in the bag. Dial the first number, and you'll be connected to people who can help. Just tell them what happened and my name. When you get to where they tell you to go, give them my card. It's the one with the red star on the back. Got that?" 
Hyung Jun nodded. "Stairs, exit, newspaper stand, twenty minutes, card with red star." 
Jin Kyoung almost smiled at the seriousness of his voice. He sounded like a little school boy about to take a test. He'd always been serious with details. "Good. Just make sure you don't wait anymore than twenty minutes." 
He nodded again, almost throwing up. Jin Kyoung moved towards him, almost placing her hand on his arm. A frown passed over her face, and she withdrew before making contact. "Go." She didn't wait to see him move but stepped into the open elevator. When had she pressed the button? Hyung Jun waited till the doors shut before heading back towards the stairwell. He stopped in front of the door, paralyzed with fear. He stood there, his palms sweaty and his hands shaking as he tried to make himself move and reach for the door handle. So this is what it means to be frozen with fear. Then he heard feet crashing farther down the stairs, followed by several bursts of gunfire. And that was when the adrenaline kicked in.