[JYP’s Mansion, Glasgow, Scotland]

The sound of typing echoed as Max stepped carefully into Fei’s room. It was a pretty spacious bedroom with a baroque-style interior and an access view to the lake from the balcony across the bed. Her fingers stopped, she glanced at him, showing no sign of delight before resuming her work on the laptop sitting on her blanket.

“You look well.” Max said, sounding stiff and cold, though it was just him trying not to show too much emotion. He was afraid, to be exact, of how their first conversation would be like after all the rumble.

“Are you here to report on Yunho’s location?” she asked, clearly ignoring his greetings.

Her long brown hair was slightly curled by the wind blowing from her opened balcony window, revealing her cold expression. Max gulped a little, but appeared as casual as he could as he tried to make himself comfortable on a single sofa by the window, where he could see her face clearly behind her laptop. She didn’t look like someone who had three of her ribs broken and a dislocated shoulder as seen by the focus she put into her work while her bad left arm hanging idly onto the arm sling.

Max smiled awkwardly, “No, I’m here to see you.”

“Suzy and Jia are on their way to Fukuoka. Min is reporting to base and I’m trying to establish a call to Dr.Noh. So if you don’t have anything to do, I suggest you make yourself useful.” she said without even taking her eyes off her laptop.

Shifting his gaze to the lake below the mansion, he decided it was time to explain whatever he needed to explain. While keeping his eyes off her beautiful neck line, Max slowly poured those simple words to apologize. “I’m sorry.”

He could hear the typing sound paused for a few seconds there, so he knew he managed to grab her attention. “I didn’t call Yunho to the bar. He found it out himself. I’m sorry for what his men did to you- -“

“Are you really going to waste your time like this?” Fei cut him off, “Min has explained it all to me. For now, we’re working with you because of your valuable information about the brotherhood. Why are you apologizing?”

Max could feel his fists clenched, a mixed feelings of shame, and guilt were rushing through his veins. “No. Please, listen. Don’t you want to know why I sided with you guys? Aren’t you worry about the fact that me siding with you guys is only a part of the brotherhood’s plan?”

To his surprise, Fei pulled out a revolver from beneath her pillow and scoffed. She turned and aimed the firearm straight to Max, and the guy knew that perfect aim could lead to a hole on his forehead with a single movement from her finger. “When that happens, you know what’s going to happen to your head.” she said.

Right at the end of her sentence, someone knocked on the door. Swifly Fei lowered her gun and putting it back under her pillow. Max was still frozen at his seat across the bed as the door swung open, followed by Min’s smile by the door frame. “Oh you’re here Max!” she said, sliding herself in before sitting at the edge of Fei’s bed.

“What’s new?” asked Fei as if nothing happened five seconds ago.

Min took over her laptop, showing her the satellite map of Japan. Some points were blinking in different colors. She pointed at some of the red dots, “These are the Yunho’s spots. The yellow ones are the guys from Shanghai. The blue ones are the US intels. The black ones are a mix of unidentified hunters, Japan’s undercover agents, and small clans who just put themselves into the wrong party, poor guys.”

“And Amber?”

“The last 15 minutes, she’s still in Fukuoka, on her way to Dr. Noh’s residence. I’ve contacted our people there, they’re all on standby. I also contacted Heechul oppa, he’s going to be around for backup.”

Fei nodded, “I’m still trying to call Dr. Noh, he’s not answering.”

“Well, at this time around, any phone call could jeopardize him and the Profiler, I think he won’t answer you any time soon. I’ll tell the surveillance team there to make sure he’s alright.”

By the window, Max was still staring at the girls until he decided it was time to leave. He rose up from his seat and smiled to them, before making his way to the door. Min caught the look on Fei’s eyes as she avoided his gaze, but before she could ask why Fei had grabbed her phone and once again tried to call Dr. Noh.

Though from the corner of her eyes, Fei silently gazed over the sunflower left on the sofa.

***

[Dr.Noh’s residence, Fukuoka, Japan, -DAY]

Once again Amber pressed the bell on his gate, waiting to see Dr.Noh coming out of his house and welcomed her, at least she hoped he would recognize her first. But it had been more than 30 minutes, so Amber walked around the neighborhood, thinking of asking his neighbors.

A high school girl stopped in front of a house across the street and was about to park her bicycle into her house when Amber popped in front of her and smiled, “Sumimasen..”

The girl blushed, probably thinking that Amber was a guy.

“Ah, you see, the old man living in that house, wait, he’s still living there right?” Amber asked in Japanese, as natural as she could.

“Aaah. That weird old man. Hai, he’s still living there though he rarely comes out. People say he has some sort of phobia of going out from the house. But no one knows for sure, he is a quiet man.”

Amber nodded to the girl, “Ah sou desu ne. Sankyuu!” she thanked her, before letting the student park the bicycle in peace.

She tried her luck once again by pressing the bell. Ding dong. Ding dong. Ding dong.

Still no answers from inside.

Sick of waiting, Amber climbed through the gate and landed on his petite yard. The flowers were fresh and colorful, and for someone who rarely comes out, Dr. Noh seemed to be the type who likes taking care of his lawn. What a weird combination, she thought.

She knocked on the door. “Uhm.. excuse me.. Dr.Noh, are you inside?”

A distinctive sound of the waves slapping against the shore could be heard, coming from a nearby sea. Amber clicked her sneakers boringly, her eyes wandered back to the small lawn. She noticed how the empty pots were arranged neatly by the window, and the lawn tools were put in one corner thoughtfully. She also saw a couple of hover sprinklers planted to the grass, and it was rather cute since the lawn was so small, actually it doesn’t need a sprinkler to water the whole lawn.

Amber bent down and took a closer look of it. The shape was indeed the shape of a sprinkler, but something told her it wasn’t a real sprinkler from the beginning.

“Laser tripwire...” she said, quite surprised when she saw thin red lines between the neatly cut grass. She was lucky she didn’t step on it when she climbed down earlier. Though that was actually impossible. These lasers were everywhere, all over the lawn. An alarm would have sounded if she stepped across one of them, even just a millimeter. But there was no alarm sound, not even a single beep.

She ran back to the door and knocked on it once again, “Dr. Noh? Dr. Noh? Hello, Dr. Noh? Are you inside?”

The seventh time she knocked on the door, it finally swung open. Amber stepped in carefully, not wanting to shock the old man like some kind of a robber. “Annyeong..” she whispered to her surroundings, but no replies. She wondered if Dr.Noh was hiding somewhere under the table, so she bent and checked almost every tables and chairs there, clumsily looking for Dr.Noh. 

“Don’t be afraid, it’s me, Amber..” she said, entering the small dining room. She immediately spotted a cup of freshly-served hot tea sitting on top of the kotatsu (a Japanese wooden table frame covered by a heavy blanket, topped by a table) , she could see the steam still dancing in the air. “Dr. Noh?” she called again, and still there wasn’t any reply.

Is this really his house? She checked the address given by GD and once again found them match. Just when she was about to enter the library, her rented cellphone from the airport vibrated inside her pocket. Knowing it was GD, she picked it up fast.

“Helloooo, are you in the house?”

“Yeah, I’m here, but no sign of Dr. Noh. Are you sure it’s the right address?” she whispered.

“I’m not you, I don’t make mistakes. Maybe he’s out to the store or something?”

“But there is a steaming hot tea on his table and, yeah maybe I should just look around for more..”

“Alright. I just wanted to let you know that they’re coming for you. In fact, EVERYONE is coming for you.”

“Suzy and Jia? I know that already. What do you mean by everyone?”

“Your hunters, stupid. I can’t do much from here, it’s out of my range. Warning you is the least I can do.”

Amber nodded, catching the stresses of his voice over the line. When GD being this serious, it means serious stuffs are happening, no pranks, no puzzles, just plain reality.

“Arasseo. Anything else I need to know?”

“Well, those boring agents are surrounding the place now.”

The tomboy cautiously moved to a nearby window, trying to see if what he said was true. There wasn’t anyone out there, no cars, no agents. But coming from experiences, she searched more carefully and finally spotted about three men between the shades of the buildings. Another two were standing further by the entrance of the beach.

“I saw them just now. But I won’t leave until I meet Dr.Noh.”

That was when Amber heard a thud coming from inside the house and someone calling her name. “Dude, I’ll call you later.” she said to GD, sliding her phone back as she rushed over to the source of the voice.

“Dr.Noh?” she called back.

The man came out behind the kitchen, still calling her, “Amber!“

He was exactly like how Amber remembered him five years ago, only with more beard and a bushy moustache framing his round wrinkly face. But the sight quickly crumbled when a drip of blood stained the floor beneath him. Followed by another drip, and another, and another, and by then Amber was already frozen at her spot watching the man clutching his chest with a bloody hand.

“W-what happened??” she said, rushing to his side, though her head was spinning with the scent of blood. Dr. Noh pushed her to the side, “Amber.. no time.. ! They’re here!”

Amber gulped, still struggling to fight her dizzyness as the color of the blood appeared brighter and brighter over seconds. “We.. we should get you to the hospital!”

“The Profiler..keep it from them..” he said, leaning to the wall to support his weight. His face was almost as pale as the white wallpaper next to him, and Amber wasn’t sure what to do. Agents were surrounding the house, if she went out of the house and asked for support, who knows what would happen to both of them afterwards. She didn’t want to go back and trapped in the facility, not when the truth was right in front of her.

But the man was dying, she knew she should do something. Anything.

She got up and started to look for a first aid kit, but Dr Noh shouted again, “Amber! LEAVE!”

A thud on the floor followed after, and Amber turned to find Dr. Noh falling on the floor. Behind him was a familiar man offering her a warm smile as he spinned his silenced gun on one finger.

“Hi Amber! You’ve lost some weight huh since the last time I saw you?”

Amber didn’t move an inch.

Kim Heechul smiled at her while still playing with his gun.

***

Their van was hidden well under the shadows of the tree and covered by the house next to them, and from the outside it would only look like someone left their broken van there. But inside, codes were exchanged, reports were updated every 10 seconds, led by two of JYP’s best agents who were now listening to their communicators. Waiting.

“What’s taking him so long?!” Suzy hissed under her breath, only to be replied by Jia’s chuckles.

“I’m sure Heechul oppa is doing his best. You know him, just wait.” she said, while monitoring the guards placed around the house.

Suzy sighed and pressed her earplugs deeper into her ears, as if that would make Heechul say something to her. On the other hand, Jia looked a lot calmer, even a bit more excited than usual, and Suzy knew it was simply because Heechul joined them in this mission.

“Pali pali.. tell me what’s going on there..” Suzy mumbled to herself, while her eyes kept staring at the exterior of the house through the camera held by the guards around, monitored inside the van.

“Hey, look!” Jia grabbed her and made her look at the screen she was watching. Colorful dots were placed all over the map of Japan to mark the hunters. “Is this thing broken or something? These dots haven’t moved an inch since an hour ago.”

Suzy bent down and clicked a few options on the portable monitor, “No, look, it’s working perfectly. Maybe they’re ordered not to move.”

“Yah Suzy! These yellow dots are the guys from Shanghai, and these blue dots are the guys from US intels. It’s obviously impossible for them to synchronize their moves, unless they follow the same..”

“..order. Someone ordered them to fool us!” Suzy completed her sentence. She quickly switched her channels to the men in Tokyo, “Follow the RED dots only! The others are all fake! I repeat, follow the RED dots only! It's Yunho and his army!”

***

His smile. His suit, decorated by the stain of blood.

Amber took a step back as Heechul walked through the kitchen, calmly shoving the body of Dr.Noh with his leg. He stopped playing with his gun as he stepped forward, clacking the heels of his shoes against the wooden floor. Stating his presence, infusing his superiority to the girl in front of him.

“Oh Amber, I know that look. Believe me, it’s not April Mop.” he said, slightly chuckling.

“Why did you kill him..?” she asked, her fists trembled, trying to keep herself conscious. The scent of blood was filling her head. “What is JYP doing?!”

Heechul chuckled again, as if she just told him an old joke. “Park Jin Young is a good man. Please, don’t drag him into my bussiness.”

A nauseous feeling quickly surfaced to . Amber knew she needed to get away from the blood fast. She paced toward the main door, slowly leaving the bloody scene in the dining room.

Heechul smoothly followed her with the same confident smile plastered on his face. He took off his blood-coated jacket and threw it far. “There, I don’t smell like blood anymore right?”

Amber winced, knowing that the guy just found out about her phobia. She leaned on the wall, keeping herself steady while facing the man who looked incredibly calm after killing someone.

Between the silence, the phone suddenly rang. Not her cellphone, not Heechul’s, but Dr. Noh’s home telephone. Their eyes met, as if trying to decide who was going to pick up the phone. But of course Heechul offered himself to take the call. He disappeared behind the dining room, where the cable telephone was ringing over and over.

“Yoboseo?” Amber heard him answering the phone.

“Yeah, Amber’s with me. Hmm? No sign of Yunho and his men. Yes. Dr. Noh is showing Amber the Profiler right now. Yes. Arasseo. How are you doing, I heard you broke some bones? Hey, get some rest alright? The girls are worried here. Arasseo. Deh, arasseo.”

The guy softly put the phone back to its holder before going back to where Amber was. He grabbed her hand, “Come on. No time to waste.”

Amber tried to pull away, but Heechul simply tightened his grip around her wrist. As they went to the corridor she caught a glimpse of Dr.Noh lying between his pool of blood. He’s dead. He really is dead.

“Yah. How long have you fooled all of them? Years?” she nearly yelled at him.

Heechul stopped in front of an opened room, something that looked like a study room, with a desk at one side and three full bookshelves covering the walls. Heechul made her sit behind the desk, facing a laptop that has been opened for her. Before Amber could react, he pulled out his glock and put it inside his front pocket. “Please, take your time. You know what to do, right?” he said, going to one of the bookshelves, away from the desk. “Don’t worry, you are safe here. My gun is guarding you.”

In front of her was an old laptop, a dinosaur, some might say, and she knew exactly whose this laptop was. It was her father’s and there was even a fading scribbling near the bottom of the keyboard pad, a reminder to fix some bugs on a software he was working on. The blurry screen was showing a work of code, which was also familiar to her. Is this..

“Say hello! That is the core of Profiler 2.1.” Heechul said, obviously reading her mind. “Why don’t you try inserting your key there? I know you have the key.”

1.2.4.7.3.1.7

Amber mentally spelled those numbers. She remembered the last time she was in front of the same codes. Back then she was so small, she could even share the chair with Max. It was then when she accidentally did something that made her father so excited. Something that she thought was a good thing, because her father couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the night. Thing was, she didn’t know what she did. She wasn’t even sure what those numbers really meant.

“What are you going to do with this Profiler?” she bluntly asked while keeping her fingers from touching the keyboard.

The guy across the room smiled, “To find The Hero of course! He will be everyone’s hero once that genius thing locate him.” he pointed to the laptop.

The photo of Max and some little boys together was the first thing that popped to her mind. “The Hero.. you mean that boy on the photo.. the missing boy! Who is he? Why is everyone looking for him? And why are YOU looking for him?”

Heechul scoffed, “No no, that’s not your part to know such information. Your part is to unlock the Profiler, my part is to find the Hero, and his part was to bring you to Japan.”

“What.. who?”

“Me!”

The face of GD covered the whole screen, and he was giving her his best smile. That naughty smile.

Her grip on the laptop slowly loosened, as she was trying to take everything in. GD pouted to her, “Oh come on baby, don’t be like that. I just need some help, and that Heechul guy promised me he would erase my name from the Profiler, and some money for my early retirement. You’re not going to be mad at me, huh?”

“So.. when you sent me those photos.. everything.. it was all for this? You lied to me..?” she said, slightly trembling at every words. Of all people, G-Dragon was one of the person she trust in the cyber world.

“I’ll do the payment once our Raven unlock the thing.” Heechul said, and G-Dragon nodded on the screen. He waved at Amber as if they were still friends and just like that he closed his video call, returning the codes back to the screen.

“I’m not doing it, for whoever this Hero is.” she said, slamming the laptop down. This Profiler was her father’s invention, and she has a right to decide what to do and not to do over this software.

Unfortunately, Heechul didn’t agree with her. He took out his phone and showed it to her. A phone number was displayed on the screen. “Do you know what this number can do? It’s my genie. I can wish for anything, anyone’s death just by calling my genie. For example, Song Qian- -“

“DON’T touch my friends!” she barked, knocking the chair over.

“Ep ep ep, I’m not finished. Lee Taemin, Choi Minho, Kim Kibum- -“

“FINE! But throw that phone away!” she quickly opened the laptop back.

Heechul casually slid his phone back to his pocket.

“I SAID THROW IT AWAY.”

“As you wish.” he said, sliding the window between the bookshelves and threw the phone away. They could hear a thud outside the window.

“Now, play your part, Raven.”

***

The man was watching the target behind the telecospic lense of his rifle, waiting for his signal. He was across the apartment, with a direct view to the dining room of the Kim family. The target was enjoying dinner with his father and a couple of relatives and their seats were set apart, so he would get a clear shot of his head from his position.

Finally after hours of waiting, his cellphone on the floor beeped. He glanced at the message popping on the screen saying:

[ Now.]

“Yes sir..”

***

to be continued...

Whoa, it took me a while to write this chapter, mian hehehe~

It was so far, the toughest. I mean, I wrote 3 pages, and then I deleted it. I wrote another 3, and deleted it again :3

But still, I hope you enjoyed it~^^

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Your comments would help so much >.<