a/n: there's a surprise character! XP

Why would his father suddenly invite the girl home with them? If she wasn’t someone significant, then whatever business she had with Joonmyun should have been discussed at the office.
 

And there’s still that fact that the girl knows his father’s old codename. As far as he knows, his father had wordlessly commanded for that name to never be mentioned, at least when he’s within earshot. For some reason, Joonmyun‘s achievements while still an active agent are the only things that would be discussed during those drunken nights, his codename deliberately avoided. So why and how did the girl know the name?
 

Kris glanced at the said girl sitting beside him, noticing that she was fast asleep even if they had just been on the road for a little more than five minutes. She must have been tired from her flight and all. He could see dark circles under her eyes and exhaustion is evident on her rather pleasant face. She looks like she’s at least five years older than he is right now even though he’s pretty sure he’s older. Just what had pushed this girl to look for his father?
 

Kris shook his head. “Why do I even bother? It’s none of my business.” he muttered and turned his attention back on the road. He’d know the answer to his questions once he gets home. Right now, he’d be lenient enough to give the girl a rest since she looks like she really needed it.
 

As he sped through the light traffic, he dialed his brother’s number. Sehun wasn’t answering and Kris is pretty sure that either the kid was caught up with something in school or stuck inside the dancing studio along with his friends. He kept calling Sehun though since Joonmyun asked him to do so, and their father only asks for their presence with a 'don't ask' kind of tone when he needed to discuss something important with the whole family.
 

However, as he waited for Sehun to finally pick up, a familiar scene on the road ahead had him slamming the brakes. He lunged forward and if not for the seatbelt he’s pretty sure he’d be sailing through the windshield head first. A pained yell from the seat beside him confirmed that the girl was also in the same position as he is.
 

“What the hell are you doing?!” she shrieked, her hands pulling the seatbelt away from her chest.
 

“Keep your head down!” Kris hushed her, holding her head down as he too crouched down low.
 

Guns were suddenly fired and the car’s windows shattered, broken glass falling and cutting their exposed skin. Kris cursed his luck. He had just been on an operation not more than two hours earlier, and now here he was, dodging bullets again. Just how is it possible that another group of thugs is mugging a bank? Honestly! Are muggers that desperate for money nowadays?
 

Shots were fired for a few minutes and it seemed that the robbers were fighting authorities off. More sirens soon joined the racket and Kris figured that police backup had come. Good. Now if only the car would hold and not let any stray bullet in.
 

“What’s happening?” Seirin asked.
 

“I think it’s some bank robbers trying to get away. Just keep your head low. Unless you want to get shot!” Kris replied, still keeping Seirin’s head down. He couldn’t help but note how the girl is relatively calm when any other girl, person, would have been freaking out with the amount of gunfire resounding all over the street outside. He himself is nervous, and he’s been into may situations similar to this. How worse could Seirin be feeling right then?
 

The exchange of gunfire went on and it only seemed to be getting closer and closer. Kris bit the inside of his cheek, calling out to every deity he knows as he freed himself and Seirin from the restricting seatbelts so they could crouch lower without the belts digging into their skin.
 

The doors on Seirin’s side was suddenly yanked open and Kris looked up only to stare straight into a gun’s smoking barrel. He gulped nervously, eyes flickering from the gun towards the man who was holding it, said man’s face was covered in a dark bonnet with holes for his eyes.
 

“Move and your dead!” the masked man yelled threateningly.
 

Kris didn’t dare make a move, he kept his hand on Seirin, preventing the latter from moving or else they’d be at the robber’s mercy, not that they weren’t already. He just didn’t want the robber’s attention on Seirin.
 

But it was too late. The robber suddenly dragged Seirin out of the car, the girl protesting wildly.
 

“Hey!” Kris yelled, scrambling out of the battered car. The gun was pointed at him once again and he held out his hands, “Please, let her go! Don’t hurt her!”
 

Seirin keeps on struggling but the robber had s a hand across her chest and pointed the gun on her head.
 

“Stop struggling you little wench or I’ll shoot you!” the robber warned.
 

“Let me go, you jerk!” Seirin screamed, kicking wildly.
 

The robber smacked Seirin on the shoulder with the gun, the girl letting out a pained shout. The robber jostled her and walked backwards, yelling threats towards the authorities.
 

“Hey! Let her go!” Kris yelled once again, his blood boils at the sight of Seirin being hurt and handled roughly. One thing he can’t stomach is violence towards the weak and if not for the gun pointed at Seirin’s temple, he would have bashed the robber with his own fists.
 

“Shut up! Don’t you dare come any closer or I’ll shoot her!” the robber yelled as he kept on walking backwards.
 

Kris clenched his fist angrily. He noticed that there were only two robbers in sight, more likely abandoned by their other partners in crime. And nothing is more dangerous than desperate people who didn’t have anything else to lose.
 

The police advanced slowly, some disappearing somewhere, clearly trying to surround the robber without getting any unwanted attention, else they risk the hostage’s life.
 

“Kid, step back. We got this.” one of the authorities told Kris.
 

“No.” Kris replied firmly. “I need to help her.” he didn’t budge from his position even if the police kept on telling him to move back.
 

Seirin kept on struggling, her face getting red with her efforts to get the robber to let go of her. The other robber was checking behind them for some sort of escape.
 

“Stop squirming, you brat!” the robber holding Seirin yelled and gave the girl another jostle, tightening his arms around her torso.
 

Kris was all ready to run and tackle the masked man but he was momentarily stopped when Seirin suddenly elbowed her captor’s middle, causing for the man to ease his grip on her. Seirin took the opportunity to duck and free herself from the masked man.
 

Unfortunately, the other robber was fast to react, aiming his own gun towards Seirin. Kris felt like time had stopped for a moment. It was like watching a movie scene in slow motion. In his desperation to save Seirin, he grabbed the officer’s gun and fired at the robber, getting the latter on the leg and sending him sprawled in the ground with a yell. Without wasting another second, Kris sprinted for Seirin who was still crouched on the ground.
 

The masked man who Seirin had elbowed was already on his feet, fast to recover from Seirin’s blow. Kris pointed the gun at the said man but suddenly Seirin was also on her feet and Kris barely managed to suppress his finger from pressing the trigger and hitting Seirin instead.
 

Seirin shoved the man’s hand which was on it’s way to pointing the gun at her using her left hand. She gave him a hard blow on the chest with the heel of her right palm, sending him sputtering as she knocked the air out of him. And then, with a hard twist, she turned and gave the masked man a swift, and not to mention well-aimed, roundhouse kick, hitting him on the left side of his head, sending him spinning twice before falling to the ground with a loud thud.
 

Kris watched in awe. He didn’t expect for Seirin to move flawlessly. The robber twitched once before lying still, unconscious.
 

However, the small victory was short-lived. The other robber who Kris had shot raised his gun, aimed it at Seirin and fired. Seirin noticed the other robber’s action but she reacted a bit late.
 

Kris felt fear squeeze his chest painfully, his head reeling as Seirin fell to the ground. Without even thinking twice, he aimed the gun on his hands and shot the robber, hitting him on his left chest. The robber fell to the ground once again, blood pooling on the concrete beneath him.
 

The thought that he had just killed someone didn’t even register in Kris’ mind as he run towards Seirin who was laid on the ground, unmoving. Dropping the gun on the ground, he cradled Seirin in his arms, his heart beating wildly inside his chest at the girl’s pale face.
 

“Hey! Wake up!” Kris called out, tapping the girl’s face. “Hey! Do you hear me? Wake up!” he would have shook her but he’s kind of afraid to cause more injury.
 

How is he going to explain this to his parents? They had entrusted the girl to him. And even if he barely knows her, he couldn’t bear to think that she’d end up dying because he couldn’t properly protect her. If he can’t protect one single person, how else is he going to be able to save lives in the future?
 

Medics were running around soon enough, checking on the unconscious and hurt. Kris was gently pried away from the unconscious Seirin but he hovered over as the medical personnel checked her.
 

“You’ve got a good aim, son. But that was some risky business. Although you did good, you should have stayed put when I told you to.” the officer who owned the gun Kris used, came over.
 

Kris barely registered what the man had said, eyes fixed on Seirin. He was watching so closely that he noticed Seirin’s brow twitching faster than the personnel hovering over her. He quickly squeezed himself between the medics so he could get closer to the girl.
 

“Hey. Are you okay?” Kris asked just as Seirin’s eyes opened slowly.
 

Seirin seemed to be dazed a bit before Kris words seemed to register on her mind. She let out a small smirk, grimacing just a second later as a hand flew towards her left waist.
 

“Stop moving, you idiot! You’ve been shot!” Kris reprimanded.
 

“The bullet just grazed my side.” Seirin scoffed. “I’ve lived through worse.”
 

Kris glared but he let himself be maneuvered away from Seirin and let the medics patch her up. Seeing that she’s alright calmed him a good deal. And he remembered that someone was actually talking to him.
 

Turning towards the officer who he had ’borrowed’ the gun from, he bowed apologetically. “I’m sorry for acting harshly earlier, sir. And about the gun, I apologize.”
 

The officer waved his hand dismissively. “I’d say that it wasn’t okay but I understand. You just wanted to save your girlfriend over there.”
 

“Girlfriend?” Kris blinked. “You’re mistaken! She’s not my girlfriend. She’s just some friend who my father had asked me to take home!”
 

The officer laughed at Kris’ flustered expression. “But just as I’ve said, that was some kind of skill. You hit the man right on the chest.”
 

Kris finally remembered that he did hit the man fatally. And the first thing that sunk in was the thought that he had just killed someone. Robber or not, he had just taken someone’s life. Just thinking of it makes his inside squirm and he wanted to throw up. His hands are now covered in that man’s blood. It was for Seirin, and he should not be guilty since the man was practically someone who’s needed to be put out lest he wanted the latter to bring terror to other people. Still, it doesn’t mean that Kris is okay with killing the man. The reason why he did what he did still doesn’t justifies the fact that he had just stopped a person’s heart from beating, quite literally.
 

The officer must have noticed how pale Kris’ face had gotten. “He’s not dead. The man you shot is not dead.”
 

“What?” Kris’s eyes widened in surprise. Did he just hear the officer right? But he hit the robber square on the chest!
 

“The bullet went through his chest but missed his heart by an inch. I’m guessing he’s one lucky bastard. But that was some good shot. Do you take lessons? You are training, perhaps?”
 

Kris felt his heart lighten a bit at hearing what the officer had said. So he wasn’t a killer after all. At least not yet. He does make it a goal, if not a rule, to avoid killing someone, accident or not, while he’s not officially in the force yet. And even if he’s already an official, he doesn’t think that he’d be okay with actually killing people, even if they are criminals.
 

“I… I’m actually and intern to my father’s office. We’ll kind of. I’d be entering the force once I graduate.” Kris explained.
 

“And who’s this father of yours?” the officer inquired.
 

“Kim Joonmyun of SM District.”
 

The officer’s brows shot up. “Really? The Kim Joonmyun of SMD? So you are that older son that I’ve been hearing about?”
 

Kris felt his face get a bit heated up. He does his best to make his parent‘s proud, live up to their name and reputation. His father seldom say the words but in those times he does, Kris could feel how proud Joonmyun is with him, and that spurs him to be even better. Kris had been subjected to such flattering words before, from so many other officers, but it never fails to be overwhelming every time.
 

“I don’t know what you hear about me, but I hope it’s not how I at paperwork that I’m always assigned to do.” Kris scratched the back of his head, bowing low.
 

The officer chuckled, “Of course not! To be honest, if you did not say that you are going to work under your father once you get out of college, I would have recruited you to my own district. We could use someone like you.”
 

“Thank you, sir.” Kris bowed respectfully.
 

“Sure, sure. Anyways, tell your father that I would love to have a drink with him if we happen to be both free from all this crime-fighting drama, okay?”
 

Kris nodded, shaking the officer’s hand when the latter had extended it to him. “Uh… if you don’t mind me asking, what name shall I give my father when he asks who’s inviting him out for a drink?” he asked, a little bashful.
 

 The officer let out another hearty chuckle. “Tell him it’s his old friend, Bang Yongguk.”
 

Kris bowed again as the officer left.
 

He turned just as Seirin was being loaded inside one of the ambulance in a gurney. She was thankfully awake and seemed to be only slightly hurt. He walked over and got into the ambulance as well, noting how Seirin’s face turn into a slight grimace whenever she was jostled a bit.
 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.” Kris said as the ambulance’s doors were closed and they started moving.
 

Seirin just scoffed. “It’s not as if you planned the whole thing to happen. And you did save me from being shot earlier. Thank you.”
 

“But you still got hurt.”
 

“If we argue about this, we’d be arguing all through the day.” Seirin sighed. “But… what do we tell your parents? I mean, I’m pretty sure they’re expecting us at your house right this instant.”
 

“Oh yeah. I forgot about that.” Kris sighed. “Mom’s going to flip.”
 

Seirin let out a smirk. “You know… I’m beginning to think that this country has some weird way of welcoming tourists. First is the scheming cab driver and now I got shot by robbers.”
 

“Believe me, there are more than the pretty sights this country has in store.” Kris smirked, finally letting himself relax seeing that Seirin is fine enough to make sarcastic jokes.
 

“Yep. I definitely believe you in that.” Seirin sighed and laid down more comfortably.
 

Kris watched as Seirin closed her eyes to probably get some sleep, or at least relieve herself from the pain.
 

What an eventful day he just had. He wonders what the future still has in store for him on the coming days.
 

a/n: yep... i've just sneaked Bang in this chapter... BAP is badass!!!! we all know that! XP

comments are loved!!!