Yongguk slipped a piece of paper into my hand before turning to face Rome and Kris. I glanced down at the paper while they talked and noticed an address on it. I looked back up just as Rome and Kris stopped in front of us. Both of them looked rather annoyed with the interruption of our plan, but after Yongguk had explained about who was currently on their way here, neither one of them seemed to have any objections.

                We were out of there and in a new apartment just as we began to hear police sirens.

                I looked around in astonishment. The place was beautiful. It was actually a two-story apartment. The front hallway led into the living room, which led straight to a set of stairs. When I looked up, I could see a balcony overlooking the whole apartment. There was a hallway next to the stairs that led to a few rooms, but Kris called from upstairs that there were even more up there. The kitchen was a good size, probably able to fit a family of five or more comfortably.

                To say I was surprised would be an understatement.

                I slowly made my way through the apartment, taking in each detail as I did. I’d just made it to the entrance of one room—which looked like some sort of office room you’d see on cop shows, with maps and ‘WANTED’ signs and everything, when I heard the front door open and shut.

                I turned and walked back into the living room, just as Kris came from upstairs and Rome stood up from his seat on the couch. Yongguk entered the living room with a heavy sigh.

                “Nice place, mind if we stay?” Kris muttered, still looking around.

                “Kris—“ Rome started to speak, but Yongguk shook his head.

                “I don’t think you have any other choice.” Yongguk gestured for us to take a seat and we all sank down onto the couch. “They found your place. You can’t go back now; they’ll take you out as soon as you enter that front door.”

                We stayed silent as that news sank in.

                “Great, so we’re stuck here.” Kris muttered, standing up and beginning to pace.

                “You wanted to stay here.” I said, giving him an odd look.

                “Yeah, when I had a choice!” Kris exhaled sharply. “At least tell me you have food.”

                “The fridge is stocked.”

                “Good, cause I’m starving.” He stormed into the kitchen without another word and we could all hear the banging and all as he started fixing himself something to eat.

                “Thank you.” Rome said after a while. “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been there, uh…”

                “Yongguk.”

                “Ah, Yongguk-sshi, right. Well thank you. For back there and now.”

                Yongguk inclined his head in acknowledgment. “It’s no problem. Just helping out a fellow target, is all.” He gave a small shrug of his shoulders. “It’s the least I can do, right?”

                Rome paused and even I could tell he had more to say. “But how did you know we were there?”

                Yongguk took a seat in the armchair across from us and leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and examining the both of us. He took his time thinking of a way to word his answer. “I’ve got connections in Research. They’ve been keeping tabs on you and Kris for a while, and with the addition of Anya, they just wanted to go ahead and move in on you guys and annihilate altogether. The bank just so happened to be the perfect place to do it, so I thought I’d go in and intervene.”

                Rome nodded. “Well, thank you for that.”

                Kris—who had just come back and sat down beside me—snorted. “We could have taken them.”

                “Kris.” This time, it was me muttering his name with such exasperation. I don’t know why, but I didn’t like him insulting Yongguk in such a way. I mean, the guy had risked his cover to save us, so the least Kris could do was be considerate—or even polite—about it. Was that too much to ask from the jerk?

                Yongguk slowly shook his head. “They’ve got new weapons now. They’re pretty lethal. They can take out someone like us much faster than a regular bullet could ever do. You wouldn’t last a minute in a fight against them without proper training beforehand.”

                Kris scoffed and looked away, but said nothing else.

                “So they can kill us now?” Rome asked in a hushed voice, looking suddenly rigid.

                “Not kill. Just maim or seriously injure.” There was so much bitterness in Yongguk’s voice that I instantly felt like going over and attempting to comfort him. But I stayed where I was. We didn’t even technically know each other so that would probably be weird.

                Instead, I turned and gave Rome a questioning look. He sighed, obviously realizing that there was more he needed to explain.

                “Regular weapons can’t kill us. In fact, the injuries they leave aren’t even that bad either. We die from natural causes only, like old age or a sickness. I guess Research is looking for a weapon that can kill us, though.”

                I let out a heavy sigh. “This Research Company is starting to sound like a whole bunch of crazy people with crazy toys.”

                “Research summed up in one sentence.” Kris muttered, pausing to speak between bites. “Looks like Princess is good for something.” I rolled my eyes at him.

                Yongguk ignored us both and changed the subject. “I’ve got a friend that’s already gone by and gotten your cars. We can go by his garage and pick them up if you want. Something tells me you’ll want to meet him anyway.”

                We all nodded in agreement and followed Yongguk down the street once Kris had finished eating.

                Yongguk led us into a small garage, passed the majority of the cars in the front and towards a huge black van closer to the back. He hit the hood a couple times and called out, “Himchan-ah, you’ve got guest!”

                There came a groan from underneath the car and soon enough a guy rolled himself out, sitting up to glare at Yongguk.

                “Why? Why would you do that?” The guy—I was guessing he was Himchan—muttered, wiping his hands on a rag that he’d grabbed near him.

                Yongguk smirked and leaned against the van. “Because I can, and I know you won’t get mad at me. I can get away with murder practically.”

                Himchan rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Okay, Bang.” Then, he turned his attention to us. “New friends?”

                “They own those cars I had you get.” Yongguk said, walking around the van and towards the small office in the far back. “Are the keys in here?”

                “Yah, Bang, stay out of there!”

                “Mmm.” Yongguk hummed a bit as he entered the room, flicking the lights on. Himchan scrambled to his feet and took off after him. “Himchan-ah, do you ever clean?”

                “Yes, when I’m expecting guest.” Himchan shot him a pointed look from the doorway. “Hurry up and get the keys and leave.”

                “It’s going to take me a while to find the keys in this mess.” Yongguk replied. I glanced up in time to see him suddenly stumble forward, making him chuckle. I blinked in surprise. Had Himchan just used his abilities on Yongguk? “Okay, Himchan-ah, I get your point. I’ll hurry. Relax, sheesh.” He snatched the keys off the desk and sauntered out of the office room, clapping Himchan on the back. “That’s a mess, man.”

                “Get out, Bang.”

                “So I’m guessing you’re born in 1990 too?” Kris asked as Yongguk tossed us the keys back.

                Himchan shrugged. “You guess right. Lucky, aren’t I?” He smiled bitterly. “I get all the fun stuff. Like Research on my tail 24/7.” He turned to Yongguk. “Fat Cat has been keeping up with them pretty well, but she can’t do it alone. She needs you back—“

                “We’ll talk later.” Yongguk muttered. “I’ve got something else I want to bring up with you guys.”