Chapter 6 - Her Loyalty

Ja Young and Yong Guk remained in awkward terms after their argument. Although he was considerate enough to purchase a new punching bag, she was begrudgingly ordered to reattach it to the ceiling. The quality was magnificent, but Ja Young didn’t have the heart to practice on it anymore.

Yong Guk still allowed her to participate in the next group meeting, but she didn’t speak a word, as if she was invisible to the others. Dae Hyun kept eyeing on her every so often, making sure that the leader wasn’t looking. He always gave her an encouraging smile to tell her that she was still a part of the crew. Ja Young greatly appreciated it but her support was hanging by a thread with Dae Hyun as her only link.

The time was near with the sun almost setting at the base, when the crew members were rebuilding their hand-held cannons for battle. They held grave expressions knowing that they may not return home after tonight. Ja Young stayed near Jong Up and Dae Hyun, giving her instructions to adjust anything to their cannons. She also took the initiative to sort out the bullets remaining in the storage for each member, excluding herself.

The cannons were ready in two hours. The members had specific configurations to their advantage, and they were distinguished with each colour scheme. Yong Guk had red streaks with a black and grey army pattern. Him Chan was plain violet and black. Dae Hyun spray painted his cannon pure white outside with Ja Young’s help. Young Jae hand-painted his yellow cannon with spades and clovers to resemble playing cards. Jong Up had some green spikes at the rim. Zelo’s cannon was slightly smaller but was the easiest to control out of the rest.

During her three years of living with the crew, Ja Young never touched any of the signature weapons except for her sword. She occasionally used a pole arm or elbow blades, but she stuck to her early teachings when she was young. While throwing out some scraps, she suddenly remembered her bike she left at the hidden alley in Notro. Her heart sank when she assumed that it may have been long gone by now.

When their weapons and transportation were ready, they changed into battle gear that consisted of heavy duty vests, knee and elbow pads and gloves. She helped Jong Up put his armor on while quietly exchanging words to each other.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right waiting?” he asked.

“I don’t have a choice, now do I?”

“Yong Guk knows what he’s doing for you; for us; for his wife and child.”

“Be careful, will you? You’re the only Argent I could count on.”

Jong Up ruffled her hair with a cheeky grin. “That Kang Ta will have to fire a hundred thousand beams to take down my iron body.”

Ja Young gave a smirk and playfully, but weakly, punched him on his arm.

“Don’t get so reckless.”

They stopped playing around and got very serious. He gently tugged her into his strong arms and embraced her.

“You’re precious and priceless to us, private. If we don’t come back, please remember that,” he comforted as if this was the last time. He gave a peck on her head as she nodded. They pulled away after a minute. Jong Up looked from the corner of his eye and saw Dae Hyun anxiously waiting to speak to her. He gave a knowing smile and let her go.

“Someone’s waiting.” Ja Young turned to Dae Hyun who had an unreadable expression on his face. Jong Up went off to give them some privacy.

“Dae Hyun,” she whispered. The distance between them gradually got smaller and smaller until their hands were nearly touching. They could feel their breaths colliding against each other. Their eye contact was locked, and they couldn’t tear away.

Dae Hyun had a mix of emotions running though his mind at the moment with Ja Young’s lips so temptingly close to his. The devil within him wanted to steal them, but the angel within respected her longing for Kai. Although it was a sinful unrequited love, he kept some hope in it. He spotted some tears glistening in her eyes, and pushed her head to the crook of his neck. When he put his arms around her, he could feel her shoulders shaking while trying to hold them back.

“As much as I’m aware of this mission, I’m still upset that I can’t go with you.”

He didn’t say a word and let her continue.

“I’m so helpless that after training, I’m left behind on this specific mission that serves our crew’s purpose.”

“I know,” he murmured.

“Above all, I’m afraid,” she admitted. She felt like a coward when she admitted it to herself, but when she told him, she didn’t feel like one at all.

“Afraid of losing us?”

“I’m afraid of losing you.”

He felt the tears escaping onto his shirt and held her tighter, his heart soaring with the affection he never thought he would receive.

“I’ve already lost Kai, and I don’t want you to, either.”

There was a pause between them. He pressed his cheek against her head as he relished the feeling of having the woman he loved in his arms. He didn’t know whether he would come out of the invasion alive, but the moment made his determination skyrocket; making him stronger. He pulled away to look at her again.

“Hong Ja Young, I promise I’ll come back for you, even if I have to drag my broken bones back here.”

The two members were in some sort of trance that subconsciously led them to lean towards each other, inch by inch. The thought of Kai was trying to hold her back but her friendship with Dae Hyun was getting deeper and deeper. Their lips were only a hairline away from each other when Jong Up gave the standby warning. They stopped where they were with some guilt and regret. Dae Hyun was partially relieved that they didn’t kiss, thinking that it would go too far,

“Good luck,” she breathed. He nodded and followed the crew out of the garage and into the night. Until they were out of her sight, her feet stayed rooted into the floor. She heaved an audible sigh as she turned off the lights and went upstairs into the nearly empty house. Ji Eun and Min Soo were staying at her parent’s house until they heard news from Yong Guk. Dae Hyun’s sister and her friends were out of town, leaving Ja Young all alone. She switched all lights off until she finally went into her room last.

Ja Young spotted something new on her desk. It was a black metal box and a note attached to it saying, “If you use these well, you will have regained my trust. -Leader Bang.” With her heartbeat hammering in her chest, she opened the lid with shaking hands. Inside was a transmitter and a ring holding a remote and key. If he gave these items to her, he knew that it was more likely that they wouldn’t return if she didn’t help. She looked at the clock on her bedroom wall.

Ja Young had one hour left to regain his trust.

The burning resolve possessed her into changing from her sweater and gym shorts to a white shirt, black casual blazer and slim-fit jeans. She had her own set of protective gear underneath her clothes and slipped on heavy-duty boots. She roughly rolled up the blazer sleeves and hastily grabbed her sword, the transmitter and the keys. She put on hers and Kai's rings, one on each hand. She didn’t have much time before she may lose them on the road. She locked all doors, closed all windows and set the alarm in case someone tried to break in. She went back into the garage and pressed the remote to find which vehicle it belonged.

Two blinks and a beep followed shortly, coming from behind a hidden chamber. Ja Young felt over the wall to find any sort of secret to gain access until her left hand accidentally pushed something in. A door slid down into the floor and revealed a sleek black and icy blue motorcycle, looking brand new and untouched. She felt the handles, the seat and the wheels. She ignited the engine and jumped when it roared to life with a monitor in front of the seat. There was a hole by the screen that seemed to match the shape of the transmitter now in her hand. She inserted it in and there was a digital map and a small red dot that blinked while steadily moving along.

It was a tracker connected to Yong Guk.

Ja Young mounted the bike and put on the helmet, which covered her entire head with a tinted visor. She revved the engine with her brake and opened the hatch to let her drive out of the garage.

The acceleration and control were amazing to her touch. She no longer had to think about the mechanics to handle it, but only to watch the tracker on her monitor. A new blue dot was following the trail, representing her own motorcycle. Realizing that Yong Guk may not have wanted to have her ambush Kang Ta with the crew, she changed route. The map automatically changed location and gave her a new trail to follow.

As she sped in the dead of night, she eyed on her ring on her right hand and Kai’s ring on her left. She then did something she never thought of considering, which was praying with her eyes open. She didn’t expect an omniscient being to answer them, but she needed help and guidance in her life. She prayed for some sort of reinforcement that could help B.A.P survive. They didn’t need to win; they didn’t need to work so hard but Ja Young desperately wished for their safety. She wanted them to live.

Ja Young, at least in her opinion, wasn’t an Argent but a human who belonged to B.A.P. She accepted the fact she could never return to the secret society, feeling a sense of home with the crew. The one thing she still couldn’t bear to let go was the love she and Kai once shared. They didn’t say goodbye, but sometimes, Ja Young wished she did. If there was a sense of closure during their last time together, then she would have been able to move forward with her life. She already had a life-changing adventure, losing her family and nearly her identity in the process. B.A.P had become a new family that filled the hole in her heart in three years, and Ja Young wanted to make sure she wouldn’t make the same choices again. If she had to die in their place, she gladly would.

She thought of Kai one last time before mouthing the words, “I love you,” and raised the acceleration.

The crew parked their van a mile away from their destination with cannons and gear ready. Yong Guk signaled Young Jae to type away in his watch to analyze the blue print of the laboratory.

“There’s a thick barrier of traps laid out for intruders twenty five meters in front of us. It’s going to be a hassle to shut off.”

“Do it anyway,” he brusquely ordered him, who huffed and began hacking.

“Check anything for last minute adjustments. After we cross this river of danger, there’s no turning back,” he warned the others, but they didn’t quiver in fear. They were firm and sure that they were risking their lives to put a stop to a threat that concerned Argents, their allies.

The members waited for the Brain to make short work of the traps and saw a glimpse of the lasers and wires in the open field before they faded away.

“Clear,” he reported.

“Good work, Brain,” Him Chan winked, but Young Jae gave him a look.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Quiet!” their leader hissed at them. He nudged his head forward and they walked on. The exterior of the lab was identical to a large police holding jail for the most notorious criminals in Shugo, painted in eerie grey and appearing cold like metal. There were no windows nor doors. They sneakily leaned their backs on the surface and nodded at each other. Zelo tossed a grenade over fifty meters around the corner and detonated it. A party of androids emerged from the area and rushed to where the explosion was and B.A.P broke into the wall.

They snuck inside and separately dispersed into the building in pairs. Yong Guk and Zelo went as one pair, Dae Hyun and Jong Up as the second, and unfortunately Him Chan and Young Jae in the third. The crew agreed not to fire their cannons unless they were outnumbered or overpowered.

Him Chan and Young Jae were trying to make their way towards the generator and shut down the power supply. The brain had occasionally berated him for making so much noise with just his feet. The latter tried his very best not to strangle him in frustration. They came across a chamber and a narrow hallway that was ahead behind a door. Him Chan tried to open it but it was closed shut.

 There was a large technological device that may be connected to the locked door. Young Jae took out his portable super computer from his knapsack and connected the wires from his watch, to the laptop and to the security device. He waited for his computer to plug in the pin number and was granted access. He gave him a thumbs up for Him Chan to make his way inside. The older member smirked in victory, seeing the generator ahead.

“Jackpot.”

However, when he was only one step away from exiting the hallway. The doors suddenly closed on both ends. Panicking, Him Chan banged on the door that Young Jae was behind. The brain made quick work on his computer while hearing heavy footsteps outside. He configured the doorway locked to buy some time while inside the hallway, there were complex lasers that threatened to slice Him Chan. He cursed to Young Jae to hurry up and shut the trap down and dodged each laser in the process.

Dae Hyun and Jong Up ran as fast as they could to the main hall to lure as many androids as possible. They ducked and leapt away from each attack, trying not to use their cannons yet. Sweat was already drenching their clothes and clamming their hands. When they reached the hall before all androids closed in around them from all corners, they jumped onto the ceiling and into the ventilation system. They also detonated some mines in the walls to trap them. Dae Hyun led Jong Up as they crawled in the system into another area where there would be less androids to intercept.

Dae Hyun poked his head out of the next escape and jumped down. Jong Up landed behind him and mused, “Good thing these walls are made with anti-Argent material.”

“Isn’t that a bad thing?” Dae Hyun raised an eyebrow.

“For the androids, yes. Their power is nearly identical to ours so the anti-Argent material is proving effective. Since we’ve broken down the walls to barricade them, the material is overflowing into the closed off area and neutralizing them.”

“How did you know these things?”

“Ja Young told me how the Bunshi Death Camp was like when she was imprisoned there.”

“You know what that means, right? Kang Ta may have been a victim to a death camp before.”

“Exactly.”

They quietly walked through the empty corridors, ready to attack. They needed to clear the way for Yong Guk and Zelo to get towards the creator and kill him.

Yong Guk and Zelo arrived at the largest and most luxurious room of the entire laboratory. They searched every nook and cranny for any clues about any history or process.

“Leader,” Zelo called to him as he pulled out five books from the shelf to open a hidden passage. Yong Guk gave a crooked but accomplished smirk and patted his shoulder.

“Good work.”

Yong Guk led him down the stone steps towards an eerie blue light that got brighter as they got closer. He also realized that the temperature was rapidly dropping as if winter had already come, compared to the spring weather outside. He felt his pocket and his guns for one last check before finally arriving at the heart of the lab.

The blue lights illuminated the entire room with rows and rows of water-filled capsules of dead corpses, male and female. There were some lab tables in between each row and an empty desk at the back. The chair wasn’t tucked in.

“I had expected you later, Bang Yong Guk. And I must say, you do not look as if you are welcome,” a thin and sinister voice echoed in the lab.

“Sorry to disappoint you,” he sarcastically remarked. Kang Ta emerged from the last row of capsules with his hands behind his back. He was wearing a silky burgundy robe and wearing a pair of frameless glasses. His jet black hair was styled up in a slick fashion that matched his cunning expression.

“You like my lab?”

“Sorry, but it’s not very attractive to my tastes.”

“Touché. How about my latest creations?” Yong Guk didn’t answer this time.

“So, where is your private member? Hong Ja Young?” the leader unnoticeably flinched at her name. “It would be such a delight to have her and your other member, Moon Jong Up, here in front of me.”

“They have nothing to do with you,” he snarked.

“Jong Up may not, but yes, Ja Young most definitely. Believe it or not, but I had unexpectedly spotted her when we were unwillingly imprisoned in that wretched Bunshi Death Camp. I knew from the moment she and her sister were special - human-born argents.”

“So what if they were human-born? What did they have to do with you?”

“You see,” he started white tenderly his identification number, 1346, “They were the first of their kind for me to witness and match my own qualities.” He paused and slipped off his robe to reveal a muscle bound mutation of a body with a sadistic smile on his face.

“As a human-born argent.”

Yong Guk’s eyes widened at his revelation. “That’s impossible.”

“I am afraid it is, Bang Yong Guk. Unlike Hong Ja Young, after escaping from the death camp by her, I have been branded an outcast and eventually a criminal. I have unfortunately murdered one of my comrades for the sole purpose of obtaining power. I was only one step closer to becoming the ruler of all Argents until that group damned me.” His voice had gotten more rough as he continued his background story.

“That group?” Yong Guk rephrased.

“That little rat Jong In and his faction, the group where I now intend to get my revenge with their blood on my androids’ hands.”

Yong Guk scoffed and blunted, “What a freakin’ coward. I had actually hoped for a better reason why you’re creating this army, but I think I’m wasting my time.” He flipped the cannon from his back to his arm, and Zelo did the same. “I’m going to finish you here and now.” He intended to keep his word and leaving out the intention to kill Kang Ta before Ja Young arrived.