BANG!  BANG!  

The sound of two gunshots rang throughout the whole building.

Minho and Yuki sank to the ground, both clutching their stomachs in pain.

"MISSION FAILED.  SIMULATION TERMINATED," a robotic female voice said calmly.  Instantly, the metal covering on the doors and windows retracted, shedding the field with light.  The guards that had been chasing Minho and Yuki lowered their weapons and stood up straight, now chatting amongst themselves.  Minho and Yuki sat up, rubbing their stomachs.

[A/N:  Okay guys, be honest, did anyone at least think that the previous chapter was a real mission and that the pair had actually been shot?  I just want to know if I managed to keep ANYONE in suspense.  That had been my goal anyways. . .LOL FAIL ON MY PART]

"Stupid rubber bullets," Minho muttered, "God.  I wonder which spawn of Satan decided to suggest to Soo Man-ssi that we use them."  Although Yuki was furious with him, she couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at Minho's comment.  The two guards that Yuki and Minho had fought in the central control room appeared in front of the pair.  They turned out to be none other than Huang Zitao and Kris Wu.

"Your form was excellent today Tao," Yuki commented, "well done.  Though, I do slightly resent you for kicking me into the wall."

"Thanks Jie Jie," Tao replied, "you can't even be mad at me though!  You paid me back ten fold!"  The boy rubbed his neck, remembering all too well the EXTREMELY unpleasant sensation he felt when Yuki had hit his adam's apple.  Yuki and Tao usually trained together in hand-to-hand combat.  Tao had been training in martial arts since he was a child in China.  Once he met Yuki, he met someone better than him that could teach him new things.  In the beginning, Tao and Yuki treated each other very formally.  As time passed however, the two grew closer and Tao began addressing her as "Jie Jie" (older sister in Chinese).

"Dude," Kris said, looking at Minho, "you practically killed me back there."

"Sorry bro," Minho replied, "part of that was in the heat of the moment."  Kris punched Minho's shoulder lightly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Kris said, "I'm better with weapons anyways."

The four's exchanges were cut short when suddenly, the rest of SHINee came bursting through the door.  And right behind them. . . Soo Man.

". . ." Minho and Yuki cursed, "we're going to get it now."

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Soo Man exploded before anyone else could say anything.  Minho and Yuki flinched at the sound of Soo Man's voice.  "THE MISSION WASN'T EVEN THAT HARD!  All you had to do was infiltrate the building, get the information, and get out.  The security wasn't even that tight!  You could have gotten in and escaped easily!!!  But NO, you both just HAD to start fighting again!  And look at what happened!  If this had been a real mission, you both would have been dead by now.  Choi Minho, you're new, but you're not stupid.  You could have easily just kept your mouth shut and not tried to provoke Yuki.  AND YOU."  Soo Man whirled around to face Yuki, who seemed to find something interesting on her boots.  "Special Agent Bul Yuki."  Yuki flinched slightly when Soo Man addressed her by her formal title.  He only did that when he was extremely pissed off.  "Your behaviour during this mission was absolutely inexcusable,  I didn't think you had it in you to act this way.  You've treated every mission, whether it was real or just a mere simulation, as if your life were really on the line if you screwed up.  And what do I see today?  Was this mission a joke to you?  WAS IT?" Soo Man shouted again when Yuki hadn't responded.

"No sir," Yuki said clearly.  Even though she wanted to crawl in a hole and bury herself within the deepest corners of the earth, Yuki kept her voice steady and formal.  Minho and the other boys were slightly impressed.  Anyone else in Yuki's position would have been cowering in fear at this point.

"As a spy, you should know to stay within your limits," Soo Man said in disappointment.  Then he said something that made Yuki feel like someone had pierced her with an arrow:  "I am ashamed of your failure as a spy, Yuki."  The girl breathed in sharply.  The words stung.  "Dismissed," Soo Man said, turning around.  Everyone snapped a salute as he walked away.  Tao, Kris, and the rest of SHINee looked at Yuki with sympathy, but she kept her head down, avoiding there gazes.

"Ice Princes-" Minho began to say softly, extending a hand towards her.  Before he could finish calling her name, Yuki was gone in a flash.  Key, Taemin, and Tao were about to follow her, but Minho stopped them.

"Wait," he said, "give her time.  She's always hated failure.  I think Soo Man-ssi may have pushed her a little to far with that last comment.  Don't follow her.  The last thing she wants right now is sympathy."  The boys looked at him.  

"How do you know all of that?" Jonghyun questioned.

"Because I know her," Minho said with certainty, "just let her blow off some steam."  Minho knew Yuki was extremely upset at the moment.  He felt stirrings of guilt.  Part of the failure had been his fault as well, but Soo Man had only mildly reprimanded him.  I wonder why she didn't fight back and throw my name in. . . Minho wondered idly.  Onew sighed.

"We should probably get going. . ." he said, "I think that's enough training for one day. . ."

All five SHINee boys sighed quietly.  "See you guys later," Key said to Tao and Kris.

"See ya," Kris replied, "make sure she's okay, yeah?"

"I don't want Jie Jie to be upset. . ." Tao said quietly.

As you can see, Yuki's presence had grown on almost all of the male spies at S.M. (in an unromantic way of course).

"We'll take care of her," Taemin reassured.  With a final good-bye, SHINee and the two members of Exo-M parted ways.  The boys walked with Minho towards where his motorcycle was parked.  The five of them stopped abruptly when they noticed something.

Yuki's sleek, silver motorcylce was still parked next to Minho's bike.

She didn't. . . Minho thought.

Yuki didn't bother with her motorcycle today.  She simply sprinted past it as she ran out of the S.M. building.  She had enough sense to change back into normal clothes before actually leaving the premisis.  

Pumping her legs as hard as she could, Yuki shot like a comet through the streets of Seoul, trying to leave the words Soo Man had said behind her.  It wasn't working.

"Was this mission a joke to you?"

"You both would have been dead by now."

"I didn't think you had it in you to act this way."

"I am ashamed of your failure as a spy."

"GRAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the girl yelled, rocketing down the streets and causing passerbys to stare.  Thunder crackled in the cloudy sky, as if reflecting Yuki's mood. 

Even though she had been running incredibly fast, Yuki was thoroughly drenched to the skin by the time she reached SHINee dorms.  The girl was shivering slightly, seeing that she had been dressed in a short sleeve T-Shirt and jeans.  She unlocked the door as quickly as possible and stormed inside the dorm.  There was nothing Yuki hated more in the world than failure.  Soo Man's words had cut through her like knives.  She walked into her room and tried to control herself.  "Get a GRIP, Yuki," the girl growled at herself.  Each time she had almost succeeded in calming down, Soo Man's words wormed their way back into her head.  Surprisingly, Yuki wasn't even angry at Minho.  She was more angry at herself.

She shuddered slightly, and it wasn't just from the cold.  Soo Man was right.  If that had been a real mission, Yuki's stubborn actions and bad attitude could have gotten Minho and herself killed.  ​I was foolish, Yuki thought, I should have just let it go and stayed calm.  God. . . I really did mess up today.  As much as Yuki hated to admit it, a majority of the fault had actually been hers.  Sure, Minho had provoked her, but she could have easily let it pass. A mission was more important than some petty argument.  Yuki fell backwards onto her bed, not caring that her clothes and hair were completely soaked.  A grimace formed on her face when she realized what she would have to do:  

I have to apologize to Keroro, Yuki thought in disgust, no matter how much I don't like it. . . I'm going to have to.  Dammit.

An hour later, the door to the SHINee dorms opened once more to reveal Key, Taemin, Onew, and a soaked Jonghyun.  Each of the four boys had a worried expression on their face.  Yuki had been very visibly upset when she had run out of the S.M. building.  "Where could she have gone?" Onew questioned.

"We searched almost everywhere," Taemin pointed out, "she can't have just disappeared.  She wasn't using any form of transportation other than her own two feet!"

"I hope she's okay. . ." Jonghyun muttered.  

"Maybe she's actually here?" Key questioned, "we never thought to check the dorms. . ."  Before any of the other members could respond, Key walked towards the hallway that contained everyone's rooms.  Coming to Yuki's door, he knocked twice.

"Yuki-ah?  It's Key Umma," he said softly, "are you in there?"  No response.  Key decided to open the door just to make sure.  To his surprise, he found a drenched Yuki sitting in the middle of her bed and looking at her necklace, absent-mindedly tracing the figure of the dragon with her fingers.  She looked up when she heard her door open.

"Oh. . . hey Key. . ." Yuki said a little deflatedly.  Key frowned slightly at the tone of Yuki's voice, but walked in after calling "found her," to the other boys.

"Please don't do that again," Key said, sitting on the edge of Yuki's bed, "all of us almost died of heart attacks."

"Sorry Kibum.  I won't."

"You know Soo Man-ssi didn't mean what he said, right?"

"Yeah, I know. . . but he said them all the same.  It's not like he's wrong or anything.  It's just. . . not pleasant to listen to."

"Ah come on Yuki," Jonghyun said, walking into the room with Onew and Taemin behind him, "everyone knows you're the best spy in S.M.  Don't take Soo Man-ssi so seriously.  It was a simulation and you were paired with Minho, who's like. . . your worst enemy."

"But that was the purpose of the whole simulation," Taemin pointed out.

"Exactly," Onew continued, "they're supposed to learn how to work TOGETHER."

"I KNOW!  I KNOW!" Yuki said in exasperation, "I get- wait a second. . . Jjong. . . why are you all wet?"

"Well Yuki," Jonghyun said matter-of-factly, "when you decided to run off and leave your motorcycle behind, Minho volunteer ME to drive it when we started looking for you."

"Speaking of Minho," Key said, looking around, "where is he?"

"He hasn't come back yet?" Taemin asked.

"Where did Keroro go?" Yuki questioned, looking at the boys.

"He drove off on his bike to look for you," Onew said.

"He. . . did?" Yuki asked in disbelief.  Why would he go looking for me?  What does he care?

"Of course he did!" Key said, "we tried to follow you as soon as you left but he was the one that told us to give you some space."

Yuki remained silent for a few seconds.  He remembered. . . these are just little things from so long ago. . . how did he remember?

The girl stood up abruptly, making her fellow SHINee members jump.  "Jonghyun, you should change into warmer clothes before you get sick," she said, walking towards the door that would lead her to the hallway.

"And you, Yuki?" Jonghyun asked, "you're soaked to the skin!  Where do you think you're going?"  Yuki turned around to look at him.

"To find Keroro, of course," Yuki replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.  The boys stopped short and stared at Yuki.

"Um. . .  no offense Noona," Taemin said slowly, "but since when do you care about Minho Hyung?"  Now it was Yuki's turn to balk.

"Uh. . ."  Since when DO I care about Keroro?  Instead of responding, Yuki shook her head and made walked out of her room.  The boys stared at her retreating figure before exchanging glances.

"Say. . ." Onew said slowly, "you guys don't think. . ."

"No way," Taemin said immediately, "we all know how Yuki Noona is.  There hasn't been a guy on this planet that's been able to get to her yet."

Key chewed on his lip.  "That may be true. . . but haven't you noticed the differences Taemin?"

"It's not really THAT obvious," Jonghyun clarified, "but they're there.  I mean, I know they're childhood enemies, but something has definitely shifted.  Didn't you guys noticed how Yuki didn't complain once against Minho after the mission?"  The other three nodded in agreement.

"That was definitely a first," Onew commented, "there was also that time when they sparred and Yuki cut her hand."

Taemin nodded at the memory.  "I was there for that one.  I can at least say that Hyung has something for Noona.  It was obvious by the way he treated her hand after the sparring session.  Then there was the way he decided to jump on his bike and start looking for Noona when he realized that she just ran off."

"I'm convinced that there's definitely something stirring between those two," Key said with certainty, "maybe. . . maybe they just don't realize it yet."

While the boys had been talking, Yuki had been getting ready to go look for Minho, who had still not returned to the dorm.  After spending ten minutes searching for the keys to her motorcycle (thanks to Jonghyun who had forgotten to place them on the key rack AGAIN), Yuki walked over to the dorms entrance.  Thunder crashed again, indicating that it was still raining cats and dogs outside.  Meh, I'm wet anyways, Yuki thought after contemplating whether or not she should grab an umbrella.  Quickly opening the door, Yuki effortlessly leaped over the four steps of the dorm's porch, ignoring the icy sting of the rain.  She hadn't been paying much attention when she jumped, however, and ended up running smack into something hard and warm.

Minho stumbled backwards when Yuki collided with him, causing him to fall flat on his back.  He had grabbed Yuki's waist reflexively in order to steady her, but ended up dragging her to the ground with him.  Yuki opened her eyes in shock, staring at Minho, who was underneath her.  Minho still has his arms wrapped around Yuki's waist.  There was a gasp behind the two.  The other four SHINee boys had run to the door when they heard the crash.  "Oh.My.God." Taemin and Jonghyun said at the same time.  It wasn't until that moment that Minho and Yuki realized that they were in a VERY compromising position.  Yuki stood up immediately, the heat in her face greatly contrasting with the freezing air.  After a second's hesitation, she held out her hand.

Minho stared at it for a few seconds.  Finally, he grasped it and Yuki helped him up.  Yuki, now forced to look up because of Minho's height advantage, squinted as the raindrops hit her face.  "What did you think you were doing?" she asked, "don't you know how dangerous it is to drive a MOTORCYLE on the roads in this weather?!"  Before Minho could respond, Key yelled at them from the shelter of the porch.

"YAH!  You two can continue your lovely conversation INSIDE THE DORM!"

Minho and Yuki wordlessly walked into the dorm, realizing that it probably would be a good idea to remain inside.  The second the two were safely inside, Minho grabbed Yuki's shoulders.  "Are you okay?" he asked.  He was staring at the girl so intently that Yuki looked away.

"U-uh. . .Yeah," Yuki said, "look. . . I gotta tell you something."  Bracing herself mentally, Yuki took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," Minho and Yuki said at the same time.  The pair stared at each other.

"Why are you apologizing?" they asked each other simultaneously.

"I was a fool," Yuki started, "I shouldn't have let our arguement interrupt the mission."

"It's not entirely your fault," Minho commented, "I shouldn't have pushed you.  Soo Man-ssi was pretty harsh with you back there."

"I deserved it," Yuki said, "I needed to understand that what I did was wrong."

"Still, it's my fault too. . ."  There was a moment of silence, then Minho spoke again.  "So. . . are we cool?"

Yuki stopped for a second.  Finally, ". . . Yeah.  I think we are."

The conversation was slightly awkward.  Minho and Yuki were so used to arguing with each other, that this sudden change in attitude was a bit. . . unnerving for them.

Key, Jonghyun, Taemin, and Onew had been watching the confrontation in stunned silence.  Has peace been made? Onew thought incredulously.

The silence continued as Minho and Yuki looked at each other awkwardly.  The silence was broken when suddenly, Jonghyun sneezed.

"Ah Jonghyun!  I knew you would get sick!" Yuki exclaimed, walking over to the sniffling boy.

"It wasn't my fault that you ran off and- ah. . . ah. . . ACHOO!" Jonghyun tried to say before sneezing again.

"All right, all right.  Hyung, let's get you in bed," Taemin said.

"Get him a change of clothes first," Key instructed, "I'll go make soup.  And for the love of God, you two please go take a shower and change.  I won't be able to handle THREE sick spies."  

Minho and Yuki chuckled lightly.  "Neh, Umma," they said together before heading off to their respective rooms.

The second Minho and Yuki left the room, the dorm's phone rang.  Onew walked over to it and picked it up.  "Yeobseyo?"

"Agent Onew?" Soo Man's voice said on the other end of the line.

"SIr," Onew replied, his voice becoming formal, "did you need something?"

"I needed to run my plan by you, actually," Soo Man said.

"Plan?" Onew repeated, blinking in confusion.

"Yes.  Now listen carefully."

Hi everyone!! :)  I hope you're all doing well!  Woo, so another chapter for you all!! Yay~  Oh and TEN SUBSCRIBERS AND 300 VIEWS!  *cheers*  Thank you all for your wonderful support and feedback!  Please, if you are reading this story and enjoying it, subscribing and/or commenting your thoughts and ideas would be GREATLY appreciated!

So. . . Soo Man has a plan?  I wonder what for. . .?  Keke~  And so we see a slight lessening in tension.

Minho was worried about Yuki enough to ride around the streets of Seoul in horrible weather order to find her?  O.O

Yuki yelled at Minho for doing something like that because she didn't want him to get hurt? O.o

What is going on here?!

Oh well, I guess you guys are gonna have to read to find out ;D  Hopefully, I'll see you soon with the next chapter.  Until then. . . I'll be signing off.

~Yuki ❄