"Well then, welcome to the family, Song JaeIn."

She could still remember Kangta's words perfectly, how he had welcomed her and accepted her under his wings. She could easily recall Tony's smile as he showed her around and introduced her to the member. Even Danny, whom she feels uncomfortable with most of the times, welcomed her and teaches her basic self-defense. It's engrained in her mind, the way they treated her nicely and how they became her surrogate family.

So it would not make sense for them to kill her, right?

Blindly, she grips at Yoora for support and the brunette squeezes her hand in reassuring manner.

Right. It's impossible.

 

***

 

Jiyong is fuming. Hell, he's so mad all he wants to do is to leap over the table and strangle that son of a Marcus to death. Not only had he stepped over the boundaries by taking his captive, his JaeIn nonetheless, and killing two of his men, now he's pushing his luck.

JaeIn and her friend doesn't trust them yet, it's clear to see. So it would be wise to earn their trust first, before dropping the bomb on them.

And yet Marcus decided to just leisurely tell them that their former organization wants their head on a silver platter. Heck, like hell they would believe that.

But he keeps his silence. Not because he's outnumbered, or because he knows he would not stand a chance against Elias, Max, or even Marcus himself. And certainly not because he had admitted that Marcus call the shots here. No, not at all.

He would like to see how that bastard would take care of this situation. If he could got JaeIn and her friend to trust him, then well, Jiyong would give him props, albeit grudgingly.

 

***

 

Yoora inwardly scoffs when Marcus uttered his piece. Black Pearl wants their head? Yeah, right.

Her organization may not move their to save her from this mess, but Yoora knows that they would always welcome her once she managed to get back. And they would never betray her, or wants her head. They had an agreement.

Plus, why would they wants her head? She may not be their best agents – yet – but she still is a part of their best team, and that would certainly put a lot of importance upon her. There's not a chance that they would risk losing her, moreover wanting her dead.

It most definitely is a lie, a pathetic attempt from this pathetic bunch of fools to get me and JaeIn to trust them.

"If you meant that as a joke, I'm sorry, but I'm not laughing," she says, scoffing while leaning back on her chair. "Black Pearl wants our head? Now that's pure nonsense."

"And what makes you so sure?" Changmin inquires. "Is that because you're, ah, irreplaceable?"

"I would like to think so, yes."

Changmin chuckles at that, "Well, here's some news to you, Ruby dearest: You're not."

Yoora slits her eyes, feeling her blood boils at his taunts and the way he demeaned her. At his left, Minho is looking at her with unmasked worry.

"I think what Max means is that, although you meant a lot to them, there are...some circumstances that pushed them into wanting your head," Minho attempts to fix Changmin's words, while throwing wary glances at the said man.

But Changmin is, well, Changmin. He scoffs. "Don't try to twist my words, Elias. I meant what I said. She is replaceable, and it's about time she step down from the pedestal that she set for herself."

"Aniki!" Minho protests, but Changmin's glare shut him up.

"You know I'm right, Ruby. Deep down, you always have this fear that they will throw you away once you're no longer of use, don't you?" Changmin continues sharply, and Yoora had enough.

Despite JaeIn's tight hold on her arms, she jumps to her feet and lunge at Changmin. He was ready on his feet, however, and uses his weight to hold his ground as he grabs both of her arms. She lifts her knees in an attempt to kick him, but he evades it and sweeps her legs instead. In one swift motion, utilizing her current imbalance, he turns their position around and trapped her in his couch.

"Not so mighty now, aren't you?" he cockily asks. Yoora hisses, struggling to break free from his grip and, while he shifts his attention to her hands, kneed him right above his groin. He grunts and takes a step back, in which Yoora grabs his wrists and twist it around until she managed to reverse their position.

"What about now?" she asks breathlessly, and Changmin rolls his eyes, already lifting his legs to kick her in the stomach when Kyuhyun clicked his tongue.

"Enough," he says, and Changmin stop resisting immediately. "We get the point, agent Ruby. We know what you're capable of, and we know how important you are – both of you – to Moonstone, and by extent, Black Pearl."

"Thank you," Yoora mockingly salute him, leaving Changmin to return to JaeIn's side. The blonde glared at her, but she just shrugs her shoulder innocently. Well he provoked her, so it's only fair that she responded!

Beside, it's not like she started a war. She just put her point across.

 

***

 

JaeIn resists the urge to pout as she shifts her attention from her annoyingly impulsive best friend, and focuses back on their...captors. Jiyong and the other Big Bang member have suspiciously gone silent and appear to be calmly waiting for the next scene to unfold. It struck her nerve, but since that mean he's less of a distraction now, she's glad for the change.

"Then what makes you think we would believe your words about them, wanting our heads?" she inquired. "Frankly, both of us think it's just a lie. And you just admit that we are irreplaceable to them."

She could see that Kyuhyun's suppressing his smile, and she frowns.

"I never said that," he calmly says. "I admit that you guys are important to Black Pearl, but there's a big gap between important and irreplaceable. Sadly, the two of you are not the latter. As far as I'm concerned, everyone but your team leader is indispensable. But that's a given, considering her heritage."

JaeIn jerks up in surprise. How could he know about Hyojin's heritage?

"I wouldn't say she's the only one irreplaceable, though."

Both JaeIn and Yoora whip their head to their left, staring at Jiyong. He's leaning back on his chair, propping his head on his left hand. "That Onyx girl come close."

 

***

 

Jiyong doesn't know why in the world he opened his mouth. But it has been dragged on for too long, and he would like for it to be done as fast as possible so he could move on to far more important things.

Like patching things up with JaeIn, a voice in his mind says, which he promptly ignores.

Besides, JaeIn's passivity and her friend's stubborness are starting to irk him, he rationalize.

"Being trained by Kangta and Danny themselves since she could walk, I would say she's one of Black Pearl's best asset. Almost irreplaceable," he chuckles. "And yet they still ordered her death."

Turning his head, he stares at JaeIn and let out a small smile, "The same night they ordered yours, I believe."

The mixture of surprise and fear in JaeIn's face tugs at something in his heart, but he disregard it quickly.

It's necessary. For them to have a progress, the truth must be laid out. And if he wants to earn the girls' trust, then it will be better if he's the one to show initiative.

"How very nice of you to finally grace us with your input," Kyuhyun dryly remarks. "What changes your mind?"

Jiyong bites back the urge to insult the man. "Because I believe it's about time they know the truth. You said Black Pealr wants their head. So why don't you show them some proof, instead of making them fight against your, ah, partner?" he challenges, while sneakily making jest about the rumor that surrounds the Demons Run's highest authority and his right hand.

Kyuhyun stays silent for a while before he, to Jiyong's surprise, chuckles and leans back on his chair.

"I guess you're right," he says. "Colin, if you would."

 

***

 

For the first time since she landed in this god forsaken place, Yoora silently thanks the higher being for Big Bang's involvement. Never mind the fact that they were the reason she suffered physically during the last two weeks. It's just that she could not stand the Demons Run's leaders. They get on her nerves (far too easily), especially that Elias, who keep staring at her with something akin to pity and interest. I shouldn't have slept with him, even if it's just for a night of fun, she grimaced.

From her right, Jonghyun stands up and walks to the middle of the room. He approaches Kyuhyun's desk and tap the glass surface a few times, until Yoora realizes that the surface of his desk was actually a computer screen. Not long after, the smooth metallic wall behind Kyuhyun's chair moved and replaced by a rather large screen.

Dammit, now she's green with envy.

After another tap, the screen in front of them shows very detailed information of Tony Ahn. She exchanges glance with JaeIn, and they both have come to the same conclusion. They have a mole. Even if Black Pearl decided to work with Demons Run (god forbid), they would never gave such thorough information about one of the Ahns. Especially that last bit about Tony's shaky relationship with Danny or his lack of combatant skill.

Jonghyun clears his throat, before assessing his audiences one by one. "I assume all of you know this man. Ahn Seungho, or known as Tony, is the youngest of Ahn Brothers. He's not as involved as his older brothers, but still wields strong influence. Word of god has it that Kangta actually favor him better than Danny, and would've made him his right hand. Thankfully, Tony refused and that is why Black Pearl hasn't actually overrun the whole crime world. He showed up in our Seoul's Headquarter last month, and requested our help on killing a certain agent who goes by the codename Amber." He looks at JaeIn with a friendly smile that, in Yoora's point of view, only makes his next sentence worse. "I believe that's you."

"I'm fairly sure you will not trust us without further proof, so this is the CCTV recording from our meeting. Hopefully, you'll find it enjoyable," he cheerfully says before playing a video.

Taking a deep breathe to settle the dread in her stomach, Yoora steels herself and observe the record with keen interest.

 

***

 

For the umpteenth time that night, JaeIn's stomach clenched when she sees Tony walks inside the very same room she's sitting right now. He adresses Kyuhyun, who smiles and shakes his hand politely before settling down to their respective seats and goes straight on to business.

 

"So what brought you here?" Kyuhyun asks with calmness that could easily be mistaken as disinterest.

"I'm here to request your assistance in an assassination."

 

She could hear the concealed distaste in his voice, and closes her eyes in resignation. It's really him. Bracing herself, she forces her eyes open to watches the rest of the recording.

 

"I thought assassination is your expertise," Kyuhyun states, and Tony shifts. Really, Chilhyun should've gone himself, or at least sent Danny instead of enlisting him on this task.

"It is. But this one is quite special." He stares straight at Kyuhyun's eyes. "We need to get rid of one of our own agent."

"Interesting," Kyuhyun mused. "Do go on."

"She went by name Amber, and yes, she's a part of Moonstone," he answers Kyuhyun's unspoken question. "However, she turned out to be a liability, and thus we would like her gone."

Clicking his tongue, Kyuhyun leans back on his chair. "You would have to be more specific than that to pique my interest. And as you would have known, we only work for something that I deemed...interesting."

"Killing one of our best agents is not interesting enough for you?"

"Yes." He cocked his head, "I'm more interested as to the reason why. The real reason."

This won't do, Tony thought. So he decided to take drastic measure. He nods, and his guards instantly aimed their guns at Kyuhyun. To his credit, Kyuhyun just sighs.

"Please, lower your gun. I really hate it when they spilled blood on my carpet."

"The only blood that will be spilled is yours, if you don't comply," Tony threatens, staring in satisfaction as two red dot blinked from the side, marking Kyuhyun's head and heart. "You need to understand, Marcus, that we're not here to ask for your help. We're demanding your assistance."

In an eerily calm tone, Kyuhyun responds. "And you need to understand, Tony, that you should not mess with us. Me, specifically."

In a blink of an eye, both of Tony's men are dead on his feet, courtesy of two Chinese men that seem to leap from the shadow and slit their throat. He widens his eyes in surprise when he found himself at the receiving end of the red dots now, and swallows the bile in his throat.

"I'm sorry about the mess, Henry and Zhoumi abhor the idea of me being threatened," Kyuhyun lightly remarks. "As for your sniper, I gladly informed that they were dead since the moment you stepped foot into this room." He smirks, "You really think we wouldn't take precaution? I must say that I'm disappointed, then."

Tony instantly curses in his mind. He too, is disappointed in himself. He knew that Demons Run have notorious reputation, and so he took precaution by securing the perimeter and planted snipers in advance. But it's either he overestimate his men's ability, or Demons Run's members are not given the credit they're due. He's pretty sure it's the combination of both.

"It's clear. Get your here, will you? I'm sure Yifan and Zitao could handle it from there," Kyuhyun says to his Galaxy Gear, before looking back to Tony. "Mind if I clean that up? My partner does not really like dead bodies when it wasn't his doing."

Tony nods, because what else could he do? It's not like he wants to hauls those bodies back to his car when he leave after this meeting. If, he leave.

"Oh, you'll leave this place intact, don't worry. We weren't planning to start a war," Kyuhyun chuckles, easily dismissing Tony's doubt. "We were just making a point."

"What point?"

"That unlike the others, we are your equal. Do not wish for us to come kissing your and catering your whims. If you want our help, you better asks for it. Nicely. Oh, there you are. Tony, Max. Max, Tony," he cordially introduces Tony to the man who just walks inside. Tony nods at him, and Changmin reply with a curt nod before plopping on the biggest chair at Kyuhyun's right. Right after, Zhoumi and Henry showed up at the door, apparently done with disposing the bodies.

To Tony's surprise, Kyuhyun waves his hand, dismissing the two guards. "Take it as a sign of faith," Kyuhyun told him. But Tony instinct told him that it was because they're no longer necessary. According to what he had heard, Max is as good as Danny when it comes to fighting skill. And he was blessed with cold calculative trait that Danny seems to lack.

"Please, continue on with your story. And I would appreciate it if you make it interesting," Kyuhyun says comfortably. "After all, it's not every day that Black Pearl wants one of their best agents dead."

Silently, Tony assesses the man once again. He understands, now, why Kangta sent him instead of Danny. Marcus is dangerous, but not in the way that Danny would comprehend. He's not physically intimidating, and rumor has it that Max does all the fighting for him, but the way he cleverly manipulate their situation to his advantage and the clear loyalty he hold over his men are more than enough to make Tony wary.

It seems like there really is no way but to tell him the truth.

"Agent Amber is, as you put it, one of our best agents. However, it has come to light that she's in a relationship with someone from another organization. So we decided that it'll be best to remove her completely before her loyalty is compromised."

"Of course, I understand. And a death in mission would not raises suspicion," Kyuhyun nods. "May I ask who this boyfriend is, though?"

Tony hesitates for a split second, before sighing. "Big Bang's G-Dragon."

Kyuhyun looks genuinely surprised, and so does Changmin, but a set of laugh soon erupted from both of their lips.

"Now that is interesting," Kyuhyun grins. "Fine, we'll help. But what do we get in return?"

"Access to China's gambling business," he replies, fully knowing that Demons Run hasn't got their hand on that lucrative market. "We'd give you 20% of the share. Take it as the start of our future partnership."

"Make it 25, and we had a deal."

"Fine," he agrees. Black Pearl would still have most of the share after all, and it's only Chinese market. They have others.

"Great," Kyuhyun stands up while extending his hand and Tony warily shakes it. "It's a deal then. You can work out the detail with Max, and Suho will contact you for further arrangement." Tony nods, and Kyuhyun flashes a boyish grin before leaving. He stops at the door, though, and turns back.

"Ah right, before I forget, we'd like to keep the body." Upon Tony's puzzled look, he elaborates, "Agent Amber's body. We'd like to keep it."

Tony jaw drops. "What for?"

"Trophy. His kink," Kyuhyun lightly comments, nodding at Max. "Is that a yes?"

Tony could only nods, now staring at Changmin warily as the tall man approaches him.

 

JaeIn slumps in her seat, fully leaning on Yoora as she blankly stares at the screen where Changmin and Tony discusses her assassination plan during her supposed mission to Macau.

"I'm sorry, but, YOUR KINK?"

Trust Yoora to point at that, out of everything.

 

***

 

Minho nearly burst out laughing when Yoora stares at Changmin with a clear "I am judging you" written all across her face. Changmin scrunches up his.

"That is not my kink. He made that up."

"Uh huuuh," she responses, clearly not buying it.

"It's okay though hyung, we all have kinks," Seungri offers his input for the first time that day. "And yours, although unusual, is not realy surprising, considering your reputation."

"My reputation?" Changmin asks, incredulous.

Seungri nods earnestly. "You know, you were always known for having a penchant towards violence, , and stuff. Albeit most people speculate that you're actually in a relationship with Marcus."

Oh, now Minho really can't hold it back anymore. He burst out in mirth of laugh, and who can blame him? The look at Changmin’s face is just priceless. So does Kyuhyun's. Top it all with Seungri's sincere look. Damn, everyone found it amusing! Even Yoora's laughing out loud, and JaeIn can't help but chuckle.

"Come on Ge, you must admit that he's good," Junmyeon jest. "I mean, he realises that you shagging countless girls are just facade."

"And Aniki has been your one and only true love all this time," Jonghyun chimed, before laughing again.

"Hahaha," Kyuhyun dryly remarks, not amused. "Whatever. I'm not responsible for people's stupidity and they're free to believe whatever they want, no matter how ridiculous that is."

"I'm sorry, but can we talk about my reputation here?" Changmin asks, pissed. "I am not gay, I am not ing him, and I don't have a penchant towards violence, , and stuff, as he put it."

"Denial is not good for your mental health, Aniki," Junmyeon says in concerned tone. "I'm pretty sure Agent Amber would be glad to give you some counseling session to deal with your, ah, inner problem, though. Wouldn't you?"

To everyone's surprise, JaeIn let out a genuine smile and says, "Of course, I'd be glad to put my psychiatric knowledge to use."

"... you all," Changmin says, folding his hands and almost-sulk in his chair, a frown marring his usually calm demeanor. In his desk, Kyuhyun is massaging his temple, scowling. Minho knows that both of his hyungs are trying their best to control their tempers, and he really does not want to be on the receiving end of another fit.

So he clears his throat, gaining everyone's attention. "I'm sorry to break this happy atmosphere, but do the two of you believe us now?"

Slowly, as if it's a really hard thing to do, JaeIn nods. "Yes, we believe you."

 

***

 

Yoora keeps her silent after JaeIn's declaration, mostly because she agrees. There were no mistaking Tony or his gesture. That man looks completely out of place and uncomfortable throughout the whole exchange. She can't help but to glance at JaeIn and Jiyong though.

Is it true? Were they really in a relationship? Is that why JaeIn recognizes him?

But why did he aimed a gun at her before, then?

"If you don't mind me asking," Jonghyun starts carefully, "Can you confirm what he said then?"

Even though she herself is curious, Yoora still shots Jonghyun a nasty glare upon seeing the looks of despair in JaeIn's face.

"Yes, we've been in a relationship this past three months."

"Were," Jiyong cuts in, his face cold. "We put it on hold, considering the latest development."

Growling, Yoora made a mental note to kill G-Dragon. Slowly. Painfully. Nobody hurt her friends and get away with it.

"I see," Kyuhyun says, apparently has regaining his composure. "Another question, please. You were supposed to show up at Macau to kill me. Why weren't you there?"

JaeIn gasps at this, and Yoora looks at her in alarm when she shakily asks, "Someone else went there instead of me. What happened to her?"

Who? Yoora thought, confused. But her blood runs cold when, instead of answering, Kyuhyun looks at the two girls thoughtfully before producing a very familiar black mask from his drawer and put it on his desk.

.

 

***

 

Her world is falling down, again. As if it's not enough to found out that her supposed protector wanted her death for a relationship that she doesn't even sure worth it, now she's faced with the possibility that her friens is dead. Because of her. Because she agreed to let her go in her place.

"I believe she's supposed to be your target, Ji?" Kyuhyun asks Jiyong, who nods. Jiyong could not hold his curiousity though, and asked, "Is she dead?"

Kyuhyun nods, and JaeIn feels like she's falling in a deep abyss. Death has always been familiar, but never too close to actually be able to harm them. However, Kyuhyun's next words sounded like salvation.

"To the world, at least. Since we're attempting to build trust here, we'll give you the truth. She's alive."

"You're lying," Yoora instantly says, gripping her seat. "Let us see her if she's still alive."

"I'll let you see her after we're finished," Kyuhyun says. "But she's recovering right now, so it would be better to not disturbed her."

"No. We want proof. If she's still alive, you'll let us see her."

Kyuhyun rakes his hand through his hair, before taking out his phone. He makes a call and says something in rapid Chinese, before throwing it over to Yoora. "There, go ahead."

JaeIn snatches the phone from Yoora and found herself staring at her friend through the screen. She looks even paler than when they last met, and she appears to be completely disheveled. JaeIn could see the bandages on her body through her thin t-shirt, but other than that, she appears to be alive and well. As well as it could possibly be, considering she's under those brutes' care. And judging from the white plushy things around her, she seems to be in bed.

JaeIn opens to say her name, but quickly shut it once she realizes her location. So she opted for their formal name.

"Onyx?"

Hyunri let out a tired smile, "Hey Amber, Ruby. Have you been well?"

"How could we be well when we're stuck here with these...s?" Yoora demands, and Hyunri manages to laugh. "Don't mind us, how are you? Are you fine? Where are you? What did they do to you? Why did that jerk have your mask?"

"...You sounds a lot like Quartz," Hyunri scowl. "I'm fine, though I got into a quite nasty fight with that Max, which is how they had my mask. I'm recovering, nonetheless, and I'm residing at the bedroom they set for me. Visit me later, yeah? I promised JaeIn I'd explain everything to her, and I suppose I also owe you one."

Yoora glances at JaeIn, who appears to be so relieved that she can only nods. So Yoora also nods after giving Hyunri another once over through the screen. Suddenly, there's an unfamiliar voice speaking in Chinese, and Hyunri sighs.

"I have to drink my medicine and rest now. I'll see you later?"

Yoora numbly nods, watching as Hyunri gives her a rare full smile before the screen switched off.

"Happy?" Kyuhyun mocks, and Yoora glares at him. "Now can we move on?"

"Could be happier," she sarcastically answers, throwing his phone back. "Fine, go on," she says, crossing her arms.

Jiyong sighs. "I guess it's my turn now. Well, much like what happened to them, we also got a visit from Black Pearl. I suppose it'll be easier if you guys to just watch the recording," he signals at Seungri, who got up from his seat and hands a small flashdisk over to Jonghyun.

Yoora's eyes slits dangerously when Danny appears on the screen.

 

"So, to what do we owe this honor?" Jiyong asks, and Danny laughs.

"We need your help for an assassination. A special one. We're getting rid of an insider."

"Ahh I see. Which one?"

"Onyx," Danny grins smugly, and Jiyong stares in shock.

"But isn't she your best assassin?"

"Yeah, but certain circumstances occured and we need to dispose her."

"Circumstances?" Jiyong asks, more out of courtesy rather than curiousity, but Danny nods.

"I'd tell you the whole story, but my throat is rather sore right now. So..."

Jiyong eyes his guard, and the man quickly pours Danny a glass of wine. Danny gulp the glass down and smiles contently.

"That’sar better. So, I'm pretty sure you know that Onyx is a girl, right? Well, me and her, we had an affair. It has been going on for the past few years, though it’s nothing serious. Just pure , since she's quite difficult at times," Danny made a crazy sign with his hands, grinning all the while. "But it was fun while it lasted, especially since she's still young and blessed with flexibility. Insatiable, too."

"However, something happened last year. Apparently, I knocked her up, and without knowing it, she went on a mission with me. She had a miscarriage, and finally went over the edge. She became too uncontrollable, even threatening to kill me once. So me and Kangta decided that this won't do, and that we should just dispose her. Such a shame, really, considering her talent and the effort we poured at her. But well, some broken things just cannot be fixed, you know? Besides, she's just a woman, and in no time she would want to settle down and all those silly things. She'll end up as a hindrance, so might as well get rid of her now," he laughs.

 

If before, she was filled with dread after seeing Tony planned JaeIn's death, now she's consumed with rage. Danny's laugh still rings in her ears, and she wants nothing more but to snap his neck.

She doesn't even realize that the video has ended not long after, and the room has fall to an uncomfortable silent.

 

***

 

JaeIn stares at the blank screen with mouth open wide. Hyunri was pregnant? And she a miscarriage? What?

Then there's the sound of something broken, and she whips her head. She gasps when she sees that Kyuhyun had just punched his desk, breaking the glass surface.

Jonghyun winces, "Daige, that screen alone cost about a million won."

"Get a new one, I don't care," Kyuhyun snaps, still livid with anger, much to JaeIn's confusion.

Why is he so angry? But then again, Changmin has also completely shred the arms of his chair with his dagger, while both Minho and Junmyeon looks like they're ready to kill someone. What?

"I'm sorry, but why are you angry?" Yoora implores, and JaeIn suddenly feels self-conscious because why is everybody angry and she's not?

"Am I not allowed to?" Kyuhyun bites back, and Yoora laughs sharply.

"What gave you the right? We're her friends, of course we're angry at her mistreatment. But you? You're nobody. Just because you did not kill her and is currently taking care of her, does not mean you can suddenly get all protective over her."

Kyuhyun looks at Yoora, and for a second JaeIn thinks that he might just throw something at her, the way he nearly bashed Minho's head with an ashtray. But his black orbs soften, and he sighs.

"Fine. Let's move on, then. I'm pretty sure you have questions."

JaeIn belatedly realizes that he was referring to G-Dragon and the other Big Bang members.

"Well, is it true? I mean did she really had an affair with Danny?"

Since Yoora still sending murderous glares at Kyuhyun, JaeIn decides to answer G-Dragon's question. "As far as we know, yes. They did slept together quite often."

 

****

 

Yoora stares at JaeIn horror, unable to believe the words that came from . Then she reminds herself that Hyunri had made her swore to never told JaeIn or Soohwa the truth. Well, she would have to break that promise now.

"No," she snaps, surprising everybody. Taking a deep breathe, she phrases her words carefully. "She did sleep with Danny, but they did not have an affair. All of it was non-consensual."

"She only agreed to sleep with him, because otherwise...otherwise he would've gone for Amber or Tourmaline." She looks at JaeIn and rushed an apology, "She made us swore to never tell you or Tourmaline, I'm sorry."

Averting her gaze from the still stunned JaeIn, she continues, "She was never pregnant though. I would know."

"No, she was indeed pregnant."

Yoora whips her head, staring at Kyuhyun in disbelief. The man rubs his temple, and continues on. "February last year, she was pregnant for two weeks when you guys went on a mission."

 

***

 

. . . He can't concentrate. He's still livid with anger, and he wants nothing more but to break some bones. Preferably Danny's. it all. He could care less about secrecy now. It would all be blown away soon, anyway.

"After you guys come back, Danny dragged her for another...session. And he went overboard."

He could still remember everything vividly. Her weak voice, begging for his help. The pool of blood around her. Her pale complexion. How her heartbeat slowed and stopped for a second.

"She had a miscarriage then, thanks to him. And he left. He ing knew that she's dying, and he left her there. She almost died that night."

The hospital. How Junmyeon rushed her to the emergency. How he, for once, lost his composure and went almost berserk at the thought of losing her. How Changmin had to physically restrain him from barging inside the operation room.

"She did not know, though. She only knew that Danny went overboard and that she almost died because of that. She never knew about the baby."

Hours has passed until Junmyeon finally emerges from the operation room. He looked tired and sad, and Kyuhyun thought that he failed. But Junmyeon told him that she's alive. Weak and still unconscious, but she's alive nonetheless. And that's what's important for him. Until Junmyeon dropped the bomb.

Then he finally breaks down and for the first time in the last twenty years, he cried.

"And how do you know about all this?" Yoora demands. Damn that . She would do all of us a favor if she shut and use her brain for once.

"Because it was mine," he snaps.

"Pardon?" Now it's JaeIn's turns to ask, with that clueless look in her face that made him wants to rip her hair off. "What was yours?"

"The baby," he growls, losing his composure completely. "That was my child."

 

---

So, I'm having my mid-term exam in a week, and of course, I'm suddenly productive. What else is new. Anyway, here's the third chapter. There's more dynamic, as promised, and the tension has dissolved, more or less. (The ChangKyu jests are a sign of this - although it was partly my inner shipper doing). They're working together to build a working partnership, which is good. But the amount of trust they would actually put on each other is still, well, questionable. It's not only JaeIn and Yoora's POV now, but there's a bit from the others to balanced the focus. 

Also, we finally found out about the real reason behind JaeIn and Yoora's captive - it appears that Black Pearl willingly sacrifices them. This betrayal would play a huge part later on, because as the girls hinted, they do trust their organization. Plus, another member finally appears. And she were carrying Kyuhyun's child. Yay!

Oh, and if you were confused as to why T.O.P and Seungri barely talked in here or in prior chapters, it's because their ranks are still under G-Dragon. And in this rather delicate situation, they let G-Dragon - as the leader - do the talking. Same reason as to why Kyuhyun do most of the talking in KyuLine side, although the other chimed in quite often because it's their home turf, after all.

Like what Jonghyun said, hopefully, you'd enjoy this. Do not hesitate to ask if there's something that you don't understand. Critics and comments are much appreciated!

Next chapter will be another intermezzo (don't kill me) where we'll be delving into Hyunri's past and her involvement with Kyuhyun. I reckon it'll be a long one, so it might take some time. Or not. Considering that pairing is my favorite and I'm a bit biased towards them----

With love,

Slytherinprince