CHAPTER 20: GUILT
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CODENAME: AURA

NAME: LEE HYOSUN

AGENCY: NIS

I’ve forgotten why.

“Changmin!” Ava screeched as she stormed into the base, promptly announcing our presence.

But do I even have a presence?

“Changmin! Did you see the news clip?” Ava’s voice always ricocheted off the walls. How is that sound seemed to burst out of her when my own voice was lost?

Changmin swiftly pivoted before exasperation clouded his face. Until now his slim fingers had been madly typing codes into several large computer screens and his eyebrows had plunged together in concentration. Ava’s calls had obviously disrupted his seemingly tedious work.

Changmin’s mouth moved in order to form words: “No Ava. I haven’t, oops silly me!”

Since when did that sound create such sarcasm? When I have lost my own voice, has Changmin found his?

Yet his outburst did not end there, “Why do you always find the need to make sure I’m doing my job? Damn it Ava! Of course I’ve seen the webcast! And correct me if I’m wrong, but I am perfectly capable of working without supervision Alecto.” The anger in his voice cast a spell over all of the agents in the room. To see Changmin angered was a rare sight. It was easy to forget how tall Changmin was due to his meek personality. However, now that he asserted himself, it was simple to see how much Changmin truly towered over Ava. Even Ava herself seemed to have petrified. But neither his words nor his actions seemed to break my own curse.

I wonder if she can feel what I feel. Does she too feel that rush of emotional adrenaline, adrenaline so jam packed that it overpowers all other primal instincts? But for her it was only Changmin’s temporary agitation that silenced her, but for me… would I ever get over the guilt of killing Yoochun’s cousin?

Changmin’s features immediately softened after registering the shock on Ava’s face, and he rece more to the agent of the NIS that we knew.

But Sato Ai’s face would never soften for me.

What was the reason for all this? I’ve forgotten.

“It’s just,” Changmin’s voice quivered mid-sentence, “I met her you know? I met her, and now she’s dead.” Changmin collapsed back into his seat after an exasperated sigh.

Why is that we fight? Why do we hold weapons? Why did Rin have to die! I … I joined the National Intelligence Service as an agent of peace, I only wanted to protect the people I love and care for, how did it end up like this? It’s…. It’s….

“It’s all my fault!” my voice, incapable of speaking for that short among of time, bombarded the room, “I’m the one who killed Rin! If I hadn’t captured Yoochun at that time. I should have trusted him… I … I… ”

Am I crying?

Jaejoong, who had been hidden behind a throng of agents watching Changmin’s outburst, rushed beside me before kneeling on the floor.
The floor? When did I fall to the floor?

“Aura,” he cooed, “you did the right thing. Yoochun is a dangerous suspect-“

“Suspect! He was innocent! He never tried to hurt me ever, he merely touched my computer. And now his cousin committed suicide- suicide Jaejoong! What had Rin ever done? Was she a suspect? And now she’s dead.”

“It’s okay Ava. It’s okay” Jaejoong pet my hair reassuringly as I drenched his shirt in tears.

“You were right to bring him here Aura.” Ava’s voice joined Jaejoong’s whispers.

“The least we can do is let Yoochun pray at the church. That’s the only thing Ai asked of him right?” I said.

Jaejoong immediately withdrew his body away from mine, in response to my question, “Aura,” he sighed, “you know we can’t.”

“But we were supposed to protect human rights Jaejoong! So shouldn’t we at least let Yoochun pay his respects to his deceased family member?”

Jaejoong only shook his head sadly in response.

“Ava. I agree with Aura. We are a human’s rights group. If we hold Yoochun hostage through this incident would we be any better than the NJC?”

Changmin stared Ava in the eye before she finally sighed.

“Jaejoong. Let Yoochun go to the church, he has never showed any signs of being hostile yet, right? Aura can accompany him, that way Aura can shut up about this whole Yoochun business, and before you deny this I’ll say one more thing: I, as the second in command of the NIS will personally make sure Yoochun does not escape. As in I’m going too. You must admit that there is a chance just short of impossibility that Yoochun would be able to fight through both Aura and me.”
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Author's Note: Obsidian Theatre apologizes for the long delay of Chapter 20. We would also like thank those who have attempted to crack the code written in Chapter 19. However, none were correct. Rest assured those who have applied, your character’s lives are not in danger from answering the question wrong; nevertheless, Obsidian Theatre must now choose the death of the a character ourselves.
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