Hyori frowned at the expansive variety of food before her. Should she get beef? Or mutton? Or maybe chicken would do great too. How about pork? She was too spoilt for choices.

Turning around, she saw that T.O.P had caught up with her. He slowly pushed the shopping cart towards her, wearing the same old expressionless face.

"What do you wanna have for dinner tonight? Beef? Mutton? Pork? Or chicken?" Hyori asked in enthusiasm, not a least affected by his countenance. She was used to it, after all. But she believed he was warm on the inside.

"Anything." He replied, seemingly uninterested.

"How about...turkey? Well since it's a celebration we could have that."

"You decide." There goes his one-liner reply again.

She sighed. No doubt, she couldn't help but to feel disappointed. She just hoped that he would break out of his one-liner responses. Well, at least on her birthday. Today wasn't any other normal day.

Hyori stood in front of freezer, undecided of what to buy. Seeing that she was disheartened by his indifference, T.O.P attempted to give some suggestions. It was her birthday after all; he should be acting a little more...cordial?

"Well uh...maybe we can have steamboat and hotplate so we can have all of these."

Hyori blinked. Did her ears just played tricks on her? That was the longest sentence he had ever said to her! Even better, he actually gave a suggestion!

"T.O.P I can't believe what you've just said," she blurted out. It was then that she had realized that she had failed to bring her message across clear enough (since T.O.P was looking confused), she carried on explaining, "Uh...I mean...you know...it's the longest sentence you've said to me in these months."

Amused by her reaction, T.O.P's lips curled up slightly to a smile. He never knew he could bring about a response so huge. It was never in his ability to inspire joy or any other emotions along that same line. He had always been a source of fear; a tool for destruction. Trapped in his responsibility and inescapable destiny as an assassin, he was robbed of his emotions and feelings. Like a peon to his debtor, he was obliged to serve Mr. Ludovicus with his life for bringing him up. As a result, he couldn't have a taste of simple joy.

Well, not until he had met Hyori.

"So we shall get all of these then," Hyori looked extremely satisfied with his reply. Grinning to herself, she carefully placed each of the ingredients into the shopping cart one after another.

Moving forward, the duo picked up all of the other ingredients necessary for their sumptuous dinner and proceeded on to make their payments. Soon, they gathered their stuffs and headed for their apartment.

It was situated at a deserted part of a district in Seoul. They had moved in together a couple of months ago, in hid from the course of Hyori's pursuers. To date, she had not made any explanation on the event that happened on that fateful night, and neither did he question about it. It was buried deep in both of their hearts.

"Just place them right there beside the sink, I'll prepare them for dinner in a minute," Hyori said, pointing towards the kitchen. T.O.P nodded slightly in response and headed towards the kitchen after he had closed the door behind them. Placing the grocery bags onto the kitchen table, he started to take the vegetables out of the paper bags and washed them under the running water. He clumsily turned the vegetables around and rubbed the leaves under the tap water in attempt to wash off the dirt. However, due to his inexperience in kitchen works, he accidentally tore the leaves into pieces and dropped them into the sink.

Hyori laughed as she witnessed the whole process of T.O.P's clumsiness. She had been standing there for quite some time observing him after getting a swift change into her home clothes. He looked up in embarrassment upon hearing her laughter, still trying hard to maintain his usual composure. Hyori smiled as she took over the job of washing from him, and gestured him to wait in the living room while she busied herself with the preparation work for dinner.

Time flew by as T.O.P kept himself entertained with the TV in the living room while waiting for dinner to start. The clock soon struck evening and Hyori was about done with the preparations. In hope to be of some help to her, T.O.P took the initiative to set up the hotplate and steamboat on the dining table while Hyori carried in the raw dishes and table utensils.

Ready to start dinner, both of them sat down across one another and looked across the table of food. It was indeed sumptuous.

"Wow I have no idea what to start with," Hyori commented thoughtfully, undecided of what to have first.

T.O.P shrugged and continued to stare at the table, engaged in the same thoughts as her. It had been a good few minutes before both of them broke into laughter in amusement of each other's silly contemplations on what to eat first.

"I've decided on beef!" Hyori exclaimed, slowly recovering from her laughter.

T.O.P nodded in agreement, smiling, "Me too."

Soon they started to feast upon their food. There were smiles and laughter at dinner as they enjoyed one another's company. It had been a joyous day, and to T.O.P, it was his first time experiencing that tinge feeling of bliss. He was grateful for Hyori to have appeared in his life, for she had acquainted him with all sorts of different emotions that he had failed to experience in the past. He wanted this to continue on. But however, unknown to him, his simple and peaceful life would soon come to an end.

In just a few minutes.

T.O.P's cell phone unexpectedly rang and broke the cheerful atmosphere. He had just received a new message. He froze, hearken to the sound; his mind turned blank as he stared at the screen of his cell phone. It had been months since it last rang...it must be...

Mr Ludovicus. A voice echoed in his mind.

His breathing stiffened as recollections tumbled back to him, the scene of that night replaying in his mind. His face grew pale as he meditated on his memory, to be only reminded of the cruel reality.

Half shivering, he took up his cell phone. Hesitating to press the center button at the bottom of the screen, T.O.P once again fell into complete cease in his movement. As he was trying to get out of the rattled state of his mind, unknown to him, someone had been silently watching his every move over at another building.

Would it...would it be... He dared not think of the content of the message. He knew that he would not, and could not abide by the instruction in the message.

He stiffly put down his phone, looking blank. He did not open the message, for he had already known what it would entail even without looking at it.

Hyori remained silent as T.O.P struggled in his inner mind.

The phone mercilessly rang again, adding yet another torment to his already overwhelming anxiety. It was a call from Mr. Ludovicus. He shuddered at the sound. It was exceedingly loud this time in the middle of complete silence. His mind whirled violently as he struggled whether to pick it up or not. But he knew he had to, he could not reject any of the calls from his godfather.

Mustering up with courage, T.O.P fumbled for the green button as he picked up his phone. He held his breath as he slowly put the phone to his ear.

"T.O.P speaking," he said in his deep, low voice into the phone, trying hard to sound calm.

There was a shuffling noise in the phone before he could hear any response. He waited for Mr. Ludovius' reply in grave silence as he turned away from Hyori's gaze.

He wished it did not come...

"Kill her now." Mr. Ludovicus' voice rang in his ear, coldly.

T.O.P did not answer him. He did not know how to answer him. Ever since Hyori had entered his life, he was no longer the same T.O.P as he was before. He had forgotten the meaning of ruthlessness, and was brought into the world of emotions. Most importantly, he was taught how to love.

And Hyori was his love.

Putting down his phone and picking up his chopsticks again, he attempted to brush off the former scene in his mind and acted like nothing was wrong. He reached for the food on the hotplate, only to realize that they were all burnt. He was about to look up at Hyori and give her an assuring smile when another loud, monotonous sound once again broke the silence.

It belonged to a gunshot.

T.O.P froze in his posture; his body numbed. His hand clenched at his chest as he tried to stop the bleeding that was staining the whole front of his shirt. He looked up and the sight before him left him in helpless despair...

The sight of Hyori pointing a gun at him.

He could no longer feel the pain of his open wound, for his heart ached more than any other part of his body. He looked at her in dejection as the excruciating pain in his heart deepened. He had known the outcome of his disobedience, but he had never expected the executer of his sentence to be his one and only love.

The door opened widely to give way to the new comer in the apartment. He was dressed in a dark suit with a pair of shades covering his eyes. He kneeled down beside T.O.P who had fallen off from his chair, shaking his head in disappointment.

"I'm sorry son, but you have failed the test." Mr. Ludovicus said solemnly, his eyes on T.O.P's pale face.

Suddenly, it struck him to realization. It had all been a set up, a merciless set up. Since the start, Hyori and he were never meant to be able to survive through this together. It was either him alive, or her alive. They belonged to the same destiny - the inescapable destiny as an assassin. She was put to test him, at the same time mindful of her outcome if he were to pass the test - that she would be dead. And he had failed to pass the test, at no mercy of love.

"I'm sorry T.O.P, we don't have a choice," she said sorrowfully, "but I won't leave you on your own."

At the next moment, Hyori directed the gun to her head and fired right into her temple. She smiled at him before she dropped dead onto the ground; next to him.

Tears welled up in his eyes as he witnessed her suicide. In weakness, he reached out to her and her face gently before his last heartbeat dissipated.

And they were silenced.

Forever.