eChapter 8

            The room was filled with noise and movement.  Cameras were flashing and fans were calling out from every direction.  The Seoul music awards had just ended, and waiters were gliding through aisles picking up empty glasses of champagne.  Amidst the chaos, every Hallyu celebrity, old and new, attempted to crowd together to take a picture.

Crayon Pop quickly picked a spot behind Girls’ Generation, as they usually did, to assure their safety.

            “Good job tonight, girls,” Sunny whispered back to them.

            “You as well!” Gummi replied enthusiastically.

            As the photographers readied themselves for the picture, Way watched Ellin’s careful inspection of the scene.  Though Ellin always seemed frustrated by her job, it was obvious that she was a diligent caretaker.  Way chuckled as she noticed Ellin removing a piece of lint from the back of Tiffany’s shirt.

            “Are you ready?” a photographer shouted, waving at the group of performers.

            Just as everyone began to pose for the camera, the girls noticed a small red dot on Sunny’s back.  It moved ever so slightly, as if it was being carefully aimed.  Aimed to shoot.

            “Way, the dot,” Gummi whispered urgently.

            “It’s coming from the stage,” Soyul observed, her eyes scanning the dark stage.

            Without another word, Way moved forward and gave Sunny a tiny shove.  The dot now hovered precariously over another performer, and Ellin moved her hand to interrupt the beam.  Just before the picture could be taken, Ellin felt a sharp pinch on her hand, and the red dot was replaced with a small, tack-like device that stuck into her skin with a short needle.  Way quickly pulled the device from Ellin’s hand and held it carefully in her hand.

            The cameras flashed suddenly, and they both posed as if nothing had happened.

            “Ellin, are you okay?” Way asked.

            “That needle…didn’t feel right,” Ellin replied, her eyes filling with worry.

            “I’m sorry, Sunny,” Way said, tapping Sunny’s shoulder.

            “It’s totally fine, Way,” Sunny assured kindly.

            Way took Gummi’s hand and leaned towards her.  “This building’s been compromised.  We need to get Soshi out of here.  And Ellin was shot with some sort of-”

            Before Way could continued, Ellin stumbled into Choa’s arms.  “Guys, I really don’t feel well.  There was something in that thing.  Something bad.”

            The girls helped Ellin away from the crowd of celebrities and leaned her against a wall.  “Ellin?” Gummi called gently.  “Does anything hurt?”

            “My hand…My hand feels cold.”

            “The poison may have been a neurotoxin,” Gummi informed.  “We need to get her to HQ quickly.”

            “Mengu!”

            Wifi Jung poked his head out of a small group of managers on the other side of the room.  In any other situation, he would have assumed Choa was trying to provoke him, but he heard the severity and fear in her voice, and he rushed over right away.

            “What happened?”

            “Ellin was shot with a poison meant for Sunny.”  Gummi stopped for a moment, attempting to keep herself together.  She took a deep breath and looked back at Ellin.  “She’s showing the effects of a neurotoxin.” 

            Wifi Jung scooped Ellin into his arms and looked for the nearest exit.  “I’ll take her to HQ.  Gummi, come with me.  The rest of you, get the girls out of this building and find whoever did this.  Stay safe.  We’ll call in for backup.”

            “Mengu,” Ellin called weakly, resting limply in Wifi Jung’s arms.  “Mengu, put me down.  The fans are already suggesting we look good together.  If I see another comment about it…”

            “Go!  Go!” Choa ordered, her frustration obvious.  “We’ll take care of this.

            As soon as they left, Way rushed over to the nearest fire alarm and broke the glass.  She pulled the lever and watched as the remaining groups of celebrities reacted frantically to the loud sound.

            “I’ll follow them out,” Way insisted.  “Unnie, keep the boys updated.”

            “Go, unnie,” Soyul said sternly, lowering her helmet visor.  “Choa, unnie, keep watch over the stage.”

            In seconds, Soyul had already run to the stage.  She leapt up the steps with ease and hurried behind the curtain that had already been lowered.  She moved slowly in the utter darkness, knowing her bright clothing made her an easy target.

            A sudden tap on her helmet startled her and made her drop to the floor.  She noticed a red dot on the ground beside her and wondered if her helmet had just saved her from a deadly neurotoxin.

            Deadly.  Was it deadly?  Please, let it not be deadly.  Oh Ellin unnie…

            Soyul crawled across the floor, moving towards the source of the beam.  It came from a level far above the stage where wires and equipment were dealt with.  She scrambled towards the metal scaffolding that held the level up and started to climb.

            Those inconspicuous white gloves that had become one of their trademarks were equipped with a controlled magnetic attraction meant for instances such as this.  With a simple touch of a button at the wrists of the gloves, she was able to climb the metal bars with stealth and ease.  She felt nothing but pure strength as she made her way to the enemy who had attacked her unnie.

            The stage filled with light as a door at the top of the scaffolding opened.  Soyul saw the silhouette of her target as he aimed for her yet again with his gun.  She moved quickly, keeping out of his range.  When she heard him suddenly run through the door, she dashed up the scaffolding and followed him with fervor.

            He was certainly a man with a large, somewhat intimidating build.  She chased him through a few bright halls, unable to get a good look at his face.  The blaring consistency of the fire alarm made her heart race even faster than was necessary at their pace.

            The culprit passed a staircase and moved even faster towards a large window.  Soyul stopped just as he jumped through the glass and into the night.

            “Ya!” she called loudly, anxiously analyzing the situation.  She moved closer to the window and looked down into the dark alley.  The man was barely rising from the ground when a dark van drove up beside him.  Two men rushed out to help him up and brush the glass from his clothes.  They began to drag him into the van.

            “Aish.”  Soyul quickly reached into her pocket and took out a tracker.  She loaded it into a small cap that fit perfectly onto the tip of her pointer finger.  Pointing at the van carefully, she shot the tracker and watched as it stuck to the roof of the vehicle.  The three men looked back up at the window just as she ducked out of sight.  Still catching her breath, Soyul sat down near the window and listened as the van sped away.

            “Soyul!” Choa called, rushing over to Soyul.  “What happened?  Did you find who did this?”

            “I…did,” Soyul panted, tightly closing her eyes in frustration.  “He jumped out the window.  They had a van.  I couldn’t follow them anymore.  I placed a tracker and tried to hide.  They can’t know I placed it or else we’ll never find them.”

            “It’s okay, Soyuli,” Choa assured.  She leaned down to wipe some glass away from Soyul and examined her carefully.  “Soyul, you shouldn’t sit here.  There’s glass all over.”

            “I’m fine.”  Soyul turned her helmet communication function on and took a deep breath.  “Kiu.  I’ve placed a tracker on the shooter’s van.  You have to follow it.”

            “Already on it,” Kiu replied.  “We’ll take over from here.  Earman Kim wants you girls back at HQ.”

            Choa reached over and gently unstrapped Soyul’s helmet and removed it from her head.  Her hair was messy and damp with sweat.  A panic suddenly fell upon her pixie-like face as tears filled her eyes.

            “Unnie,” she sobbed.  “What if there’s nothing we can do?  What if Ellin unnie is going to die?”

            “Shh,” Choa murmured shakily.  “Don’t…Don’t think like that.  We’re going to do all we can for unnie.  And you know Ellin unnie.”  She tried to laugh, but her chuckle quickly became a whimper.  “Right now she’s probably listing all the ways she plans to torture that man when she finds him.”

            “I’m scared.”  Soyul’s voice cracked with every word.  “I’m so scared, unnie!”

            “Me…Me too,” Choa wept, pulled Soyul into a hug.  They were paralyzed with fear for a few minutes, unable to make themselves go to HQ.  They were terrified of the words that may wait them.  They were even more terrified of the words they may never hear again.