Jongsuk thought sleep would be evasive but he had seriously underestimated his physical and mental exhaustion.  Before he knew it, he was being shaken awake by someone frantically.

He jumped and rose to his feet, his hands automatically reaching for the hunting knife still tucked safely inside of his waistband.  His heart raced and adrenaline coursed through his veins as his eyes scanned his surroundings wildly for the perpetrator.  With the help of bright sunlight filtering in through the cracks of the shack walls, he spotted the same homeless old man kneeling just a feet away from him looking up at him with anxious eyes.

Letting out a small breath of relief, Jongsuk relaxed his stance and tried to calm down.  As he did, the old man stood with some difficulty and whispered, “Such a deep sleep… you didn’t even hear the horn.”  Shaking his head, he walked to the door and pushed it open.  “We need to go to the town square, quick,” he said, his accent heavy as he turned to gesture to Jongsuk.

Jongsuk frowned and looked at the old man.  Horn?  What horn?  Why did they suddenly need to gather at town square?  And why did this man suddenly look so terrified, when the night before he had been so willing to share his shack with a completely stranger?

“Horn?” Jongsuk asked, not wanting to speak too much.  He didn’t have the local accent; he would be exposed if he spoke too much.

“The town horn,” the man said impatiently as he took a hold of Jongsuk’s sleeve and began pulling him outside, “I heard last night some hot shot was visiting town today.”

Not wanting to seem too out of place, Jongsuk let himself get pulled out into the streets.  Squinting at the bright sunlight, he looked at the homeless man with more confusion.  Was that why they needed to gather at the town square?  Because someone was visiting town?  But… why?  Was that the ritual in this town?  To gather at the town square whenever someone came to town? 

“Hurry,” the old man said, pushing him forward, “We’ll get whipped if we’re late.”  Panting heavily, the old man turned the corner and began walking as fast as he could down the street.

Jongsuk stood rooted to the spot.  Should he follow?  From the sounds of it, there would be punishment for those that didn’t attend.  Would the old man sell him out?  The last thing he needed was to be the center of attention.  But if he attended… would the civilians recognize him as an outsider?  The town was small after all… did everyone know everyone else?

Biting his lips, Jongsuk let out a sigh and followed the old man.  Even if the civilians pointed him out as a stranger, he could say he was from out of town.  He did not want to get into trouble with the law in a foreign place…

As the two neared the town square, a large crowd of people could be seen huddling around what looked like several large army trucks.  Several marines stood around the trucks to circle off the civilians, who gazed at them with both curiosity and anxiety.

Jongsuk’s heart skipped a beat as he slowed.   Should he turn back?  It wasn’t just anyone visiting the town… it was the army!  The very people he’d wanted to avoid crossing paths with while he was stranded in this foreign place!  Mentally cursing his decision to follow, he his heels but it was already too late.

“Yah,” said a marine, who appeared behind them, “You, hurry up and gather.  The assembly is about to begin.”  The marine jerked a finger towards the crowd and curled his lips with annoyance.

Wiping his face of his anxiety, Jongsuk turned back around and walked towards crowd.  He could feel beads of sweat on his scalp as he tried to blend into the crowd.  He prayed that, whatever this was, it would end quickly.  He’d already made a mistake; he couldn’t afford another one.

The horn sounded again, making the crowd jump then hush in a tense silence.  Jongsuk bowed his head as he looked at the army trucks expressionlessly.

“You’re gathered today,” started a sturdy looking marine, “By the will of the General.  Under the supervision of Captain Kim Woobin, we will set up camp in and around this town to investigate and arrest a foreign suspect that has entered our borders illegally.”

Jongsuk felt his heart leap into his throat as he tried to contain his fear.  A foreign suspect that had entered illegally?  They were looking for him.  They already knew he was here.  But how?  Was it that damn GPS signal?  If that was the case, would Search and Rescue have picked up the signal too? 

“We expect your cooperation,” the marine continued, “And any obstruction of duty will be met with discipline.”  Nodding, he turned to look towards one of the trucks. 

The crowd turned to follow his gaze; Jongsuk did the same.  From the passenger seat of one of the trucks, a tall and intimidating man climbed out and adjusted his hat.  He towered over the rest of the men and had an air of authority.  His uniform was also quite different; instead of the camouflaging uniforms, his was a dark green dress uniform that was clearly on a different authoritative level. 

Jongsuk swallowed nervously as the man lifted his head and gazed at the crowd.  Even from where he stood near the very end of the crowd of people, Jongsuk could see the man’s distinct chiseled features.  With high cheekbones and a strong jawline, the man’s gaze sent the crowd into a tidal wave of anxious murmurs. 

Then, for a fraction of a second, the man met Jongsuk’s gaze, making the latter look away quickly and lower his head.  Jongsuk’s heart thudded loudly in his chest as he felt another wave of cold sweat on his skin.  Cursing in his head, he waited a few seconds before looking up again.  Fortunately, the man had looked away as he continued to gaze through the crowd.  Letting out a soft sigh of relief, Jongsuk turned back to the marine.

“If any of you have any information regarding a suspicious person, you are welcome to approach any uniformed officer,” the marine said, gesturing to the surrounding marines, “That is all.”

The crowd began to disperse as the marine wrapped up his speech.  Jongsuk spotted the old man in the distance but didn’t go over to meet him.  Now that everyone in town was aware that a possible fugitive was on the loose, he had to be extra careful with his interactions… which meant sleeping out under the stars tonight.  But before that…

Jongsuk casually lingered around the square, his eyes actively seeking anything that looked like a communicating device.  If the army was going to set up base here, in this remote town, they had to own a radio or two.  If he could get his hands on one, he could try and find the frequency of his own home base and send a signal for help. 

Jongsuk quickly kneeled and pretended to tie his shoe as a marine carrying a heavy looking briefcase stopped to his left.  He heard sounds of more footsteps and soon, someone stopped in front of the marine.  Although he avoided looking up, Jongsuk’s eyes scanned their shoes.  The person that approached the marine… it was the authoritative uniformed man that had caught his eye earlier.  Luckily, Jongsuk was far enough away from them as to not raise suspicions but still close enough to catch a bit of their conversation.  And sure enough…

“Keep me posted on your search,” the authority spoke, his voice deep and soft, “I will relay the information back to base.  If you find anything, you can find me at the hotel.  I will be out making rounds across the camps tonight so I’ll be out late.  I will touch base with you tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir!” the marine said, giving a salute.  Without another word, the authority his heels and walked back towards the truck.

Standing up straight, Jongsuk casually made his way out of the square and back onto the small road that led to the shack.  He couldn’t help the small smile that curved his lips as he approached it. 

The authority had said he was the one to relay information back to base… which meant he had a communicator device.  And if he was patrolling late tonight, it would be the perfect time to sneak inside his hotel room.  It could work… Jongsuk wiped the smile from his face as he pulled open the door to the shack.  No, he thought as he crawled in and closed the door behind him, it will work.  Now, he just had to wait until nightfall…

Jongsuk to his back and ran over the plan one more time in his head.  If everything went smoothly, he could finally get in touch with base.  And within a day or two, he would be back on his own soil. 

Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and glanced across the shack.  The old homeless man was, once again, bundled up in his corner and fast asleep.  His snores were loud enough to drown out the sound of an incoming train. 

Sitting up quietly, Jongsuk dusted the dirt from his clothes and walked towards the door.  Gingerly, he opened it a crack and peeked outside.  Not a single soul was out onto the streets.  From the looks of it, most of the army camps were set up out in the forest.  It was a good thing he’d decided to infiltrate the city rather than stay out in the woods and wait; he probably would’ve been caught by now.

Stepping outside, Jongsuk began making his way to the hotel.  He walked in the shadows and kept his eyes open for any signs of movement.  He was able to locate the hotel during the day without too much trouble; again, he was thankful that the town was small.  After what felt like only a few minutes of walking, he spotted the hotel in the distance. 

Rather than a hotel, it was more like a small motel or boarding house.  It was only three storeys tall and looked like it had less than two dozen rooms.  It looked shabby, but still much better than the rest of the homes in town. 

Jongsuk quickly hid behind a house as a marine suddenly wandered down the street.  He peeked out from behind and clenched his hands.  Now he needed to move on to the second step of his plan… He needed a way to knock out this marine quickly and quietly so he could steal his uniform and disguise his way into the hotel.  But would it be that easy?  The marine, like most of the others, looked sturdy and built.  Jongsuk himself was barely heavy enough to hold down paper; could he muster enough strength to take down this marine?  Biting his lips he looked around him for some kind of tool to aid him.  Finding a broken wooden peg, he picked it up and peeked around the corner again.  It was all or nothing now…

But before he could rush the unsuspecting marine, something caught his eye in the distance.  Squinting, he tried to get a clearer picture of what it was, exactly, that he was looking at.  His eyes widened in surprise when he realized it; the authority figure was looking out the window of his hotel room… to right where Jongsuk was hiding. 

Panicking, Jongsuk hid back behind the wall and gripped the peg tightly.  Did he see?  Could the authority see him from his window?  He was still quite a distance from the hotel… how good was the man’s eyes?  Suddenly feeling like abandoning his mission, Jongsuk shook his head and gave himself a mental slap.  This was his only chance; if he didn’t act soon, he would be caught.

Taking a deep breath, Jongsuk peeked back around the corner and glanced at the window.  The authority figure was no longer at the window.  The lights in the room were also turned off… did he leave to go make his rounds at the camps like he said he would?  There was no way he would call it a day when it was barely midnight… right?  Frustrated with his hesitance, Jongsuk shook his head and fixed his gaze back to the marine.  He couldn’t chicken out now.  But this marine might be a problem…

Before he could strike, however, the marine looked around and began to walk away.  In a moment of hesitation, Jongsuk lost his chance to ambush the marine.  He clenched his teeth with irritation; now he would have to wait for another marine to walk by.  Except…

He glanced at the hotel again, an idea suddenly springing to his head.  One of the windows to the side of the building had been open during the day.  From the looks of it, it was the window to the hallway.  If he could find a way to scale to the third floor where that window was located, he could sneak inside without having to go through reception…

Deciding to go with that, he quickly moved forward in the shadows until he was only a few feet away from the hotel.  As with the rest of the town, there were barely any streetlights around the hotel.  Jongsuk hid in the darkness as he waited for the most opportune moment.  Security was lax with only two marines standing at the front door of the main entrance.  Getting inside would be a piece of cake…

Tucking the wooden peg into the waistband of his pants, Jongsuk rubbed his hands together and looked up along the side of the building.  It was built with old-style bricks that stuck out and had just enough grooves to allow some kind of footing.  It was meant to make the building look stylish but it only helped Jongsuk crawl his way up the wall like a human spider.  As he reached the ledge, he poked his head over and looked inside the hallway.  It was empty.  Feeling hopeful, he pulled himself inside quickly and let out a silent breath of relief.  This was going to work!

As quietly as he could, he counted the doors to his right; there was the same number of doors as there were windows… which means the authority’s room was the third door down.  Taking a deep breath, Jongsuk crept towards it, his hand reaching behind him to take out the wooden peg.  If the authority didn’t leave, Jongsuk would have to subdue him and knock him out.  He wanted to avoid using his knife if at all possible.

With his heart in his throat, he reached out and gripped the round doorknob.  Taking one last breath, he twisted it and pushed the door open slowly.  It wasn’t a surprise that the room was dark.  Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Jongsuk stepped inside tentatively, the wooden peg held out in front of him prepared to strike anything that moved. 

It wasn’t until he was halfway inside did he finally realize something… the door had been unlocked.  Why… was the door unlocked?  Jongsuk felt a snap of terror as he looked around the room; the place was empty.  Not a single communicator radio or computer could be found.  And then he heard it… the sound of a soft chuckle.

Jongsuk whirled around to face the sound of the noise but it was too late.  He felt something slam into the side of his head, sending him tumbling to the floor in a heap.  His vision spun in front of him and black dots danced in front of his eyes.  He could feel the warm trickle of blood along his temple.  He tried to stand back up and defend himself but he was much too disoriented.  He felt a wave of nausea as he tried to do something, anything, to defend himself but it was no good.

“I was expecting you,” came a deep and soft voice.

Darkness closed in on him as Jongsuk tried to fight it off.  But it was no use; he was already a mouse stuck in its trap.  Because that was exactly what all of this was…

A trap.

Author's notes:

Ohoho!  So much fun to write!  And I haven't even gotten to the nasty smexy time yet!  XD  This is great; writing something other than Love Me and Dolls is really helping me get back my mojo!  Don't worry, this story won't be too long!  It'll be just long enough for me to get back into the swing of things ^^