“I think I need a quick puff.”

Jessica’s brows furrowed at her sister’s remark. She watched as Krystal stood from her seat after their sumptuous meal, walking out into the rooftop garden whilst taking out something from her pocket. Jessica stood, creeping behind her sister in curiosity. Her eyes widened when she saw the stick being lit and swiftly swiped it out of her younger sibling’s grasp.

“Hey!”

“Who taught you to smoke?”

Krystal frowned then groaned, “Nobody.”

“Don’t lie to me, Jung Soojung.”

A grunt escaped Krystal’s lips, “When I visited France, Yunho-oppa and I attended business parties. They often offered a cig or two and I got curious. I didn’t like it first, but when I got back to England, it was freaking cold in the house that I had no choice but to pick up the habit…”

Jessica’s blood boiled at the mention of her older brother teaching their younger sister on picking up the vice. “Where’s the whole pack, Krystal?”

Krystal stepped back from her sister when Jessica reached out an open palm in demand of the pack she kept in her pocket.

“Give me the rest of this, Jung Soojung.” Jessica’s voice was cold and controlled. It sent shivers down Krystal’s spine. The youngest Jung reluctantly handed the pack she kept and groaned. “Give me the lighter, Soojung.” And again, Krystal conceded, putting the lighter on her sister’s palm.

Jessica pocketed the pack and lighter before she summoned her phone and dialed a number. Krystal just stood beside her, wallowing in frustration.

“JUNG YUNHO!”

Krystal flinched at the tone of her sister’s voice. She drew herself closer to the phone, catching her brother speaking over static.  

“Well, hello to you too, Sooyeon.” Krystal almost snickered at her brother’s casual voice, not anticipating their sister’s incoming outburst.

Jessica took a peek of her sister, listening on the other end of the phone and decided to put the call on speaker for their convenience. Krystal straightened when her sister moved the phone away from her ear.

“I’m on the plane right now, Sooyeon.”

“I don’t give a damn about your whereabouts right now, Oppa, but what the hell?! You got our baby sister into smoking?!”

Krystal flinched at her sister’s outburst. She was afraid Jessica might bash her own phone into the ground, but calmed down when she saw her sister gripping the phone tight. There was a pregnant pause on the other line and Krystal could imagine their older brother contemplating on his answer.

“Whoa, calm down there Sooyeon. Is – Is Soojung there? I’m guessing she is, since you practically called me out of the blue like this. Soojung? Can you calm your sister down and tell her that you won’t be inhaling nicotine sticks in the future?”

Krystal huffed, “Oppa! Are you washing your hands over this?” Hand took hold of Jessica’s trembling one as she tried to calm her sister down. Eyes locked into her and Krystal froze at the anger in her sister’s eyes. Their tension was broken with Yunho’s announcement.

“No, I’m not. In fact, I’m on my way to Korea. Give me a few more hours, probably tomorrow morning… and I’ll be apologizing to Sooyeon in person. You better behave, Soojung. Seriously.”

Then, the line clicked and the blonde shifted her sight to her phone. Before she could react though, a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders and a body engulfed her in an embrace.     

“I’m sorry.” Krystal whispered, “I won’t smoke again if that’s what you want.” She caressed her sister’s golden locks in hopes of coaxing her sister into calming down. “But I’m freaking stressed and I need something to calm my nerves.”

Jessica pulled away with a glare before she wordlessly grabbed Krystal’s hand and led her into the elevator. Krystal had wanted to protest but her sister hushed her, “You’ll like where I’m about to bring you, Soojung.” They found themselves trekking the lobby before Jessica practically pushed her out of their family’s building and led her to her beast of a motorcycle.

Tossing a helmet to her sister, she straddled her bike and smiled when she felt an added weight behind her. They drove off without preamble and Krystal, used to the thrill of wild rides, reveled in the expertise of her sister in maneuvering the traffic.

+++

Sunny and Tiffany carefully slid through the metal door, finding themselves in an empty hallway inside the ship. Handguns at the ready, they quietly passed through the hall, furtively peering into the small round windows guarding each room they passed. They found them empty and well-kept.

Sounds of footsteps, coming from another wing of the walkway, alerted them and both agents scrambled into the empty room to hide. Sunny swiftly placed a coin on the floor to keep the door from closing shut as she and Tiffany crouched to the floor whilst tuning in to the possible conversation that a group of strangers would be having.

“I assume that the mission failed, Mr. Min.”

“An agent managed to intercept him, Sir.”

“As the reports have told me. Anyway, we are done with that matter weeks ago. Has anyone managed a plan while I was away?”

“Our insiders told us that HQ strengthened its security here in Korea. They brought in their shipments from various countries. The agent which intercepted our man was one of their imports.”

“And the mission to take out one of their agents?”

A slight pause before an answer came.

“They weren’t able to subdue the target on board the plane, sir.”

“Then, we’ll have to stop more from coming. Where are our bomb experts at?”

“Down at the lab, sir.”

“Tell them to meet me for dinner.”

“Yes, sir.”

Sunny and Tiffany looked at each other in alarm. Were their enemies going to bomb HQ?! They decided to get out of the ship before they get discovered by their enemies and hopes for warning the organization would be futile. The two agents waited until they were ensured that the coast was clear before scurrying out of their hiding place.

They still had not idea as to the identity of the man who spoke, but at least they got a glimpse of the enemy’s plans. The extent of this operation was still in the shadows and both agents realized that they have to be careful with the information they got. Nobody except for the higher ups from HQ must know of this. Sunny, especially cannot risk the insiders knowing of HQ’s knowledge regarding the shadowy organization that the insiders worked for.

Sunny led the way through their escape, signaling for Tiffany to follow her. They reached the deck undetected and unscathed only to find out that it was now riddled with armed men in black ensembles. The two agents stealthily hid among the huge equipment on deck, readying themselves for being spotted yet hoping that they’d be able to get away from this mess undetected.

They watched as the guards made their simultaneous rounds across the deck, wary of intruders and curious porters. They sported rifles and a pair of hand guns holstered in their belts. The two agents quietly contemplated on their odds. Armed only with hand guns, the two realized that they were more than outnumbered and outmatched. Waiting for nightfall had been an option, but it would leave people wondering about their whereabouts.

A shot rang through the pier, alerting the men on deck including the two agents in hiding. One of the men, which Sunny and Tiffany assumed to be the team leader, signaled two of them to check on the anomaly. The two men went off the ship, moving towards the source of the sound. They maneuvered past the huge metal crates and disappeared from view. A couple of shots rang before silence ensued.

The occurrence alerted the team leader and gestured for more men to respond to the scene. “Check on the crates! We might have an intruder hiding in the pier.”

More men went off, leaving the deck nearly empty. Sunny signaled for Tiffany to move as this would be their only chance to escape. They moved through the deck and managed to hide behind a lifeboat situated near the railings.

“Up for a swim?” Sunny whispered, eyeing the waters below.

“Do we have much of a choice?” Tiffany replied in a hushed tone.

Sunny shook her hea