"Ji... they're still following us," 

I held her hand tighter, trying to calm her down. Bom noona told me to make sure to always look after Dara because she is still in her early pregnancy and it might be dangerous for her since we haven't taken her to a doctor yet for consultation. I am very worried for her, for us.

And I am already so confused. 

I don't know what to do. All I know is that what we have is against the rules, forbidden by the law. For she is a daughter of a great honorable official, law-abiding, free, a recognized citizen of the country.

And I am from somewhere no one should ever know about.

I look ahead at the blue waters as we rode the cab I have hired. Soon, old Hwang will be meeting us to help us cross the borders. I only have one more thing to think about. My father.

I hope he'll accept us. We have nowhere left to go.

And though my head was in deep turmoil, deep inside me sparked some hope. Maybe my father will understand. Maybe he will try to help us out. If I am lucky enough, maybe he will help me enlighten the kind sir's mind. Yes, they are good friends. They are comrades. They will hear each other out.

I force a smile as I clutch the pendant of the necklace my father gave me years ago.

This is the sign of their brotherhood. A bond. An assurance.

And I held on to it so tight not knowing what would happen next.

Maybe I was so young back then that I was fooled by it.

The dragon was spitting fire and it trapped itself inside.

So was I.

*****************

"Miss Park,"

Dara quickly scrambled up her bed when she heard Mino's voice calling her name. She looked around and disappointment washed over her. Jiyong was nowhere to be found. Bits of last night's events started to flash before her eyes and she was wondering if Jiyong was really there last night.

"Miss Park, you alright?" She heard Mino's deep voice and it made her snap her eyes open. She shook her head. Maybe she was just imagining things again. Maybe she was just thinking too much about him.

"I must be dreaming again," she mumbled to herself. She smoothed her hair and faced Mino.

"What happened after the brawl?"

"You mean after you made a scene?" Mino asked back making her heave a sigh. 

"How are the kids?"

"They're fine. They were immediately treated. Don't worry. No one got any serious injury,"

"No one? I saw it myself! The kids must have hurt themselves! There's no way there was no one who got any serious injury!"

"Calm down, please,"

Dara scoffed and shook her head. "Still, that was child abuse," she said before standing up.

"Rules are rules. Besides the kids need to grow up strong. It's a tougher world out there."

Dara opened to protest but she knew it was useless. Who is she to be heard anyway? She just pursed her lips and took in some air.

 "We're late for breakfast, aren't we?"

"You are. I've had my fill," Mino answered. "You are not attending the regular gathering. You will have to join the training commander for breakfast."

Dara shut her eyes. She remembered landing a punch on the man's face after getting out of the cage and she knew it was something that might void her progress for the next training. The man must be so mad to have been humiliated that way last night and she wanted to slap the hell out of her. But can she really be blamed?

"You look flabbergasted. You marked him on his face by the way,"

"I was mad... I was just... It was a horrible experience and I..."

"We understand now your distress," Mino said before standing up and heading towards the door leaving Dara dumbfounded. "Please prepare quickly. We have to get there as soon as possible."

****************

After washing herself up and tending to her wounds, Dara was led to the upper floor where the training commander was waiting for her and the walk made her puzzled a bit more. She couldn't help but notice Mino's silence and his little more than the usual assistance. He would hold her arm of the small of her back when they walked up the spiral staircase. He would break his silence every now and then to warn her about the path and to tell her to be careful. Then he'll go back to silence again.

"Stop treating me like this," she said making Mino halt his steps and turn to her with a question on his face.

"The path is steep and uncarpeted. You might trip over,"

"This is uncomfortable. I'm fine. There's no need to treat me like this,"

"Miss Park, everything I do, please know that it will always be by an order. I was just doing as I was told,"

Dara wanted to ask some more but Mino quickly turned away and knocked on the door to the far right side of the hallway. She quickly ran after him and stood behind him and soon the huge door swung open.

"In you go," Mino said as he gestured her to go in.

"Aren't you coming with me?" Dara asked but Mino just smiled and shook his head.

"I'll be waiting here," he answered. "You still haven't gotten used to it? I always wait for you outside, Miss Park. The only time you won't see me standing right outside this door is when my mission is over."

Dara smiled. "It must be hard looking after me, isn't it?"

"You don't have to ask. You know the answer very well," Mino answered as he ushered her into the room. "Please go in. They're waiting."

*************

Four men guided her further into the dining hall which was darker than  the one at the lower floor despite the fact that it was just past nine in the morning. The blinds were pulled down and a divider separates the room into two  but through the narrow holes she could make out two men wearing exactly the same black suits already seated at the dining area— the one at the end of the table, the one to the left.

She carefully walked down after taking in some air and she had to fight the urge ro clamp when she saw Jiyong and the training commander talking in immense seriousness it was when she was just a few steps away when they noticed her presence.

She was mentally jumping up and down in an unexplainable joy just by seeing Jiyong before her. It was true, after all.

 She was not dreaming. Jiyong promised her that he will be taking her away with him and her heart was suddenly filled with hope.

The man at the end of the table stood up to greet her but Jiyong stood up and met her halfway. He held her arms and gave her a squeeze as if assuring her and he gave her a smile that made her worries somehow forgotten.

"How was your sleep?"

She answered him with a tiny smile and though she wanted to hug him and feel his strong arms around her, she fought the urge to for she was aware of the pair of eyes that was watching them.

"Shall we sit down and have breakfast?" The man behind Jiyong said.

"We should," Jiyong answered as he guided Dara to her seat just across his. He then sat down on his own place and turned to the man in between them.

"As I was saying, I am not questioning the rules you are implementing in this place. What I was just trying to say is that if something happens to her, there will be no one to put to blame except the person in charge," Jiyong said casually before reaching out to a platter of bacon and handing it down to Dara. He mouthed the word 'EAT' even before she could say anything back.

"It was quite an unexpected situation, Jiyong. Who would have known? Even the head didn't know about it. Dr. Park was just in time to call from the main hall and coordinate with the doctors here. And it was confirmed. Congratulations," the other man said, his gaze on Jiyong while he was busily pouring Dara a glass of milk.

She wanted to open up to ask but she was hesitant, afraid she'd make another mistake. Jiyong seems so cool about things now, his face with a hint of glow unlike last night that his expression looked even darker than the night.

The two went on as if she was not there, talking about things which some she knew were about her, some she could not figure out.

"She was quite strong though, I have to acknowledge that," the man moved his jaw and touched his bruised face before smiling at Dara, making her uneasy. Seriously, she felt betrayed last night. She thought the man was an ally. It turns out, there really is no one she could trust in this place.

Looking at things now though, it seems that Jiyong was quite at ease with the man. Well who is she to judge the person anyway when Jiyong has killed ruthlessly before. She rubbed her arms and grimaced at the thought. She's known it for a fact but it will take time for her to get used to it.

"Don't underestimate her." Jiyong said with a smug look on his face.

"I wasn't just expecting that blow. But I've learned so much."

"Stop talking about me as if I'm not here, please," Dara carefully wiped her lips and pushed herself away from the table but Jiyong was quick to stop her.

"Stay right where you are and eat. You are not yet done with your food," Jiyong told her with all of his authority making Dara drop in surprise.

When was the last time he sounded like this to her? She took a peep at the other man and saw him watching her carefully and she felt heat crawl up to her cheeks. Can Jiyong just stop treating her like a child in front of the stranger?

"Sandara, eat," Jiyong said once more and she didn't need to be told thrice. She went back to her food and lowered her head as the two went on to their conversation but somehow, she couldn't help but feel a pinch of pain hearing Jiyong talk to her that way. But why does she have to be here? Why not with the trainees? Is Jiyong trying to take her out of here?

"We'll take our leave as soon as the weather gets fair,"

"Well you should have done that even before she reached this sacred place. It must have terrified her."

"It's not as if I had a choice, Il Woo,"

Dara lifted her face at the mention of the name that was new to her ears. The two men must have noticed her surprised look but the man in between them quickly stood up.

"I'm sorry Jiyong. I haven't formally introduced myself to her." The man said before offering his hand to her.

"Jung Il Woo, Miss Park. At your service,"

Dara uneasily switched her gaze from Jiyong and the man named Il Woo alternately, waiting for signals on what is really going on but Jiyong was just watching then. It took a while for her before she finally decided to reach out to him for a brief handshake. She wanted to smack Jiyong in the head for being like this right now. 

She looked like a total idiot and he wasn't helping at all.

"Should I release the details now? If we confirm it to the head then you might get about ninety nine percent chance of taking her away from here."

"And the remaining one?" Jiyong asked as he leaned back to his chair and turned his gaze to Dara who looked so dumbfounded at the moment.

"The remaining one depends on you and your temper, you gruff," Il Woo mocked making Jiyong scoff and shake his head.

"She's here. I thought you wanna talk to her? I'm giving you the chance now," Jiyong suddenly said, tilting his head up to Il Woo but the man just grinned.

"Can't talk to her alone, can I? Nothing should escape the greedy boyfriend?" Il Woo laughed at Jiyong but he quickly shrugged when he saw the man squint his eyes at him.

"Fine," he raised his hands in surrender before facing Dara.

"Miss Park, I would just want to apologize for not being very careful about your situation. I just saw your medical results and I am really surprised by it. Should the deputy head fail to give you proper explanations, I'll be most willing to accompany you to the clinic."

"I'm sorry... I..." Dara slowly shook her head in confusion, wanting to ask the man before her more but soon he was already bowing before her to take his leave.

"I hope you do understand by now that this place is so much different from yours," the man smiled at her briefly before walking away, leaving her and Jiyong alone.

She furrowed her brows at his words. None of it made sense to her except the last. She heaved a sigh and turned to Jiyong and she almost swallowed her tongue just by seeing the way he was watching her. He was quite... Fascinated. Like a young little boy.

Oh boy, she thought. Some things never changed despite the new world she was in. That look from him was enough to make her knees buckle.

There was a moment of awkward silence but having no power to stand it anymore, she was the first one to break it.

"Should you really treat me like that in front of him? Like with your full authority?"

"What did I do?" Jiyong connected his brows and leaned back to his chair once more and by the looks of it, it seems he was very ready to argue about it.

And she's not. She sighed in exasperation and drank up from her cup before standing up.

"I'm all done,"

"You sound mad,"

"I don't,"

"You do. Please sit down. Tell me why,"

"I'm not mad so there's no need to sit down any longer and tell you why," Dara was already huffing when she said it while Jiyong was still coolly seated across her.

"You should not throw tantrums when we're not alone. Also, you should not pout your lips and look adorable when we're with someone else. Everything about you is just mine."

She saw him smirk at her and she had to shut her eyes close and take a deep breath. God, she sh