“Kai, you’re being so immature right now.”  I hiss venomously, still pissed at him.  I whip around when he doesn’t respond and find himself with his arms crossed, right ankle over his left knee, head thrown back and his eyes shut.  Like the petty little piglet he is. 

“Jesus Christ.  Mark, I really am so sorry.”  I say, rubbing my temple, trying to soothe the vein that’s about to pop already.

“At least he’s just sitting there like a dead rock.”  Mark mutters, and instantly, Kai lets out an exaggerated, loud, impolite snore.

I sigh again and mouth, ‘He’s impossible!!’

And Mark, being the ing gentleman that he is, shakes his head, as if to say, not to worry.  You know what I would do if I were Mark?  I would’ve already parked this car, open the back door, and put all my energy, heart and soul into pulling the shameless intruder behind us out, punch his ridiculously cocky face, and leave him to bake under the sweltering sun.  Hmph!                                                             

“Let’s just play some music and forget that we have a thirdwheeler around okay Seul?”  Mark glances at me briefly before turning back to the road.

“YAH!  You guys are so noisy!”  Kai complains, in that usual angry half-shout of his. 

“Well brace yourself cos it’s gonna get even better!”  I retort, turning the radio on with a firm push of my forefinger, and the system comes to life.

Making my way downtown—

“OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD THIS IS—“  I splutter to get the words out. 

“FROM WHITE CHICKS!!!”  Mark screams, just as excitedly.

I immediately join in.  “—And I’m home bound!  OOOoooooOOooh!!”

Mark joins me this time.  “OooOOOOoooh!!”

“Staring blankly ahead, just making my way—“

“—making a way, through the crowd..”  Mark taps the dashboard to the rhythm.

“And I need you!”  I sing, pointing at Mark.

“And I miss you~”  Mark sings back, pointing at me.

“And now I wonder..” We sing together, waiting for the right moment to break into the chorus.

“IF I COULD FLYYYY INTO THE SKKKYYYYY… will you think TIIIIIIME… Would pass me by?” 

“Aish, seriously!”  The Grinch in our backseat complains. 

“I can’t remember the rest.”  Mark makes a face, so we settle down to just humming and occasionally joining in on the song.  “Mmmm~” he hums on, eliciting another irritated groan from the self-invited passenger behind us.

“If you hate it in here so much Kai, why did you even tail along?!” I yell over the music.

“Because I don’t trust him!  You’re driving around with a guy who’s breaking all his company rules at once!”

“What do you know about working in a cab company?!”  Mark shoots back irritatedly.

“Enough to know that what you’re doing isn’t allowed, smartass!” 

I turn the radio down.  “Okay, you both need to chill okay?  Especially you, Kai, why the are you getting all so worked up for?  If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were jealous.”

“Too much exposure to this idiot here is obviously turning you into an idiot as well, Iseul.  Do you really think that being jealous is my style?!  And being jealous of him of getting to be with you?”  Kai pauses for a while and looks at me in such a mean, incredulous way that I actually feel like total moron.  “The only reason I decided to tag along is because I told you, I don’t trust him!  And I can’t believe you do!” 

“Ha, and you care so much about my wellbeing?”

“He’s misusing his company’s cab for his own personal benefit, Iseul.  What do you think will make him not do the same to you?”

“Okay Kai, you need some ing therapy.”  Mark stops the car with an angry halt in front of Sweden Laundry.  That’s right, here’s when you ing throw the idiot out. 

But to my dismay, nooo!  Being the chivalrous gentleman he is, Mark decides to simply jabber on.  LIKE THAT’S GOING TO GET INTO KAI’S THICK SKULL.  “I don’t know what kind of people you’ve dealt with in your life before, but as ty as they may be, not everyone in this world is like them, you know?  And that’s ing rude sir, making ty speculations about me in front of my face.  Now get out and go do your own laundry.”  Mark tosses the bag on my lap to Kai, who catches it as it lands on his chest.

“It’s her job, give it back to her.”  Kai flings it back to Mark.

“Are you going to make a woman on her monthly time do it?”  Mark glares at Kai dauntlessly. 

There’s a moment of silence.

“Imbeciles.”  Kai mutters as he flings the door open, hops out, and slams it back shut.

“Urgh!”  I groan, thumping my head repeatedly on the headrest. 

“How do you even stand working for him?!”

“He’s not always like that.”  I sigh, massaging my temples.  “I’m really sorry.”

“I wouldn’t really say that it’s fine but—do you wanna leave him?”  Mark grins, a cheeky, let’s-commit-a-crime grin. 

“No.  No, I most certainly do not.”  I shake my head quickly.  “He will ing dice you to death Mark.”

“I have a car with me; I can always run him over.”

“His ghost will haunt you to your grave.”  I tell him.  “And even into the life after that.” 

The car door behind Mark opens abruptly.  “There.  Happy now?” Kai barks as soon as he plops in.

“Where to now?  I can’t wait to get rid of you.”  Mark says, ignoring Kai’s rhetorical question. 

“Change of plans, we’re picking my son up first.”  Kai says as he leans over to adjust his hair on the rearview mirror.

“I thought you said you had work?!”  I ask, my pitch ascending with every word.  Omo, omo!!!!  Look at this pompous little potato—

“What, am I not allowed to pick my son up from school?  And there you were a couple of days ago lecturing me about how I should spend more time with my son.”

“Aren’t you just doing this so you can spend more time with her?”  Mark bickers back.

“Did I ask you to ask any stupid questions?  Just get us to Gangnam Elementary School ASAP so we can pick Jongguk up before he runs off on his own again!  Don’t make it the second time my son runs off because of you!”

“Technically, Kai, the first time was because of you.”

“If he had taken better care of my son while you were inside taking your exam, he wouldn’t run off even if I told you to bring him with you to campus right?”

“Just let it be, Iseul.”  Mark tells me softly, but just loud enough for Kai to hear.  “It’s hard winning an argument with a smart person, but it’s even harder to win one with an idiot.”

“Yah, did you just call me an idiot?!”  Kai roars.

“See?  He can’t even tell.”  Mark shakes his head in mock pity.

“Kai, you really are being such a today.”  I tell Kai without any sugarcoating.

“He was being a first.”

“No, you were.  You’re acting even worse than a girl on her period, and I know how frustrating we can be.”

“Thanks, I’ve always been complimented on my attitude.  It’s what I wear best.”

“Did you mean insulted?”  Mark answers.

“Just tell your boyfriend to drive.”  Kai says, leaning his head on the headrest again.

“Just go Mark.”  I sigh, not even bothering to say ‘HE’S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!’”

“Right on, baby.”

I sigh loudly and turn the volume of the radio back up. 

--and so here is Dawin featuring Silento in his hit single, Dessert.

The music starts and I immediately feel the energy rushing back to my veins. 

I say D-A-DOUBLE U-I-N

Silento…

“Alright, this is my jam!”  Mark bites his bottom lip and taps along with the beat.  “I like the way you moooooove, girl.  I like the way you mooooove, gi-irl.”

I begin the moment Dawin does because I don’t know the Silento part.  “They can imitate you, but they can’t duplicate you.  Cos you got something special, that makes me want to take you...”

“I want it all day long, I’m addicted like it’s wrong.  I want it all day long, I’m addicted like it’s—“

“Whatchu gon—watchu gonna do with that dessert?!”

“Tu-wa-tuda-di-da-tuda-di-da—“

“This is crap.” The Grinch groans.

“Murder that—murder that dancefloor!”

“Oh MY EARS!!  MY EARS ARE BLEEDING!” Kai screeches again.  “The only thing you are murdering is my EARS?  YOU HEAR ME???”

“You should really just get off Kai!”  I screech for the billionth time that day.

Kai sighs, probably regretting his whole Markseul sabotaging plan.  “I’m never riding with you guys again.”

“We’re not expecting you to!”  Mark sticks his tongue out at Kai, turning around for a moment. 

“Just go to Gangnam Elementary School.  He won’t get off even for the last slice of pizza on earth.”  I shake my head.

“Honey, if the last slice of pizza on earth was here in Korea, we’re the ones getting off.”  Mark tells me, winking.

“Where’s Kai?  What the is taking him so long?  Odong-Pom is at least an hour’s drive from here.  And that’s already pushing it cos I heard the highway there is blocked due to re-constructions.”  Jae asks, irritatedly tapping her foot on the ground.

“I can’t ing believe this.”  D.O. mutters at something in his phone.

“What?”  Baekhyun turns to him.  D.O. shows him the phone and immediately everyone crowds over. 

Something’s fishy bout Iseul’s stupid taxi-driving friend.  Feel like I’ve seen him somewhere.  Checking him out rn (no homo tho).  Omw to Guk’s school in their cab.  Go on first I’ll catch up soon.

“So we have two possibilities here.”  Suho says, an eyebrow raised. 

“We do?” 

“Yeah.  One, he’s lying.  He just using this dude as an excuse to spend time with Iseul.”  Suho says.

Jae’s eyes widen.  “That son a—“

“And two, he’s actually doing what he says he’s doing.” 

“He can’t be anywhere near my sister!!”  Jae yells. 

“Jae, sorry to break it to you but it’s kind of too late for that already.” 

“Yah, Sehun.  Are they close?” 

“You sure you wanna hear about it?  They’ve slept on the same bed already!”

“WHAT?!”  Jae yells, nearly dropping her phone.

“Kai even acted as her husband once.”

“DON’T ING KID ME RIGHT NOW, KID.” 

“I’m not!!!  I’m being a hundred percent serious—they once went on a three day trip to the beach as husband and wife!”

“Oh my God.  That’s it.  That’s ing it.  Iseul is not going to spend another day working with him.  In fact, I’m going to call her right now.  I’m going to send her back to our parent’s house—“

“Kai is probably going to follow her there.”

“He’s stepping over the line!  He’s crossed the line way too far already!”

“To Kai, there hasn’t even been a line.  He will do whatever he wants to do, to or with whoever he wants to do it.”  Sehun answers. 

Jae’s mouth falls open. 

“I didn’t mean it like that.”  Sehun quickly backtracks, flushing.  “I mean… Kai is used to having his way.”

Dead silence.

“Yah, Sehun—what did yo—“

“Look.”  Sehun says, a bit impatiently.  “You can stop worrying about Kai because even though he might seem mean, and can actually be pretty mean, he’s still—he’s not crazy, okay?  He knows who needs killing and who does not.  And I can guarantee that he won’t be blowing Iseul off any time soon.” 

“Soon?!”  Jae screeches.            

“And the same vice versa.”  Baekhyun adds, winking.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Jae glowers.  “YAH, TELL ME!!  I’m your noona, you little kid!”

“Iseul won’t be blowing Kai off anytime soon either— OW!!”

The older woman pants, regaining her posture after kicking Baekhyun on his shin.  “I thought I misheard, but you really are asking for it huh?  Listen here, Baekhyun-sshi, my sister won’t be doing that… ever!  Not soon, not later, and not ever!  NE-VER.  You hear me?  Don’t say things like that anymore—“

“Aish, what the hell?!  We all thought you were this tough badass but now you’ve just reduced yourself to some old, nagging mother from a Joseon-era Kdrama!”

Jae’s eyes literally pops into the sky.  “YA—“

“Anyway, what we’re trying to say is,” Suho steps in, with that cloud of authority he always seem to have around him, “that Kai won’t be doing any harm to your sister.  Neither will we.”

“Well, unless she turns into some psycho or turns out to have been working as an undercover agent from some mob desperate to tear us down then she’s safe.”  Sehun shrugs.

“SEHUN, DID YOU REALLY JUST USE THE TERM ‘PSYCHO ’ TO REFER TO MY—“

Baekhyun shoves Sehun into the car.  “Yo noona, I’m just gonna make it simple for you cos Sehun obviously does not know how to explain things nicely to someone but here’s the point:  Kai likes your sister.  He’s not going to harm her.  There, can we go now?!” 

“Wait—wait, what do you mean he likes her?  Like, in a ‘I think I like you and I kinda wanna date you’ way or just a simple ‘you don’t piss me off’ kind of way or the ‘I wanna be really good friends with you kind of—“

“And this is why we don’t work with women on our team.”  Baekhyun shakes his head.  “Relax noona, it’s only the ‘I think I can tolerate you kind of way’.  Now would you please get in the car?!”

“Jongguk!!”  I call, waving excitedly at the little boy who’s running over to our direction now.  I sneak a glance at Kai who’s busy texting someone on his phone and feel a volcanic surge of annoyance rise in me. 

“I thought you said you wanted to pick him up?!”  I squawk, not caring if I sound like a nagging housewife already.

“What’s your problem now?”  Kai looks up with a bored expression.

“If you’re gonna come all the ing way here you might as well stop texting and put yourself into some good use!  Have you even bothered looking for your son since the moment we got here?”

Kai looks around for 2 seconds and spots Jongguk running towards us while pulling his wheeled backpack.  “Hey Guk!” he calls, before going back to texting the very very important person on his phone.

“Honestly.”  I mutter to myself.  “You’re impossible.  Let’s go Jongguk-ah.  Uncle Mark is waiting for us with his really cool car back there.”

“Really?  Uncle Mark has a really cool car?”

“No he doesn’t.” 

Ah, Satan himself has cared to join our conversation now.  I watch skeptically as Kai scoops Jongguk up into his arms.  “He doesn’t even own that car, Jongguk.  He’s borrowing it.  Illegally.”

“Illee—??”

Kai pokes Jongguk’s noise, then points at me.  “Tell your noona not to be attracted to people like that please.  It’s honestly the stupidest thing she could ever do.  Ever.”

“YAH!”

“Look, she’s been screaming at me like that for the whole day Jongguk-ah!  Anyway, let’s get you back to the car so you can go home.” Kai taps Jongkook’s nose twice. 

I stand there for a moment, fixated on the rare, precious moments where Kai actually shows his endearing side.  If only he stayed like that all the time…

Before I realize it, Kai is standing only inches away from me.  “You too.  You have to babysit my son.”  Then, before I even begin to realize what’s happening, he leans down, and, granting me only about 5 inches space from him, he taps my nose twice.  As well.

2 seconds.  It takes 2 seconds for my brain to undo the ‘freeze all body systems’ function.  I blink, just as Kai turns around to walk away with Jongguk cradled in one arm. 

“D-did you just—“

“Come on, Ms Seo.”  Kai says, looking over his shoulder, throwing me one of his signature, ‘I’m such a jerk, I know, but you know you can’t resist me either’, playful smirk.  My brain hits snooze again.

I couldn’t help but—

“Aish, Iseul, for real—you better start moving your !!”  He yells, and just like that, the delicate bubble popped. 

I hurry over, trying to catch up with him.  For the record, Kai walks like he’s half teleporting.  He’s that fast.  He’s that fast and that steady, and so unapologetic.  I can see why he’s the head of—what was it?  Security team?  Whatever it is, he’s the head of something already in the HOC, Korea’s largest luxury hotel chain.  There’s something about him that not many other people have. 

The sun glints over his hair and I squint.  It’s.. it’s… I don’t know what it is.  Confidence, maybe, but only partially.  It’s like he owns everything under his feet. 

Power?  Authority?  Blatant ignorance of everything else other than himself?

No.  He doesn’t have that much power… he’s just the head of the security team, I’m pretty sure of it now.   He’s not—

“Here.”  He turns around all of a sudden, and that’s when I realize we were already by Mark’s taxi again.  Setting Jongguk on the ground first, he hands me Jongguk’s bag and his lunchbag.  “Make sure you tuck him in by 9.” 

“No, I want to wait for Appa!” Jongguk pouts stubbornly. 

Kai crouches down to meet Jongguk’s eye level and ruffles his son’s hair.  “I don’t know when I’ll be back, Jongguk.  9.30 is the most I’m giving you.  A little boy like you needs all the sleep he can get, do you understand?”

“Are you coming back late tonight?” I ask, before I can stop myself. 

Again, he gives me that smirk.  “And if I am?”

I frown.  But Kai only turns away and right then, as if right on cue, a sleek black Porsche drives up in front of him.  He opens the door, and waving on last time at Jongguk, after lingering his dark black orbs one last time at me, he steps in and whizzes away. 

“Hey Seul,” Mark starts, halfway down the way back to the HOC building.

“Hmm?”

“To raise money for this year’s annual end-of-the-year ball, the performing arts guys are holding a play tomorrow, down at the main auditorium at their campus.  They’re going to be doing a highlight reel of a Broadway show called ‘Hamilton’, ever heard of it?”

“Saw an ad of it once on Youtube, I think.” I say, nodding slightly. 

“Tickets are only 5.000 won per seat.  Some of the hottest performing arts stars are going to be there—Song Joongki, Song Hyekyo… it starts at 7 all the way till 9.30.  What do you say?”

I in my breath.  “Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow.”

“I’ll have to… check with my boss, you know..” I say, a bit unsure.  What was Hamilton about again?  I mean, I am so behind on Descendants of the Sun already.  And tomorrow a new episode of Another Oh Haeyoung airs!  But this is Mark asking me…. So…

“Is anyone else going or is it just gonna be…” I move my finger from him to myself, him to myself.

“Oh—uh—well, I’m not quite sure about that yet… I guess it depends…” Mark scratches the back of his head and I feel a little spark of satisfaction flicker inside me.  I guess he hasn’t asked anyone else then. 

“Okay.  I’ll be there.” I say, firmly.  Doesn’t matter whether Kai lets me go or not—I’m gonna be there!

“Great!  So… tomorrow?”

“Yeah.  Tomorrow.” I say, silently cheering in my head.

Yes, you heard right everybody— your gal right here has a date!!! 

“Can I come too??” Jongguk asks from the backseat.  

I laugh.  “Nope!  You’re staying home with Appa.”

“But, noonaaaa!”

“Jongguk, it’s for ages 17 and above only.”  Mark says, looking at him through the rearview mirror.

“Whoa there, you sure you didn’t confuse the play with uh, I don’t know, a strip club or something?”

“Nope.”  Mark winks.  Just right then, he pulls off in front of the HOC.  “So.  Tomorrow?”

I nod, keeping my cool.  “Mmhmm.  Tomorrow.”

“Look, that’s Kai!  Finally he’s here.  What the took him so long?!”  Chanyeol yells as soon as the sleek black car Kai was riding in rolled into view. 

Kai steps out of the car and straightens his suit.  “Is everyone here already?”

“Shouldn’t you be asking that question about 40 minutes ago?!” Sehun says sarcastically.

“Okay so here’s what we’re gonna do.”  Kai says, deliberately ignoring the younger one.  “Chanyeol and D.O., I want you on the left wing of the house, Baekhyun and Sehun, secure it from the right.  Keep an eye on everything and notify me if anything seems suspicious.  Suho, come with me and Jae—“

“Yes?”

“You stay in the van and monitor the whole place from the computer inside.  Tell us if anything goes awry.  Hijack security cameras and any passcodes if needed—you get the gist right?  Did Chanyeol teach you how to use it yet?”

“He did but—“

“Good, we’re all set.  Now.  Did we manage to hack into the guest list before—“

“Yes, you’ll be listed as a simple Mr Choi Jinwoo on the list.”  Chanyeol says, handing Kai a pair of glasses.  “Wear these for a bit of cover.”

“And Suho?”  Kai asks, taking the plastic Raybans. 

“Guest invites are all valid for a plus-one, so you’re good to go.” 

“Alright.  Everyone’s earpiece working fine?”

“Yup.” 

“Let’s go and get our baby.”  Kai rubs his hand together. 

“Wait—Kai!”  Jae says, stopping him in his tracks.

“What is it now?”

“Don’t you think you’ve got it wrong?  Chanyeol should be the one doing all the technical stuff in the van, Suho can replace him and go with D.O., and I’ll be your plus one.”

“What?”  Kai looks at her incredulously. 

“Chanyeol obviously knows this stuff better than I do.  And besides, wouldn’t it make more sense if a woman was going with you as a plus one?  I know I can create better distraction than Suho.” 

“Excuse me, noona, but I don’t think—“

Jae pulls rips off the zipper of her hoodie, revealing a black, low, v-cut top inside which connects with the long black culottes she was wearing.  She takes a velvet black choker with a single teardrop shaped pearl dangling from it and fixes it around her neck.  Puffing, tousling, and teasing her hair a couple of times on the window of the van.  From her other pocket she pulls out a Mac lipstick and paints it on her lips—now as red and as rich as blood.  Then she turns around to face Kai and smiles at his shocked face.

“I think we all know that all women are, deep down, attention .  Let’s go, boys!”

“Jongguk-ah, should we order some food?” I sing, stretching my legs.

“Why?  I like noona’s cooking.”  Jongguk says while coloring something on the… table???

“Yah Jongguk-ah, what are you doing???” I ask, scrambling over. 

Jongguk looks up at me nonchalantly.  “I’m drawing Ironman.  Do you know Ironman, noona?”

“I know who Ironman is but look at where you’re— oh you’re drawing on paper.  Okay.  Nevermind.”  I plop back down on the couch.  “What should we order Jongguk?”

“I want noona’s kimbap rolls tonight.”

“But I don’t feel like cooking.”  I whine.  

“Why?”

“My whole body aches, Jongguk-ah.”  I pout, kicking around on the couch.  “My uterus is killing me!!”

“Uterus?” Jongguk repeats, blinking.  “Should we go to the hospital?”

“Even if we needed to how are we going to go huh?  Can you take me there?”  I ask, propping my head on one bent arm.

“Nope, but Appa can!” Jongguk says cheerfully, reaching for a blue crayon now. 

“Your Appa isn’t even here.” 

“No, but I can call him for you, Noona.” 

“Yah, do you think he’d come?”  I say, my pitch getting higher as I get more and more frustrated as each second ticks by for no.  Apparent.  Reason. 

“Of course!  For you he’ll come.”

I nearly scoff. 

“Look at how easy this kid lets words out…” I mutter under my breath.  “You’re getting my hopes up, you know Jongguk-ah?  You know what?  We’re eating jajangmyeon.  I know this place that sells some really good jajangmyeon—oh, here it is!  Legend of Noodle!”

Clicking on the website, I quickly find their delivery hotline and wait patiently.

“Ne, hi, can I get two portions of jajangmyeon?  No, I don’t need an upsize.  Drinks?  I’ll have one with… Sprite... and the other with... Milo.  Can you send it to the HOC building please?  Okay.  Okay, thanks.” 

I hang up and prepare 15,000 won, setting it on the table first.   With that, we wait.

“Kai, two on your left!!” 

Kai spins around and fires twice—two more down.   The coast was finally clear.  “Where’s Jae?  Did she get out yet?”

“No, she’s—goddammit, what an idiot!!  Kai!  She got herself cornered!!” Chanyeol yells in his earpiece. 

“Where?!” 

“Go back to the previous hall and make a right instead of a left like you did before.  Hurry, Kai!”        

Just that second, Baekhyun appears.  “Kai, give it to me!  Sehun is covering for me.”

Kai throws their baggage (read: bomb) at Baekhyun.  “Get the van ready and drive to the other side of the mansion.  I’ll emerge from there and when I do, we need to leave immediately.”

“Got it.”

With that, he runs, searching for his previous partner.   Where the hell is she?  “Yah Chanyeol—is she—“

Chanyeol’s voice cuts through again.  “Kai, we’ve got three behind you and as soon as you make it round this corner there’s one—OH GOD DUCK!“

“Urgh!” Kai grunts as he rounds the corner and attacks his attacker by grabbing him on his knees just as the man fired a shot that meant to be for him.  He slams him down on the floor and Kai smiles maniacally before killing the man with a single bullet. 

“Kai—the three fairy-godmothers are coming around—“

“On it.”  Kai fires three more shots, blindly yet accurately, and the sound of men groaning in pain and shock became the sound of bodies thumping on the floor, and then it became nothing.  Kai took the gun of the first man he killed before running off again to find Jae.  “Where do I go now, Yeol?”

“Well the good news is, Jae is coming right at you.  The bad news is, she’s taking all her boys with her.  Go to your left.”

“Thanks man.”  Kai takes a moment to slick back his hair before running to his left.  True enough, Jae comes bumping into him a second later. 

“Kai!  They’re—“

Kai stretches his both his arms outwards and takes two men down at once.  

“Jesus, you—“

Kai pulls the trigger again, but all he got was an empty clicking sign.  Without even thinking about it he grabs Jae’s gun and shoots the last remaining man down to his sad fate.  “Let’s go.”

“Thanks.”

“I thought I told you to lead them outside where Suho and D.O. will be waiting and ready to take them down?!”

“I took the wrong turn!  I’m sorry!” 

“Whatever.  Just hurry up.”

“You don’t have to slow down for me.  I’m very athletic, for your information.” 

“If you say so.”  Kai picks up his speed and true to her words, Jae keeps up with him at a steady pace.  He presses on his earpiece and speaks into it.  “Chanyeol, we’re coming out in five.”

“Ready when you are Kai.  Now the thing is—we’ve got some men closely tailing us so we can’t stop.  You’re going to have to hop on at the exact same moment I drive by, you hear me?”

“Understood.  Do you have the bomb?”

“Safe and secured, sir.”

“Good.”  Kai glances at Jae.  “Jae, we’re being closely tailed so the van can’t stop.  As soon as you emerge the van will be driving right past the exit so you jump on it right away, you understand?  Don’t stop beforehand, you’re going to lose speed if you do.” 

“Kai, you ready?  We’re rounding the corner to come and get you!”  Chanyeol yells, the sound of tires screeching back him up.  “Kai!  In 3..2..—“

Kai and Jae come charging at the exit right as the black van appears.  The sliding door is already wide open. 

“JUMP, JAE!”  Kai yells, and the female does. 

She cannonballs into the van just in time.  Jae finds her footing but staggers backwards again, nearly falling out of the van due to all the motion. 

“!”  She curses, as she accidentally hits her head while scrambling to hold on to something.  She grimaces as she tries to keep her balance on top of the moving vehicle.  As soon as her fingers find the metal edges of the doorframe of the van, she holds on to it as if it was her lifeline.  Which it sort of was, actually.  Finding her balance, Jae manages to pull herself fully in and sit down inside.   

“What about Kai?” she asks.  The van was already past the exit now. 

“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.  He’s Kai.”  Baekhyun says, winking. 

“Chanyeol, I’m going to catch the van from behind.”  Kai says, running after the van while ducking blindly to avoid bullets. 

“Got it.  I’ve released the footing from under the license plate.”

True to his words, a metal bar just wide enough for someone to step on that has emerged from under the van’s license plate.   Kai fixes his eyes on it.  “Three… two… one—“

“Urgh—“ Kai grunts as he jumps on it, desperately holding on to the rear windshield wiper of the car.   Once regaining his balance, Kai leans on the van and anchors himself down to it with all his body weight, and raises his arms to shoot at the tires of the enemy’s car.  Wind whips and curses through his hair and sweat trickles down all over his face.  Dust and debris in the air fly all around him and Kai can barely even open his eyes to see them.  But from the bottle-popping sound it made and hissing of air that followed afterwards, it seems like he’s hitting bulls’ eye just fine. 

“Kai!  Over here!”  Another voice suddenly yells, amidst all the noise. 

He looks up to see Baekhyun emerging from the sunroof of the car.   He sends something rolling down the roof of the car, dropping over the rear edge right to where Kai’s open palm was waiting. 

“Thanks Baek!” Kai yells, once realizing that it was a smokebomb that his friend had sent him.  “Leave the sunroof open!!”

“Copy that!”

Kai tosses the smokebomb in his palm several times, feeling the weight of it.  “Three.. two..”

A toss.

BOOM.

And then an explosion.

Coughing, spluttering, Kai watches their pursuer fade away, getting lost in the mist.  Once they’re fully out of sight he scrambles up to get a hold on the roof of the car. 

“Goddammit—“  Kai jumps up and hoists his body up to the roof of the car.  He wriggles up, slowly hoisting himself on top of the car.  He lays low, securing himself on the flat surface.  With his palms flat on either side of his body, Kai slowly pulls himself closer to the open sunroof, being extra careful to prevent himself from falling off.

“Come one Kai!  You can do it!”  

Kai struggles to open his eyes against the violent wind.  His hair was flying into his eyes and the world around him was shaking, trembling, and every single pebble or speed bumps the van went across felt like an earthquake to Kai.  “Aish!”  He groaned, pulling himself right to the brink of the sunroof. 

“You need a hand?”  Suho asks from below him, inside the van.

“No, I’m good.”  Kai says, sitting up slowly to slide his lower body in first to the van. 

“That was awesome man.”  Suho thumps Kai on the back once he was fully in.  “Yah, close the sunroof.  There’s so much dust getting in.”

“Yah.” Kai breathes, wiping his neck.  “Chanyeol, go straight ahead.  Don’t make a right.” 

“What?  Why?  The way to the HOC building is—“

“I know, just go straight up ahead okay?”

“Kai, are we still being tailed?”  Baekhyun asks.  “Yah Sehun, go check the radar.”

“Yeah—no.  No, everything’s fine.  We’re not being followed anymore.  Kai, what’s the matter?  Is there someone around the corner just now waiting for us?”

“No.  But there’s a place we need to visit straight up ahead.”

“What?  Does it have anything to do with the bomb?”

“No.”  Kai says, wiping his hands.  “It has something to do with me.”

D.O’s brows furrow.  “WHAT?  Kai, honestly, you’re going to have to be a bit more specific.” 

“Yeah, Kai, you have to tell us where we’re going!”  Chanyeol yells from behind the wheel. 

“Aish.”  Kai turns around and glares at all of them, one by one.  “Yah, we’re going to McDonalds.  I just need some food, is that allowed?!”

Someone raps on the door. 

I immediately jump up.  “It’s here Jongguk-ah!  Yes, coming!” I yell, hurrying to the door. 

Opening the door, I find one of HOC’s security guards carrying my food.  The guard hands me the plastic bag he was holding.  “Here you go.”

“It should be 15,000 won right?”  I ask, looking for the bill. 

“Yes.”

I hand him the exact amount.

“Thanks.”  The guard says, tipping his hat down a bit. 

“Yeah, thanks!”

I’ve nearly closed the door back shut when suddenly he turns around.  “I thought it was Kai who ordered the jajangmyeon.”

“No, it was me.” I shrug.  “He’s not back yet.”

“Are you Jongguk’s new babysitter?”

“Yeah, I am.”  I nod. 

“Are you living here now?”

I grimace a bit.  “Aish, is it that noticeable that I’m living with him? Please don’t go around gossiping about this okay?  It’s only temporarily.” 

He says nothing but continues to stand there, looking at me with empty, blinking eyes.  What, did he not understand what I mean by temporarily?

“Of course!  Why would I stay here with Kai forever?  Besides, do you think it’s comfortable sleeping under the same roof as your boss?  He’s a male, on top of that!”  I ramble on.  “He—“  I broke off.

Oh my God…

“URRGHHHH he’s just so frustrating sometimes!!  He can be a real pain in the !!”  I scream and kick my leg, but he stands there motionless, just staring at me with those emotionless eyes.  Honestly, he looks like he’s sleeping with his eyes wide open!

“Where is Kai?”

“I… don’t know, actually!  Yah, you should go down and pay the delivery guy.  I could go on forever if I were to talk about Kai.  Thanks again!”  I smile, waving him off as I enter the room. 

I close the door shut behind me and did the sliding lock.  I lean on the closed door behind me and take a several shaky breaths.  Oh God… oh God…

The security guard before—he had a knife with him. 

And as far as I know, HOC security carries guns, not knives. 

I mean, what security carry knives anyway?  They always have those little handguns attached on their hip, don’t they?  And the knife just now—it was just a small, pen-knife-ish kind of thing, I think, but the tip of it was poking out of his pocket—just barely.  And I knew I wasn’t meant to see it, but I did. 

And the worst part of it was?

Well, on the fabric of the pocket where the knife was being not-so-carefully hidden, there was just the slightes