KAI’S POV

“Jongguk!”  I call, waving my arm high above my head.  My son’s head turns toward my direction and he runs over, crossing the school’s front playground. 

“Appa!”  He happily exclaims, hugging my torso.  “Appa, I need to get some beans.”

“Some what?”  I wrinkle my nose.

“Beans!  To plant for science!  I need some soybeans and bean sprouts.”  Jongguk explains while dragging me out of the school gates.  “Let’s go.  We need to go to Target.”

“Let’s just go to a grocery store for that.”  I urge instead.  “What are you learning in science, Gukkie?  Photosynthesis?” 

“Huh?”

Okay, maybe not.  “Are you learning about plants?”

“Um… we’re learning about living and non-living things.” Jongguk explains distractedly as he scans the pick-up crowd for our car. 

Then what does this have to do with the beans??

“O…. kay?”  I say unsurely.

“And this is for the demonstration!”

“Oh, okay.”  I’m beginning to understand a little.  “And did everyone have to bring beans to school or…?”

“No.”  Jongguk shakes his head as he climbs into the car.  “Minho had to bring rocks, Jonghyun had to bring eggs… um, what else?  Oh, and I think Eunwoo had to bring strawberries, and um…”

It’s settled.  They’re having a garden picnic. 

“Okay, okay.  Let’s stop by the supermarket on our way home.”

“Yeah.”  Jongguk nods, staring out the window.  “You know appa, there’s this place where noona used to buy our veggies.” 

My heart jumps at her name, but I quickly hold it down.  “And where’s that?”

“It’s this supermarket with lots of fruits and vegetables on our way home… um, I don’t remember the name of it.”

“Probably Wholefoods.”  I nod.  “Yeah, that’s where we’re going, Guk.”

As our car races through the streets and past the skyline Jongguk tells me about his day, bits he found interesting and worth telling.  Which mostly involves the antics of a bunch of 6 to 7-year-olds in a classroom and their increasing discovery of classroom freedom when the teacher isn’t around. 

“…and so Dahyun went up to the teacher’s desk and stood on it, Appa!  I want to try to do that too!” 

“Jongguk, no.”  Common-sense parenting kicks in.  “That’s really disrespectful.  You might get into trouble for that and I don’t want to have to come down there to get you out of the principal’s office.”

“But Dahyun didn’t go there!”

“Yes because she didn’t get caught!  What if you do?”

“I won’t!”

I sigh.  Part of my brain is telling me to just let him go do whatever as long as he doesn’t get caught because that is basically how I operate too, but… no.  I can’t raise my son like that.

“Jongguk.” I look at him.  “Why don’t you just go up on a friend’s desk instead?”

“Because we do it all the time already!”

I resist the urge to sigh again.  Okay, that was stupid.  I know this isn’t just about sitting on a desk.  It’s about Jongguk wanting to do something he shouldn’t because it seems cool and this is the kind of thing that puts you in jail as the scale escalates later in life.

“Well kiddo,” I begin, trying to think of what to say, “I think that as long as you don’t have to do something that’s bad, you shouldn’t do it.  Like standing on the teacher’s table here.  You can have fun in ways other than that, right?”

“Well yeah, but like what?”

“Um…” I look outside the car window.  Great.  Now I have to think of a lesser offence.  Why am I just so damn brilliant at parenting?!  “Like maybe, having a snack in the classroom?  You’re not supposed to do that other than during break time.”

“Oh yeah!  Maybe we can make a little potluck the next time the teachers aren’t around!”

“Jongguk, no!”  I exclaim, smacking my face.  “Okay, just talk to some of your friends and make paper planes or something okay?  Just… do everything in moderation.”

“Moderation?”

“Not too bad, not too good, the kind that’s just okay…”  I trail off, cringing harder and harder at the life advices I’m giving him.

“Oh.”  Jongguk says flatly, and I can’t really tell what stunt he’s thinking of pulling next.  “So like doing all our homework together then.”

Oh my ing gosh.  Okay.  I don’t know.  I don’t know anymore!!  I don’t have a functioning moral compass!!  !!

“I… I don’t know Guk.  Maybe homework’s fine cos it’s not like a quiz or anything.”

“Yup.  Can we get food at the supermarket too?”

Thank goodness for the swift topic change.  “Yeah, sure.  What do you wanna get?”

“Korean pancakes!”

“Okay.”  I smile, opening the door as Dae pulls up in front of Wholefoods.  “Let’s go.”

20 minutes later, I understand why Iseul always looks so stressed whenever she comes in carrying grocery bags through the door.  Taking Jongguk to the grocery store is a ing sport.  Kid is doing Amazing Race Asia for all 12 teams here at Wholefoods, going from one aisle straight to another, and you let him out of your sight for a second you might as well start searching in China. 

“Jongguk!  Let’s go!”  I yell, pushing the trolley.  “Jongguk!”

“Appa!”  He jets out of one of the aisles, carrying a cereal box.  “Do you know that barcode scanners actually scan the white spaces, not the black stripes?”

“What?”  I wrinkle my nose.  “Who taught you that?”

“Noona!” He proudly declares, skipping along sideways as I steer towards the cashier.  “Try it!  Tell them to scan this!”

What the—I stop dead in my tracks.  Did I just hear that right?  Did my son just sell me a box of Honey Stars in the smoothest, slickest way possible?

“Jongguk,” I start, giving him the side eye, “now who taught you that?”

Jongguk grins.  “It comes with an Avengers toy.  I want.”

See I knew it.  This right here is a smart kid.

I’ll give it to him for that.  I grin and shake my head.  Tilting my head slightly, I say, “Put it in the cart.”

It’s so easy, sometimes.  So easy to think that this is all my life is about.  A father, but also a mobster… I don’t get how two opposite realities can somehow mesh with each other so well.  No matter how many times I think it’s all going to end, I’m going to die, I’m gonna have him taken away from me, it never happens.  And even though I’m always questioning how, all my fingers are crossed that it never will.

Jongguk climbs into the far first and slides over to the other side.  “I want to nap.”

“Yah, not here!”  I quickly shake him awake.  “We’re almost home!”

“But I’m sleepy!”

I open my mouth, about to retaliate, but a notification from my phone beats me.  Quickly, I check it and upon reading the text, I feel a surge of hope and a flame of old anger.  Of all the things we’ve been through…

“Sleep!”  Jongguk chirps, seizing my silence.

“No!” I reach out and tickle is tummy.  “Look, we’re here already.”

The car pulls up at the HOC Headquarters, circles around the lobby driveway, and goes down a ramp leading to the basement.  I watch everything closely, ready to pounce on anything unusual.  If the text that I got means anything, it would be the fact that some men are on the loose right now and might soon strike again.

“Do you wanna nap too, Appa?” Jongguk asks in the elevator. 

I shake my head and smile apologetically.  “Sorry Guk, I’ve got work to do.”

“Oh?  What work?”

“A business meeting.  I have to take care of our hotel, you know?”

“Mmm.”  Jongguk hums vaguely, somewhat agreeing.  As soon as we get off at our floor, Jongguk makes a beeline for the door.  Once inside, he rushes to his room and collapses on the bed.  Jeez, what did that kid go through at school today?!

“Jongguk!  Don’t forget to change out of your uniform first!”  I call, about to walk in and start nagging him about it.  But then I get another text.  I already know what it says. 

It’s saying that the situation at hand cannot wait any longer.

“Jongguk, I’m going!  Love you!”  I call, hastily heading out.  Let’s just get someone to guard my apartment and… done!  The door shuts close with a solid click behind me and it’s like I’m a whole new person.  I am Hyde.  Now’s the time for fun.

“Wait, what do you mean I can’t come?!”  I yell, my voice bouncing off the buildings looming all around us.  Suho winces a little before opening his mouth to respond.

“You have a different mission.  You’re Suzy’s Guardian, remember?  You need to take her away from this building and to one of our safehouses.  Who knows how many parallel plans they’ve got going other than the exchange.” 

I swear loudly, unable to keep my frustration in.  So you’re telling me, now that we’ve finally gotten a lead on the people who potentially had something to do with Sooman’s murder and figured out where they would be meeting for an exchange taking place today, I can’t come along to spy on them just because I have to babysit a 22-year-old?!

“But what if—”

“Kai, if she dies,” D.O. looks at me gravely, “you die too.”

That shut me up immediately.  “Fine.”  I mumble.  “But I don’t see why I have to take her anywhere.  We’ll just station men all over the building – on the roof, on every floor, and on the basement and the main exit.  Moving her would be riskier because we’d have less reinforcements out there—”

“No way.  You want them to attack here, the heart of all our activities?”

“They only have access to a limited number of floors anyway.  Without passing the retina scan they can only access our office front, not the Joker’s floor or our floor or where the important stuff happens.”

“But what if they hack into our elevator systems?!”

“Then it’ll be easier to spot the attack from here.  For all we know, they might have men lurking around all our safehouses already by now.”  I watch as understanding dawns upon Suho’s eyes, “I know keeping her here isn’t the best option either, but…”

Suddenly an idea strikes me—just as I see it hit Suho.

“Underground.”  We say in unison.

We grin at each other.

“Not the club though.  Everyone knows about that.”  Suho quickly reminds me.  But I knew better already. 

“Don’t worry.  I know where I’m taking her.”  I smirk, beginning to walk away.  “I’ll be taking her there sooner or later anyway.”

Suzy’s floor is a few levels below ours, me and the guys.  The minute the elevator doors slide open, she’s already standing right in front of my face with her arms crossed, 3 men behind her.  Oh boy.  Here we go.  Deep breaths, Kai.  Deep breaths.

“What’s going on?” She demands, striding briskly beside me as I walk down the hall, heading towards the emergency exit stairs to make sure they’re all locked.  Great.  Without an authorized fingerprint, no one can try to sneak in through the emergency stairs.  That makes everyone outside of the HOC, even Iseul…. Back when she still worked here.

“We have to get you Underground.”  I explain shortly, in a hushed voice.  “There’s an exchange taking place between the people who had something to do with all the recent attacks.  Including the one on your father.”

I look at her.  She presses her lips firmly together, saying nothing.

“We think that if those men are on the move, they might have a parallel activity somewhere else.  The fact that we could find the lead on the exchange might suggest that they actually wanted us to find out about it to distract us from the real matter at hand, which might be…”

“Attacking me?”

“Yeah.  Abducting you, holding you as hostage, or simply just cold-bloodedly mur—"

“I get it.”  Suzy snaps at me, glaring.  “So what’s your plan?”

“Hide you.”  I reply.  “And protect you with my life since it’s bound to yours anyway.”

Suzy hurries along silently as I continue to secure the perimeter, making sure all windows and exits are secured already. 

“Why do you think they’re doing this?” She suddenly wonders out loud.

I shoot her an annoyed look.  “Now is the time to move, not study psychology.  We’ll try to figure that out later when—hey, why are you alone?!"

I stop so abruptly that Suzy walks right into my back.  “Yah!”

“Where are your guards?!”

“I told them to leave us once you came, why?!”  She snaps.  “Do you want them to hear everything we’re talking about too?”

“No, but I do want them to be there for support in case anything happens!”  I shoot back.  , I’m tired of dealing with this woman.  Why is she so stupid?!  “Who’s with you today?”

“I think Ji Changwook—”

“CHANGWOOK!” I bark.  “And the rest of you!  Get over here!”

“Kai!”  Suzy whines, tugging on my sleeve.  She drops her voice down to a whisper.  “Come on, it’s so tired being followed 24/7 already!”

“Suzy, I can’t risk it. I’m not dying because of you.”

“But—”

“Yes boss?” Changwook reaches us first with two men jogging behind him. 

“Your job is to protect her.”  I fume, pointing at Suzy.  “No matter what she says, never let her out of your sight, understood?”

“Yes, boss.”

“Do you have everything on you right now?”  I ask, turning to Suzy. 

“Everything on me?  Like, my phone?”

I shrug.

“Yeah.  Why?”

“Because we need to leave.  Did you lock up everything in your room?  Shut down all the systems—”

“Yes, Kai, calm down—”

I stare at her in disbelief.  “CALM DOWN?!  Suzy, these guys have been extremely hard to track.  They’ve somehow successfully infiltrated our ranks, got to the Joker himself, and somehow successfully killed him!  You do not calm down with these guys!”

Suzy opens to respond but Ji Changwook interrupts.  “Excuse me, boss, but I just got a text from my team downstairs that an unidentified man has just been stopped from entering by security.”

I frown.  “Where is he entering from?”

“The main lobby.” 

My frown deepens.  Is it possible that… the thing is, he’s unidentified.  And because we’re a huge organization and the reach of our connections knows no bounds, we can identify about 99% of the people in the underground society.  So having someone unidentified in our lobby…

“Send a unit to every other entrance.  Block everything.  No one enters, no one leaves, you hear me?”  I order, looking at Changwook.

“We’re on it, boss.”

“Let’s go.”  I urge Suzy.  “We have to get you out of here before they—”

“Movement detected on emergency staircase A.”  Changwook reports.  “So far all movements seem to be going up, not down, so Underground would most likely still be clear.  Which Underground are we headed for, boss?”

“U2.  The Royals’ hall.”  I answer.  “We need to take the—”

A mechanic buzz suddenly fills the air, growing louder and louder with every split second.  For a second I can’t place where it’s coming from, but the intuitive compass inside me tells me that it’s coming from behind. 

Right where emergency stair A is.

“Move!  NOW!”  I grab Suzy by the wrist and start running towards the elevator, but—

CRASH!

!!  In an instant the air is filled with the deafening clank of a heavy metal door crashing to the floor after being sliced and kicked apart.  The whirring is painfully loud and the first sounds of a gun being fired fills the air. 

Ji Changwook and his men waste no time.  The floor is suddenly a Jason Statham movie, with bullets flying everywhere and the sound of rapidly-fired shots of machine guns bouncing all over the walls.  A body collapses to the floor and thank that it isn’t one of ours. 

“KAI!” Suzy screams as one of the men suddenly appears around a corner, holding the hugest, craziest, some-kind-of-a-chainsaw machine – look, I don’t even know what the hell is that but—

 “Back up!  Back up!” 

But all I know is I had to get Suzy out of here.

“Duck!” I yell, seconds before pulling her down and covering her with my body, just as the crazy machine makes a swoop at us.  This is ing crazy!  They want to rip us to shreds! 

“Kai, I think—”

“Oh will you just stop!!”  I yell, kneeing one of the guys who got in our way.  “Think later!”

“But—”

“Changwook!  I need you with us to cover!”

Wasting no time, I yank her by the hand around a corner, one arm outstretched with a steady grip on my Heckler & Koch, ready to fire.  Couple of men pop up, making Suzy scream, but taking them down was easy business.  I step over a body, grimacing at the faded scars peeping out of his sleeve.  That must’ve been some gruesome initiation process.

“Boss!”  Changwook calls, already holding the elevator open. 

“Let’s go.”  I usher Suzy into the elevator and press U right away, once the button appears, heading down to Underground level.

The trip down gives us a moment to breathe.

“Did you manage to ID any of them?”  I ask Changwook, whose hair is all floppy and wet from the sudden cardiovascular activity up there.

“Not quite.” He grimaces.  “But my men can, up there.”   

“Do you recognize anything?  Any tattoos?  Any gang attribute?  Specific fighting style?”

“One of the guys had a ring.”  Changwook replies.  “I told Byunghun to collect it already.  We’ll see what else they can find.”

I nod.  I’ve noticed that Suzy has gone suspiciously quiet, but I decide to let it be.  I did tell her to shut the hell up before.

We arrive at the Underground level.  It’s dark and empty downstairs, but that doesn’t stop us from being on high alert.  The corridor is minimally lit with halogen lights, causing shadows to loom all over us like ghostly figures.  Walking briskly, I lead Suzy to the empty banquet hall wear I was first announced leader of the Aces.  Uncle...

“What’s the plan now?”  Suzy finally speaks, reminding all of us that she is, in fact, still there.

“Well, we wait until the situation is under control.  That would take a lot faster with me up there but I’ve got to make sure you stay alive.” I pull out my phone to text the guys for updates.  Let’s try Suho.

You got anything?

He replies not long after.

Negative.  We’re all still locked in position.

I immediately text back.

And where’s that?

Rooftop of the SNU Hospital. 

I leave that on read and pocket my phone.  Sighing, I glance at Suzy.  If it weren’t for this girl, I’d already be out there helping my team.

“Hello?”  Changwook suddenly says, startling all of us. “What?  What?”

I whip my head around, immediately on high alert.  “What’s happening?” I mouth.

“They’re gone?  What do you mean they’re gone?!”

I furrow my brows.  Something’s wrong. 

“They just left?” 

“THEY LEFT?”  I holler, enraged.  “Well then ing follow them!  Let’s go!”

“Wait, Boss.”  Changwook stops me and oh, THE NERVE.  “Stay here where it’s safe with the Joker’s daughter.  My team will take care of it.”

“Oh for ’s sake!  They’re gone already!  Get Dongwook for Suzy!”  I bark, rushing out for the elevators immediately.  I can’t stand being cooped up like this.  I wanna know—I wanna know what’s happening up there! 

“Wait, Boss.”  Changwook stops me and oh, THE NERVE.  “Stay here where it’s safe with the Joker’s daughter.  My team will take care of it.”

“Oh for ’s sake!  They’re gone already!  Take care of Suzy!  If she dies, I die!”  I bark, rushing towards the emergency stairs immediately.  this.  the elevator.  Suzy, being her Guardian, being underground.  I can’t stand being cooped up like this.  I need to get out—

"Kai!"

All Her Highness' protests fall on deaf ears.  I'm already racing up my third flight of stairs - one more to go before I reach Basement level.  My lungs burn but I feel alive, like blood is finally pumping throughout my body again.  Finding my trusty motorbike, I mount it, and within seconds I'm racing up the ramp and emerging at ground level.

Alright, where the are these guys— woah!  Holy —

I skid to a stop as suddenly, from all around me, a swarm of identical black vans flood the road, all dispersing into different directions. 

"!"  I curse, gritting my teeth.  If only, if only I had stayed upstairs and fought them, I'd know which one is carrying the real goons.

Taking a blind guess, I follow the one going straight up ahead, which kind of seems to be moving differently than all those other ones making crazy turns.  I rev the engine and accelerate, trying to slip past it and strike it from up front. 

"Changwook!  Check if they took anything!"  I bark.  Thank modern innovation for ear-pieces.  Nobody's got the damn time when you're pulling a sudden Formula One here!

Besides, I think that's what this is about.  Maybe they just wanted to take something from us.  A blueprint, dealer information, one of our source lists... there's a lot of information stored in the Joker's office. 

"On it. But Boss, look behind you!"

"What now?!" I groan, sneaking a look.  Oh... ing... dammit.  There's a single van that has just appeared from around our building and is now speeding far, far off in the direction behind me.

, I won't be able to get them like this.  The car I was initially following is already nearly out of sight too by now, due to the time it gained when I stop.  I glance at all the street cameras above us.

"Changwook!"  I yell, pissed at how I lost all those stupid vans at once.  "I want footage from all the street cameras around our building!  Get me some license plates now!"

"Yes, Boss."  Changwook replies.  There's a third voice protesting in the background and Changwook answers briefly, his voice distant as if he has momentarily taken out his in-ear to hear better.

"What about Suzy?" I ask, guessing that that's who the third voice belongs to.

"She wants to be taken to the security rooms too.  She said that she also wants to see what's going on."

I sigh and rub my face slowly.  "Fine."

Making a sharp turn, I head straight back to the HQ building.  After parking my motorcycle back in its spot in the basement, I head straight up to level 23, where all security staff is.  Here, other than people monitoring activities in each of our HOC hotels in Korea, watching each nook and cranny closely.  We also have access to street cameras, black boxes of vehicles, and virtually anything else that technology can reach.  Here we live-test new software, debug them, install new barriers... basically everything.

Suzy and Changwook are already with Park Hongjun, or as he prefers, Teddy, who is the head Heart of his security unit.  He's the man for external intel – the guy knows how to get into almost any street camera, vehicle black box, telephone booth call, and basically nearly anything out there on the streets. 

"So you're saying they were caught in 40 different cameras?"  Changwook repeats incredulously.

Teddy shrugs.  "That's what happens when there are 40 different cars.  Now, I could get us in and follow each one of them, but that would be a waste of time if you didn't know which car is the real one."

Suzy's eyes flicker towards me hopefully for a second but I frown.  "There was no way to tell.  As soon as I was out they swarmed all over the street like ants.  Maybe if we..."

Suzy sighs. "Why don't we check the cameras from before they came out?"

I look at her, mildly surprised.  She's thinking the same thing as I am.  "Yeah, check from before they came out.  See where each was hiding and where each one came from.  Then we—"

My ringing phone cuts me short.

"Hello?"

"Kai?  Are you with Suzy?"

I look at the caller ID.  Suho.  What's up with him?

"Yeah, why?"

"Does she have the Joker's ring with her?"

"What?  Why would she?" I furrow my eyebrows.  "She can't wear it yet."

"Are you talking about me?" Suzy pipes in, catching on.

"Ask her."

I sigh.  "Suzy, do you have the Joker's ring with you?"

Much to my dismay, she somewhat shrinks a little.  "I was trying to tell you, I left it in the safe because I didn't get the chance to take it out—"

"No, she doesn't.  As it should be."

"Okay, well, do you wanna go and check if she still has the safe, then?"

My frown deepens.  "No way."

"Did you check?"

Without another word I rush out of the room and towards the elevator, repeatedly jabbing at the 'Up' button. 

The whole elevator ride feels like an eternity.  I drum my fingers on the cold metal wall over and over, eon after eon, wishing that it would just stop so I can get off and ing check already.  The safe... how the would they find it that soon if they actually took it?  Unless they had someone on the inside, but even on the inside no one knows about how we hide our—

Ding!

I leap to the sound of the doors opening and race down the hall, heading straight to the Joker's office.  Traces of the fight still trashed the hallways.  I burst in and head straight to the back of the room, where a large cabinet stands.  I hesitate for a moment, almost not wanting to try.  If they did take it... how could they know about the secret safe behind the cabinet? 

Instead of opening the cabinet, I place both hands on the middle parting that separated the two doors.  Then, digging my nails into the tiny crack, I push both doors sideways, away from each other, revealing a secret compartment hidden into the wall.  The safe.  The jet-black door soon comes into view. 

Only something's wrong with it. 

It isn't tightly shut - the door is poking out by less than a quarter of an inch.  Shaking, I yank it open. 

It swings wide way too easily.

Fury and disbelief hits me like a tide, even though I know already.

The ring inside the safe is gone. 

ISEUL'S POV

"So, like, you think you can fix the landing page for me in an hour?"  Lisa asks, squinting doubtfully at me.  Her face clearly depicts disgust. 

I don't know which moron did this, but the landing page of our internet cafe when a PC is connected to the internet was changed into some advertisement for a Japanese action game populated by indecent female characters who all have their s inflated 10x out of proportion.  This deserves some kind of award - the fact that our internet cafe now seems to be the main sponsor for an online scam/phishing game.  We are mightier than those web pop-ups!

"I definitely can."  I reply, nodding with conviction.  And there's no scam in that.  This is some easy peasy lemon squeezy stuff when you know a bit of code. Nothing 4 years at the SNU Faculty of Mathematics, which houses the Department of Computer Science, didn't try to ruin all your employment chances with!

Lisa half-smiles, seemingly impressed.  "Nice.  If you were here for real, you might actually get promoted."

"From logbook watchdog to inhouse technician, troubleshooter, and programmer?"

"It's from logbook watchdog," Lisa answers, tossing her long caramel locks as she sashayed towards the door, "to an inhouse multitasker.  See you at 7!"

I sigh and turn back to my screen.  Okay, let's fix this er up.  You know, looking at this reminds me of the post on Instagram where someone hacked into the front page of a high school in the States and changed a bunch of words into some pretty rude stuff.... that was funny.  Anyway.  I wonder who did this!  Was it that kid I shoo-ed off yesterday?  He might've done this just for cheap payback.  Whatever, I'm not really scared of that kid.  Yet.  Hehe.  I mean