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Jisung’s pov
“Was he talking with the guy that attacked us?” Yeonjun was the first one to speak up after a shocked silence overtook us.
“Guys...this is great. We actually found something big,” I said, trying to convince myself that it was all a good thing.
“What do we do now?” Wooyoung asked.
“A van will come pick you up tomorrow morning to transport you to my father’s agency. Meanwhile, help Yeonjun find Hyunjin’s car on the security camera recordings. I’ll send you all the info, okay? See you tomorrow. Stay safe.”
“Yes, boss!” they all agreed and ended the call.
“You heard everything, right?” I asked, putting the phone back into my pocket, approaching Minho who was sitting on his new bed, looking into the window.
“Yeah, it kind of makes sense,” he replied absent-mindedly.
“How?”
“When we talked to Soobin and Yeonjun, they said the men smelled like gasoline. It was just a meaningless comment then, but it could actually be a clue. Hyunjin told them to come back to an abandoned factory...”
“Shit, you’re right,” I cursed, sitting next to him.
At that moment, Jeongin stormed into the room, holding out a paper. “I found it! The owner of the car!” he screamed, handing us the document and we immediately start reading it.
“P-Park Jiseok?” Minho stuttered out. When I looked at him, I could see he was shocked, but there was recognition in his eyes.
“You know him?” Jeongin folded his arms.
“He used to be...my partner. But, it can’t be. He died on one of the mi...” he didn’t finish his sentence, staring at the picture of a boy that was next to the name and other information about him. He had an army uniform on and the most significant feature was the bleach white hair that were styled elegantly.
“The car could be stolen,” Jeongin suggested, taking the paper back from Minho’s hands, examining the person’s face. “He is handsome.”
“Good job, Jeongin,” I praised the young agent, giving him a small smile. I noticed how Minho’s face had dropped and his eyes filled sadness. I could only guess, but Jiseok must have been very important to him. “In, I will show you your new room, okay? You should rest, it’s been a long day.”
I started to push Jeongin out of the room, wanting to keep Minho alone with his own thoughts for a few minutes. I only said “I’ll be right back,” before we left the room.
We walked through the long corridors of my father’s agency. The building had it all. From offices, planning rooms and tech rooms, it also had a lot of bedrooms. My father’s business included protecting people who were tailed by hitmen or the mafia. So basically, it was a haven for people who were on someone’s death list.
“Boss?” Jeongin asked.
“Hm?”
“Do you...like Minho?”
I froze in my step. “Uhm, no...? Are you crazy? We are just colleagues.”
“It’s just...” Jeongin scratched the back of his head as we started walking again. “I can tell you really care about him, though you two met not so long ago.”
We arrived at his room and I took out a card, pressing it against a sensor. The room opened and we came in, turning on the lights to be welcomed to a very minimalistic room. Much like in the ATT base. It was designed by my father, so each of the rooms had paintings of creepy people hung on the walls.
“I am the boss, Jeongin. I care about all of you.”
“Come on! It’s not embarrassing to have a little crush,” the boy laughed teasingly, grabbing both of my shoulders. “He looked so sad because of the Jiseok dude. Go cheer him up, boss.”
I was about to say something in my defense, when Jeongin winked and pushed me out of the room, closing and locking the door behind me.
“You little...” I could hear giggling coming from inside the room, but no other response came, so I just decided to go back to my bedroom, cursing Jeongin in my mind.
When I stepped in, the room was dark. Minho was lying on the bed, his back facing me. I walked around slowly and quietly on my tip-toes to get a look at his face. He looked so peaceful and angelic, eyes decorated with a set of long eyelashes, dark hair neatly falling across his forehead.
“You up?” I whispered, reaching out to poke his cheek, getting an angry hum back. “Stand up, I want to show you something.”
“No, I want to sleep.”
“Yah!” I screamed, making him jump in shock and finally open his eyes. “This is an order! Stand up now!”
“Don’t think that you can use the boss card to make me do everything,” he groaned, but stood up, though his gaze was piercing right into my soul.
“You won’t regret it, I promise. Let’s go!”
-
We walked down a set of stairs on the first floor into a narrow corridor, until we came to red door. I eyed Minho shortly before I opened it. The smell of chlorine hit my face like a truck as we found ourselves in a huge room. There was a swimming pool in the middle, surrounded by nothing else than just some cleaning equipment.
There was no one there. We had it all for ourselves. I turned on all the lights, even the ones inside the pool.
You can do this, I thought, before taking off my shirt and pants, leaving only my underwear, making sure Minho and I held the eye contacted the entire time.
“Are you going?” I asked and started walking down the stairs into the pool. I smirked as I saw the silent panic washing over Minho’s face before he coughed and took off his own clothes as well, dropping them next to mine.
He followed me into the water. It was cold, almost freezing and I could see goosebumps forming all over his body. I waited until he reached me and I embraced him in a hug, wrapping my arms around his waist, pulling him close to me.
“You’re anxious. Try to relax,” I whispered against his ear. “Nothing can hurt you here. I will keep you safe.”
I could feel the tension slowly leaving his body as he pressed his face against my neck, making himself appear so small. His hot breath against my skin felt heavenly as his fingers travelled across my back. I did it to help him relax, though I had to admit...it was also helping me.
“You look so tired and sad it...it makes me worried,” I continued whispering. “I just want you to feel better.”
“I am okay Jisung. I really am.”
“I wish you told me what’s wrong. I know it’s probably hard for you to trust someone, but all I want is for you to feel comfortable while you work with me. I know that nightmare you had must have been a regular thing for you...and the way you looked when we visited the burnt house...You know, if you tell me, it could get better.”
“Jisung...”
“Please?” I said softly. I pushed away from the hug, only so I could see his face and repeated: “Please.”
It was quiet for a while. Minho was looking right into my eyes, as if trying to come up with an excuse or a lie. But, after he let out a long sigh, I knew he failed.
“The first time we met,” he started. “You called me the best agent in my agency.”
“Mhm, I remember.”
“It was such a lie, it actually made me laugh...” he smiled sadly. “A few months ago, I was on a mission. I was supposed to save over twenty people who were held as hostages from a building that was about to blow up...”
He stopped as if it physically pained him to continue.
“Go on,” I encouraged him.
“I failed, okay? I failed the mission. They all died and it was my fault.” Tears were running down his cheeks as he said the last sentence.
“What happened?”
“Jiseok...He...was there...with me,” he spoke, having to take a break every other second, because the cries escaping his lips made it harder for him to talk.
I hugged him again to give him some comfort, stroking his hair.
“I don’t know why, but he led me to a wrong location. I should have known he was deceiving me. He sent me and the rest of the team about two streets away. He wanted me to fail. I trusted him.”
“You said he died...”
“We heard the explosion though we weren’t even there, it was so loud...We all ran there immediately. We only saw fire, pieces of the building everywhere and all the people just dead, burnt to the bone. When the police and my boss came, I didn’t have any other choice, but to tell the truth.”
“Did they arrest him?”
Minho shook his head. “They wanted to, but he was fighting back, so they shot him. The next day, I just got a message. He died after they took him to the hospital. That it was they told me.”
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How are you guys doing? ☺
- Sani