The sky was black tranquility married to a poetry of stars. It was the softness that called body and brain to rest and let the heart go to its steady rhythm. Night came as a reward of sorts, a restfulness above to calm the soul.

Y/n's soul was not calm however. Not a single cell in Y/n's body was calm. She had heard two gunshots and she knew. She knew Jun-ho couldn't have killed twenty or more people with only two shots. But she wished desperately that he had somehow managed a miracle.

Because she didn't want to think of any other outcome.

She had heard a splash of something hitting the surface of the water. It wasn't Jun-ho. It couldn't have been him. He was safe and alive.

Y/n distinctly heard the engine of the boat start up. Immediately, Y/n dug her way out of her little cave in the rocks. She was facing a dark ocean and no movement guided her. Jun-ho was alive. He had to be.

Y/n peeled off her pink suit and jumped into the freezing cold water in her thin clothes. Each nerve in Y/n's body was screaming for mercy. The icy waves clawed at the woman's eyes as she desperately fought to keep her eyes open underwater. Y/n saw a heavy figure floating downwards, and the detective took off after it.

Propelling herself deeper with every ounce of strength in her muscles, Y/n finally reached Jun-ho and she attempted to drag him upwards. He was incredibly heavy and Y/n's lungs were begging for air. Y/n pulled, kicked, and stretched every limb until she finally reached the surface of the water.

The woman gasped for air and slowly drifted back to the shore as her lungs recovered. She dragged Jun-ho's limp body towards the sand and flopped onto the ground with exhaustion. Her breath came out in rapid shivering intervals and she turned her wet face to glance at the man next to her.

Y/n struggled over to Jun-ho and placed a hand on his chest as she began the procedure to get water out of the lungs. Y/n avoided the shoulder which had been shot and began pressing down on the man's chest. After a few pumps and water gushing out of Jun-ho's mouth, Y/n thought it was safe to begin mouth to mouth resuscitation.

She pressed her mouth against his and blew as much air into his system as she could. After a few minutes, Jun-ho began coughing horribly. Y/n rolled off of him and laid in the sand.

Jun-ho managed to recover himself after a few minutes. He clutched his shoulder and groaned in pain as he lay beside Y/n.

Both of them remained in silence as their minds absorbed the last few hours.

"I thought you were gone" whispered Y/n glancing at the white-gold moon.

Jun-ho grasped Y/n's hand in the darkness. "I bet In-ho wishes it were that easy to get rid of Hwang Jun-ho. I'm a police man. I can handle a few gun wounds."

Y/n let out a soft chuckle and Jun-ho turned to glance at her. Both their smiles vanished as the whooshing noise of a helicopter echoed through the deserted surroundings.

The bright lights of the helicopter landed on the duo and the machine lowered itself slightly. The helicopter had no place to land so the crew threw out a large ladder.

Y/n smiled as she recognized the concerned face looking out the open door. Y/n pulled herself and Jun-ho up. Y/n let Jun-ho climb up the ladder first. If he felt his balance slip, Y/n was right there behind him.

It took a few minutes for the two of them to actually enter the safety of the helicopter, but when they did there was utter chaos.

Ha-Kun grabbed Jun-ho by the shoulders, to which the latter winced, and pulled him into a brotherly hug. Ha-kun then pushed the police officer towards the first aid kits and the doctor who was onboard.

Y/n had barely reached the solid floor of the metal machine when she was lifted off her feet again. Ha-kun was holding Y/n tight to his frame. He put her down and began shaking her slightly to see if she was really there. Y/n smiled at the tears that were pricking his dark eyes.

"Aw did you miss me, brother dearest?" asked Y/n leaning all her weight onto him.

Ha-kun moved slightly so that Y/n fell into a seat suddenly. He laughed as the helicopter began to rise into the air.

"Thank you" whispered Y/n genuinely as Ha-kun wrapped a towel around her soaked body. "I don't what we would've done if you hadn't shown up."

"You would've figured something out" smiled Ha-kun but the smile did not reach his eyes.

His eyes were clouded with worry. His sister had never looked so frail. She had always been strong and independent.

"You always do."

Y/n patted the seat next to her and Ha-kun sat down beside the woman. She laid her sopping wet hair in his lap. If he was annoyed, he didn't mention it.

Ha-kun ran his fingers through her tangled hair silently. His mind was overflowing with thousands of questions but he did not utter a single one. He merely smiled at Y/n's drooping eyelids as she began to doze off.

It would all be alright.

.....

"Y/n" whispered Ha-kun gently. He gave the girl a soft shake and she startled awake. She was in a defensive position as if she was prepared to encounter an enemy.

"Waoh, Y/n calm down" muttered Ha-Kun as he rolled his neck.

Ha-kun brushed off her behavior but he knew that it wasn't a coincidence. Y/n had clearly encountered someone or something that had made her so paranoid. She was never like this.

Y/n moved to check on Jun-ho who was resting his eyes in a peaceful manner. Y/n leaned closer to him and brushed a strond of hair out of his face.

Ha-kun quirked an eyebrow. "Am I missing something?" he asked smirking at his younger sister.

Y/n turned a light shade of pink. "It's nothing"

"Sure looks like nothing"

Y/n changed the topic as quickly as she could. "How far are we from Seoul?"

"We should be reaching any minute" replied Ha-Kun glancing out the windows. The city's skyscrapers were clearly outlined and busy streets brought back a sense of belonging.

The helicopter landed safely on top of Ha-Kun workplace.

Y/n shook Jun-ho awake and the group left the helicopter as quickly as they could.

The medical professional had taken proper care of Jun-ho's shoulder and the officer was no longer groaning in pain.

Ha-kun was guiding Jun-ho and Y/n into a car. Jun-ho had made a weak argument about going to the police station, but Ha-kun had completely demolished the idea. Y/n's brother drove the duo back home.

The little house looked as it always did.

The red bricks that looked like they were laid one at a time with perfect care and precision. The large windows that allowed the morning golden rays to shine into the kitchen.

Looking at the house was like looking through a kaleidoscope of memories.

Y/n remembered all those times her young face peered through those exact windows to watch rain droplets cascade onto the lawn's green spindles of grass. This house had been adorned by Y/n's love and she embraced it as she took the last few steps towards the front door.

Y/n didn't need to knock because the door burst open and Chan-yeol darted out to hug his daughter.

Y/n's father gathered her entire body in his strong arms. He caressed her hair and hugged her so tightly that Y/n's didn't even realize that she had starting crying.

"Never again" Chan-yeol struggled to whisper. "I thought I lost you like I lost her, my sweet child." Chan-yeol pulled away and wiped the tears that had fallen onto Y/n's cheeks. He kissed her forehead and recomposed himself.

Chan-Yeol kept one hand wrapped around his sniffling daughter as he supported Jun-ho with the other. "Let's go in. I'll make some soup and you both need to take long and hot showers"

....

The hot soup warmed Y/n's throat as it traveled into her stomach. It had been days since Y/n had a proper home cooked meal. She had never been more grateful for her father's limited cooking skills.

Y/n felt considerably more alive once the soup had filled her system and she had cleaned her filthy self. The four of them sat at the small dining table. Jun-ho was still shoveling soup into his mouth, Y/n had finished her second helping, and Chan-yeol and Ha-kun merely stared at the two youngsters.

Ha-kun thought he was looking at different people.

Jun-ho had seemed like a weak and dying man when he reached the base of the helicopter. His hair had flattened to his head and his eyes had a sunken feeling of doom written in them.

Y/n's appearance had shattered Ha-kun's heart. He had never seen his sister look so helpless before. She was shivering from head to toe, her body looked frail and weak, and her eyes looked they had just seen all of the world's horrors in a matter of seconds.

The two relatively healthy people sitting in front of him had hardly any resemblance to their former selves. The only common factor was the cold dead emotion in their deep swirling dark eyes.

Y/n glanced at her brother and her father for moment before she took a deep breath. She opened her mouth to speak, but Chan-yeol interrupted. "I want you both to go bed. Get a proper night's rest. We will discuss everything, and I mean everything, in the morning."

Jun-ho looked like he wanted to disagree.

"Tomorrow morning might be too late. People's lives are at stake, Appa" stated Y/n.

"A-Yeong, you can go to the place station as early as you would like tomorrow morning. Just get a few hours of rest. Your body will fail you otherwise, my darling."

"Appa–" began Y/n.

"Mr. Shin, it's a matter of life and death for multiple people. We can't just let this go on" added Jun-ho.

"Two hours is all I ask of you, Jun-ho. As a father figure in your life, listen to me. Just two hours of rest and you both can go back to the station and save as many lives as you like. I don't want you two to lose yourselves in the process of saving others."

Chan-yeol would not allow any further arguments. And so, Y/n and Jun-ho trudged to the room upstairs like obedient children, the events from the past few days plaguing every thought in their minds. The thoughts disturbed them to their very souls because thoughts are the music of the soul. They come with great tempo and soft pauses. 

{1802}