~𝟯𝟱~

Throughout the night, I went to check on Han. Most of the time he was asleep. Then I just made sure he was tucked under the covers and left him again. But one time I found him awake, staring at the ceiling.

"Hey. You should be asleep," I whispered.

"I could say the same about you," he replied.

I took a seat next to him on the bed. We sat in silence, listening to Hyunjin's quiet breathing on the bed next to us.

"We should all go away some time," Han whispered, making me look at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Just get away. All of us together. Take a vacation. Go somewhere. A place where we won't have to go on missions."

"Maybe we can ask Commander Della Valle when you get better. But it does sound amazing. To take a break."

A silence fell over us again. After about five minutes I heard Han's even breathing next to me. I looked over to find him sound asleep. I smiled and got up, walking back to my room. Just as I got to the door, I heard a noise downstairs. I stopped in my tracks and listened. Everything was silent, so much so that it felt suffocating. I almost jumped out of my skin when I felt someone touch my shoulder. I whipped around to find Hyunjin rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Don't sneak up on me like tha-"

I was cut off when I heard the sound again. Hyunjin must have heard it too because he furrowed his brows at me. We sneaked to the edge of the wall near the stairs, peeking around into the darkness. I couldn't see anything. I sensed Hyunjin moving past me and down the stairs. I followed, reaching for him. I managed to grab his arm, which he pulled away and instead took my hand. He stopped near the kitchen light switch. I gripped his hand tighter as he switched it on, closing my eyes. When nothing happened, I opened them again. There was no one there. I kept my hand in Hyunjin's as he started walking. I almost walked into his back when he stopped suddenly. His eyes were trained on the countertop. My gaze followed his to settle on a piece of paper. I reached for it, but Hyunjin stopped me.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You can still back out."

"I can't. I have to do this. To keep us all safe."

I waited for him to drop his hand before taking the letter. I slipped my other hand out of his and opened the paper, the black lettering all too familiar.

Tomorrow, I want you to get to the warehouse by 08:00. Go in through the main entrance. You should know the rest. And remember, no one is coming with you. If they do, I'll slit their throats while you watch.

I crumpled the letter in my hand and sighed. Hyunjin gently put an arm around my shoulders, but I pulled away.

"You guys shouldn't come with me tomorrow. I don't want... I... you guys-"

"You realise there's no way you're going to stop us, right? We have to take care of each other. Even if it means putting ourselves in danger to save a fellow teammate. So we're going."

I dropped my gaze at his stubbornness. I knew I wouldn't be able to change his mind, but I had to try. After that he took me back up to my room. I climbed back under my blankets, him taking a seat on the chair next to my bed. We talked for a while until my eyes started getting heavier. We both said goodnight and I turned onto my other side with my back towards him, closing my eyes. Deep down, I hoped he was still there when I woke up.

...

I woke up just as the sun was starting to peek past the horizon. I turned over onto my other side to find an empty chair next to my bed. I was slightly disappointed. Until I saw a face peek past my bedroom door. I smiled as I registered Lee Know standing there.

"Come in," I told him. He slowly walked over and sat down on the chair Hyunjin slept on.

His hair was still wet, probably from showering. He brushed it back, giving him a slicked-back bad boy look. It made me blush slightly, and I looked away, sitting upright, and fiddling with my fingers.

"We have everything ready for the mission. Now we're all just waiting for you. Hyunjin told us about the letter and the timeframe. You still have about two hours to get ready, so take your time."

I nodded, smiling. Then my smile fell.

"Wait, when did you all wake up?"

"About half an hour ago. But most of us got pretty good sleep. So we're fine."

"Okay, if you say so."

He smirked at me, making my cheeks heat up. I looked out of my window to try to disguise it.

"I'll leave you to do your thing. Han's awake if you want to say hi to him."

I nodded and stretched in bed, yawning. I got out of bed and walked into the hall, greeting Hyunjin and Chan as they passed me. I softly knocked on Han's door, hearing a muffled answer from inside. I opened the door, slowly peeking past it. He was still lying on his back, but he turned his head to me, giving me a tired smile. I went in and sat down on the bed, facing him. He tried sitting up but winced at the effort.

"Just stay down. I don't want you hurting yourself."

"But I want to sit up, it's just a bit hard on my own."

I quickly helped him to sit up, putting a few extra pillows behind him to hold him up. He thanked me and I nodded before sitting down again.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked. He just nodded.

"I hear you guys are going on a mission today. Something about catching your previous commander?"

"Yeah. He arranged for me to drop off some information for him somewhere. We're going to catch him there. Hopefully."

"I trust everything will go as planned. I got the feeling it's caused all of you a lot of anxiety. But you all will be fine. I know it."

I smiled at him, but it was short-lived. I heard some bickering outside the door. I went out, closing the door behind me. I looked up and saw Hyunjin and Changbin close to hitting each other. I slipped in between them, putting a hand on each one's chest.

"What is the fuss about?"

"Hyunjin is insisting on going in with you, but I'm trying to make him see that if he does that, he'll get the both of you killed," Changbin said, sending Hyunjin a glare.

"We can't just let her go in alone. It's too dangerous," Hyunjin retorted.

"Hyunjin, listen to me. You can't come in with me. I won't let you do that. But, if it makes you happy, I can wear a wire or a body cam. Or even just wear the bulletproof suit on the comms. How does that sound?"

Both the boys seemed slightly more content with that idea. I assured them I could take care of myself, to which Hyunjin pouted. I left them to go get dressed. Just as I finished, Felix popped his head past my door. I smiled slightly at him, but he seemed less cheerful than usual, which just made me more nervous.

"Could I borrow the flash drive you're going to give to the commander please? I'll give it back."

I nodded and gave it to him. He ran off with it, making me draw my brows together in confusion. I was pulled from my thoughts by Chan coming into my room, telling me to come to the operations room. I followed him to find the rest all gathered in the dark room, minus Han. Hyunjin pressed the switch in the wall, making the table rise out of the floor again and making more light fill the room. I squinted slightly.

"Okay, today is going to be wild, but we'll all just have to keep our heads in the game. Ava will be wearing a wire. When she gives us the all-clear, we'll move in. If she doesn't give the all-clear, it means the commander isn't there with her. Then we break out the drone and search the premises. Two of you will get her out while the rest of us will take down the commander. Is everyone clear on the plan?"

Everyone nodded at Chan. Then he turned to me.

"What will your code word be for if the commander is there with you?"

"Maybe family. I very seldom make conversation about people's families, so if you hear it, that's the signal."

He nodded at me and made sure the rest of the boys knew as well. I activated the suit on the comm, the material tighter than usual. Spare comm, different size, I reminded myself. I got all geared up and let Changbin fasten the wire on my suit. Just as we were about to head out, Felix gave me the flash drive back, but he ran off again before I could ask about it. We all got into the van, it being quieter - and thus stealthier - then the helicopter. The ride was unusually quiet, but I guessed it was stress. The tension was so thick, I felt like it was wrapped around my throat, squeezing tighter with each breath. In no time, the warehouse was looming in front of us. No turning back.

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A/N

I don't really have much to say except that I hope you're all doing well and that you all have some motivation to push through to the end of the year. To all of you who are writing exams or tests right now, I know it sucks, but we have to push through. We're all in this together. It would be really nice if the comments could just be us all giving each other some motivation and support. But anyway, good luck to you all and I'm sure it will go well. Until next week :P