Nothing changed after Mr. Kim told us that everyone knew about Taehyung and I dating. We’ve been on at least three missions since then and nothing’s happened. Our most recent mission was to China. We had to extract a gang member that was captured during his mission. It was easy. But Mr. Kim won’t let us leave the house unless it’s for a mission. Just in case.Taehyung’s finally giving me more freedom and letting me help more. Mr. Kim gave us the week off.
“I feel like I haven't seen you in so long.” Sakura says, walking outside with me. “Everytime I’m on a mission you’re not and when you’re on a mission I’m not. And you always hang out with Taehyung on your off time.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I just really like hanging out with him. I’ve never actually been on an official date with him because now everyone knows about our relationship.” I reply. “It’s just not safe anymore.”
“I understand. How’s it going between the two of you? Has he given you more freedom during missions?” She asks.
“Yes, finally.” I say. “I’m very grateful.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“I don’t like arguing with him. So I’m glad we made up.”
“But it wasn’t really an argument.” She points out.
“I know but still.” I pick up Kimchi and set him in my lap.
“I bet he feels the same.” She replies. I lay back on the bed and sigh. “Do you think you love him?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug “I’m not sure if I’m ready to love him. I don’t want to get hurt.”
“Well that’s no way to think about it. You have to learn to love even if you get hurt. It’s part of life.”
“Yeah I guess.”
“Wanna have a sleepover tonight?” Sakura asks.
“Of course I do! We haven’t had one in so long!”
“Yay! I’ll go get my pillow.” She rushes out of my room as Taehyung walks in. “You can’t be in here!” She yells as she runs by him.
“Why?” He asks me as I stand up to hug him.
“Sakura and I are having a sleepover tonight, girls only.”
“But I need to talk to you.”
“Well you’ll have to wait til tomorrow.” I reply, releasing the hug.
“But it’s really important.” He complains.
“If you can say it really quickly, then you can tell me.”
“I can’t tell you really quickly. So I guess I’ll just wait.” He says as Sakura walks back in my room.
“Why is he still here?” She asks, sitting next to me.
“I’m leaving, Geez.” He says.
“Wait.” I say running up to him. “Aren’t you gonna kiss me goodnight?”
“Ok then.” He wraps his arms around me and kisses me over and over. I giggle, sliding my hands around his neck.
“Stop procrastinating and get out.” Sakura says. He slowly pulls away from me and I bury my face in his neck.
“Ok goodnight.” He says, hugging me tightly.
“Goodnight.” I reply. “Now go.” I push him out the door and close it in his face.
“You totally love him.”
“Ok maybe I do. But you can’t tell him.” I say.
“Why would I? I won’t unless you want me to.”
“Well I don’t so….”
“Ok.” She says laying on my bed. “So what do you wanna talk about tonight?”
“I don’t know.”
“You seem to be better about Father.” She says, getting under the covers.
“I am a little. It’s still really hard without him but with you, Aikoku, and Taehyung, I’ve been doing better.”
“It’s hard to believe he’s actually gone.”
“I know right.” I reply, grabbing Kimchi.
“I miss him so much.” She says.
“Me too.” I sigh. “Can we talk about something else now?”
“Of course.” She pauses and smirks at me. “How about we talk about you and Taehyung.”
“If you wanna talk about that, feel free.”
“Ok. So when will you confess to him?” She asks, I ignore her. “Hellooo? Answer me.”
“I said YOU can talk about it if you want. I never said I was gonna talk about him.”
“Pleeeeeease.” She pleads. I roll my eyes.
“You’re so immature for your age.” I complain. “But fine, whatever.”
“Now answer my question.”
“Ok fine. I’m not gonna confess to him until I’m 100% sure he feels the same about me.”
“I’m sure he does.”
“But still. Until he says something, I’m not going to.” I reply.
“Ok then.” Suddenly her face lights up. “We should do each other's nails!” She squeals.
“Oh my gosh yes!” I turn the lamp back on and get out my dip kit. “You do mine first.”
“Ok.” She replies, prepping my nails. We talk a little more about Taehyung while she does them.
“I haven't gotten hurt by him yet so I feel like I can trust him more.” I say.
“Akari, that’s not how it works. You’re gonna have heartbreak at some point if you really love him. That’s how it goes and you just have to accept it.” She replies. “I know you’re scared, but if he really loves you, he’s not going to leave you.”
“I know I just…..I really don’t want to get hurt. It hurts.” I laugh.
“You think?” She replies, laughing. “Do you remember when Jona broke up with me?”
“How could I forget? You wouldn’t come out of your room for days.” I laugh. “I remember Father had no idea how to deal with a breakup. He would ask me for advice.”
“I know. He told me after.” She laughs. “But the point is, I eventually got over him.”
“I know. But I really, really like Taehyung and I don’t want to lose him.”
“Then maybe you should tell him that.” She suggests.
“But I don’t want to.”
“Why not?”
“I’m just not ready yet.”
“And that’s fine.” She says. “Just talk to me about it anytime you need to ok?” She finishes my nails.
“I will.” I hug her. “Can I do yours tomorrow? I’m really tired.” I say.
“Yeah. I was gonna ask the same thing.” She says as we both get back in bed. “Goodnight, Akari.” She turns off the lamp.
“Goodnight.” I lay down and close my eyes.
The next morning….. 8:30
I roll over and face Sakura. She’s snoring loudly. I roll my eyes and quietly climb out of bed. I change into some cute shorts and a yellow crop top shirt with white shoes and a camera.
“Morning.” She says tiredly.
“Morning! How’d you sleep?”
“Pretty good. You?”
“Good.” I bend down and pet Kimchi.
“Ready to do my nails?”
“Yup. Sit here.” I reply as Sakura slowly climbs out of bed and sits down on the chair. I begin her nails when there’s a knock at the door.
“Who is it?” I call, kinda annoyed.
“It’s me.” Taehyung replies. “Can I come in?” I look at Sakura.
“Can he?” I ask her.
“Of course he can!”
“Yeah come in!” I call. He walks in.
”Good morning!” He says sitting next to me.
“Morning!” I reply.
“What are you gonna do today since we’re on break?” He asks me.
“I don’t know.” I smile at him. “Probably something with you.”
“Good.” He replies.
“You guys are so cute.” Sakura says. I glare at her.
“Just stop.” I say.
“You wanted him to come in here.” She shrugs.
“Yeah ok.” I say.
“So what do you want to do after you finish her nails?”
“Well we can’t really go anywhere. Your father said so.”
“I asked him last night and he said as long as we’re very careful, we can go out somewhere.”
“Really!” I ask excitedly.
“Yup!” He replies. “Hey Kimchi.” He picks up Kimchi and places him in his lap. “Just come into my room when you’re done.”
“K. See you.” I reply as he hugs me and kisses my cheek.
“He’s so sweet.” Sakura says.
“I know right. That’s why I like him so much.”
“Are you almost done?” She complains.
“Actually yes.” I reply as I finish the final coat. “There. We’re matching.” I say. “Yours are just purple instead of pink.”
“Oooo I love them! Thank you sis.” She hugs me. “Now go and meet your lover.” She says in a weird accent.
“Uhh ok…” I stand up and walk towards the door. “Don’t forget to grab your pillow.” I call as I walk out.
“I won’t!” She replies. I knock on Taehyung’s door.
“Come in.” He calls. I walk in. “You know you don’t have to knock, you could just walk in.”
“No I can’t. What if you’re changing or something?” I protest.
“I wouldn’t mind if you walked in.” He shrugs.
“Yahh! You’re such a pervert.” I reprimand him. “Now where do you wanna go?”
“I was thinking somewhere small. Like an ice cream shop or something.”
“Ok. I’m down.” I sit next to him on the floor as he pets Kimchi. “Wanna go right now? Or wait?”
“Whatever you wanna do.”
“I can’t wait. I wanna go right now. It’s my first official date with you. And my first date in general.”
“Ok then.” He stands up and helps me to my feet. “Just put on a hat and a mask and we’ll be fine.”
“Ok.” I take his hand and we walk downstairs.
“Wait! I forgot the keys to the car.” He says. I laugh. “I’ll be right back.” He runs back up to his room. I awkwardly stand by the door and wait for Taehyung to come back.
“Ok I’m back. Let’s go.” He grabs my hand and we start walking out the door.
“Taehyung, wait.” Mr. Kim says. We both turn around. “Where are you two going right now?”
“Well I was about to take her to go get Ice cream.”
“Ok. I’m really sorry but you’re gonna have to cancel.”
“What!?” I reply. “But-”
“Akari, hold on.” Taehyung interrupts. “Why, Father?”
“I have a last minute mission for the both of you. It’s very important and I need my two best for the job.” He says. I sigh.
“I’m sorry, Akari, but we have to. I promise we’ll go after.”
“Ok.” I reply.
“Go change and then I’ll tell you what needs to be done.” Mr. Kim says. We rush upstairs and change into an all black, jacket and pants for Taehyung, shirt and leggings for me. We come back downstairs and meet Mr. Kim in the living room. “Now you must hurry. Some of our files were being delivered to us overseas. North Korea bombed it and the plane went down in an abandoned city not far from here. You must hurry and retrieve the files before North Korea can get their hands on it.”
“Yes sir.” Taehyung bows. “Let’s go.”
“I’ll send you the coordinance.”
“Ok.” He replies as we walk to the car. We get in and drive away. “I’m sorry about all this.” Taehyung says.
“It’s ok. It’s our job.” I shrug.
“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” He says.
“I know!” I smile at him. We drive towards the coordinance that Mr. Kim sent us. We’re about five minutes away. Apparently we’re going to the abandoned city in South Korea. It sounds freaky. We finally arrive and park a few black away from the exact coordinance. We quietly get out of the car.
“Ok, when we get to the building that the plane crashed into, I need you to keep watch while I go in.”
“Got it.” I reply as we carefully walk towards the building.
“Here it is.” Taehyung says. “Here.” He hands me a knife. “Keep watch. I’ll be fast.”
“Ok.”
Taehyung’s POV
I don’t want to leave her out there alone, with only a knife, but I’m working on giving her more freedom. I’ll just hurry and find the files and then get out of here. I scrounge around in the pile of rubble from the broken plane. Nothing’s here. I spend ten minutes looking through the smashed plane. It’s not in this building. I carefully climb out of the plane. Welp, I guess we’ll have to look in a different building. I walk out of the building.
“Well it wasn’t there so-” I freeze. Where’d she go? “Akari!” I call, starting to panic. I head towards the car and hear a crunch under my shoe. I move my foot and bend down to see what it is. Akari’s necklace lies broken on the floor. My heartbeat quickens and I panic. What happened to her? I knew I shouldn’t have left her alone. Damn it! I pick up her necklace and put it in my pocket. “Akari!” I call following the footprints. They lead to an abandoned warehouse. “Akari! Are you in here?” I yell as I walk inside.
“Well, well, well. Look who finally shows up to save you.” A man says, holding a knife to Akari’s neck. Her face is red and swollen and her nose is bleeding.
“Let her go!” I say forcefully.
“Well you have something that I want and I have something that you want. It’ll be a fair trade.”
“What do I have that you want?” I ask. “I’ll give it to you. Just safely return her to me.”
“I want the code to your vault.” The man says. I sigh.
“Ok. But give me Akari first.” I demand.
“No, you give me the code first.”
“I’m not giving you the code until you give me Akari.”
“Even if I stab her? Would you give me the code then?” He presses the knife against her neck and blood begins to drip.
“I’m not helpless.” She says to the man. “Let me go!” She squirms.
“You better stop moving, girl.” He says.
End of Taehyung’s POV
I squirm and try to get away from him. If Taehyung would distract him somehow, I could stomp on this dude's foot and get away.
“You better stop moving, girl.” The guy says. I stop squirming when he tightens the knife on my neck.
“I’ll shoot you if you don’t let her go.” Taehyung says.
“And I’ll stab her before I die.”
“Not if I have something to say about it.” Taehyung shoots the gun right next to the guy. He flinches and loosens his grip on me.
“Ha! You missed!” He says.
“Did I?” Taehyung replies. Now’s my chance. I take a deep breath. Three…..two……one……I stomp on his foot and elbow him in the stomach. He bends over and I rush towards Taehyung. Before I make it to him though, the guy grabs my arm. He slams me against the wall, hard, and my head smacks against it. I almost pass out and he jabs the knife into the right side of my stomach. Sharp pain immediately fills my body and I sink to the floor on my hands and knees. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Taehyung tackle the guy and start beating him up. He punches him over and over and over.
“HELP!!!” The guy screams.
“That’s not gonna help you now.” I hear Taehyung say. He punches the guy until he kills him. Then two more men show up, one of them with a gun. They start attacking Taehyung. He knocks the gun out of the guy's hand and punches him in the gut. The second man charges at Taehyung. Taehyung pulls out his knife, stabs the guy, and twists the knife in his stomach, killing him too. The final guy tackles Taehyung and starts punching him. Taehyung pushes the man off him but the other guy was too strong. I could barely focus on what was happening. I slowly move my hand to the wound. I cringe when I feel the knife still sticking out of my side.
“Akari!” Taehyung yells. I look at him and the guy is choking him. “Get….the….gun. Shoot him.” Taehyung says, choking. I see the gun a few feet away and drag myself towards it. I reach out and grab the gun. My hand is shaking as I hold it up and aim at the guy. He’s moving too much and I don’t want to accidentally hit Taehyung.
“Akari…….hurry!” He screams. I take a shaky breath and fire the gun. The gunshot echoes through the building. Then everything goes silent. Did I shoot Taehyung? I can’t really tell because they’re both just lying there on the floor. Taehyung stirs and takes a deep breath as he sits up. He rushes over to me.
“Oh my god.” He says, helping me sit against the wall.
“How bad is it?” I ask. He looks at it and closes his eyes.
“It’s….it’s bad.” He replies. I slowly look at the wound. My breath gets caught in my throat. There’s a huge gash in my side where the knife is and there’s blood everywhere. I gag and start choking. I bend over and start throwing up and coughing up blood. He rubs my back and touches the knife sticking out of my stomach.
“Stop!” I smack his hand away. A tear slides down my cheek.
“I’m sorry.” He says quickly. It starts hurting to breathe, so my breathing becomes short and unsteady. “Are you ok?” I shake my head.
“It hurts to breathe.” I reply quietly, trying to take a deep breath. “I can’t breathe.” I start to panic, tears streaming down my face.
“Shh, it’s ok.” He tries to calm me down even though I can see in his eyes that he’s scared too. He wipes my face. “I’m gonna pull it ok?”
“NO! Don’t!” I yell. “I’ll lose too much blood and I’ll die.”
“No you won’t.” He assures me. “Not if I make a tourniquet. It’ll stop the blood flow.”
“With what? There are no bandages around here.” I reply snappily.
“Here.” He takes off his shirt and rips it in half to make it longer. I blush when he catches me staring at his hot, sweaty body. “Never seen a hot body like mine?” He asks, smirking at me.
“Ugh. I hate you.” I reply.
“Ok are you ready?”
“No. Please don’t pull it.” I plead. “It hurts too much already.”
“Akari, I have to.” He looks at me pleadingly. “You’ll feel better. I promise. But we have to hurry, ok?” I nod uncertainly.
“Can I hold your hand?” I ask quietly.
“Of course you can.” I grab his hand and squeeze it tightly. “I’m gonna pull it out, wrap my shirt around you, and we’re gonna rush home. On three ok?” I nod, shutting my eyes. “One…two….” I take a deep breath. “Three.” He grips onto the knife and starts pulling it out. I scream and cry as he does. A disturbing squelching sound could be heard as he completely removed it from my stomach. The blood begins to gush. He places one hand on the wound, releases my hand and with it, begins tying his shirt around me. He pulls it tightly around me and ties it. “There. Now come on.” He carefully helps me stand. Then he picks me up.
“No. Let me walk. It hurts like this.” He sets me down and we start walking. I have one arm around his shoulder to keep me steady. I limp slowly alongside him and we make it to the door. “Taehyung?” I say weakly.
“Yeah.”
“I can’t go any further.” I mumble.
“What?”
“I can’t-”
Taehyung’s POV
“I can’t-” Her body goes limp. I pick her up and carry her the rest of the way to the car. I open the door and set her in the seat, buckling her up. I get in on the other side and start the car. *, I left my phone at home. I’m sure Akari doesn’t have my father's number saved on her phone. I dial Sakura’s number and put it on speaker as I drive away. She answers.
“Hey Akari! How was the mission?” She asks cheerfully.
“Sakura. It’s me.” I say.
“Taehyung?” She asks worriedly. “Where’s Akari?”
“I just need you to alert my father to get the doctors ready.”
“Taehyung what happened!?”
“Just do it ok?”
“But-”
“Sakura please.”
“Ok.” She says, hanging up. I drive home as fast as I can without getting pulled over by a cop. I look over at Akari after stopping at a red light. The entire shirt is drenched in blood. I have to hurry or she might not make it. I place my hand on her hand that’s resting on her leg. I give her hand a squeeze.
“Please stay with me.” I say. “I can’t lose you.” The light turns green and I drive forward. Thirty minutes later, I arrive home. I hurriedly park the car and carry Akari inside. The doctor and Sakura were waiting by the entrance. The moment I walked in the doctor rushed to me and took Akari from my arms. I tried to follow him but he wouldn’t let me so I sat on the couch trying to process everything that happened. It all happened so fast. One second we’re walking hand in hand about to go on a date and the next she’s on the floor in a pile of blood.
“Taehyung, what happened?” Sakura and Aikoku join me on the couch. I stare into the distance. I’m not quite ready to talk about it.
“It all happened so fast.” I reply, holding back tears. I look to the floor hoping they won’t notice. Sakura grabs my hand that’s shaking.
“Take a deep breath.” I obey her instructions. “We don’t have to talk about it right now if you don’t want to.”
“Good. I don’t want to.” I reply. We all sit in silence for a while. “I just wish I didn’t leave her alone out there.” I say, breaking the silence. “I left her with a knife. A freaking knife even though I knew she can’t use it very well.” My eyes get watery. “It’s all my fault.” My voice breaks.
“It’s not your fault. Whatever it was, it’s not your fault.” Sakura tried to comfort me, but it’s useless.
“It is.” I say quietly. “She wouldn’t have been stabbed if I'd have just given her the gun that was in the car.” Sakura gasps.
“She what?”
“You heard me.” I reply.
“Can you please just explain what happened?” Aikoku asks demandingly.
“No!” I snap at him. “I can’t just explain. Not without breaking down!”
“Geez ok!” He yells.
“Can you both just calm down?” Sakura asks.
“No!” We say at the same time and start arguing again.
“Calm down! Akari wouldn’t want you two to be arguing.” She yells over us, shutting us up.
“Ok fine. So I told her to keep watch and gave her a knife to fight with. The North Korea mafia wanted the code to our vault so they blackmailed me by capturing Akari. They threatened to cut her if I didn’t give them the code. She somehow managed to get free but then he grabbed her, slammed her against the wall and jabbed the knife into her stomach. There, happy?” I storm to my room not giving them a chance to answer.
A few hours later…..
I sat on my bed with Kimchi in my lap and Yeontan sitting next to me. I haven’t gotten any news on how she’s doing. I’m scared that we got home too late. I’m scared that if I go out of my room, someone’s gonna tell me that they tried their best but couldn’t save her. A tear slides down my cheek. Don’t cry. She’s ok. I haven’t gone downstairs to check on her yet but I probably should. I wipe the tear away, set Kimchi on the bed next to Yeontan, and walk out into the hallway. I take a deep breath and walk towards the medical wing. I walk up to the nurse.
“Is Akari-" she cuts me off.
“She’s in a coma.” She responds. “She lost over 40% of her blood and the doctors just finished stitching her wound. She has 13 stitches. I’m not sure when she’ll wake. I’m not even sure if she’ll make it. I’m really sorry Taehyung.” The nurse says, patting my shoulder.
“Ok. Can I go in there?” I ask.
“You can, but she’s not awake.” She replies. “She’s in the room down the hall to the right.” I nod and walk towards the room. I slowly open the door and see Sakura sitting on the bed next to her. The room is silent. The only sound that’s heard is the steady beeping of the heart rate monitor. I stare at Akari’s sleeping figure. I walk to the other side of her and sit on the bed.
“She has 13 stitches.” Sakura says, breaking the silence.
“Yeah. That’s what the nurse told me.” I reply, grabbing Akari’s hand and kissing it.
“I’m sorry.” I whisper, trying not to cry.
“Taehyung. Sorry to break it to you but…she can’t hear you.” She says.
“I know.” I chuckle.
“Taehyung.” Sakura says quietly.
“Yeah?”
“I’m scared.” I look at her and walk over to her. I pull her into a hug.
“Me too.”
“What if she-“
“No. Don’t say that. She’s gonna be fine.“ I tell her even though I’m thinking the same thing she is. She chuckles.
“What?”
“No wonder Akari likes you. You lie so well.” She says. I laugh a little.
“Well I’m trying to be the gentleman here and not panic.”
“Well that’s very sweet of you.” She replies pulling out of the hug. “Do you know when she’ll get out?”
“After she wakes up.” I joke. “But I’m not sure exactly.”
“Ok. Well I have to go now.” She says.
“Ok. I’ll update you.” I say as she walks out of the room. I sit down on the bed next to Akari. I lean next to her and brush the hair from her face. “If I could, I would trade positions with you.” I whisper to her. “I’m so sorry.”
End of Taehyung’s POV