Vows and Bullets
Chapter 94: Risks

Chapter 94: Risks

[Music Recommendation: "Forever Rain" by BTS - RM - instrumental version by Smyang Piano]

My whole world felt like it stopped for a moment when I saw those words.

’Yoon-Ah... my one and only best friend... is in danger! And worse, I’m not there to save her!’

As Mythos agents, we had been trained for years on how to remain calm during emergency situations, especially when rescuing someone or protecting someone. If it was other people, I would have been calm and thought rationally about the situation. But no, it was Yoon-Ah! My best friend! How could I possibly calm down and think rationally?!

With my heart pounding hard in my chest, I quickly got up from bed and rushed out of the room. I badly wanted to go where she was in an instant. If only superpowers and magic existed, I would have teleported there, but alas, they don’t.

"Please be safe. Please be safe."

I chanted that over and over in my head. Soon enough, I reached the living area. I ran down the huge staircase, not minding the servants that came rushing to me, trying to stop me and ask what was wrong. But before I reached the entrance door, Eun-Woo blocked my path.

"Let me through," I said sternly.

I had no time for jokes or whatnot. I need to save Yoon-Ah.

Eun-Woo’s face furrowed. He waved his hand, gesturing all the servants to leave us alone, and they quickly followed his command.

"Ye-Ji’ya, I understand you’re worried about your friend, but a Mythos agent is already coming to her aid. There’s no need for you to go. Even if you go, it would take hours of driving from here to there. Why don’t you calm down for a moment and let them handle it?"

"No. That’s easy for you to say since you’re not that close with her. I read the details, and it said there’s a possibility of sexual assault, which falls under E-rank missions—the easiest ones! What if a stupid agent takes on the mission and fails to rescue her before anything happens or comes too late?! Yoon-Ah’ya... she’s—NO!"

I tried to force him out of the way, but he grabbed my arms and stopped me.

"Let me go!"

"There are no stupid Mythos agents. Everyone is highly skilled. They won’t be allowed to take a mission if they’re not ready, you know that. And what makes you think going there yourself would be faster than a Mythos agent who’s already near the area? Ye-Ji’ya, calm down and think rationally, please! You’re risking our facade. There’s no way a doting husband would allow his wife to wander alone at night."

"Then come with me!"

"That’s—"

"Please... I can’t lose Yoon-Ah. I can’t let anything bad happen to her. Not her."

Alas, tears fell from my eyes.

"Let’s stop wasting time and just go... please."

Eun-Woo jolted seeing me cry. His face wretched, probably feeling conflicted about the situation.

Truthfully, I understand why we shouldn’t go—the risk from any reporter, police, or enemy who might see us and recognize us or our car driving towards my friend’s house would cause lots of speculation. In the end, it might lead them to question...

"How did they know that Yoon-Ah was in danger? And in a matter of seconds or minutes after it happened?"

That speculation would lead to an investigation until they figured out we had connections with Mythos, thus making our facade useless. And eventually, it would lead to a failed mission. I know I was being stubborn and breaking dozens of protocols, but... I just couldn’t risk Yoon-Ah’s safety.

With a heavy sigh, Eun-Woo finally caved in.

"Fine. Let’s go."

He then took off his coat and put it on my body. I forgot that I was only wearing a nightgown that time—I didn’t even put on a robe to cover myself. It was only when Eun-Woo opened the entrance door that I felt how cold the night air was despite the season being summer.

Eun-Woo called the in-house chauffeur to drive for us and ordered his aide a few things before we went. At last, we were on the road and on the way to Yoon-Ah’s place. The chauffeur drove as fast as he could while I prayed over and over, hoping she was safe. I kept checking my watch for any further news and contacted Mythos to give me updates however, Eun-Woo asked that I temporarily cut off communication.

"Let’s not risk communicating to them right now," he said, whispering to my ear and careful that only I hear it.

There was a partition inside the car between the driver and the passenger, and it was soundproof. Still, it was best to be careful.

"Don’t you find it weird? We are technically on a mission, and you’re not supposed to receive an emergency notice when an immediate family, relative, or any close friend you registered, is in danger. It is against protocol and will lead to an agent risking or failing a mission—exactly like what you’re doing right now. Still, you received it, and I received it since I’m registered as your husband. So I’m guessing there’s a foul play in here. And that also means there’s a mole in Mythos’ Intelligence Department. They are the ones sending this kind of intel to us and are the only ones who could access such information."

"But we’ve been flawlessly doing our cover ever since we started. No one knows about this except the three chiefs and us. How would anyone know of our connection this early on? We haven’t even done anything except the case with Mr. Choi."

"That’s true. Maybe I am simply overthinking things, but I can’t help but feel this is all a trap—a carefully laid out one. If it is, whoever did this already knows who we are and the people close to us, using them as a means to trap us. On the other hand, it could also be a simple system error since the AI’s logic might have ruled out that we are in a safe zone and have no active mission. Assistant Chief Athena did tell us to lay low for a while until we received the invitation to the ball. The system might have put us on an idle status, thus, enabling us to receive the emergency notice."

"... Right," I nodded, agreeing with his logic. "I’m sorry."

I finally started to calm down a little, so my rationale slowly got back to me. Thinking about it, he was right. Truly, I have put our mission in great jeopardy. Now, I could only wish for the best. I would surely get a lot of demerit for this. And worse, I might drag Eun-Woo with me since he agreed to my ridiculous decision.

’Ugh... I’m so stupid. But I don’t regret it. Yoon-Ah’s safety is much more important than work! Whatever happens, I’ll deal with them later.’

"Don’t look too dejected," Eun-Woo said as he patted my head. "I understand why you’re like that. If I’m in your shoes and you’re the one in danger, I probably would have done the same—even if I know you’re perfectly capable of defending yourself."

"... Huh?!"

He then smiled at me and pinched my cheeks.

"Ahh... My dear wife is truly such a handful."

"Aww... that hurts. Stop it."

"I’m such a good husband, aren’t I? Don’t I deserve a little reward?"

"No. You already got your kiss today."

"Ehhh? Shouldn’t I be entitled to more? I’m doing a huge favor here. I might even get a demerit for this—for the very FIRST time."

"Umrghhh... Haaah. Fine. Come here."

And so, I gave him a brief kiss. Ugh. It really feels like I’m taming a pet.

However, the pet was too mischievous and was never satisfied with a simple treat. He always wanted more.

Eun-Woo kept kissing me, hugging me, and sticking to me like a leech throughout our travel time! By the time we were near, my lips were almost sore from all his passionate kisses. Seriously! We came to rescue Yoon-Ah, not to flirt!

Soon enough, we finally arrived at Yoon-Ah’s place. Mr. And Mrs. Lee were already cleaning up and preparing to close the store when we came in.

"Yoon-Ah’ya... Is Yoon-Ah’ya alright?" I immediately asked them as soon as I came in.

"Ye-Ji’ya, you’re here!" Mrs. Lee exclaimed, dumbfounded why I was there at that time when it was just a few hours before midnight. "Well, something happened, but she’s okay. She’s already upstairs—"

Hearing that, I rushed to her room upstairs like a storm, leaving Eun-Woo behind. He could explain to them the rest and come up with an alibi on how we ended up knowing about it.

When I reached her room, I carefully knocked on her door and made noise in my footsteps to signify someone was coming, so as not to scare her. She just went through something that might have been traumatic for her, so I needed to be careful.

"Yoon-Ah’ya? It’s me, Ye-Ji. Can I come in?"

________________

Announcement:

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