Present Time_ June 11, 2018_ Sun & Moon Cafe_ 8:26 PM

Almost all members of NCT have gathered inside the renovated cafe before our mission to rescue Jisung. I've never seen half of them before, but I can see familiar faces around too.

Sun and Moon cafe before looked like an ordinary cafe with good lighting for better ambiance. Now, all equipments and even the tables and chairs are brand new and luxurious. Black marble floor, white fluffy rags, black metallic chairs with cushions, and round tables with red table cloth. It looked like a high class restaurant rather than a cafe.

Although it has been roughly a day since then, I'm surprised at how fast Donghyuck managed to reconstruct his cafe.

"Here's a gun," Mark said, shoving the metallic material to my hands. "Keep it behind your back pocket," he instructed sternly, while his other hand shoves something in the back pocket of his jeans.

"W-what should I do with this?" I asked, looking down at the item. It felt slightly heavy, unfamiliar, and certainly exhilarating. I've never held a gun before, and it feels scary.

Mark gives me an incredulous look and a raises brow, "Your weapon," He said, sounding like a question rather than a statement. He walks away without another word, and I'm left with the company of Jaemin and Renjun.

Another member approaches me this time. I've seen him before back in the underground where Jeno has taken me the night their cafe blew up. He's sporting a blue botton up shirt, slightly tucked in his jeans, and white sneakers. He has slightly round eyes, his face reminds me of a rabbit.

"Put this on," he said, handing me a wireless earpiece. It's small enough to fit inside my ear, maybe even fit through my ear canal. "I'll be directing everything you'll do in here," he added as I firmly hold unto the small device.

I look down on the device and back to him. His voice sounds so familiar. "Are you... the person who talked from the speakers when Jeno—"

"That's me," he replied with a curt nod. "My name is Doyoung."

"Oh, I'm—"

"Alice, yes, I know you," Doyoung interjected with another nod, completely cutting me off from speaking again. "Please put the earpiece on, we do not have much time."

With those last words, Doyoung walks away from the rest of us and headed back to the door leading to their headquarters. I look around the cafe, the glass windows and doors are covered with white blinds, shutting off our view from the outside.

Mark and Donghyuck are talking by the counters. Some members are lounging by the little booths by the corner of the room, drinking tea and coffee while chatting away. Jaemin and Renjun are sitting next to each other beside me, a few guns and weird contraptions on the table.

"Jaemin, where's Jeno?" I asked curiously, looking around one more time in case I just missed him. I haven't seen him after the incident with Ten, and even after lunch with Renjun and Mark.

"Jeno's a bit busy," Jaemin answered with a small hum, then proceeds to counting the bullets of his gun. "You miss him already?" He added, looking up to me with a slight smirk.

"Of course not," I replied, rolling my eyes. "Just curious. I didn't see him after the incident with Ten," I added, sitting next to Jaemin.

Renjun sighs, fiddling some of the weird contraptions on the table with no interest. "I don't understand why I have to come to this little rescue mission," Renjun muttered, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "You know I didn't sign up for this," he added.

Jaemin ignores Renjun's little whine; he looks unbothered by it that made me think he's used to it already. "Jun, we the Dream unit is assigned to this 'little rescue mission'," he replied fondly, just smiling charmingly at Renjun before focusing on his device again. "You can't do anything about it."

Renjun mutters a few curses under his breath, and went to bury his head in his arms on the table. Jaemin then chuckles slightly, patting Renjun's head like a puppy until Renjun decided to swat his hand away.

"What's the Dream unit?" I asked, peering to look at Jaemin who's concentrating on his weird device.

"Because NCT has a lot of members, our leader decided to split us into units," Jaemin replied, looking at me directly to my eyes. "We're basically the youngest unit. We're the one's who are tasked to do this mission with you. Me, Renjun, Haechan, and Mark hyung."

"Why do you call Donghyuck as Haechan anyway?" I asked again, glancing at Donghyuck by the counter. I asked this question when Jisung was admitted to their Medical Department and I was left unanswered. I hope this time they'll be able to answer my question.

Renjun lifts his gaze towards me. There's something unusual at the way he looks at me this time, as if he's trying to convey something I need to understand.

Jaemin looks at me with a gentle smile. "I think that's something you shouldn't hear from us," Jaemin said gently, nodding towards Donghyuck who's busy making Mark laugh by the counter.

Renjun clears his throat, "Maybe after the mission," he added, finally standing up from his seat. I notice he's wearing some harnesses around his torso. There are little pockets attached to it, and upon closer look, Jaemin's wearing the same.

"You should put that in your ear now," Jaemin pointed at the earpiece in my hand. I didn't notice I was still holding unto it ever since Doyoung gave it to me. "We're about to leave," he added with a grin as he stood up as well.

I followed suit and put the earpiece in my right ear. It was really small enough to fit through the entrance of my ear canal.

"Code 0813, do you copy?"

"Yes hyung, perfect," Jaemin said beside me, smiling to himself.

"Code 0203?"

"Yeah," Renjun answered boredly.

"Code 0606?"

"Haechan here!"

"Code 0802?"

"Good," Mark replied.

"Alice?"

"Oh um, yeah, I can hear you just fine," I replied, unconciously nodding to myself.

"Is Jeno not really capable for this mission today, Jaemin?" Upon hearing these words from Doyoung, I look at Jaemin curiously.

"No hyung, he's still—" Jaemin catches my eyes and quickly avoids eye contact. "It's impossible right now," his answer came like a choke.

I hear Doyoung sigh from the earpiece and said nothing. Jaemin and Renjun gathers their belongings from the table and shoves it all inside their back packs. Mark and Donghyuck started striding towards us, an uneasy expression plastered on their faces.

"It's almost time," Mark coughed, glancing at the grandfather clock standing by the side of the counter. "We need to go," he added and then started walking ahead of us. The three boys followed suit, and I have no choice but to follow them too.

"We'll be going now!" Donghyuck cheered happily as we passed by the small booth where the rest of the NCT members are lounging together.

Ten and Johnny nods towards me with a smile, and I return it back subtly. As my eyes scan the rest of the members, I saw the person who talked to me last time. He's wearing the same cold piercing eyes that makes my spine shiver. I quickly look away and fastened my pace so that I could catch up to Jaemin.

Mark stops in front of a soda machine, where a variety of beverages are in compelete display due to the glass exterior. He punches some numbers on the electronic keypad, then my breath hitches when the machine opens, revealing a passage way to who knows where.

Without hesitation, the boys walk inside with big steps as if they're trying to catch up to someone. "Come on, don't be afraid," Donghyuck said behind me, smiling to me as he held the small of my back.

As we both step inside, the machine closes itself and I have no other choice but to move forward. The passage way is a little narrow, the ceiling, the floor and the walls are painted plain white. I couldn't even see the end of the passage, but Mark is already ahead than the rest of us.

"Where are we going?" I asked, feeling nervous with all the things happening right now. I don't know what lies at the end of the passage, or what will I become the moment I step out of this narrow path.

"The underground," Donghyuck said smugly. "Let's hurry and catch up with the others," he added as he grabs my hand and started running towards Jaemin and the rest.

Once we're at the end of the path, there's an iron door blocking our way. This time, Mark scans his eyes through a small electronic machine attached at the side of the door. Once he's finished, a small holographic image of him appeared and the numbers 0802 below it—just like the one I saw before.

The iron door opens upward slowly, while a mechanical female voice coming from the other side greeted us. "Code 0802, Mark Lee, confirmed."

"Pretty rad, right?" Donghyuck said smugly, and I can't help but nod in agreement.

When the iron door is completely open, all of us quickly step in. It's a regular size room, maybe the same size as the cafe. There are a set of couches in the middle, a large flat screen television embedded in the wall, coffee table in the middle, and a few small cabinets by the corners of the room. Other than those items, the room is almost empty.

"This is just another room for negotiations," Donghyuck explained, even though I didn't ask. He quickly directed me to where the boys are standing.

At the end of the room, there is an elevator where the rest of the boys are standing. The door was already open and waiting for us to step in. Donghyuck and I quickly hop in, and the door immediately closes before taking us down the underground.

The whole ride is silent. There's no elevator music that could somehow avert my attention. I can't even breathe properly as if there's a heavy tension engulfing us all. Even Jaemin has a dreaful expression on his face.

Finally after the short ride to the underground that felt like forever, I am able to breathe properly again when the door opens, revealing a massive room that looked like a warehouse.

It's full of luxurious cars, motorbikes, and even some skateboards and rollerblades are displayed inside the room. Mark is leading us further inside, and Donghyuck, behind me all the time.

"Mark!" A soft voice called out, making me curiously look out for anyone inside. "Two black Honda Civic Type R 2018," The voice added excitedly, followed by the sound of dangling keys.

"Jaemin, you drive the other," Mark ordered sternly, throwing the car keys to Jaemin and him catching it coolly. "Alice, you come with me and Haechan," he added as he motions the both of us to follow him.

"Alice?" The soft voice said, a hint of interest coated his voice. "Alice Kang?"

"The one and only!" Donghyuck replied enthusiastically from behind me. Then, he pushes me forward so I can see whoever owns the soft voice.

There stood a man, a bit taller than Mark. He has his hair dyed orange, and was parted in the middle. He looks kind of friendly and less intimidating than the other NCT members.

"Hello!" He said with a shy wave, his two front teeth slightly looked like rabbit teeth when he smiled. "I'm Jungwoo! Nice to meet you."

"Jungwoo hyung is our Mechanic," Donghyuck chimed in, and then he gestures the luxurious cars inside the warehouse. I can tell some of the car models, but some look like it's customized in outmost detail. Most of the cars looked like it hasn't been released to the market yet. "Jungwoo hyung produces most of these cars," he added proudly.

"Really?" I replied in shock, eyes widening at the cars in front of me.

"Really," Mark deadpanned, a frown plastered on his lips. My excitement immediately died down, and Donghyuck only clears his throat. As usual, Renjun looks uninterested with the whole ordeal, and Jaemin is still wearing his dreadful expression.

"Mark hyung," Jaemin called out, Mark's head snaps to Jaemin's direction. "I still don't think Alice has to go with us," he murmured.

"We already talked about this earlier, Jaemin," Mark replied seriously, pressing the unlock button on the car key and opening the door to the driver's seat.

"Hyung, tonight is different. Alice is—"

"Jaemin," came a warning tone from Mark. Everyone freezes, even Jungwoo. I can tell he's older than Mark, but freezing on his spot when Mark almost growled at Jaemin means that the younger really holds a higher authority than him. "Stop doubting. You don't believe in your comrades sometimes," Mark sounds disappointed.

"Hyung, I do believe in my comrades. It's just that I think it's too risky to bring Alice along since Jisung is in QQ's Headquarters," Jaemin explained desperately. "We're out numbered if we charge head on," he added with a sigh.

"Jaemin," Mark frowns even more, "Don't you believe in our capabilities? We've done this before, the six of us, and we always bring home the bacon."

"This time we're not six, and we have Alice with us," Jaemin answered while clutching his bag tightly. He throws a worried glance at me before pursing his lips tightly.

"You're doubting," Mark finally tears his eyes away from Jaemin. He heaves a heavy sigh, "That's the reason why Jeno ended up—"

"STOP!" Renjun shouted, running to stand between the two of them. "Let's not talk about that matter anymore," he added quickly with a scowl. He snatches the keys out of Jaemin's grasp and drags him away from us.

Mark only sighs again and shakes his head. Then, he turns to Jungwoo with a small smile, "Thanks for the cars, hyung."

"No problem!" Jungwoo replied with a grin, and even salutes to Mark.

Mark chuckles and pulls Jungwoo's hand away from his salute, "Don't do that hyung," he said with an embarrassed smile. Jungwoo smiles back gently, giggling just a little before his lips turned into a small frown.

"Jeno's at it again, isn't he?" Jungwoo asked sadly, digging both of his hands inside his jean's pockets. Mark's eyes immediately darts towards me, and that was already a signal that I shouldn't hear anything further.

Mark cleared his throat loudly, "Let's not talk about that here, hyung." He gestured Donghyuck to enter the car first, and the younger complied immediately.

"Let's go, Alice," Donghyuck opened the car door for me and I quickly hop on to the back seat, he follows after and shut the car door close. Mark continues talking with Jungwoo outside, I could somehow hear their voice but unable to understand what they're talking about.

"What's up with Jeno?" I asked Donghyuck who simply took out his phone, completely ignoring me.

Then there's a loud roaring engine sound that made me jump in my position. There is another car rearing next to us, and I squint my eyes towards the heavily tinted windows. Jaemin's face comes into view from the other car, still frowning and his eyebrows knit together.

He's talking to Mark, I assume. Jaemin is pointing at his wrist watch urgently; and a moment later, Mark comes in the driver's seat, shutting the door close loudly.

"What took you so long?" Donghyuck whined, crossing his hands in front of his chest. "I'm gonna miss the drama if we don't hurry up," he added, rolling his eyes.

Present Time_ June 11, 2018_ 9:42 PM

Mark is silent the whole time and checks me from the rear view mirror from time to time.

The road is filled with cars, the headlights are blinding me as we speed up through the busy streets. Mark didn't even mind the streetlights turning red and casually speed through the middle of the stopping cars.

There's a bright flash of light from my side, the loud honking truck deafening my ears, and it's about to collide to us in mere millimeters. I almost shrieked my lungs out if it weren't for Mark speeding past the vechicle. My heart is already beating so loudly in my chest, my breathing unstable, and my hands are holding unto Donghyuck for dear life.

Another batch of loud car horns echoes through the streets, drivers shouting in absolute madness, but they all quickly faded as we speed up. Jaemin's car is just trailing behind us leisurely.

"Code 0802, 1 kilometer, turn left," I heard Doyoung spoke from the earpiece. "Shit. Split up with Code 0813 in the intersection, there are police trailing behind Code 0813," he added calmly.

"I'm on it. Jae, I'll take the left," Mark barked, and I felt our speed getting faster as if Mark is driving us to the future. "Hold on tight," he added smugly.

"He says hold on tight, darling," Donghyuck says with a wink, and in one swift movement, he had buckled up my seatbelt across my torso and my thighs.

Without warning, the car suddenly drifts to the right with so much force, I hear the tires screeching loudly and my body almost pressing against the car door. Donghyuck is only looking at me with an amused grin, and I can't help but frown at him.

Mark steps on the gas immediately, and we find ourselves over speeding once again. Jaemin's car is no longer trailing behind us, but I can see the red and blue light coming from the police cars in the rear view mirror.

"They're still trailing behind," Doyoung said through the earpiece. "Keep on turning left when you see another intersection, you'll end up Downtown. You'll loose them from the traffic."

"Where are we going exactly?" I asked, voice almost breaking from the nervousness. Mark is driving so fast that I can't even make out the buildings and lights that we pass by. We are faster than a movie being fast forwarded, the scenery outside looks like a mix of colors.

"QQ's hideout," Donghyuck replied, looking down at the small device he's holding. There's a small electronic screen showing blue boxes, and a red blinking dot that is somewhat moving slowly. "Jisung's still in there, and apparently he's got company."

It must be a tracking device. They must've attached a small device that would go unnoticed on Jisung's clothes before Mark had set him free earlier this afternoon.

"You're close to Downtown. Head right, Code 0802, you'll meet Code 0813 at Road 116."

"Got it."

"Why does Doyoung call you by codes anyway?" I asked, glancing at Donghyuck who seems unbothered with how fast Mark is going.

"Imagine when the enemy captures you, but doesn't know your identity? The codes are used by Doyoung hyung so the enemy won't know who he's talking to in case one of us gets captured," Donghyuck explained, like I'm a 3-year old kid listening to a fairytale story. "But that's unlikely to happen too, since Doyoung hyung will terminate the line if you get in trouble. It means you're on your own."

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Present Time_ June 11, 2018_ QQ Headquarters_ 10:41 PM

Mark drops us off near the main base of QQ. Doyoung has instructed him to go on his own, and park the car somewhere near the pier.

The salty smell of the air fills my lungs, the loud breeze and waves is slightly deafening me. Their headquarters is stationed near the beach, looking like an abandoned warehouse and completely hidden from the beach goers.

"Alice stay with Code 0606 and don't leave his side. Ready your guns, you've got company at 3 o' clock."

My breathing starts to go erratic and uneven, my heart is ready to burst out of my chest, my whole body is turning cold. I am beyond nervous as I clutch the gun tightly in my hand, making sure the safety pin is gone. Just by pulling the trigger, I could become a murderer in a single night.

Donghyuck motions me to follow him quietly. With guns in our hands and the faint glow of the moon as our only source