Love is Stronger than Blood (Snowdrop Oneshots)

61- hide

Jang Hanna and Lee Kangmu raced down an East Berlin street in the light of the setting sun. In the distance, they could hear the faint voices of two men talking calmly.

The two agents had gotten accidentally turned around in the streets of the Soviet city, and now they were barely avoiding being seen by the two North Korean spies they had been sent to track down. They were still a few blocks away from where Hanna had parked her jeep. They just had to stay out of sight until they could reach it.

The street they were on was luckily empty, devoid of any possible witnesses. As she ran, Hanna didn't notice the broken-up bit of sidewalk ahead of her. The tip of her boot got snagged on a jagged piece of concrete, sending her momentum violently crashing forward. She landed on her side, avoiding catching herself with her bare hands so she didn't scrape them or break her wrists.

"Hanna!" Kangmu immediately turned back, kneeling next to her. He frantically checked over her hands and face. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she grunted, pushing herself up from the ground, but as soon as she tried to stand on her right foot, a spike of pain shot up her leg.

"Jen-jang..." she cursed as Kangmu caught her before she could fall again. "That twisted something... I'm such an idiot—"

The two men's voices became audible around the corner of the building they stood in front of. Kangmu lifted Hanna up and carried her into a small alleyway cut into the side of the building, where they could stay out of sight for a bit longer. He gently set her down against the brick wall and pulled back to examine her ankle as she sat.

"Tell me where it hurts," he said as he swiftly undid the laces of her boot and began pressing his fingers into her ankle, feeling around for a possible break or dislocation.

Hanna hissed a painful breath as he touched the joint between her ankle and heel.

"That hurts a bit..."

"Good, it's not dislocated," he said, digging in the pocket of his coat for his emergency medical kit. "It might be fractured or sprained, though."

Meanwhile, Hanna heard the two men's voices again. They were steadily getting louder as they came nearer to where they were hiding.

"We don't have time," she said urgently. "We have to go!"

"We'll be spotted either way," Kangmu said. He grabbed her around the shoulders, helping her to stand up on her good foot.

"What are we going to do?" Hanna asked, panicking.

"Hide," he responded.

"Where?"

"Here," Kangmu said. "Hide in plain sight."

"How—"

Kangmu took off his trench coat, tossing it behind a small pile of discarded bricks, where it would be almost invisible from the mouth of the alley. Few people at this time of year wore black trench coats, so he'd look more inconspicuous without one if he had to be seen. Hanna had left hers in the car.

"What—" Hanna started to ask as he turned back to her.

"Shh," he said, placing his hands on her waist. "Just keep calm. Focus on me, love."

Kangmu glanced over his shoulder towards the mouth of the alleyway, and as soon as the figures of the two men came into his peripheral, he turned back to Hanna and crashed his lips into hers, tightening his grip on her waist.

Hanna's eyes widened, but then fell closed as she realized what he was doing. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she leaned back against the brick wall, keeping as much weight off her injured foot as she could while kissing Kangmu back. She tried her best to lose herself in the kiss like she always did, but it was significantly harder when she knew they were being watched. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, both from nervousness and exhilaration.

Kangmu heard a few chuckles and one catcall whistle as he kissed Hanna, but he didn't care. He deepened the kiss, and the men's footsteps moved on and away from the alley. Hanna exhaled a small sigh of relief against his lips, but he still didn't pull away until a few seconds later. Whether it was for the sake of making sure the two spies were really gone or simply because he enjoyed kissing her, he didn't know, but he suspected it was some combination of the two.

When they finally parted, both took a couple seconds to catch their breaths and calm down. Hanna rested her head against Kangmu's shoulder.

"Have I ever told you," she mumbled when her breathing returned to normal. "That you're a fucking genius?"

"You could stand to mention it more," Kangmu said teasingly. "But unfortunately, not all our problems can be solved by me just kissing you until they go away."

"If only..." she mused, pecking his cheek. "Then our lives would be a lot easier."

"I know," he said, giving her waist a gentle squeeze before letting her go. He retrieved his trench coat from behind the pile of bricks, brushing off a bit of grime from the fabric and digging his medical kit out of the inside pocket.

Hanna remained standing against the wall as Kangmu made a makeshift splint for her injured ankle. She could now stand on it and walk, albeit with a limp. Kangmu offered to just carry her down the street to the parking lot, but she didn't want to risk being spotted and drawing attention. Nevertheless, he insisted on having his arm around her back, in case she fell again.

They made it back to Hanna's jeep without a hitch. Hanna breathed a sigh of relief as she climbed into the shotgun seat. With her hurt ankle, she doubted she would be able to control the car properly.

"If anyone asks," she mumbled as Kangmu climbed into the driver's seat. "I did not hurt myself by tripping over a crack in the sidewalk."

He chuckled and switched the engine on. "Understood, jagiya."

===

Jen-jang: shit