The Running Game

Chapter 22

Present day

All was set. Passport? Check . Document? Check . Flight ticket? Check . Backpack? Check . Wam clothes? Check . One thing that she hadn't checked yet from her list was her readiness. She was being agitated. Even she couldn't sleep just to think about his plan. Her heart felt so heavy to leave him here, she wanted to be optimistic even though he said that he would face the ANSP and do whatever it takes to leak those evidence to the reporter. But, why does her gut always tell her that he just walked himself into their trap? Though he is a veteran agent, it does not rule out the possibility that  what he might face later could be more dangerous than what they encountered days before.

Last night, Cheong Ya came to visit her and Soo Ho. She briefed them about her plan and how to disguise her once they got into the ship and the facilities she would have by the time she arrived in Germany. She listened to their plan but actually her mind was wandering elsewhere, like what if the plan fails? What if going to Germany was a wrong decision? What if that danger lurks around her and Cheong Ya on their journey? But, in the end she pushed aside those thoughts. She needs to be optimistic, to be more positive though they are surrounded by danger, there is a hope. There is a hope that this mayhem will finally be over, though she won't be by his side when it's over. At least, the very thing that she could do to help him was to lessen his burden of worrying about her. And if reaching for the Korean media turns out to be more difficult than he expected, she promised him that she would do everything in her power to use her connection with her former workplace to add even more humiliation if this election scandal were covered by a foreign media.

Then she found him at his grandfather's study. He seemed too preoccupied to be aware of her presence. And she noticed something, specifically something that he stared at his wallet.

It was a photo of them in their youth.

How come he still has that? 

More precisely, how come he saved the picture in his wallet?

He snapped back when he felt a hand circling around his neck. A familiar floral scent hit him when her head snuggled more into his shoulder blade.

"You still have that pic? I'm impressed. I didn't know you're such a big fan." She chuckled coquettishly.

He rolled his eyes and smiled as he pulled her into his lap. In front of her, was his equipment that laid neatly on the desk. A rifle, guns with spare magazines, a taser, and handcuffs. Then she looked at the man in her arms. Black sweater and black jeans, Mr. Officer is officially back in the game. His identity as agent Lim has officially come to the surface after weeks worth of hiatus, but he is not the man full of restraint anymore. Long gone was the man who previously was being so cautious about crossing the boundaries and he is not afraid of this proximity anymore. He is sure of the thing he wants in his life right now, and he doesn't care if he gets fired from his job. He will fight then he will run to Germany to get his lazy Sunday with her.

"Can I have that photo?" She pointed to the photo they took at the studio back in thirteen years ago. The one when they posed formally with soft smiles etched on their faces. "For remembrance. For good luck. Who knows how long it will take for us to see each other again."

He nodded and smiled as he proceeded to take the photo out of his wallet. Then, she grabbed the photo with her hands and stared at the younger version of herself. "You looked so beautiful... in fact you still are. I had this huge crush on you back then. I'm sorry it took me so long to say it." Then he kissed her cheek tenderly. Sincerity flashed through his eyes. Then she flipped the photo to look at the backside. In that paper there was an old note made by him. The tint of the handwritten slightly smeared. It indicates how much time has passed since he wrote the words in the paper. And it was written,