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41. Secret Plans

"NOONA"

She opened her eyes to the room's dusky blue hues made by the early morning sun. The not so subtle whisper yell was amplified by the surrounding stillness and jolted her awake. She kept her head pressed to the pillow and stared straight ahead, her ears straining for more sound that would prove to her that it wasn't a dream that woke her. Faint rustling sounded near the door.

"Noonaaa~~" the slightly whiney voice called a little louder again.

"Da Reum? What's wrong?" She asked groggily as she sat up.

"Taeyong was back, but...he said he had to go out again."

Yuna had tried to stay up and wait for him to return from meeting up with Mark, but failed miserably. He had left late last night after making her a snack and tucking her in bed, insistently trying to lull her to sleep. An effort to keep her from wondering and worrying, no doubt, but she was determined not to succumb. Two a.m. had passed, then three, then four. She threw herself into her book until the words blurred and her eyes drooped. From the faint light creeping through the open window, it seemed to now be only a couple hours later.

"Is he ok? Where did he go? When is he coming back?" She pushed her legs over the side of the bed and stood on wobbly feet.

"He's fine and I don't know. He told us to get ready, though. He told me to tell you today is the day we see Soo Man."

Her little brother's head hung as his hands found each other, wringing nervously. She watched as the words bubbled up in his throat and his hesitance as he swallowed them back down.

"We will be ok, Da Reum." She walked to him and reached up to smooth his messy hair. "After today all of this will be over. Taeyong is doing everything he can to make sure of that and I trust that whatever happens he will make sure that we are ok."

"This seems weird noona. I don't like it. I know you say that Taeyong is protecting us but...what if something happens to Taeyong? Where does that leave us? I'm not blind, noona. Whatever this is is much bigger than just Taeyong. Walking into the hands of the enemy is just asking to be slaughtered."

"Don't say things like that. That man promised him he would leave us alone after today. All we need to do is go there, meet him, let them say their goodbyes to Taeyong and leave. We'll be out of this city in only a few days."

"You're not listening to me, noona!" The worry in his eyes creased the skin between his eyebrows. "Taeyong is just one person and not everyone keeps their promises. We need to take some precautions or make some backup plan or something. We can't just do nothing!" He urged.

"That's enough." Her firm disbelief stopped the conversation in its tracks. "I won't doubt him." Her tone rang with finality.

"Fine." His jaw clenched from his irritation. "Taeyong will be waiting for us outside in two hours." He reached passed her and jerked the door shut with a slam.

She sighed and rubbed her head before making her way back to the bed to search through the dimness for her phone on the bedside table. Maybe it was a bad time to call and maybe he wouldn't answer anyway, but Da Reum's warning sparked some need for reassurance from Taeyong. More than that, there was something unusual about him not even stopping to see her before he left again and it made her worried.

She dialed and pressed the phone to her ear before flopping back on to the bed.

"Good morning." His voice was light as he answered.

"I..." she hadn't actually expected him to answer and was caught off guard when he did. "Are you ok?" She asked, skipping the greeting.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry I'm not there but there were some things I needed to take care of. Did Da Reum give you my message?"