'Golden Mary'

Part 38

Donghae could make out his stocky build, but that was all he could see. Siwon stepped forward with an equivocal expression. Of course Donghae had forgotten over him. Now he could only imagine the shock the guy might experience when he found out Donghae was the famous thief on the piece of paper he carried around.

An air of tension immediately surrounded them while it built a bubble around them. The particles in the air became stuffy and no one made another move. Some officers lifted up their guns, the others reaching for handcuffs. Donghae gulped. He'd never had a gun pointed at him before and the intensity of it brought sweat down his face.

The silence broke when something quietly clicked from behind him. Donghae turned to look at Victoria and in another split second a shot sprang in the air. Everyone fell into deep confusion and turned to look at each other trying to make out who had made the shot, but all that was relevant in Donghae's eyes was Victoria clumsily toppling over a rock and into the reservoir. His mouth fell open, all the commotion behind him lost to his ears.

"Who did it!? Who made the shot!?"

"It wasn't me! It wasn't me!"

"I'm sorry!"

Racing forward Donghae ran into the water, the liquid splashing against each step he took before he dug out Victoria from the mass of tall weeds. His heart ran in circles crazily and every thought he had slurred. Was Victoria breathing? Was she dead? What happened? He didn't know. He couldn't interpret any bit of anything at all.

He pulled her out and felt her slouch against his chest, her arms dangled from her sides uncontrollably, and he wasn't sure if she was still breathing anymore. Frustration and anger ran through him with the inability to take control of the situation.

"Victoria! Victoria!" he cried before the other's voices reached his ears.

Donghae turned to recognize the shadows of the others, Siwon at the front eyes large from bewilderment. Donghae's eyes traveled from him to the gun at his feet and he raced to take it, Victoria leaning against him like the remnants of a mummy. He tried pressing the trigger before he discovered that Victoria had put on the safety lock of the gun. Donghae squeezed his eyes shut with tears on edge from the painful memory of the quiet click behind him just moments ago, and some idiot had the nerve to shoot.

A heavy scream escaped him as he shot his head back and Donghae turned to face the others his eyes fiery and enraged.

"Don't move. I'll shoot." Donghae sternly warned moving his gun from person to person.

At last his mad eyes landed upon Siwon and he unlocked the gun. Donghae shot at their feet before hoisting Victoria over his shoulder. He ran the rest of the way back, searched for an unlocked patrol car, and took off.

\ \ \ \ \

It was late and Seohyun was brooding alone in the kitchen. Luhan had really gone and Victoria had disappeared. What had come up that had been serious enough for her to just drop their break-in mission? So much had happened and she had found out so much that she just wanted to sit down with Victoria to have a talk, yet all of it seemed impossible.

Seohyun wanted to see Siwon. His face would tell her the calmer of reality even if he faced the harsher side of it himself, but they would come to understand each other and help each other through it. And that would make everything better. However, Siwon was in for his night shift and he wouldn't be in contact. Seohyun had no one else to talk to.

The feeling of loneliness and emptiness eagerly surrounded her, but the knock on the door forced her back to the harsher side of reality. Seohyun lifted her head up from between her hands and glanced toward the hallway as if the guest had invited himself in.