The monitor beeped at a steady, even pace.

Xiao was lying peacefully in a hospital bed, asleep. Jin sat at her bedside watching, Julia standing just behind him with her arm in a loose sling and her shoulder bandaged.

Xiao looked so peaceful, but she was still a little pale.

Hwoarang and Asuka were outside the room, talking to a police officer.

"They said they were working for someone called Miss Caroline," Asuka said. Her injury had healed quickly, but not completely, so the doctors suggested she stayed in a wheelchair for a while. Ironically, the person she asked to help her with her temporary disability was none other than Hwoarang, who had pushed her around smoothly all day. The officer nodded and marked it down in his notebook.

"Alright ma'am," he said. "We'll immediately look into it." Asuka nodded in appreciation as he walked off.

Inside the room, Jin continued to stare with guilt at his unconscious friend. Julia gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze.

"It wasn't your fault," she muttered, reading his mind. Jin didn't look at her, merely shaking his head.

"I couldn't run fast enough," he murmured. "It collapsed two feet in front of me…" He turned around to Julia. "She could have died right there."

Julia shook her head. Hwoarang pushed Asuka into the room.

"But she didn't," Asuka said reassuringly. "She's here and alive because of you."

Xiao let out a soft groan as she began to stir. She yawned loudly and stretched her arms out, sitting up. She rubbed her eyes.

"Morning," she said happily. She frowned at her friends. "Something wrong?"

Asuka shot up from her wHyelchair and ran over to hug her.

"You're okay!" she cried. Xiao was a little surprised, awkwardly raising her hands to Asuka's back.

"Um, yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Jin smiled and rolled his eyes.

Julia joined Asuka and wrapped her arms around Xiao. Hwoarang smirked at her, still standing by the wHyelchair.

"Welcome back, kiddo. You gave us one helluva scare."

"Huh?" Xiao pulled away from her friends, still a little confused, but then remembered what happened the other night. Her smile faded. She quickly looked over at Jin.

"It wasn't a dream?" She stared around the room, only just realizing it was a hospital. She glanced down at her belly. She rubbed her hand gently along it, feeling a long scar. Jin and the others watched with grim expressions.

"Your organs were crushed and you were bleeding internally," Jin said, though his tone was indifferent. She looked at him. "It was a long operation." Xiao stayed silent for a moment.

"The pillar came down on me…" she muttered to herself. She gazed back at Jin. "And you pulled me out." Julia and Asuka exchanged a proud smile, also looking at Jin. He looked away remorsefully. Hwoarang saw this and went over to Xiao. He bent down so only she could hear what he was saying.

"He thinks it's his fault," he whispered to her. Xiao raised an eyebrow.

Just then, the nurse came in carrying a food tray. She smiled as she saw Xiao.

"You're awake, that's very good." She set down the tray in front of her. The nurse gazed around at Jin, Julia, Asuka and Hwoarang.

"I'm sorry, there are too many people in here," she said matter-of-factly. "The patient needs her rest." Xiao helped herself to some cornflakes.

"Just ten more minutes," she told the nurse. She forked a piece of apple and chewed it fondly. The nurse sighed and nodded.

"Alright," she said, placing her hands on her hips. "Ten minutes exactly. All of you must leave." The others nodded their heads and muttered a "yes ma'am", and she left, closing the door behind her.

"Kids these days," she said under her breath. "So stubborn." She headed over to the front desk a few feet away and looked through the files. Little did she know, a woman nearby was watching her.

Of Korean heritage, long black hair dyed gold-brown, innocent dark brown eyes, pink lips, appearing to be no older than Jin or Hwoarang's age. Her beauty was breathtaking with a childlike factor, but there was a deadliness in the depths of her eyes. (A.N. Think Evil!Wondergirl.) She was wearing a leather biker outfit that hugged every curve.

The young woman licked her glossy lips as she stared venomously at the nurse. She closed her eyes and shook her head, imitating a look of pure innocence as she opened them again. She walked up to the nurse.

"Excuse me, unnie," she said in an accented voice, tapping her gently on the shoulder. She smiled sweetly. "Could you please help me?" She pulled up her sleeve to reveal a large cut. "Could you please give me something for this?" The nurse examined the cut.

"Would you like me to go get a doctor?" she asked. The girl smiled.

"It's okay," she said. "I already asked for a doctor." She jerked her thumb back over her shoulder. "He asked me to go fetch him a nurse." She giggled. The nurse frowned.

"A doctor sent you for a nurse?" The girl nodded.

"He's right in there," she said, pointing to a room in the far distance. She took the nurse's arm and pulled her along as she made her way to it. "C'mon, he's kinda impatient." As they reached the door, the girl allowed the nurse to go in first. She smiled evilly as the nurse looked around at the empty room. The girl quietly closed the door.

"There's no one in here," the nurse said. "Why did you take me—"

The girl smashed a glass bottle onto her head from behind, glass and blood flying everywhere.

The nurse collapsed onto the ground in a pool of blood, dead. The girl stared coldly at the body.

"That's why, unnie," she muttered. She threw the remains of the glass bottle aside and bent down to the body.

She quickly started to remove the nurse's uniform.


"So, do you think the police will catch whoever is after us?" Xiao spooned some jello into her mouth. Hwoarang shook his head.

"We don't know," he said darkly. "But we do know that they're extremely strong. I mean, all five of us couldn't even take one of them out. It might be a good idea if you guys stayed somewhere safer than here." Julia agreed.

"As soon as Xiao's recovered," she told Jin. "You two have to leave Yokohama." Xiao blinked.

"But where will we go?"

"You could go back to Osaka," Asuka suggested, looking at Jin. "My father can look after the problem for you." She reached into her pocket and pulled out two pairs of coloured train tickets. She handed them to Jin.

"Or either Tokyo or Sendai. The police told me to give these to you."

"You should go to Seoul," Hwoarang remarked. "Security is really tight over there." Julia and Asuka gave him a strange look.

Jin cleared his throat and pocketed the tickets.

The biker girl from before quietly entered the room, only she wasn't a biker girl anymore. She was dressed in the nurse's clothes, her hair tied neatly under her cap.

She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the group of friends, instantly recognizing one of them.

"Hwoarang-sshi…?" she mumbled mindlessly. Hwoarang turned around to see her. She felt her heart tighten.

It was him.

The new nurse cleared her throat and pulled her cap down over her eyes. She went over to them and smiled brightly.

"Okay, time for the patient to rest now," she said sweetly. Asuka frowned a little.

"What happened to the other nurse?" she asked suspiciously. The new nurse shrugged.

"She must have finished her shift," she replied simply. She gestured them to leave. "C'mon. Oh, except you," she said to Jin as he rose from his chair. "She's allowed one visitor." She went over and pushed him back down. Jin was a little confused, but obeyed. The nurse smiled.

"Make yourself comfortable." She smiled again and headed to the door. She pulled down her cap again as she walked past Hwoarang, who watched her suspiciously. The nurse opened the door, and Julia, Asuka and Hwoarang went outside.

Making sure no one was watching, she took a magnetic device from her pocket and stuck it to the side of the nearby cupboard where it couldn't be seen from the bed. She pressed a few buttons and the device activated.

00 : 10 : 00

She pressed one more button and the timer began to count down. She smiled sinisterly and glanced back at the unaware couple.

"Enjoy it while you can," she muttered under her breath. She gave them a sugary smile and went outside, closing the door.

She quickly locked it.

The nurse turned around, shocked to see Julia, Asuka and Hwoarang watching her.

"Sorry," she said casually. "Only one visitor." She quickly pulled her cap down and walked away.

"Wait!" he called out. The nurse froze, too afraid to move. Hwoarang walked slowly up to her. She felt her breath caught in her throat.

"That's an interesting accent you have there," the red-haired young man said, standing in front of her. "You're Korean?" The nurse lifted her eyes to him, smiling. Hwoarang raised an eyebrow.

She was beautiful, and sort of familiar…

"Actually… yeah, I am." She reached up and put her hand on his goggles. She smiled again. "And I can't believe you still have this."

Hwoarang's eyes widened as he recognized her.

"Yun Hee?" he said cautiously. "Jeong Yun Hee?"

The nurse beamed.

"Oppa," she said affectionately.

Julia and Asuka glanced, puzzled, between the two as they began talking in Korean.

"Oppa grew your hair out, but it's still red!"

"You grew yours out too. You actually look like a girl now."

Yun Hee laughed.

"Oh really?" she said coyly. Hwoarang grinned and flashed a wink.

"Nah. You're still looking great."

"I haven't seen you in over 4 years and you still look great!" Julia and Asuka sat down and allowed the friends to catch up, even though it was clearly irritating them both.

"So, Sa Bom-Nim (A.N. That's Baek) is alive?" Yun Hee asked, astonished. Hwoarang nodded.

"Yeah, he's alive and well," he said. Asuka cleared her throat, grabbing the couple's attention. Hwoarang grinned sHyepishly, turning to the girls.

"Julia, Asuka," he began, putting an arm around Yun Hee. "This is my old friend, Yun Hee." Julia nodded and greeted her, while Asuka gave her a non-smile. "We go way back. Master Baek trained us together, even though she was way better than me back then." Yun Hee blushed. Hwoarang touched his motorcycle goggles fondly. "She gave me these just before I joined the military." He smiled lovingly at Yun Hee, much to Julia and Asuka's annoyance. Yun Hee noticed.

"No, you've got the wrong idea," she said, laughing. "Hwoarang-sshi and I are just friends." Asuka stood up.

"Good," she said coolly, still smiling mockingly. She obviously didn't like Yun Hee.

"Kazama Asuka," she said, shaking her hand. "Hwoarang's girlfriend." She wrapped herself around Hwoarang's free arm. He just sighed, defeated.

Yun Hee smirked.

"Really…" she said in a sugary voice. "That's great."

"No…" Hwoarang grumbled irritably, trying to shake Asuka off. "She's not—"

"It's okay," Yun Hee laughed. "It's great Oppa found yourself a girl."

"But—"

"How about we get something to eat?" she said quickly, pushing them away from Xiao's room as she suddenly remembered. Yun Hee checked her watch.

A few more minutes. She couldn't let Hwoarang get hurt.

"There's some food in the nurse's lounge if Oppa wants some."

The other three gave her a strange look, but followed her as she headed towards the hall.

"So," she said casually to Hwoarang. "What do you do now? And why are you in Japan?" Hwoarang shrugged, looking down at his feet.

"Seoul didn't work for me," he said carelessly. He looked at her. "What about you?" Yun Hee shrugged.

"Same reason," she replied. The redhead laughed.

"I never expected you to become a nurse, though. I always figured you'd end up working for the CIA or some other secret service."

Yun Hee nervously laughed.

"Well, you know, things change," she lied. "I want to help people now." She glanced at Xiao's room over her shoulder.

The further away from that room, the safer it would be for Hwoarang. She looped her arm around Hwoarang's, smiling sweetly.

"C'mon," she said happily. "Let's get some lunch."


Xiao bit into a chocolate biscuit as Jin looked on.

"Mmm!" she exclaimed, smacking her lips. "These are really awesome!" She picked up a heart-shaped one and held it out to Jin, smiling sweetly. Jin looked away, ashamed.

Xiao smiled again, tilting her head to see his face.

"Jin," she said in sing-song. He didn't respond. Xiao sighed.

Look, I'm fine." She waved her arms around. "I'm okay now, so stop beating yourself up for nothing. It wasn't even your fault to begin with."

"It was…" Jin mumbled stubbornly, still not looking at her. "I'm sorry." Xiao rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Jin. Don't get all noble and modest like that for something you didn't do." She leaned back onto the bed, rubbing her stomach. "It's such a turn-off."

Xiao took a sip of her water. Jin blushed slightly. He cleared his throat loudly and pulled out the tickets, examining them. Xiao got up.

"I'm gonna go for another glass of water," she said as she walked to the door.

"Do you really think you should be walking around?" Xiao smiled and placed her hand on the door handle.

"I'm fine. Why don't you stop—" She turned the handle, but it wouldn't move. Jin looked up from the tickets.

"What's wrong?" Xiao tried turning the handle again.

"It's locked," she muttered, frowning. Jin put the tickets away and went over to her.

"You're probably doing it wrong," he told her, pushing her aside. To his surprise, the door really was locked. Jin started banging on the door. "Anyone out there?" Xiao spotted something on the side of the cupboard. She bent down to examine it.

"Jin, what's this?" Jin turned around. He crouched down next to Xiao. He extended his hand and gently touched it.

00 : 00 : 38

Jin felt a chill run down his spine as he instantly realized.

"Oh, crap…"

It was a time bomb.

He shot up and ran to the window.

"We have to get out of here." He picked up a chair and smashed the window. "That thing's going to go off any minute now." He cleared away the broken glass, the glanced at the Chinese girl at the door. "Xiao!"

"Coming!" Xiao quickly collected her cell phone, her shoes, her wallet and the necklace Jin gave her. She ran to him. Jin quickly lifted her up so she could climb through the window first. He jumped out after her, grabbing her by the wrist, and they ran as fast as they could away from the window.

Within a split second, the room exploded, forcing Jin and Xiao to leap for cover. Jin glanced back at the smoking window, breathing heavily. Xiao stared, dumbfounded.

"Wow. They really want to kill us." Jin grabbed her hand again, much to her surprise, and they started to run.

"Let's go," he said. "One of them must still be around here somewhere. We can't take anymore chances." Xiao nodded in agreement.


Asuka, Julia, Hwoarang and Yun Hee rushed to the crowd around Xiao's room.

"What the hell…?!" Asuka exclaimed, pushing her way through.

The room was a wreck. She frantically looked around, seeing if Jin and Xiao were anywhere in the crowd. Yun Hee smiled sadistically to herself.

"Can you see them?" Julia said, looking around. No sign of Jin or Xiao anywhere. "I can't believe this…" Asuka pushed her way to the entrance of the room, only to find it empty. She looked around wildly, but there was too much damage to tell whether or not Jin or Xiao had been blown into pieces or not. She let out a frustrated cry. Yun Hee sighed and stared sadly at Hwoarang.

"I'm so sorry, Hwoarang-sshi," she said sympathetically.

Before he could react, he felt his cell phone vibrate. He took it out as Julia and Asuka came over. Yun Hee comforted them.

Hwoarang flipped open his phone and read the SMS. He stiffened.

"What is it?" Asuka asked.

"It's from Xiao," Hwoarang muttered through clinched teeth. The three girls gasped in surprise. Yun Hee felt like kicking herself, but hid it with false concern.

"Are they okay?" she said eagerly. They had to at least be injured. Surely all her hard work hadn't come to nothing.

"Yes…" Hwoarang answered. "They're on their way to Tokyo." Yun Hee took note. She turned towards the hall again. Hwoarang quickly looked up from the phone was she began to walk away.

"Yun Hee-sshi!" he called out. Yun Hee stopped and smiled to herself as he said her name. She glanced at him over her shoulder.

"I'd better help out now," she told him. Yun Hee smiled. "I'll see you around, Oppa."

Hwoarang sighed sadly, but nodded. Yun Hee blew him a kiss and then ran off, her sweet smile immediately melting away when her face was turned.

"Tokyo," she said to herself. She heaved a grim sigh and shook her head. "Caroline-unnie is not going to be happy."

Asuka frowned at Hwoarang, who turned stony-faced again when he looked back down at his phone.

"Hwoarang," she said. "You said they're okay, right? What are you upset about now?" Hwoarang slammed shut his phone. He glared at Asuka.

"Because," he snapped. "They took my goddamn credit card with them!"


I'm gonna slip in Korean words every now and then in Hwoarang and Yun Hee's dialogue, just to create the feel and point out that they are actually foreigners compared to Jin, Xiaoyu (… yeah, I know) and Asuka. Julia is the exception, 'cos she's American. Don't quite know what else to do with her.

4/2008 Edit: Don't fret! This will be continued in a few months! I promise!!