As soon as the Electromagnetic impulse surged through the ocean surface, the communication went down.

Everyone at the chopper was silent.
"Hyung?" Hoseok called slowly, "hyung?"

The radio was dead silent.
"Fuck!" Hoseok cursed as his fist hit the control board in front of him.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"

It was dangerous losing control above thousands of feet of the ground.
But nobody tried to remind that to Hoseok.

Jin opened his eyes, still feeling the immense pain in his body.
An unconscious moan escaped his lips as he tried to shift from his position.

A bright light was blinding his view.
He blinked his eyes for few times and suddenly consciousness flooded in his mind and he almost sprang up and his hand went to grab the Walther in his shoulder holster only to realize that there wasn't even a shirt in his body let alone his holster.

A hand soft yet strong grabbed his hand gently and he heard a voice shushing him from his side, "it's ok...you are safe now!"

Memories came back and Jin sighed a little and loosened his tensed and alert muscle.

"Lie back." Arya's hand slightly pushed in his chest and made him go back to the lying position.

The bed was warm and soft and Jin again looked around.

Where the hell was he?

"It's my apartment," Arya spoke with assurance in her voice. "God! It was tough getting you out of there!"

"How am I here?" Jin gritted a little feeling the pain.

"Got help from a friend." Arya smiled and seeing Jin stiffen, she quickly added, "don't worry, he is harmless. You can trust us."

"Didn't he have questions?" Jin touched his head a little consciously.

"You bet!" Arya chuckled, "But he owed me big time. So he decided to ignore everything."

Jin sighed in relief and looked at his watch.
He has been out for a long time!

"Your contact will be here within half an hour." Arya handed him a phone, "I talked to those shitheads one more time."

Jin this time got up slowly and leaned against the bed frame carefully.
Seeing the bandaged wound in his ribs, he looked at Arya, "how bad is it?"

"Bad." nodded Arya, "I mean 'Bad' bad."

"And how am I still here?"

"Cause you got the magician with you." Arya flashed a grin.
"I had to release extra air from your lungs, like literally!"

Seeing Arya with widened eyes and proud expression, the corner of Jin's lips moved a little.

"Don't smile, I am serious!" Arya scolded him a little, "you had a pneumothorax. I took care of that. You can't notice now, but you are still bleeding underneath." Arya pointed towards his wound.

Jin looked at his wound again.

"Without an actual surgeon, it is not possible for me to take care of that. You'll still need an emergency surgery after they come and get you." Arya was letting him know her limitation, "but I made sure you don't go to shock after bleeding out this much."

"How?" Jin's voice was calm.

Arya grinned, "you know our blood cross matches, right? In the academy, we did the matching and memorized the whole list, remember?"

"You gave me blood?" Jin again looked at Arya, "how?"

"Here comes the genius Arya part," Arya dramatically waved his hands in the air.

Jin scoffed.

"I had nothing there for an emergency blood transfusion, not any saline to replace your blood, so had to improvise a little." She smiled widely, "syringe!"

"What?" Jin frowned a little.

Arya clicked her tongue, "you don't get it? I drew blood from me by syringe and pushed that in your vein. Simple!"

Seeing disbelief in Jin's eyes she rolled her eyes, "come on! I am clean, ok? No diseases, No AIDS!"

Seeing her expression, Jin raised his brow a little.

And seeing Jin Arya suddenly gasped, "don't tell me you have any disease! God! I am doomed!"

A slight smile crept up on Jin's face seeing Arya panic.

"You know what?" suddenly Arya's voice turned a little low and composed, "You look nice when you smile."

Jin instantly looked away from Arya's eyes and looked around the room.

"Aww, are you shy?" Arya giggled, "your ear turned all red!"

"Stop looking," Jin mumbled not tearing his eyes off the painting in the wall.

"You are an eye candy." Arya laughed and turned Jin's head towards her, "what can I do?"

Jin's ear was vivid red this time.

Arya chuckled a little and her hand curiously reached Jin's ear and touched it.

Jin flinched in surprise and moved away from her fingers.

Their eyes locked and Arya's fingers once again moved to slightly touch Jin's ear not caring about Jin's uneasy expression.

Arya's mischievous grin from her face was long gone and that was replaced by a solemn expression.

Her eyes were curious and sad at the same time. There was boldness yet hesitation in there.

She quietly mumbled not looking away from Jin's eyes, "Jin? Can I ask something?"

"Mnn." Jin's face looked a little worried this time.

"Do you...Do..." Arya stuttered a little which was totally out of her character and suddenly she retracted her hand from Jin's and got up from the bed, "Are you hungry?"

Jin frowned.
Arya has gone back to her usual cheery self.
But this time it didn't seem ok.

"I'll cook something," Arya smiled but a hand grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"What is it?" Jin's voice was calm.

"I asked if you were hungry," Arya smiled, "if not, I am! God! You were so heavy to carry!"

"Arya," Jin calmly interjected.

Seeing the calm expression of Jin, Arya stopped her rambling slowly and after a few moments, she sighed. That previous expression again clouded her eyes.

Hesitation.

Their eyes again locked. And neither of them broke the eye contact this time.
She felt like she forgot to breathe as Jin's intense eyes bore into her.

"Don't look at me like that," Arya mumbled sensing Jin's hands still on her wrist.

Jin didn't say anything but his eyelids trembled a little as if he was trying to comprehend her words.

"Jin..." Arya's voice suddenly was calm and her one hand hesitantly came up and touched the cut beside the corner of Jin's lips.

Jin hissed in pain and flinched once more and closed his eyes.

But this time he didn't move away.

"Tell me if I am crossing the line," Arya's voice was calm but still there was a hint of insecurity taking over it and her hand slowly caressed Jin's face.

Jin's eyes fluttered open in surprise and again met with the calm eyes of the said girl in front of him who again sat down.

Her hand this time slowly moved from his jaw towards his nape.

Jin didn't move away like his usual self who never liked someone touching him and once again, he was calmer than any time.

Arya's lips trembled a little and her fingers slipped into Jin's hairs from his nape. Her voice was low and whispery, "is it ok?"

"Mnn." Jin hummed almost inaudibly still looking at Arya's eyes in confusion.

"Can you tell me," Arya breathed a little as if she was finding the courage to say it out loud, "can you..."

"What?" Jin's voice was also low.

"Can you tell me why I got scared this much when I saw you there all bloodied and..." Arya let out a shaky breath, "and...God! I can't!"

Jin's one hand touched the hand of Arya which was trembling slightly.

"I never had been this scared in my life, Jin!" Arya's voice trembled, "I...thought..." Her voice immersed into an unuttered numbness.

Jin was calmly looking at Arya.

"God! I thought I was losing you!" Arya closed her eyes and her lips again trembled, "I can't lose you! Jin!"

"Arya..." Jin's voice was a little ragged.

"I know, you..." Arya whispered, "but when I saw you there. Bloody, unconscious! It just made me feel...darn! why it is so hard!" a drop of tear left Arya's eyes and she opened her eyes once again, "Jin..."

"I know," Jin's voice was low.

Their eyes locked for moments again and Arya's eyes slowly let down her walls and a strange look took place in her eyes.

The air between them was calm yet warm.
There was something in it. And it turned heavier this time.

As if they were in a staring contest and in a competition of unrevealing the words in one another's and testing who was going to open up first.

Before Jin could say anything, Arya slowly leaned closer, her eyes still measuring the weight of Jin's expression carefully.

They didn't break contact and Arya almost whispered, "Is it ok if I touch you?"

Jin hummed, not knowing what to say at this moment, eyes still curious and composed and with an unreadable expression that can describe as something that only he knew.

Arya leaned in further, one hand slightly caressing Jin's jaw and she lightly touched her lips to Jin's as if she didn't know what was going on with uncertainty and insecurities taking over all of her existence.

Arya separated two seconds after and looked at Jin to see if he was ok with it.

Jin's face was red and embarrassed.
But he didn't look away. And he wasn't pushing her away made her surprised and somewhat ecstatic at the same time.

She tried to draw a smile on her lips, "You..." she couldn't finish her sentence as Jin's one hand came up and cupped her face.
His movements were shy and doubtful.
As if he was expecting that Arya would snap any moment.

Arya didn't expect Jin to come up with a response. But seeing this slightest gesture, she leaned in again.

As soon as the lips were connected, Arya didn't know where did the doubts go.

It was addictive yet passionate. Arya's hands roamed around Jin's hair unapologetically while Jin held her as close as it could get.

When the knock on the door was heard, both of them separated in a startle, trying to catch their breath.
Not only Jin, this time the face of Arya was a shade of crimson.

"Your ride is here," Arya said, still fumbling on Jin's hair.

Jin didn't say anything, just tugged a strand of her hair behind her ear, and few seconds of staring at Arya's eyes, He muttered, "Come back."

Arya looked at Jin with a slight surprise in her eyes. Jin was asking her to go back to Korea?
Can she do that?

She has nothing left there. Just hatred from the people once she thought close to her. Resentment and hatred, what else she has there?

Jin?
Why not?

"I got an offer from NIS." Arya suddenly smiled, "I need to complete my study. You remember our table at the aviators' club?"

"Mnn."

"Let's go there once I go back. You remember the nights we spent there while we were in force?" Arya smiled a little, "Those were some times we had!"

"We can still have." Jin quietly remarked and smiled a little.

The sound of the door increased and Arya finally got up separating from Jin and opening the door.

She talked to the men at the door for a while and when she looked back, Jin had already slipped in the shirt Arya washed and dried for him already while he was out cold.

Jin quietly put on the overcoat and nodded to the men and told them to go back and wait in the car.

Arya shut the door once Jin went out and leaned against the door.

The room around her seemed to shrink, its silence deafening. An emptiness settled in her chest, hollowing her out. The loneliness of the tiny apartment was creeping in her suddenly.
Her hand instinctively rose to her heart, feeling its rapid beats. But with each pulse, there was a growing heaviness—an ache that spread, dull and sharp all at once, filling her with a sadness she hadn’t anticipated.

She missed him.
Already.

Arya closed her eyes, trying to control her breath. In and out. In and out. She told herself to focus, to calm the storm rising inside her. But each inhale only deepened the ache.

In...

Fuck that.

In a sudden burst of desperation, she threw the door open and rushed outside, her heart pulling her toward him. But before she could take another step, she nearly collided with Jin—standing just outside, his hand raised, about to knock.

Her breath caught in her throat. "You..." She stammered, her words barely forming. "You forgot something?"

Jin looked down, touching his ear awkwardly, avoiding her eyes. "Mnn."

"What?" Arya asked, her voice soft but urgent, searching for an answer she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear.

Jin stayed silent, his gaze still averted. But then, as if drawn by an invisible force, his eyes finally met hers.

And in that single moment, words became unnecessary. The unspoken emotions between them surged forward, undeniable. Without hesitation, they reached for each other, hands and lips colliding in a rush of urgency and need. Jin’s lips crashed against hers, the kiss deep and desperate, as if they were both drowning in the moment, trying to hold on to what little time they had left.

When they finally broke apart, breathless, Arya whispered into the space between them, "I like you." Her voice trembled with the weight of her confession. "God, why didn’t I say it sooner?"

Jin opened his mouth to respond, but Arya quickly silenced him with a finger to his lips, her smile bittersweet. "Don’t," she said softly. "Don’t make this harder."

"Why?" Jin’s voice was barely a whisper, but the question hung heavy in the air.

Arya’s smile faltered, her heart aching with the reality of what lay ahead. "Save it for later. When I come back... if you still feel the same, I’ll wait for you to say it then." She swallowed the lump in her throat, willing herself not to cry. "But you need to go now. You need treatment."

"Arya..." Jin’s hand gently cupped her face, his thumb tracing the curve of her cheek as if memorizing her features, his touch tender and lingering.

Without another word, Arya reached for the small shelf beside her door and grabbed the first book her hand found. She pressed it into his hands, her voice soft but determined. "Take this. You’ll think of me every time you see it. Let’s wait a little longer. Can we?"

Jin’s lips twitched into the faintest of smiles, even as the pain from his injuries clouded his expression. He took the book, holding it close like a lifeline.

"Jin?" Arya’s voice was quiet, but there was a tremor beneath her words.

He met her gaze, waiting.

"Wait for me."

Jin’s expression softened. Without a word, he reached into his pocket and placed something in her hand, closing her fingers around it gently. His voice was a whisper, filled with quiet intensity. "I promise."

When Arya opened her hand, her breath caught. It was his old, worn-out watch—the one he never let out of his sight, the one that had traveled with him through every journey he made- Now, it rested in her palm, a silent promise of his return.

"Does it hurt?" Jin muttered as Arya's eyes welled up slowly while he wiped the blood on the corner of her lips with the q tips he found from the first aid supply box of the submersible.

The images and the emotions flooded just now to Arya has shaken her to her core, they had a moment back then?Arya’s mind was spinning, memories crashing over her like a tidal wave. The kiss, the promises—they all felt so far away and yet so painfully vivid. How had she forgotten? How had she buried something so intense, so raw?

How did she never know?
How could she forget it?

"Does it hurt?" Jin again asked looking at her eyes.

"Yes." Arya's eyes dropped the tears welled in her eyes.

How could she forget that? That intense emotion she felt was still so vivid that they were almost torturous.

"Yes, it hurts."