【Ｂ Ａ Ｌ Ｌ Ｉ Ｓ Ｔ Ｏ Ｐ Ｈ Ｏ Ｂ Ｉ Ｃ】

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26th September 2019

JK

"She can't even hold a gun properly. What are we going to do with her?", I grunted in annoyance. If she can't stay stable while holding a gun, she can just drown herself somewhere. Why do we have to take the responsibility of such a coward?

"She must have her reasons perhaps? Didn't you take her side when I remarked about her parents? What's this new version now? Don't pull out your shades now", he muttered, very calmly and I chuckled at his attitude. Wow! Just wow! Is he being empathetic right now? The one who doesn't feel emotions is putting himself in her shoes. I wonder if he is some clone but unfortunately, he isn't.

"I took her side back then when Soobin told me that she was nice to Aeri but now, we have so many proofs, everything pointing fingers at her. Do you expect me to talk on her side?", I grumbled, pressing my index fingers on my temples. This is just getting complicated day by day.

"Jungkook, if she is a harm to us, the President wouldn't pull her in. And if she really wants to do something, she wouldn't pull out a stunt like before. That girl doesn't know swimming, can't hold a gun properly, runs slower than a herd of snails traveling through peanut butter, and most importantly, becomes a drip just under my gaze. You expect her to plan execution, seriously?", he guffawed and for the first time, I feel so angry at him for taking things so leniently.

"The same girl knows Morse, can come to Seoul just a month ago and still not be appeared in the passengers' list, managed to think of running away, always stays alone in the room", I spat at him and he nodded, with a bland expression.

"I have observed that. I agree she is suspicious but she isn't harmful. She might be dangerous but she still lacks a lot to implement. She is young, Jungkook and she has something veiled behind that fake smile and patient persona", he manifested his thoughts and I sat down, clutching my knees. He sure has the right points but a part of me still finds her a way beyond just a suspicion. I am scared if President is trying to work out 'keep friends close and enemies closer' perception. This ain't any normal business.

"Since you took the charge of performing a façade of being her friend, I guess you can conclude a lot more than I can. No worries. If she ever tries to do something beyond our suspicions and against us, don't hesitate to shoot her in the eye", he stated nonchalantly and I nodded as I saw him, walking out of the room. 

She smiles very often and her blue sparkling orbs will always tell the otherwise of what I think about her. Once, she looks hopeless and lost, and other times, she looks comely and tolerant. All these days, I tried to study her personality but I failed to understand her completely. I feel ashamed to not even get closer to knowing her like an actual friend. 

I expected her to open up, believing my act of cordial disposition but she never spilled a word that could help me. It is awfully hard to pretend like someone we aren't. I don't possess that cold charisma V hyung holds but I am not an amicable person by any means, at least not to newbies and strangers. But this girl made me helpless to effectuate ludicrous choices.

My chain of thoughts was broken with the vibration of my phone and I smiled, looking at the contact's name on the screen.

"Hyung", I squealed.

"How's everything going on?", he asked in his usual cold tone and I chuckled at how I am stuck in this icy atmosphere. 

"It's not actually fine and I can't tell anything on phone. You need to be here to know things. The President has taken the most stupid decision and you won't believe it for real", I complained and I could hear him releasing a breath.

"I will tell if it's stupid or not when I arrive in Seoul. I got things to pack now", he mouthed and I chuckled. 

"Why can't you just tell that you called to know if everyone over here is fine or not? It will not kill the last egotistic vein in your body. Anyway, just take care of yourself. We all miss you", I uttered and heard nothing from the other side. A simple thank you would be a great deal for his stone self. 

"Not all of you though. Okay then, I will be hanging up now", he muttered, and even before I could bid him a bye, he hung the call. 

Not a long wait, he will be here soon.

───※ ·❆· ※───

"How are you feeling now?", I asked as I helped her to sit properly. She is still under sedatives and looks like a weakling. Is she not eating the food we are serving?

"I don't want to hold that again. I am ballistophobic", she muttered, clasping my arms tightly and I nodded. Her eyes went inside and she still looked quite disturbed. She is not looking like her usual self. I don't want to lie but she is looking devastated. And that appearance is urging me to be soft, at least pretend to be soft. 

"It's okay. We will not let you hold it again unless you are comfortable, okay?", I convinced her and she nodded, still hugging herself. I turned around to check if everything is in the same place or not. Every time she goes to sleep, I make sure to examine the whole room with the hope of finding a piece of handy information.

"But tell me why you thought of running away when you have your belongings here. How will you retrieve them?", I asked her, cornering my eyes in curiosity. I don't want to interrogate her while she is not in her good state but the sedatives can help me in extracting some particulars.

"I thought Aeri could help", she mumbled in a low voice and my heart dropped at her answer. What the fuck! Is she going to involve Aeri in this? Fuck! I know Aeri is the one whom she will depend on even after she escapes but isn't she scared of us? Will she bring out the whole thing into the open?

"Hannah, I trusted you. In the first case, I didn't expect you to run away and in the second case, you are thinking about disclosing about us to Aeri. What the hell, Hannah? Are you losing shit?", I yelled at her, remembering the potential possibility of her blowing our lid off.

"I am just so disappointed in you", I groaned in frustration as I got on my legs, leaving her side. I don't even want to look at her face now. It's not because I am not feeling good about her. Peculiarly, it's about the fear of being revealed to Aeri. She will hate us, she will hate Soobin and every one of us. 

"Please don't go", she held my hand and I turned to see her in tears. She looked vulnerable and her grip was tight on my wrist. Sighing to myself, I sat down beside her.

"I just don't have anyone. I don't have anyone to rely on. Please don't leave me too", she mumbled, resting her head on my shoulder and tightening her grip on my arm. Her broken voice softened my heart for a moment and I patted her head. It's funny how desperate I am to walk out of her sight yet stay with her because of some or the other reason. Though she doesn't hold a place in the positive sphere of my thoughts, I am not a monster to leave people in their weak state. 

"Everyone just left me. Everyone", she blubbered as the tears streamed down her face. Is she talking about her parents?

"How?", I asked, trying to draw the details.

"They killed them", she mumbled in a sloppy voice and her words took me by surprise. It wasn't an accidental death then. If then, they must be either powerful or influential. They could even be someone related to crime. 

"Who?", I asked in hope of knowing her identity but she is already asleep. The sedatives must be the reason. 

I gently held her frame and placed her on the bed, pulling a blanket on her. I checked her temperature and it's normal. I then turned around to scan the whole room. Where can she hide her possessions? 

Not finding a trace of any odd objects like every day, I walked out of the room. Let me see how many days she will hide under the cover and how many days I need to carry on my pretense.

───※ ·❆· ※───

"How is she doing?", he asked as soon as I entered the room. Is he so concerned about her more than the hell load of thorns in our flesh? 

"You can't put an elephant along with the tigers and ask it to climb the trees and hunt for food. It will just sit and feed on grass", I remarked and he pressed his lips into a thin line. He looked a bit taken aback by my bold remark. 

"I can definitely tell she isn't an elephant so I don't think that would be a problem. She is a cub, turn her into a tiger", he ended the sentence with a small chuckle and I held my fists to control myself from retorting to his statement. At least, let us know why we need to keep her.

"She is of no use to us, President. At least we need to know why she is so prominent to your interest so as to mentor her", I spouted and he smiled in a mocking expression. 

"Why are you jumping so deep into conclusions? Was Soobin found useful in the initial days of the training? But that brat is holding a gun and running behind the enemies now. Why is she bothering you so much?", he asked, stating facts. Soobin is very much different. He is fit and at least smart when it comes to learning, though he was an absolute dipshit in operating the guns and weapons in the first days.

"She doesn't talk much, so we can't use her for negotiations, she can't hold weapons, so we can't use her for major missions and she doesn't know a bit about us and could put us into great danger. Above all, she just meddled into our business and I don't find a valid reason to train her", I voiced out my thoughts and he chuckled, playing with the fountain pen on the table.

"The reason why you have to train her is because I asked you to. I don't think you need a more valid one. I hope you don't forget who gives the orders and who has to follow them", he asserted his words with a firmer voice and I gulped down my throat. I know I should not talk back to him.

"I am sorry", I apologized and he nodded.

"I am not angry at you anyway. Just go and do your work properly instead of complaining. Concentrate on the other works than the reason why I asked you both to mentor her. Now go", he pronounced in a monotonous tone and I nodded.

I bowed to him, bidding my leave, and turned to go but his words made me halt my steps.

"Once you know who she is, you will regret every word you spoke about her"

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Ballistophobic

One with an anxiety disorder that is characterized by an intense fear of missiles and bullets

A/N: I know I am busy but I still want to publish!! Don't forget to vote peeps!!