The book of life

Chapter 5

Yuri woke up with a splash of ice-cold water on her face. The radiant light in the room burned her eyes, but soon her eyes started to adjust.

"Where am I?" she asked drowsily, her brain still throbbing against her head.

"Finally she's awake. For a second, I thought we accidentally killed her," said one of the men surrounding her. Yuri looked around the room and saw that she was in a bare cement room with nothing but a lamp above her. She noticed she was tied down to a chair with handcuffs, and there was only one door in the room, no windows. Two men were surrounding her, with rifles in their hands, while a third handed her a pair of dry clothes. "Here, change in to this and when you're finished, knock on the door twice. By the way, don't try to get smart while you're changing. The only exit is through the door and my guys will be in front of that door, ready to open fire if you act suspicious." When he finished talking, he released Yuri from the handcuffs and went out the door along with the other two. Yuri tried to think fast about her next option, but gave up knowing that the man was right: there was no way out. She changed into the dry clothes and knocked on the door twice. Immediately, the three men came in and one of them handcuffed Yuri's hands together again and placed a bag over her head. The next thing she knew, she was being led outside, across the lawn, through what seemed like a long corridor, and finally into a room. As the bag came off her head, Yuri stared in awe at the room she was in.

She was led to a huge, magnificent dining room with a large marble fireplace in front of a long, glossy dining table made of mahogany wood. The table was all set with silver plates and crystal glasses, ready for dinner to be served. All around the dining room, there were paintings displaying figures from various timelines, including Ancient Egypt, the Medieval Ages, and Korea's Joseon dynasty. A large portrait of King Sejong stood on top of the marble fireplace, facing Yuri. King Sejong's dark, cold eyes seemed to be staring down at her, while the mouth formed a warm, pleasant smile that gave Yuri a feeling of compassion.

"You admire the paintings too, do you?" asked a voice from behind her. Suddenly, Yuri ceased admiring the room and realized that the three men left and was replaced by a tall white-skinned male figure with broad shoulders and expensive clothes. "I picked them out myself. Some of these paintings are authentic while others are just mere replicas. Kwon Yuri-ssi, it's finally nice to meet you."

"Sorry," Yuri half-apologized, "but do I know you?"

"Not yet, I'm afraid. My name is Bruce, Bruce Chang. And my God, I knew you were beautiful on the media, but in person, you're like an angel sent from heaven. Also, look at that soft skin and those shining eyes. I wouldn't be surprised if those eyes were made of diamonds and-."

"Just cut the trash," Yuri responded in frustration, "and tell me why you kidnapped me!"

"You know, it's not good manners to interrupt someone who is complimenting your beauty. Anyways, let's have dinner first. What would you like to eat? Name anything, and my personal chefs will cook it for you."

"Oh, really? In that case I'd really like some 'What the heck is going on here' with a side of 'Get me out of here'. And for my drink, I will have a bottle of 'Get me back because I have a schedule to finish'!" Yuri yelled with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh, then I'll take it that you aren't hungry. Unlike you, I'm starving," and with that, he called his chef and ordered. Ten minutes of silence later, a kobe steak arrived to Bruce and a lobster tail arrived to Yuri. "In case you become hungry. I wouldn't want you suffering through hunger, now."

"JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT FROM ME!" Yuri exclaimed, her rage exploding out of her.

"Tsk, tsk. I guess being nice to you won't work anymore. Fine, I'll cut straight to the chase. Where is the other Jade Map?" Bruce demanded.

"The other Jade Map?" Yuri asked, trying to sound confused. However, Bruce saw right through her disguise.

"Oh man, how many times have I heard that? You know, another girl about your age said the exact same thing right before she died. Oh God, what was her name? that's right, Kim Yoon Suk. Turns out she knew where one of the two Jade Maps was but she didn't know the location of the other map. She wasn't lying. Oh, did I mention? I have connections down at the police station and my little birdies informed me that the last person she called before she died was you. Her message was a warning indicating that I was going to come for you and to protect the secret. I'm amazed at how much was uncovered from the severely burned cell phone she had. So tell me, where is the other map located?"

"Wait, you were the one who murdered Yoon Suk?! You pathetic, little piece of sh-," but before Yuri could finish, Bruce slapped her hard across her face. "You know, if you keep stalling, it's only going to make it harder for you." She started to tear up in her eyes, not because of the pain, but because she worried about the girls. The girls!, she thought. She remembered finding them tied up with tapes over their mouths. "What did you do to my friends?!" she asked.

"Oh, you mean the other girls? Well, I didn't want to ruin your surprise party, so I needed a way to quiet them down for -"

"No, I mean did anything happen to them? Did any of them get seriously wounded?"

"First, tell me where the other Jade Map is located."

"I don't know, I really don't! Please I'm begging you, don't hurt them. They're innocent," she pleaded, now with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Okay, let's say that you really didn't know where the map was. Then why would Yoon Suk ask you to protect the secret? Tell you what, since you and I are getting pretty bored here, let's play a game. Every minute that you don't tell me, one of your friends will die. The minute is starting?..now." Bruce stared at his watch.

"But I really don't-"

"Wrong answer. Time is ticking, you know."

Yuri closed her eyes and, knowing that there was no other option left, opened her mouth to speak. "Alright, I give up, you win. The other jade map is located in a jar made of solid gold. The jar itself is hidden somewhere in a Swiss vault. The vault number, I believe, is 1442 and the vault combination is 3-1-4-1-5-9-2-6-5, basically pi to the 9 digits. That's as far as I know, or, at least, can remember, so you're off on your own from here." Yuri stared straight into his eyes, giving an aura of seriousness and contempt. Bruce got up, walked over to the entrance of the dining room, and called one of his guards in.

"When I give you the signal," he said out loud to the guard so that it was audible to Yuri as well, "I want you to finish her off. When you're done with that, go over to her place and finish the rest of the girls off, but make sure you make it look like an accident."

"Wait," Yuri cried, "you said that if I told you where the map was, you would let me go and wouldn't put my friends in danger anymore!"

"Really? I don't remember saying I will let you go. Besides, with you gone, I will be the only person with the knowledge of the jade maps," and with that, he closed the door.

Yuri's mind went wild. She worried about what would happen to the girls after she is killed, and what would happen to her when Bruce finds out that she lied to him. Well he wanted a location so I gave him one, she thought as she assured herself that she did as she was told so she was, in a way, keeping her part of the bargain. Suddenly, an idea came into Yuri's mind and she thought it was better than staying in the dining room awaiting her death.

"Hey, you there, the guard! My chest is starting to itch really badly, so do you think you can come over here and scratch it for me?" The guard came over to Yuri with a joyful grin on his face. When he got close enough, Yuri raised her leg and kicked him hard on the face, resulting in a broken nose. "You little brat," he said holding his nose, and as he reached for his gun, Yuri landed a perfect side kick in to his ribs, causing him to fall back in pain. Finally, she slammed the chair that she was tied down to on the guy's back and the guard screamed in pain. He was knocked out.

"What was that?" called a voice from outside the door. A second later, numerous guards came in to the dining room and surrounded Yuri with guns pointed at her. Still tied to the chair, she surrendered and stared at the portrait of King Sejong, thinking it could somehow get her out of this mess. It would be a miracle if it did, she thought.

Just then, the portrait's eyes started to move.

Yuri thought she was going crazy. "Hey, did any of you guys see that? The painting's eyes just moved!"

"Hurry up and get her out of here. We'll finish her off in some other room."

Suddenly, the portrait of King Sejong started to rip and a hole appeared; out of the hole came a smoke grenade that blinded everyone that came in contact. Immediately following the grenade was a dark, mysterious figure who jumped out of the portrait and started shooting at the guards with a pair of automatic pistols, one on each hand. Most of the guards were fatally wounded. The remaining men started firing their rifles everywhere, destroying the mahogany dining table and some of the priceless paintings. Fortunately, none of the bullets hit Yuri or the mysterious person. When the smoke cleared, the person was nowhere in sight.

"Where'd it go! Quick, find it!"

As the guards were searching nervously, the person popped out of the ashes in the fireplace and shot multiple rounds. Each iron bullet pierced through each guard's legs, ribs, heart, and head. All of them were down. Yuri noticed that the mystery person was wearing all black with stealth boots and a ski mask to hide her face. The person then went over to Yuri, grabbed a dagger, and picked the handcuff until Yuri was free. "Quick Yuri, climb in to the portrait and follow me before more of them come." The voice was a female voice and Yuri thought the voice sounded familiar.

"But who are you?"

"No time to explain. We must hurry, quick!" Yuri ran over to the portrait and climbed in to the hole. She followed the mysterious female and realized that the hole led into a tunnel which brought her to the front yard of the mansion. The two of them sneaked across, but realized they had no transportation. The female then grabbed a rock and smashed the window of a Lamborghini sports car that was nearby. She grabbed a couple of wires and a minute later, the powerful engine roared. "Hurry, get inside." Yuri quickly got in the passenger seat and the female pushed hard on the gas pedal. The tires screeched and the vehicle tore the front gate apart. The guards that were outside looking for the two noticed the stolen vehicle and began firing at the car. The bullets shattered the windows, but this didn't stop the female from speeding until she got in to the safe zone. "Damn it, we lost her!" one of the guards exclaimed. "Contact the boss. Now!"

When they were in the clear, Yuri sighed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much for saving me. I would really like to see the face that came to my rescue." She took off the mask that was covering the woman's face. Seeing the face, she almost fainted from surprise. No wonder the woman's voice sounded so familiar.

"JESSICA?!"

Chapter 6

"JESSICA?! But?.what ?how??"

"I know you have many questions that want answered, but be patient with me. I will tell you everything when the time comes. Right now, my only priority is to get you home safe and sound."

The silent treatment hurt Yuri as much as the hard slap she experienced across her face. But she knew that Jessica wouldn't tell her anything, no matter how hard she tried. Soon, they both reached the house. Sica parked the Lambo and carried Yuri over to her room, where Yuri collapsed onto her bed. Jessica hid her pistols and uniform into a secret cabinet. Then started to undress and change in to her regular clothes. "Oh by the way, you can just stay in the house for tonight and tomorrow morning. Both our manager and SM think that you're seriously ill right now, so they've emptied your schedule until 11:30 tomorrow morning. Sorry Yuri, but I really can't reveal anything right now. The girls and I have to go to the MBC station to catch up with our schedules. We'll be back in about 3 hours." As Jessica was about to open the front door, Yuri sat up straight and faced Jessica.

"It's okay if you can't tell me, but just tell me one thing cause I'm dying to know. If I remember correctly, the last time I set foot in here, I found all of you guys tied up and held captive. How did you guys get out? Who let you guys free?"

"Sorry, but the ones who helped us specifically told us not to tell you. However, I can tell you this. Let's just say that God sent a couple guardian angels to us to help us out. Oh shoot, I'm running late! Love you Yuri!" and with that, Jessica closed the front door and left. Immediately, she heard a huge explosion outside.

Yuri ran towards the window to see what that was. Turns out that Jessica destroyed the stolen Lamborghini by installing explosives inside. Well that's one way to get rid of evidence, Yuri thought. After she calmed down, she collapsed onto the bed. Yuri stared at the ceiling, asking herself questions that had no answers currently. Who saved the girls? When did Jessica learn to use combat? Are the rest of the girls okay? Does anyone else even know? and who was that Bruce Chang? Suddenly, she remembered why she came back to her house after the museum visit.

After making sure the house was empty (even though she knew that she was the only one inside), she went over to her closet. She pulled out a small wooden box she's had since her childhood, reached under her bed for the key, and opened the lock.

Inside was a small jade stone.

Yuri picked up the stone and turned it around in her hand, admiring the craftsmanship and reminiscing the past. Smiling, she thought of the past, about how she got the jade stone.

* * *

"Bye Yuri! I'll miss you."

"When you get there, you better call me! If you don't, I'm going to come after you."

The moving truck was finished loading and Yoon Suk's parents called out to her. "Come on honey, we're ready to go!"

"I guess this is good bye," Yoon Suk replied to Yuri.

"No, this isn't good bye. It's only the beginning. Make sure you call me when you get there. Maybe I can ask Mom and Dad to visit you sometime." After they made promises, both of them exchanged sincere hugs and cried their hearts out. Yuri wiped her tears on her sleeves.

"Oh, I want to give you something to remember me by, Yuri. My daddy gave this to me but I want you to have it. Don't lose it or I won't be your friend anymore! Thanks for everything!" Yoon Suk handed Yuri a small jade stone. Yuri clenched it tight in her fist. "Looks like your parents are waiting for you, Yoon Suk. I'll really miss you." Yoon Suk smiled and got in to the truck.

The truck's engine revved and began to move. Yoon Suk took her hand out of the window and waved at Yuri. "Bye Yoon Suk! I'll see you again sometime!"

Yuri started to chase after the truck. "Bye Yoon Suk! Good bye!" The sun set into the horizon, giving off a brilliant red glow. Yuri's eyes began turning as pink as the clouds in the sky.

* * *

Yuri returned to the present. She's had the stone for 15 years, kept her promise for 15 years. The stone was unbelievably smooth. On the face was a small design etched on to the surface. The design was made of sapphire with pearl outlines. The design was a picture of a Samjokgo*, a three-legged bird found commonly in various art pieces of the Joseon dynasty and the Goguryeo. Just then, she remembered the water clock she observed in the Royal Museum.

Both pillars of the water clock depicted an ancient Korean dragon rising from the ground and a flaming phoenix coming down from the sky, both creatures chasing a Samjokgo**.

The strange thing was that the Samjokgo was in the same exact position as the one etched on the jade stone. Even stranger was the fact that the bird looked like it was trapped in a solid, gray bubble.

No, not a bubble, Yuri thought, but a stone.

She also remembered the people on the ground bowing down to the bird and the heavens opening up. Yuri's eyes never left the jade stone still held in her hand.

Could this be the Jade Map? she asked herself. 'That's absurd. Would Yoon Suk really give me something this valuable? Unless... she handed it to me by accident." Now, everything started to make sense. She understood why Yoon Suk contacted Yuri right before she died, what she meant by "protect the map", why a mercenary named Bruce Chang kidnapped her and nearly killed her and the girls. All that for this tiny stone. As Yuri walked over to her bed, she tripped on a doll that Tiffany left on the floor earlier. The stone flew from her hand and landed on top of the lamp, which was shining bright. "Damn it, Tiffany. You should learn to clean up," she thought to herself. Yuri stood up and walked over to the lamp to pick the stone up.

Suddenly, her ceiling turned bright green and revealed a sort of holographic maze. Yuri fell back and gasped at what lay before her eyes. Over to the far left of her ceiling was written "Entrance" in Hanja* and near the center, "Book" in Hangul. Yuri was never really good at puzzles or mazes so she gave up trying to figure this one out. Besides, her attention was fully at what the stone was trying to tell her.

After the maze disappeared all of a sudden, it then displayed the whole map of East Asia during the 15th century, including Goguryeo, the eastern part of ancient China, and the ancient Japanese Empire. Just then, as if it were a satellite image, the map of East Asia zoomed into a single spot in modern-day Jeju Island, precisely where Mt. Hallasan* was located. Soon, just as it had appeared, the map was gone and the stone returned back to its original state.

Yuri just stood there, dumbfounded. What was that all about? Scared, she snatched the jade stone, threw it back into the box, and locked it. She placed the box back inside the hidden compartment in her closet and collapsed on to the carpet. All of it was just too much to take in at once. She sighed and went right to sleep on the floor. The carpet helped her release all her stress and Yuri smiled as she drifted off into fantasyland.

* * *

"Hahaha! That was hilarious Yoona, but next time make sure you don't say things like that in front of the media! It embarrasses me you know," Taeyeon exclaimed. All nine girls laughed out loud in the hallway as they finished their recordings for a variety show. "Hey you guys I'll be right back," Tiffany said, "I have to go to the restroom. Wait for me down in the hallway." "Hurry back," Taeyeon responded jokingly. "So, do you guys want to...."

Fifteen minutes passed and the girls were still waiting for Tiffany to get back. "Why isn't she back yet? She didn't eat that much for breakfast," Hyoyeon asked. "I tried contacting her but she wouldn't answer her phone," Sunny said. "She better hurry up or we'll be late for our next schedule."

Suddenly, Yuri's phone rang. It was from an unknown caller. "Hold on you guys, I'll just be outside. When Tiffany comes back, scold her for me, will you?" she said half-laughing. She put her phone on her ear.

"Hello?"

"You lied, Kwon Yuri. You know what I love about games? It never stops until the one who made the game says so. And I believe that 8 minutes passed since we started the game, am I right? Your friends will all die, one by one. Come up to the roof if you don't believe me, if you think I'm- what do you call that- bluffing." With that, he hung up.

Yuri's pupils grew smaller and immediately ran up the stairs. "Hey Yuri, where do you think you're going?! Don't leave us hanging here!"

"Sorry you guys but I just remembered I left something upstairs." Then she continued to sprint up the stairs until she reached the roof.

When Yuri opened the door, the sight made her fall on to her knees. There stood two men with SMG's equipped and fully loaded, and Tiffany was standing on the edge of the roof, her whole body wrapped around tightly with a rope and a piece of cloth over her mouth. Tiffany's eyes displayed horror, true horror. The two men had their guns pointed at Yuri. Out of nowhere Bruce appeared.

"You know what I hate the most in this world? Liars. That and, well, spaghetti, but that's a whole different story. Anyways, the reason I called you up here is so that you can see your friend die for yourself. That's how games work, doesn't it? All I have to do is kick her and she goes flying. Like this."

"WAIT!!!" Yuri pleaded, and Bruce's foot stopped in midair, just as he was about to kick Tiffany off. "I know where the Jade Map is now. The map is a jade stone with a picture of the Samjokgo on it, right? I know where it is, now."

"I'm listening."

"If you kill her, I swear on my life, you will never find it." Bruce lowered his leg back to the ground.

"Interesting... So, where is it?"

'Forgive me Yoon Suk,' she thought to herself, 'seems as though I failed you'. "The map is in my-"

"Yuri, you better not say another word! You can't surrender yourself that easily!"

Yuri turned around to see who had called her, and to her surprise, it was Jessica.

"Jessica, what are you doing here?!"

"I was getting worried about you and Fany, and I overheard your conversation about going to the roof. Now, is this the guy that is threatening Fany's life?!"

Bruce took a good look at Jessica. "Oh Yuri, this must be another friend of yours. Well, you know what they say, if you have the chance, kill two birds with one stone. Men, shoot her, but don't harm Yuri." But before the two guys took an aim at Jessica, she ran towards one of them and kicked him right in the stomach. The guy flew backwards and fell off the edge of the roof. Immediately, Jessica grabbed the other guy's gun and struck him right on the neck with a roundhouse kick. Just as the guy was about to fall forward, Sica brought her knee up to his face and blew his jaws apart. One final kick into his stomach and the guy also fell, and the gun strap that was hanging around him broke. Jessica pointed the SMG at Bruce. However, Bruce was one step ahead and pointed his pistol at Jessica. Tiffany was still tied down, struggling to break free.

"Yuri," Jessica cried, "I'll take care of him. Go and help Tiffany."

"Uh-uh, not so fast," Bruce said, and he turned his pistol around and shot Tiffany. Tiffany let out a muffled scream in pain and fell off the roof of the MBC building.

"NO!!!!" Yuri cried.

Chapter 7

"TIFFANY! NO!" Yuri cried as she rushed over to where Tiffany was. She leaned over the rail, hoping to see Tiffany, at least, alive. Miraculously, the rope that Tiffany was tied to barely caught on the flagpole that was hanging on the second floor. Tiffany's eyes were now flooding with tears and her muffled scream could have been heard over a mile away. "Tiffany, I'll get you down as quick as I can!" Yuri took one last look at Bruce Chang who was pointing a gun at Jessica and, at the same time, having a gun pointed at him. "I swear, I'll be the one to finish you off! Even if it means for me to die!" Then Yuri ran through the door and down the stairs.

She called one of the girls for help.

"Hello?"

"Sunny! Get everyone outside! Tiffany is barely hanging on a flagpole on the second floor. With all you guys's arms, try to make a cushion for Tiffany when she falls!" Yuri hung up her phone and prayed for the best as she rushed down the flight of steps.

On the roof, Jessica was still pointing her gun at Bruce. "You almost killed two of my members so far. I should just finish you off right now!" Jessica exclaimed.

"Do it, if you have the guts." Jessica wanted to pull the trigger so hard, but something inside her kept her from firing that bullet.

"I thought so.... well, in the future, I hope we don't run in to each other. For now, I will be going." He set his pistol down and sprinted across the roof of the building. As Bruce was about to make a jump, Sica said, "If you think you're getting away with all the trouble you caused, guess again!" and fired two rounds at him, one on each knee. Bruce was shot in midair and screamed in pain as he fell. Did he just kill himself? Sica asked herself. She ran over to where he made the jump and looked down to see a truck carrying an inflatable cushion. Bruce lied there on top of the cushion, grabbing both his knees to put pressure. Blood flowed from the cushion onto the hard cement street. He crawled inside the truck and the truck left, disappearing into the busy traffic ahead. Without second thoughts, Jessica hurriedly ran to the door and down the stairs.

Outside, all seven girls along with people nearby, who noticed Fany dangling for her life and came to help, stretched their arms out, ready to catch Tiffany as she fell. In a matter of seconds, the flagpole broke and she screamed as she dropped onto many arms that softened her landing and kept her alive. After she was set down, all the girls assisted in untying the rope and removing the cloth. Upon being released, Tiffany grabbed her arm which was bleeding immensely. That was the place that she was shot by Bruce. Thank God it wasn't a fatal wound, Yuri thought. Yuri ran over to Fany to calm her down.

"Yuri, I've never been so scared in my life... I guess I owe you one," Fany said smiling. Her eyes and cheeks were becoming red. Yuri patted her head gently. "It's okay, Tiffany. You're safe now..."

Just then, Jessica appeared, sweating. "Where were you when one of our members, one of our dearest friends, was in grave danger?!" Taeyeon demanded. When Jessica opened her mouth to say something, Yuri interrupted and replied, "Don't blame Jessica. She was up on the roof with me, helping me take down the guys who did this with some crazy martial ar-" Before Yuri finished talking, Jessica ran over to her and covered her mouth.

"Yuri, it's not a good time to joke like that!" she said chuckling, "What she meant to say was that I was.... uh, running up and down the stairs looking for Tiffany when I noticed that she wasn't in the bathroom. But yeah, it's my fault. I should have called one of you to get an update on the situation. Because of that, Tiffany, I sincerely apologize." Tiffany looked confused; she could have sworn that the one that was beside Yuri was Sica.

"Oh, then..." Taeyeon replied, "If you do really mean that, I guess there's nothing left but to forgive you. Just try not to make the same mistake twice." Taeyeon went over to give Jessica a hug. Immediately, the police arrived. "We got a call that someone was about to fall off the second floor of a building."

"That situation has been dealt with. However, that person has been injured by a gunshot," Yuri responded. The police carried Tiffany over to the ambulance, followed by the rest of the girls. The paramedics lifted Fany onto their soft bed. The paramedic injected anesthetics* into her arm and with a tweezer, tried to locate the bullet before the entire arm gets infected from lead poisoning. The sirens came on and the ambulance rushed towards the local hospital. On the way, Yuri leaned over to Jessica and whispered, "They don't know about you? About what you can do?"

"No, and I'd like it to stay it that way. Don't forget, we have an image to hold up to." Then silence returned once again.

At the hospital, Tiffany was rushed to the medical room. The girls were told to wait outside. Yuri stared at the double doors that Tiffany just entered seconds ago. "It's all my fault... everything... " She rested her head on Jessica's shoulder and wiped her eyes. Without second thoughts, Yuri stood up and walked outside. "Hey Yuri, where you headed?"

"Home. I have some unfinished urgent business to take care of. Don't worry I'll be fine."

She stepped into the bus and waited to get home. I was the one who started this so I should be the one to finish this, she told herself. When she reached her house, she walked over to her closet and took out the wooden chest that she treasured so dearly. She was relieved to know that the Jade Map was still inside. Yuri reached into her bag and pulled out her cell phone. She found the number that Bruce called her with and clicked dial. The phone rang.

"Ah, Yuri... I never thought I'd live to see the day that you would be calling me, not me you."

"I'll make an arrangement with you. I have one of the Jade Maps in my hand right now, and I am willing to give it to you- but under one condition: you leave me and my members alone..."

"How do I know if you're not lying?"

"Because I can describe what the map looks like for you, if you don't believe me. Also, I can tell you the location of the labyrinth that the book is hidden in, the location that the map told me. I promise to you, I will deliver the real deal to you."

"Then we have a deal. Meet me in Namsan Park* at 2:00 pm sharp. If you're late, the deal is cancelled." Bruce hung up.

Yuri saw no other way of ending this chase, of putting her friends in danger. And for some reason, she couldn't trust the two officers of the KNPA, Officers Hyo Joon and Tae Kyeon; there was something about them that gave Yuri goosebumps. Before departing with the stone forever, there was one last thing she wanted to do. She grabbed the stone and left for the Royal Museum in Deoksugung.

Twenty minutes later, she coincidentally bumped into Seo Chun. "Hey, watch where you're goi- oh, Yuri! Sorry there, thought you were someone else. How've you been lately?"

"Oh, I'm doing fine. Remember when you said you didn't believe in the legend of the Book of Life? Well, I got something to show you..." Yuri grabbed Seo Chun's arm and ran around the museum, into the botanical garden, just meters away from the water clock where Yuri noticed the samjokgo engraved on the two pillars. "After I show you this, there's no way you won't believe that the legend is true."

"Show me what?"

Yuri pulled out the jade stone. The sapphire samjokgo shined brightly as it reflected the bright red from the setting sun. "Unbelievable," Seo Chun cried, "Where'd you get such a treasure as this?"

"A friend of mine gave it to me by accident fifteen years ago. I didn't know what it was until last night."

"I've only heard of descriptions of the Jade Map through stories, but I never thought I would be able to see one personally for myself, let alone hold it in my hand...." He started to admire the craftsmanship, from the extreme smoothness of the stone to the thin pearl outlines that went around the samgokjo. "Hey Yuri, why are you showing me this now?"

"Because a mercenary named Bruce is threatening both my life and the lives of my members, my friends. I made a deal with him, that if I hand over the stone to him, he would get out of our lives. I'm meeting him in Namsan Park tomorrow at 2:00 pm." Suddenly, Seo Chun's pupils grew smaller and he placed his arms on Yuri's shoulder. "Do you remember his last name by any chance?"

"Ummmm.... yeah, I believe it was Chang."

"Yuri- we need to have a talk." They both sat in a nearby coffee table. Seo Chun handed the stone back to Yuri. "You said Bruce Chang? Is he white-skinned, tall, and extremely rich?"

"Yeah! Do you know him?"

"Do I know him?! Not only do I just know him, but I almost died in his hands! About a month ago, he broke into this museum along with a female, possibly his sister, and a group of highly trained soldiers. The police arrived and tried to stop them but failed. He entered the restricted area and into the museum's basement where hundreds of thousands of special collections off limits to the general public were stored. He grabbed me by the neck and asked me where the two stone jars containing the Jade Maps were. I told him he was taking the legend too seriously and at that point, he took out a knife and threatened to cut open my throat if I kept joking around. You can imagine how afraid I was and told him that I knew a friend who knew about the Jade Map. That particular friend was Kim Yoon Suk. If I knew he was going to kill her..." Seo Chun began tearing up. "God, I was so stupid back then..."

"It's not your fault. You didn't know. And this Bruce Chang guy may be the Devil incarnate, but if it means saving my friends from danger, then I-"

"Yuri, I wasn't finished. When he threatened to cut open my throat, I told him that I would tell him who knew where the Jade Maps were in exchange for leaving this museum without harming any of my associates or the museum's workers. He promised and I told him everything I knew. Little did I know that he was going to double cross me. As he removed the knife from my throat and opened the door that led out of the basement, he pulled out an automatic rifle and opened fire at everyone he laid his eyes on. Blood gushed out everywhere and many of the artifacts were shattered and damaged beyond repair. A coward that I was, I hid behind an iron box. After it was all over, dead corpses sprawled all around the floor. It was literally a blood bath. Police reinforcement came too late." Seo Chun covered his face in shame. That and because he didn't want to show his crying face in front of all the tourists that were having a nice time in the cafe. "And so far, he has never been caught because there wasn't enough evidence to convict him to prison. He always makes sure the CCTV cams are all hacked, security is loose, and that there are no fingerprints left anywhere, not even on his guns."

Yuri looked worried. What if Bruce doesn't keep the deal? she thought. Should I still trust him? Bruce lifted his head up and his eyes met Yuri's. "Yuri, if you value your life and the lives of those around you, do not ever trust a man like him. You understand? He is a sick bit- Oh God, oh God, no no no! I'm going to be late for the meeting! Yuri, I'm sorry but I have to leave right now. I'll talk to you more whenever you need to. Take care!" and like the wind, he was gone in a flash.

Yuri returned home and found it to be empty. She called Yoona. "Hey, you guys still at the hospital?"

"Yeah. The doctor says that Tiffany will be fine and be able to go home tomorrow."

Yuri was relieved. She didn't want to risk the lives of her closest friends. If Seo Chun's story was true, then there was no way that she could trust someone like that. Suddenly, Yuri had a plan, a way to keep Bruce away from the SNSD members and the map, and hopefully, out of their lives forever. She looked at the clock. 5:30 pm. She only had less than eight hours to prepare.

* * *

Outside the MBC building where Tiffany almost met death, the CSI team started to investigate what happened. So far, they found two dead bodies, one with a fully loaded SMG, and a pool of blood. Two bullet casings on the roof and a broken flagpole on the second floor. Everything else seemed to be clean, as if nothing happened. Another police siren was heard and every head turned to see an undercover police car arrive. Two men stepped out of the car.

"I'm sorry sir, but you're in a restricted area. I ask you to leave or we will use deadly force," one of the police guards said.

The two officers flashed their legal NPA badge. "We're from the NPA and we just received orders from the Chief of Police in Seoul to clear out this place. All evidence of law enforcement activity must be removed from this crime scene."

"But we're not done investig-"

"Hey, I'm not the ones giving the order, I'm just relaying the information. If you have a problem, take it up with the Chief. I'm pretty sure that despite his busy schedules and maintaining order in such a heavily populated city, he'll have time to listen to petty whining from someone like you." Hyo Joon snickered as he made his statement.

Soon, everyone cleared out and Officers Hyo Joon and Tae Kyeon were the only ones remaining. "Man, I love this badge," Hyo Joon said. They put the two bodies in a bag, sweeped up the blood, and disposed the two bullet casings found on the roof. "I heard the boss was shot in the knees so he's permanently handicapped." Tae Kyeon took out his phone and dialed a number. The phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Sir, the place is clean."

"Good job. Now, tomorrow at 2:00 pm, go to Nansam park. You will meet Kwon Yuri from SNSD, I'm sure you know who she is. She will hand you a small jade stone. You are to not lose the stone or my deal with you and Hyo Joon is over. Importantly, don't be late." The call ended.

They got in the undercover police car and drove off into the glistening lights of downtown Seoul, where they dumped the bodies and the bullet casings into the Han River. In a couple of seconds, they left as if nothing had happened.

Chapter 8

Yuri looked at her watch. 1:58 pm. She was sitting on a bench near the center of Namsan Park, which gave an awe-inspiring view of the skylines of downtown Seoul. To the left of her stood the famous N Seoul Tower that looked down upon the citizens of Seoul like a guardian angel. She had less than two minutes to decide whether to change her actions. Yuri lifted the collar of her jacket over to her mouth, which had a mini wireless microphone installed. "Remember, we act as planned."

At 2pm sharp, a tall man approached Yuri; he had a hood over his head and a pair of sunglasses over his eyes to cover his face. "Are you Kwon Yuri, by any chance?"

"Yes I am, and you must be here to collect the stone for Bruce Chang, is that right?"

"That's correct. He wanted to tell you that you and your friends won't be in danger from him ever again."

"Good," and Yuri handed him the Jade Map. With a thank you, he began to walk away. Then, Yuri called him out and said, "Oh, you're not leaving this place yet." Suddenly, three consecutive bullets pierced the man, one each on both knees and one on his right thigh. Yuri quickly ran towards him and covered his mouth so that he wouldn't scream and attract attention. "Good shot, Jessica." About 600 meters away lied Jessica on a grassy patch with an M24 sniper rifle in front of her; her eyes were still fixated on her scope. "He's all yours, Yuri," Jessica replied.

Six hundred meters away, Yuri took off the man's amateur disguise. She noticed that he was crying, not in pain but in sadness and panic. "I'm sorry I used deadly force, but I was left with no other options. Now tell me, where is Bruce Chang's house located?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the man told her, sobbing.

"Look," Yuri responded in a frustrated tone, "I don't have the time to screw around with you. So tell me where his house is or the next thing that's going to be on your mind is a lead bullet!" However, the man stared at her eyes with respect and pleaded, "Really I do not know what you're talking about, I swear! Please, don't hurt me!" This time, Yuri saw the truth in his eyes.

"Wait, what?!"

"I was just minding my own business at work when two people came up to me and threatened to kill my family if I didn't do as they asked. I thought they were bluffing but they told me to call my wife, so I did. Turns out there were men with guns in my house, ordered to shoot when told. They told me to dress like this and retrieve a jade stone from you, so I did in order to save my family. So please, think about my family and give me the stone! I beg you!" The man kept tearing up as he cried until his eyes turned blood red.

"Damn it!" Yuri yelled. She lifted her collar up to her mouth. "Jessica, the man was a decoy. What do we do now?"

"Yuri, if he was a decoy, then the real guy must be somewhere in the park to make sure that the job was going according to plan. Try to spot anyone who looks suspicious." Yuri left the bushes and stepped out into the public, where countless number of people were walking around. Here, everyone looked suspicious in one way or another. She thought maybe Chang was in the park as well, but even trying to find him was like trying to find a pin in a barn full of haystacks. Yuri put the map back in her pocket.

Just then, a passerby bumped into Yuri. "Sorry, ma'am," the guy apologized. "Don't worry about it," Yuri told him in a sweet, innocent voice. He walked away and Yuri resumed searching for Chang. She thought it might be easier to lure him so she reached into her pocket to hold the stone up high and bring him to her.

Suddenly, she gasped when she realized it wasn't there.

Yuri started panicking and ruffled through her pants and her coat for any sign of the stone. Her efforts were futile. She searched the ground, thinking she might have dropped it, but the stone was still nowhere in sight. Then she remembered the man who bumped into her. He must have picked my pocket, she thought. She turned her head to see if she could spot the man. A couple seconds later, she saw him walking about 130 meters away. Immediately, Yuri started sprinting, dodging past crowds. The man noticed her chasing after him and started to sprint as well.

"Jessica, about 130 m from where I am, you'll see a man about 190 cm wearing a pair of jeans, a black baseball cap, and a navy blue ball jacket. I want you to take him out for me."

"I notice him, but I can't get a clear shot. There are way too many people around him." Jessica hung up. There was nothing left for Yuri to do but to chase him down. She pushed many people away, yet he was still too far away. Then Yuri noticed a person riding on a motor scooter. She stood in front of its path. When it stopped, she grabbed the driver, pulled her out, and pressed on the accelerator. Wind blew ferociously on Yuri's face as she drew nearer to the person that stole the map from her.

* * *

Officer Hyo Joon, who disguised himself with a black cap and a blue jacket, ran with all his might. He noticed that the parking lot was less than 40 m away. He took out his phone and dialed a number. "Tae Kyeon, is the car ready?"

"Yeah. Where are you?"

"I'm about 40 m from the entrance to the 'D' parking lot. Meet me there." Officer Hyo Joon turned around and saw Yuri now chasing him on a motor scooter. In a final attempt, when Yuri got close enough, he grabbed a nearby balloon cart and kicked it at Yuri. The cart smashed into the motor scooter, causing it to flip over; fortunately, Yuri jumped out just in time. Soon, he had reached the entrance to the "D" parking lot where Tae Kyeon was waiting for him in a BMW. "Quick, drive!" Hyo Joon exclaimed as he got inside the car while catching his breath.

"Sir," he said on the phone, "We got the stone. I will drop it off at your house no later than 4:00 pm." End call. He took one last look at Namsan Park, one last look at Yuri who was sprawled on the ground helplessly. In the distance, he saw a sniper rifle, Jessica's rifle, without its owner anywhere near it. Jessica could have shot me easily since taking down targets even amidst a crowd is a basic job for a sniper, so why didn't she? he asked himself, even though he knew the answer to that question. Officer Hyo Joon smiled.

* * *

Yuri took a quick glimpse at the car before it disappeared into the mountains below. She gave a huge sigh as she remained there on the ground, looking up at the clear blue sky. Jessica approached her and helped her get up.

"You're lucky that wasn't the real stone. Imagine what would have happened if it was the real thing," Jessica said.

"Tell me about it. Besides, the whole point of this operation was to get hte location of Chang's house, so I guess you could say that this whole thing turned out to be a waste of time. Come on, let's go home."

"What are you going to do about the decoy?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about him." Yuri ran towards where she put him down half an hour ago. When she reached the bushes, she was horrified to find the man, whose family was in the brink of death, dead with a bullet in his forehead. "Did you do this, Jessica?"

"Well, we can't have anyone telling on us, so I did the only thing I could think of."

"He had a family, you know."

"Considering it's Bruce Chang we're dealing with, I'm quite positive they've been killed before he even took this job," Jessica replied. Yuri didn't want to believe it, but she had to agree. Out of sympathy, she closed his eyes and placed him in a nearby river, where the body drifted peacefully. Since the river led to a huge waterfall, the body could be properly disposed of before the authorities find out. "Rest in peace, sir.... come on, Jessica, let's go home."

Two hours later, the two opened their doors to find the rest of the girls practicing their dance. "Where were you guys?" Sooyoung asked. Yuri was too tired to answer. The bed gave her a warm, heavenly welcome. But for some reason, the room did not feel right. "Oh Yuri, there's a letter for you on the bed," Sooyoung shouted. Yuri spotted the yellow envelope and opened it. Inside lied a cassette player with tape already in. Curious, she pressed play.

"Hello Yuri. I'm pretty sure you're getting tired of this voice by now, but bear with me. By the way, I had a feeling you weren't going to give up your childhood treasure so easily, so I prepared a little.... surprise party for you. Right when you pressed play on this machine, a bomb that was installed somewhere in your house has been activated, as well as a pair of sensors built in to your door. Now, those sensors detect movement so if anyone comes in or goes out, the sensors will signal the bomb to go off. That means, if police comes in or one of you goes out to get help, the whole building will collapse. Of course, I could have just searched the whole house, but that became too much trouble.

"Now..... let's play another game, shall we? It's called 'Give The Stone to Chang and Make Your Life Easier". The rules are simple: all you have to do is hand over the map at precisely the time that I arrive; either that or refuse and you along with everyone who lives in the apartment won't see tomorrow ever again. Oh, and the sensors 'know' who you are, so once you step outside to hand me the map, the bomb won't explode. However, let's just say that.... I have ears and eyes everywhere, and I can manually activate the bomb as I wish. My whole point is- you have no where to go. Let the game begin!" Click.

Yuri sat in disbelief. She kept playing the last statement over and over: "Let the game begin!" She couldn't get help. She couldn't tell everyone to get out. She opened the wooden chest again and put the treasure inside her pocket, ready to give to Chang when he comes. Jessica, wrapped in a towel after taking a shower, came outside. "Yuri, you okay? You look so pale..."

"Huh, what? Yeah I'm fine. Look, I need to go outside for a moment. I'll be back soon. Oh by the way, make sure no one leaves this house. There's something going on and I need you to trust me on this one."

Fifteen minutes later, a black Mercedes pulled up in front of the freezing Yuri. 6:30 pm, just as promised. Bruce Chang himself stepped out and raised his palm to Yuri. She placed the Jade Map in his hand, saying her last farewell. "See, was that so hard, Kwon Yuri?"

"Giving the stone to you wasn't the hard part. It was whether I could trust your promise or not. Seems as though I'm left with no other options right now. Also, I have connections in the police as well and they told me that the place that you took me to wasn't your house. Did you murder the owner and take it? By the way, how did you know the stone one of your men took from me at Namsan Park was a fake?"

"Trust me, you're not the only one who knows that the stone reveals a map when in contact with a light source. And yes, the owner of that house did indeed die by my hands... or should I say, my feet. You should have seen the look on his face when he fell from the helicopter into the depths of the cliff below." Soon, Chang gave a signal and one of his men walked up to Yuri with a briefcase. Inside was a stone jar that he retrieved from Sejong's grave.

"What's this?"

"Yuri, there is one last thing I need you to do. Inside the jar is the other Jade Map and it is locked by a combination key. The combination is a six lettered word in hangul and the answer to a riddle."

"No! You said that all I had to do was give you the map and you'll pose no threat to me or my-!" Chang immediately held up a remote control detonator. "Whenever I wish, Yuri.... whenever I wish." Yuri surrendered.

"As I was saying, the riddle goes like this: What walks on four in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three at night?" Yuri responded, "That's easy. It's man, or a person. The riddle is the famous Riddle of the Sphynx from Greek mythology."

"Yes, well, we've tried 'man' and it won't work. We figured there must be an alternate answer. Oh, and opening the jar by force isn't an option, trust me."

Yuri ran out of ideas. All she could think of was "man", the old traditional Greek answer. King Sejong was a smart man, she thought. She realized how powerful the Book of Life was and its potential to harm the world or bring it to the truth. Suddenly, she had an alternate answer to the riddle. She turned the jar over to the bottom and flipped through the letters until it spelled out what she thought was the answer. Just then, she heard gears turning inside and then.... click. The lid opened by itself. Chang snatched the jar from her hands quickly and took out the stone. The other map looked exactly the same as the one given to Yuri by Yoon Suk. "Thank you, Yuri. I shall say my goodbye to you. Your service is no longer required. Let us forget any of this ever happened and go on with our lives." He smiled at Yuri and got into his Mercedes. The tires gave a screech as it turned around and left Yuri forever. Thank God, she whispered.

She took one step to her house, when suddenly she heard a huge explosion. Her worst nightmare came true when she looked up to see where her house was, with all the members still inside, ablaze. A huge bubble of smoke and fire flooded out and debris rained down just inches from where Yuri was standing. Her house was gone, and the fate of her members, her friends, were unknown. Yuri didn't know what to do or say. All she could do was stare and cry.

Chapter 9

Boom... crash! Large piles of debris fell and dust and ash piled in front of Yuri, who collapsed on her knees. She felt like the end of the world was already here, and her heart pounded rapidly against her chest. Her skin turned pale and all the hair on her body stood up. The very fabric of reality was unbearable for her. The sound of gas pipes exploding, flames crackling, wooden beams falling, and tenants excruciatingly screaming ringed in Yuri's ears. However, she knew that all she could do for now was to stare helplessly at the flames and smoke erupting from her home. By now, the flames reached the top floor. Several seconds later, sirens were heard in the distance. Fire trucks and ambulances rushed to where Yuri was and firefighters immediately ran inside the building that was in the brink of collapsing. One firefighter came to where Yuri was, raised her up, and covered her in a warm blanket. To Yuri, the blanket felt like hell.

Thirty minutes later, most of the fire was extinguished and the building was saved from toppling over and causing property damage to nearby structures. All that was left from the still-standing apartment was white smoke that gave Yuri chills just thinking about it. Just then, firefighters began filing out with black covers over dead bodies. Noticing the bodies, Yuri tore off the blanket and ran to where the firefighters were. "Sir, are these bodies from room #XXX*?"

"Sorry ma'am, they're not. That place is being covered by a different unit." Yuri covered her mouth and sat on the concrete, crying, wanting to scream.

After about several minutes, another group of firefighters started to come out with stretchers carrying two to three people at the same time, running to the paramedics. "Paramedics, quick! Take care of these guys! They still have some heartbeat left in them, although barely!" Yuri turned her head around just in time to see her members coming out of the building on stretchers with charred flesh and broken limbs. The sight made Yuri vomit. The last of her members to come out of the building was Jessica. As expected of her, Jessica was the only survivor who suffered minor injuries.

All the members immediately left for the hospital in separate ambulances. Yuri got in the ambulance that Jessica was in, still flooding with tears. The sirens went off and the paramedics injected both patients with anesthetics.

"Jessica, how are you doing?" Yuri asked her, still shaking.

"Yuri... where am I?... what happened?..." Jessica responded faintly.

"Shhh, Jessica.... If it hurts, you don't have to speak. We'll talk when the time is right."

The ambulance pulled over and all the injured were rushed to the emergency room with oxygen masks on. Yuri, her face and body covered in ash, sat in the waiting room, praying that the three will survive. After what seemed like forever, she was then led to a hospital room with three beds. In each bed were Tiffany, Taeyeon, and Jessica. Fany's and Taeyeon's faces were covered in bandages and all three were connected to heartbeat monitors and IV fluids. Yuri sat next to Jessica, took her hand, and broke down in tears. "I'm sorry Jessica, it's all my fault that all this happened."

"What are you talking about?" Jessica tried to assure her, "You weren't the one who planted the bomb nor were you the one who set it off. Besides, you said that the stone is a childhood treasure of yours right? I know how you feel. It's not easy giving up something like that so easily, but you did anyways. It takes real heart to do what you just did."

Yuri looked up at Sica's face and formed what looked like a smile. "Thanks Sica. By the way, how did you get away from such a huge explosion with only a burned forearm and some minor scratches?"

"Oh, that. Well, right when you left, I saw the cassette player that was on your bed so out of curiosity, I rewound the tape and pressed play. When I heard that there was a bomb and a sensor/detonator planted on the door, I tried looking for the bomb in the hope that maybe I could defuse it. I didn't want to tell the other girls 'cause ?well you know how that would turn out. However, I heard something click and figured that was the bomb. I jumped into the bedroom, flipped your bed over, and covered myself behind it just in time. Apparently, the explosion was too big and the fire burned my forearm..... But enough about me, what's going on with you?"

"What happened to the other members?"

"Well, I heard the doctors say that Seohyun suffered broken ribs and some wood splinters pierced through Hyoyeon and Sunny's body. I also heard that two of our members, I couldn't quite get who it was, suffered brain damage. Other than that, I don't know what happened to the other members besides skin and flesh damage. The doctors told me that we were all very lucky to be alive, since our place was where the bomb was."

Revenge. At this point, that word was the only thing on Yuri's mind. She picked up a walnut from a get well gift from their manager and played around with it while devising a way to torture Chang. Yuri clenched her fist so hard that the shell cracked and the nut inside fell on the floor. "Yuri," Jessica continued, "if you're thinking of taking revenge, don't. You'll only end up in a goose chase and trust me, the end result isn't very good." Yuri wasn't listening and stood up. This always helped her think.

A minute later, she knew what she should do. Yuri pulled out her phone from her bag.

"Hello?"

"Hey Seo Chun. It's me, Kwon Yuri."

" Yuri! Are you okay? I saw your apartment ablaze on the news and was worried sick. What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. It's my members that are in critical condition though. It was that ******* Chang. I had no other options."

"What did I tell you? He's Satan's son or something! If there's anything you need, tell me."

"As a matter of fact, there is. You said your cousin owned a private plane, right? Can you book me to Jeju Island as soon as possible? Thanks."

"Jeju Island? I'll see what I can do." Yuri hung up the phone. She breathed a heavy breath of air and let it out with tenderness. Jessica looked confused. "Yuri, Jeju Island? Of all the places, why do you want to go there?"

"Jessica, there is something I didn't tell you. Yes, the jade stone was a childhood treasure, but it's a treasure map, a map to the Book of Life, a treasure since the time of Atlantis, that has brought up civilizations and, at the same time, destroyed them. That is what Chang is after. When I accidently placed the stone on our lamp, it showed a satellite image of Jeju Island, on Mt. Hallasan. I'm quite positive that Chang is there with the two stones."

"Yuri-"

"And don't try to talk me out of it, Jessica. I've already made up my mind and there's nothing you can do about it." Yuri looked furious, although she tried hard not to be.

"I wasn't going to talk you out of it. I knew your mind was made up five minutes ago, that trying to talk you out of revenge was going to be pointless. I was going to say that I'm coming with you."

"No, Jessica, stay here. You need hospital care. And when I get there, I don't know what Chang will have up his sleeve so I won't be able to protect you."

"Yuri, I'm injured, not dead. Besides, I've been through worse. Also, I don't know about you, but every moment that I can recall, I was the one saving you, not the other way around?."

Yuri didn't know how to respond. "Fair enough. Come on let's go." Jessica grabbed her overcoat that was hanging by the bed and slipped it on over her medical pajamas. She unplugged her IV cord, placed her heartbeat sensors on another patient nearby, and walked out the room with Yuri. One nurse noticed Jessica walking out and ordered her to stop immediately. Sica saw a medical cart next to her that was full of needles and syringe bottles. She grabbed a needle full of transparent liquid and threw it like a dart at the nurse. The needle hit the nurse on the neck and her eyelids drooped over her eyes as she collapsed onto the floor and fell asleep.

"How did you know which needle to throw?" Yuri asked Sica.

"I didn't."

The two headed out the back door of the hospital and entered into bright sunlight. Yuri's phone rang. "Hey Seo Chun... The plane's been arranged? Thanks...Yeah....Okay..... Alright. Thanks for everything." End call.

"So what next, Yuri?"

"Seo Chun told me to meet up with a private chauffer in front of the Trade Tower in Gangnam-gu district. We'll take a bus there. Before we do that, you'll need to change into regular clothes. Let's go shopping for awhile."

Forty minutes later, both Yuri and Sica arrived in front of the Trade Tower, with Sica in a casual pair of jeans and a designer shirt with a new overcoat. Just as promised, the chauffeur led the two into a black Hyundai Equus*, a sign of great exquisiteness and luxury. Seventy kilometers later, the driver pulled over to the Incheon International Airport, with its marvelous architecture and gleaming lights illuminating the moonlit night sky. He led both of them into the busy entrance and through a private door. Soon, the private plane came into view, which radiated luxury and affluence. The stairway fell down and Yuri and Sica stepped inside to find themselves in a cabin full of high quality furniture and leather. However, they knew that they weren't here for pleasure and recreation.

"Hello, this is your captain speaking. Please buckle in your seatbelt and we will arrive to Jeju Island shortly." Yuri felt the plane lift itself from the ground, with its engines roaring like a pair of lions about to meet its death. Sica was never good at flying and so she grabbed a nearby bag and puked in it. It turns out that the bag was actually filled with priceless diamonds and gemstones. Sorry, Jessica thought. Yuri looked out the window to see the lights of downtown Seoul emitting brilliance. Little do they know that one of our greatest Kings once held in his hands the most powerful treasure of ancient time, she thought.

After an hour of flying, they landed in Jeju International Airport. Jeju was supposed to be Asia's dream getaway place, Korea's Hawaii, but ironically, Yuri wanted to be anywhere but here. Sica hailed a cab and they rode to the famous Mt. Hallasan, the most popular attraction of Jeju and, at the same time, a volcano waiting to erupt at any moment.

The cab dropped the two girls off near a hotel and drove off. They climbed to the entrance of the hiking trail of Mt. Hallasan only to find the gate closed. To Yuri's surprise, the gate was in perfect shape, with security guards guarding the post alive. "Wow, for a guy like Chang, I'd expected to find only debris of this gate and dead security guard corpses lying around."

"Think about it Yuri. He's in an island surrounded by water on all sides. If he gets into that kind of trouble, the only means of escape is through plane or ship and I'm sure that neither Air Traffic Control nor Coast Guards will let any transportation leave when there is a criminal trying to escape. Plus, trying to pull off something like that amidst thousands of tourists is practically impossible. And let's not forget how long you're going to be in prison for committing such a crime. Let's just stay in a nearby hotel and try to catch him in the morning."

The two entered into a nearby luxury hotel to spend the night. When they got in, they were amazed at how beautiful the lobby was, with its crystal chandeliers hanging on a painted ceiling that depicted the history of Jeju Island. They went to the desk to check in. "Excuse me, but do you have a spare room by any chance?"

"Ah you're just in time," the woman in the counter replied, "We have a room with two queen beds on the ninth floor. One night will be 140,000 won." Sica paid her and the two left for their room. As Yuri walked across the lobby, she noticed two unusually familiar people. The two people then noticed her. They held up their walkie-talkies and muttered something while still staring at Yuri. She thought she must be seeing things and ignored her. "Hey Sica, I need to visit the restroom really quick. Wait for me in the room," and with that, Yuri headed towards the bathroom.

She finished and walked over to the sink to wash her hands. Suddenly, two hands grabbed her shoulders and knocked her on the ground. One hand covered Yuri's mouth while the other took off the sunglasses that covered his eyes. Yuri gasped in surprise and horror. No wonder the two people looked familiar.

"Officer Hyo Joon?!"