101 What a Way to End the Tour

"This is Mexico?" I asked as soon as we got out of the airport.

After finishing the last leg of my rehab, I was finally cleared by Dominic and was allowed to perform on the last concert for our tour in Mexico City. The break pretty much helped in getting me back on my own two legs, literally. After resting for about a week, I had two days to catch up with the routine and the concert plans. Since it was the last concert of the year, we couldn't just throw it out of the window as if it was like any other concert. No. We needed to end it with a bang.

The last two days have been overwhelming to say the least. Everyone was doing their part and were giving it their all. I'm not just talking about Alpha. I'm talking about the entire crew who was making this concert possible. It was an "all-hands-on-deck" situation. When we were practicing, there were a bunch of medics and PTs on standby and were ready to help us in case we were injured. We didn't want any more accidents at this point. This was the "all or nothing" performance for Alpha. Supplements, serum and juice formulas were ready for the last two days to help us with muscle and stamina recovery. In short, we were at our best condition.

But because of the preparations, we weren't able to see our girlfriends. We couldn't keep in contact with them as well since they were also busy with their own preparations. The life of a superstar is just too overbearing sometimes. That's the reason why most people who have relationships in this industry tend to break up because of the busyness of the schedule among other things.

Speaking of schedules, ours were packed. Even in the middle of our breaks, the PT would assist us in stretching, and they also do quick check ups just in case, so it also takes up much of our time. After practice, we were immediately sent home, which was totally fine since we would pass out completely from exhaustion. Still, our girlfriends were really supportive of what's happening. Especially Dahyun. After that… night, I was pretty much in high spirits. I felt like I could conquer anything.

Not only that, there was also news that there was a small KCON event in Mexico City just a few days after our concert. This was because of what happened in LA KCON about a month ago. Anyway, this means we were still performing on another stage, and to add to that, Twice will also be there which means we all have free time before the event. I guess that would be a good chance for us to hang out.

"What's wrong?" Yo Chul-hyung asked.

Jeong Do chuckled. "It's JayB's first time being in this city."

"Woah… There's actually a place that you haven't been to hyung?" Zee pretended to be surprised.

I chuckled. "Well, we aren't perfect after all."

Dominic shook his head. "Are you really JayB-ya?"

It wasn't because this was my first time. I've been to this city. Just... not in this world. Mexico was a beautiful place in the previous world. I went there on a trip just before my parents died. There was a huge difference between that world's Mexico and this one.

"What are you talking about! I'm just surprised at how this place is really high tech!" I exclaimed.

Jiwoo narrowed his eyes on me. "What are you talking about? Mexico has ALWAYS been like this."

Yes, you heard it right. Mexico in this world was almost as advanced as Atlantis. In fact, it was the most secured and modernized place in South America. The crime rate was 0.38% and the mortality rate was 0.24%. You have no idea how amazing this was. I just can't describe it. Well, if you exclude the underworld and other crime organizations hidden in the shadows, then that would explain the statistics.

"Right… I guess that's true though." I answered as if I already knew that.

Zee chuckled. "How could you forget? I often came here when I couldn't find the things I needed from Japan or Atlantis. You even went with me several times."

I gave him a wry smile. "I guess I'm just too excited for the concert?"

Zhang was still staring at me curiously. "You're being weird, hyung."

"Am I?" I asked, pretending to be clueless. All of my members then turned to me and nodded which made me sigh. "Let's just get our heads in the game and forget about sightseeing for now. We'll have plenty of time when the girls arrive."

"Will Lisa-ya be here too, Matt-ya?" Seiji-hyung asked.

"They'll be here tomorrow, but they'll be rehearsing in the afternoon. I'll also be flying to Seoul after our concert tonight. I still have a shoot for the drama." Matt-hyung answered.

Jiwoo nodded while trying to hold his laugh. "Right, right. THAT drama."

"What's up with that tone?" Matt-hyung asked.

"Nothing. It's just… I never expected you to be in a romantic-comedy drama before this, but after watching you have your shoot last week, I changed my mind." Jiwoo continued, still trying to hold in his laughter.

Matt-hyung rolled his tongue inside his cheek. "You… You're mocking me, aren't you?" Matt-hyung was about to jump him.

Zee then interfered. "Well hyung, the drama did let you do aegyo. We've never seen you do it before. It was… really cringey."

"Don't remind me. I just said yes to this project since the character I'm portraying is a Taekwondo athlete AND JayB-ya kept pushing me to take the it." Matt-hyung complained while burying his face in his hands from all the embarrassment.

"Fight for My Way. That was the title of the drama right?" Dominic asked.

Jiwoo finally burst out laughing. "Yeah. Even the name sounds cringey."

Yo Chul-hyung sighed. "Why did you even talk him into getting this drama, JayB-ya?"

I shrugged his complaints off. "What? It's good for our promotions and publicity for the next album once the drama's out."

Jeong Do gave me a weird look. "You're evil. You know that?"

"Evil? He's BEYOND evil." Zhang added.

Zee then sighed. "I can't believe you even talked Matt-hyung into doing this just for publicity's sake. You continue to surprise me."

Dominic laughed. "HAH! You call that surprising? He even convinced Steve Jobs and Bill Gates to work together in order to create the world's first supercomputer with Zee-ya."

"That's what I'm saying! JayB-hyung shouldn't be using his talent of persuasion on us. It's just simply unfair." Zee chuckled.

I rolled my eyes at them and focused on my tablet. "Whatever. Let's just have our group date the following day then. We'll wait for Matt-hyung to come back before we start."

Seiji-hyung had a stoic look on his face. "You are seriously avoiding the issue here."

"Whatever do you mean?" I shrugged while giving off a fake wide smile and asked in a sarcastic tone.

Everyone rolled their eyes. Matt-hyung then sighed before he chuckled. "For now, let's go meet our fans and enjoy the concert."

_________

"Last five minutes before we start with our final checks, JayB-ya. You're needed at the back stage." Our manager signaled at me from the door of our dressing room. I was currently in the hallway talking on the phone. Just three more hours before showtime so everyone was doing their best for the final checks.

"I'll be right there, hyung." I assured him. Our manager gave a thumbs up and went to check on the other members. I then turned to my holo-phone. "Are you sure you're fine? We can have Dominic check that out for you."

Dahyun then giggled from the other side of the video call. "You're such a worrywart. It's not like I got stabbed."

"Don't even joke about that." I pouted. "You know the last time we said that, it actually happened."

"Alright, MOM. I'll make sure to have it checked by our team doctor." Dahyun confirmed.

"You should have it checked now. Let me talk to one of your managers. We can ask for you to leave practice early. Come on. Put one of them on the phone." I hurried.

Dahyun sighed. "Hubby, it's just an ankle sprain. There's nothing to worry about. Okay? You just need to focus on your concert. You don't want to keep everyone waiting."

I was still hesitant to go. "But–"

"No buts. Come on, loverboy. Your fans are waiting for you. Your manager must be anxious even now." Dahyun insisted.

"Yeah. I know. But can we finish up the last five minutes at least?" I asked while trying my best to do aegyo.

"What in the world was that?" Dahyun laughed while cringing. "Since you tried to do aegyo, we can probably spare two more minutes. No more than that though. You need to prepare too and I need to get back to have myself checked."

I sighed in response. "Fine. I'll take those two minutes."

She chuckled. "So… what do you want to talk about?"

"When are you coming over for the KCON event?" I asked as I turned to check if my manager was calling for me again.

"Let me see." Dahyun paused as she opened her planner to check her schedule. "In three days. We'll be heading over just before stage rehearsals and the sound check"

"Can you come a bit earlier? I'll pay for the airfare. I'll even pay for the rest of the team's fare too. Better yet, I'll send one of my jets to pick you all up." I insisted.

Dahyun then stopped me. "Woah there! Easy, loverboy. I knew that you missed me, but I didn't know that it would be this much."

I rolled my tongue inside my cheek. "How could I not miss you when we shared a night toge-"

"Shhh! Stop! My members are here! They don't know about it yet!" Dahyun blushed as she tried to run away while covering her phone.

I chuckled. "What's the matter? Don't they know how much you screamed m-"

"WAAAAAH! We gotta go! We still got that… ummm… something with our schedule! Bye! Love ya!" Dahyun hastily said out of embarrassment before hanging up the call.

"She's really cute…" I muttered while smiling and staring at my phone.

"Hello? Earth to JayB-hyung?" Zee said while waving his hand in front of my face.

I snapped out of my thoughts and stared at him. "Sorry. You were saying something?"

Zee raised his eyebrow at me. "Right… Uhuh… the managers have been trying to get you to the back stage for ages now, and I've been trying to get your attention too."

"I'm sorry. I was in a middle of a call. We should probably get going now." I apologized with a wry smile.

As we were heading to the back stage. Zee then gave me a mocking smirk. "So… you and Dahyun-ah did it huh?"

My eyes widened as I blushed. "Oh shut up!"

_________

"Last push." Yo Chul-hyung muttered silently as he was still trying to catch his breath while the stylist attending to him was busy fixing his clothes.

We were about to perform the last song for our concert. Everyone was dead-tired. Not just me, EVERYONE – the staff, the security team, the admins, the managers, the personal doctors and nurses, everyone was exhausted. One hundred cities, 45 different countries. It was probably the biggest tour of our lives. It might be the largest tour of our careers. And now, here we are. About to end this concert here in Mexico City. It has been one hell of a ride.

The staff were frantically moving around and were doing their final checks. They were making sure not to screw things up. You could see people running back and forth here at the back stage. There were even stage managers yelling out instructions to the rest of the crew. My members, on the other hand, were doing their thing. Some were trying to get the jitters off, while others were being tended to by our physical therapists. Jeong Do-hyung was also trying his best to help while clutching an ice bag over his shoulder.

It was finally sinking in…

The last concert of our tour…

"You good?" Matt-hyung patted my shoulder as he gave me a big grin. It was obvious that he was the most exhausted one out of all of us. Yet he was doing his best not to show it. The shoot for his drama must have taken a lot of toll on him.

I smiled at him. "I'm great. It's just… It's finally ending… ya know?"

He placed his hand over my shoulder and put me in a headlock position. "Yeah. We've been through a lot, but whose fault do you think that is?"

"Alright already! Let me go! Sheesh!" I complained as I tried to escape his grapple.

Matt-hyung then let go of me before ruffling my hair. "You did great, JayB-ya."

"Thank you, hyung." I sincerely said.

Jiwoo then joined in while giving us a head lock. "Don't get all mushy on me hyungs."

"Let go of me or I'll make sure you won't be able to walk for three days." Matt-hyung said with a scary grin on his face.

"Geez! I'm just trying to build the mood up!" Jiwoo immediately let go while slowly backing away.

"You think I'll let you go that easily? Come here!" Matt-hyung then started chasing Jiwoo around. Everyone who saw this was somehow refreshed and started laughing as the comedic duo were scampering around like kids. One of our managers wasn't too happy though as he began chasing them while trying to stop them from wasting their energy.

Dominic then came over and leaned on the wall. "Nervous?"

"A little bit." I responded.

"You'll be fine." Dominic reassured me.

"Hopefully." I sighed.

He then gave a small fist bump on my shoulder. "You'll do great. Besides, we have a little surprise for you."

"What surprise?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Alright boys! You're up!" One of our managers then interrupted us as he clapped his hands to get our attention.

We then lined up behind the stage, waiting for the lights to dim. After putting on my IEM, I could hear the heavy breathing of my members. We were wearing our merchandise T-shirts but it didn't look brand new as it was slowly absorbing the sweat that our bodies were excreting. The heat of the stadium didn't help either. Yet here we are, finally about to go on for the last stage performance for one final show.

The giant LED screen in front of us slowly lifted us revealing the blinding lights from the stadium, the flashing of cameras and the glowing holo-lightsticks of us. Hundreds and thousands of fans screaming. Even with my IEM, I could still hear them chanting our name.

ALPHA!

ALPHA!

ALPHA!

This brought a smile to our faces. It was as if all the fatigue and exhaustion that we felt a few seconds ago vanished. What's even better is that right at the front row, at the foot of the stage, a familiar face stood there smiling and waving at me as she excitedly cheered. Her eyes radiated with pride and joy. With her, were her members all cheering for us. This was a lovely surprise.

Dahyun then blew a kiss for me. I slowly reached out and grabbed it in the air, and placed it gently on my lips. I then returned a kiss of my own. The crowd screamed, thinking as if the kiss was for them. Little did they know that it was for the love of my life right in front of me.

"MAKE SOME NOISE MEXICO CITY!" Zee yelled as loud as he could to pump the crowd up.

And I thought that the cheering and the screaming wouldn't get any louder, but I couldn't be more wrong.

It was a night that made a huge mark on our career as idols. This… I'll remember this forever.

___________

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Dahyun blushed after taking a sip on our milkshake.

We were in a diner somewhere in Mexico City. It was the day after the tour and it was our time off. The company was gracious enough to give us a month off. The rest of the Alpha either tended to their solo projects or were following up on some personal matters. We had another life apart from this after all.

Today, it was just me and Dahyun. We were popular for sure but with our disguises, I'm sure no one will recognize us. The waitress didn't even bat an eye towards us when we ordered. She must have thought we were just a bunch of Asian tourists.

I leaned a bit more towards her. "You, Ms. Kim, are really pretty today. What's the occasion?"

She covered her face out of embarrassment while giggling. "Stop! You're embarrassing us."

"Oh? So I'm embarrassing you now? Okay then." I pretended to be sour.

Dahyun then held my hand and gave me a peck on the cheek. "Please, stop. People are staring now."

"Let them." I joked.

"You better be joking." She narrowed her eyes at me.

"I'm kidding. I'm kidding." I raised my hand as I chuckled. "So where do you want to go today?"

"I don't know. Surprise me." She shrugged before taking a sip.

"There's this fancy amusement park nearby. You want to try it out?" I suggested.

"No thanks. I think I've had my fair share of 'Top Worst Experiences in Amusement Parks' ever." She said as she quoted with her fingers. Dahyun was right. We did have a trauma when it came to dating in amusement parks. I mean, after what happened in China, I'm surprised we were still able to talk about amusement parks. Dahyun then continued. "Also, 'fancy'? There are 'fancy' amusement parks? I've heard of fancy restaurants, but not fancy amusement parks."

"Hey. I don't know why they call it that either but people have been raving about it online." I shrugged.

Dahyun then thought about it. "Perhaps we can give it a try. What could possibly go wrong?"

I then covered her mouth. "Please don't jinx it! Something ALWAYS happens when someone says that."

She slowly uncovered her mouth. "Oh come on! Don't be such a baby. Don't tell me that the great Kim Jinbo is scared of a little jinx? What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Dahyun then stood up and rushed towards the door. I sat there dumbfounded with what just happened. "At least finish the milkshake for crying out loud!"

"Try to catch me slowpoke!" Dahyun teased as she giggled while jogging backwards.

"Slow down. You're going to get hurt!" I warned her.

She then stuck her tongue out. "Can't catch me! You're too– Oww!"

Dahyun just bumped into two tall people. As I saw these people staring at Dahyun stoically, eyeing her head to foot, I immediately grabbed her hand and hid her behind me. I then spoke to the two gentlemen, who still had blank expressions on their faces. "Hey… I'm really sorry about that. We'll be on our way."

I then held Dahyun's wrist tightly and started walking away from the two of them. As I was passing them, I could still feel their eyes on me, but I couldn't feel any intent to kill. It was as if they were just carefully observing us. Still, I was being cautious since I was with Dahyun. In case a battle breaks out, I can't protect her while fighting them at the same time. These two were different. I could feel that they were trained men based on the bloodlust that was leaking from their bodies no matter how much they tried to hide it. It was as if they were veterans who experienced war countless times.

Just as we were a few paces away from them, I heard one of the guys say that we were the ones they were looking for. Before I could signal Dahyun to run, one of the guys then called out. "Excuse me? Are you Mr Jinbo Kim?"

What the hell do they want? Are they people sent by those terrorists that attacked us in LA? Were they sent to finish the job? Or are they just fans of Dahyun? They can't be fans of Dahyun. No fan would emanate this kind of bloodlust.

It wouldn't hurt to ask questions. I slowly turned around while hiding Dahyun behind me. They looked like professionals wearing a leather jacket and all. I kept my head lowered while eyeing my surroundings, surveying the area just in case we needed to bolt. I then spoke in a calm manner. "May I know who's asking?"

One of the guys sighed. "No need to feel threatened."

"How can I when your partner looks like he's about to jump me anytime?" I stated boldly.

The guy I was talking to patted his partner. They both then took out something from their jacket's pockets. They then flashed it at the same time. "Special Agent Francis De Leon. This is my partner, Special Agent Jordan Campbell. We're both CIA."

After they showed their IDs, I calmed down a little, but it still does not explain why they were looking for me. I was still a little bit cautious. Agent Campbell then spoke. "No need to be so hostile towards us. Firstly, we apologize for making you feel uncomfortable and for bumping into you like this on such short notice. We didn't want to make a scene, so we tried to look for you and talk to you as fast as we could."

"If you guys were really from the CIA, why didn't you just try to contact us or my agency regarding whatever it is that you want." I asked.

"We wanted to do this as discreetly as possible. Being the iconic person that you are, I'm sure you know what we mean?" Agent De Leon said while narrowing his eyes at me. He was sending some kind of signal to me and I immediately understood what he was referring to.

"You don't mean…" I had to make sure.

Agent Campbell nodded slightly. "I guess you really are as brilliant as they say. Please, follow us. We have more questions regarding some important matters that would help us with our investigation."

I nodded. "Is your vehicle nearby?"

"Yes, I'll go and drive it here. Agent De Leon will stay with you." Agent Campbell said.

"I understand. We'll wait." I agreed.

Dahyun then gave me a light tug before she whispered. "Is everything alright? Are we in trouble or something?"

I gave her a reassuring smile as I rubbed my thumb on the back of her hand. "Everything is fine. These guys are allies."

"Mr Kim, if you and Ms Kim would be so kind as to join us." Agent De Leon said as he opened the backseat door.

Dahyun gave me one more look just to confirm if this was okay. I gave her a nod while smiling brightly at her. "It's fine. Let's go."

As soon as we entered the car. The cardoors immediately locked and Agent Campbell then pressed something on the dashboard before giving me a nod through the rearview mirror.

"We're good to go." He said before driving off.

I sighed. "So are you sure that we are being tapped right now? Are you sure that you've turned your signal jammer on? Is there anyone else following us?"

Agent De Leon shook his head. "We are not that sure as well that's why we came to find you. A few days ago, we saw a couple of guys tailing you. When we got to them, they immediately committed suicide by biting off the pill that was planted under their tooth."

"Then they were definitely professionals." I pondered. "Did you guys make sure that there wasn't anyone else that was following us, before you made contact with me?"

"Our team has set up eyes and ears in a ten mile radius from our current location." Agent De Leon assured.

Dahyun then whispered. "Who are these guys? Why are they here?"

I chuckled. "These guys are CIA agents. They were just making sure that we were safe. According to them, there was someone spying on our every move."

Agent Campbell must have understood Korean since he chuckled from the driver's seat. "No need to worry Ms Kim. I used to work for Mr Kim's father before I worked for the CIA. We can guarantee that we mean no harm."

"So why were you looking for us? You can't just say that you came looking for us just to protect us, right? And where are you taking us?" Dahyun asked. She's right. They can't be just here just to see if we were alright. Besides, it seemed like we were heading somewhere.

"We… overheard you were going on a date together. We just wanted to make sure that you got there safely." Agent Campbell smiled wryly.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure that's all?"

Agent De Leon sighed. "Nothing really escapes you. Campbell here is telling the truth, but other than that, your dad has hired us to investigate the matter during the LA KCON. He was definitely not pleased when found out about it and was about to have our superiors fired because of it."

I facepalmed. "Dad… This is why I didn't want him to know."

Agent Campbell laughed. "Well, what did you expect? He's one of the most powerful men in the world. He was bound to find out."

"You're right about that though." I gave him a wry smile. "So, what did you want to know?"

"Anything that would help us with the case. Potential suspect, your whereabouts the past week before the incident. All of it. I'm sure you and your "supergenius" friends have a lead or two." Agent Campbell said.

After doing a few more checks to make sure that no one was listening, and after calling my dad just to make sure their stories line up, I then told them what they needed to know. I didn't really trust them completely, but it would be great if someone from the CIA would do some more work for us. After all, we couldn't really do much since we had a job of our own too and being an idol while investigating this case was not helping us anyway. The information I shared with them probably didn't help much though since we, ourselves, had no clue where to start. Especially since I was not telling them everything I know. But according to these agents, we helped plenty enough since they had nothing much to begin with. After leaving my contact number with them, they then dropped us off near the amusement park.

"If you need anything, please don't hesitate to give us a call. We'll also keep you posted if we get any leads, but knowing you and your friends, you'll probably find one first before we do." Agent De Leon said.

I gave them a smile. "I'm sure you'll find something for us to work on too."

They then drove off leaving me and Dahyun there. She then turned to me and sighed while crouching on the ground. "I can finally breathe again."

"Were you holding your breath the entire time?" I teased.

She then snapped her head towards me and narrowed her eyes. "It felt suffocating just listening to all those things."

I crouched down and met her eyes before cupping her face and giving her a light peck on the lips. "Did that help?"

She started to slowly smile. "I don't know. Maybe you can try to do it again."

This girl… seriously. Her words made me smile. I then gave her another kiss, but this time, it was a bit longer. "How about now?"

"Maybe if you do it more, we'll find out." She winked as she said that.

I rolled my eyes and stood up while helping her up as well. "If we don't go now, we can't enjoy the rest of our date. We're already losing time as it is."

She then wrapped her arms around my neck and raised her eyebrows at me suggestively. "Want to end the date early and just head home? If you know what I mean."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" I bit my lip after asking her.

Dahyun then leaned in closer to my ear and whispered. "Want to find out?"

This would not end well if this continues. I couldn't take it anymore. I broke free from her arms and pretended to look at my watch. "Would you look at the time? We should get going if we want to get to those rides. Let's go!"

Dahyun then ran in front of me and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. She then gave me a wink. "You can run all you want, but you can't do it forever. You started this, so you better finish it soon."

She then started skipping towards the amusement park's entrance. This left me dumbfounded. Dahyun has totally become more open to me now that it scares me. Still, it's nice that I'm the only one who gets to see this side of her.

__________

"I can't believe you're planning to take that with you on the plane." I shook my head as I watched Dahyun carrying a stuffed Charmnder Pokemon Stuffed Toy that was twice her size. We just ended our date in the amusement park and were just walking through the streets of Mexico City. It was indeed a "fancy amusement park" like the website said. The entrance ticket to ride all rides was $599 while the VIP tickets were $2000. To get the Special VVIP tickets, you have to at least be a Diamond Member.

In this world, Diamond Members are usually people either with high social status, have done great merit globally, a 10 time Nobel Prize winner, or must be someone with a net worth of 200 Billion USD. Crazy, right? But everything inside was as if you were in another world. It was just simply indescribable and so futuristic. I wonder if this was in the other world, it would probably take another 150 years to have this kind of technology.

"Well, I can't believe you at least got the VVIP AND managed to win me this cute thing." Dahyun laughed while squeezing the giant stuffed Pokemon.

I chuckled in response. "The VVIP was the least that I could do. For that thing, I probably got lucky."

"Lucky? Come on, hubby. You practically shot a speeding target right in the middle. Not even once, but ten consecutive times. You call that luck?" She was shaking her head in disbelief from what she was hearing from me.

Her reaction made me shrug. "What can I say? Luck."

Dahyun rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's just go get something to eat. I'm starving."

"Where do you want to go?" I asked as I tucked her hair behind her ear.

She blushed a little before answering. "Umm… Can we have something simple?"

"Fine by me. There's a Taco Station right up ahead. I heard they have the best Tacos in town, and their chipotle is to die for," I chuckled as I tried to help her in carrying her stuffed toy.

"Sounds great! Let's–" Just before she could finish, a loud explosion happened just a few blocks from us. The large explosion sent quakes to where we were. Dahyun and I both fell on the ground. The people started to panic and ran away from the explosion.

I then turned to Dahyun to help her up. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine. What in the world is going on?" She said in a panicked tone.

"I have no idea. But we need to get out of here." I placed my hand around her and started guiding her amidst the crowd. There were still large debri and large metal objects that were flying everywhere. Seeing this I then turned to Dahyun and brought her near the alleyway to take cover. There were already plenty of people inside the buildings trying to take cover. Most of the debris was already hitting those places as well. The alleyway was safe since we could just head to the sewers just in case. Mexico City had the cleanest sewers in the world. Their sewers look like swimming pools from where I'm from.

"Let's stay here for now until the commotion ends." I suggested and Dahyun nodded.

"Why can't we at least have one normal date?" Dahyun sighed.

I hugged her tightly. "Don't worry about it. We'll have one soon enough."

She gave me a tired smile. "You think so? When we're having a date, it usually doesn't end well, or if it does, there's always a camera pointing at us. I just wanted to have a normal date, like normal people do."

"I promise you. We'll have one soon. Okay?" I assured her as I caressed her face.

"Hello?... Please… Help… Somebody… Please help… Anyone… just… please help…" Suddenly, a voice came from behind a dumpster on the other side of the alley.

"Someone needs help." I muttered under my breath before turning to Dahyun. "Stay here. I'll go check."

Dahyun then grabbed my hand. "Don't go. It might be a trap."

"I'll be fine." I then took out a pocket knife and handed it to her. "Just in case someone comes rushing in. You need to defend yourself."

She hesitantly took the knife from me and nodded. "Be careful."

I gave her a slight nod. "I'll call for you once I make sure it's safe."

"Help… please… anyone…" The voice called out again.

Without hesitation, I immediately went to check where the sound was coming from. Just before I could find the source of the voice, I saw a red liquid running on the ground. It was definitely blood. I then turned to see someone who was on the ground and was leaning his back on the dumpster. His hand was on his stomach where a gaping hole was found.

"Oh my God…" I then crouched beside him and pressed on his wound. "What the hell happened to you?"

The person was slowly losing consciousness. I didn't know him, but I could tell that this guy needed help. I quickly called for Dahyun to help.

"Wha… who is he? Should we get help?" Dahyun shakily took out her phone to call for help. We could hear sirens getting closer.

"I have no idea. We need to get this guy into a hospital as soon as possible." I suggested.

The guy then grabbed my collar. "Please. Not the hospital… they'll kill me there."

"Who? Who'll kill you?" I hurriedly asked.

He then lost consciousness. Without thinking about the consequences, or who this guy might be. I took out a serum and an adrenaline shot from my pack. "This should be enough to keep him alive until help arrives."

"Are you sure that'll help? He's lost so much blood already." Dahyun worriedly said.

I then injected the serum first to stop the bleeding and at least replenish some of the lost blood. It would also help with the healing process. "This should do for now. I'll inject the adrenaline later once the wound starts to close."

"Who is this guy?" Dahyun asked.

"I don't know. The question is, who did this to him?" This piqued my interest. I tried looking for his wallet and found it.

Dahyun then crouched beside me. "Do you think he was hit by the explosion earlier? Based on the burn marks, it looked like he was nearby."

When I opened his wallet, there was a camouflage button. I then pressed it then it revealed a familiar ID which made my eyes turn wide. "He probably was in the explosion, and this guy might be able to tell us why he was there."

She then gasped. "Wait… isn't that a—"

"Yup. This guy needs to tell us why he was near the explosion when it happened and why he has a gaping hole in his stomach with no signs of debri nor metallic objects hitting him. We should call Agent Campbell to verify his identity." I deduced.

Dahyun understood and took out the business card the two agents gave us earlier. She then dialed the number and got them on the line. We waited for some of his wounds to close before waking him up with an adrenaline shot. We didn't want him to go into shock after all.

After waiting a while, I decided to inject the shot. He then suddenly sat up while gasping for air. I then tried to calm him down. "Hey, you're okay. You're okay. We've got you."

"Where am I? What happened?" The guy was speaking in Mexican but yet I could understand him completely. Just before we could answer him, he snapped his head at me and grabbed me by the collar. "Occulta? Where are they? Are you one of them?"

"Woah there! Easy! We don't know what this 'Occulta' is. We're Koreans who are here for vacation. There was an explosion nearby and we went into this alleyway to hide. We found you here when you were asking for help." I tried to calm him down by explaining what happened. He seemed to have remembered since he was starting to relax. The guy then checked for his wounds.

"The plasma wound… it's gone." He said in English.

Dahyun understood what he was saying and tried to explain in English as best as she could. "This guy… JayB… Jinbo… helped you. He healed you with special serum."

The guy snapped his head towards me. "You… You're Kim Jinbo?"

The moment he said that, I immediately stood up and hid Dahyun behind me. "How do you know my name?"

I slowly backed away as he tried to stand up. "Please… I mean you no harm. I know this might sound strange but you have to get away from here as quickly as possible before they find you."

"What do you mean?" I tried to confirm.

He placed his hands in front of me as if saying he does not want to hurt us. "My name is Ulises Estrada. I work for the CIA. I am a professional spy who was assigned to infiltrate the Occulta a few weeks ago. Listen… you have to get out of here before they find you."

"Another CIA agent?" Dahyun asked.

"Agent? So you must have already met my team. Agent De Leon should still be the one who 's leading it." Ulises explained.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You know Agent De Leon? Wait a minute. What is the Occulta?"

"I'll explain later. But right now, we need to get away from here as far and as quickly as possible before they find us." Ulises worriedly said.

"Why the rush, my friend?" A guy from behind us asked in English with a hint of hispanic accent in it. Based on that alone, I knew that we were in big trouble.

"Paolo… It's me you want. Let these people go." Ulises said as he slowly went in between us and the guy he named Paolo.

"Tsk tsk. Now now, Ulises. You can't be demanding things. Not after we found out who you really are and what you've been doing. Luis was really disappointed when he found out that you were working for the CIA. After all, he was planning on appointing you as his right hand man." Paolo said in a mocking tone.

Ulises sighed. "Okay. I understand. But let these people go. They have nothing to do with this. What do you say? Eh amigo?"

Paolo then started laughing condescendingly. "Amigo, eh? You now call me a friend now that you are facing your old allies, eh 'Amigo?'"

Just then, Paolo's men started appearing from the shadows one by one. Ulises then tried to deescalate the situation by talking to him. He then pressed some sort of panic button. I'm guessing that it's to send a signal to his team about our whereabouts. "Paolo, please. It doesn't have to end this way."

"THIS didn't have to end this way, if you didn't betray us, hijo." Paolo snickered. "But now that it has come to this, we have no choice but to kill you AND your friends behind you."

Ulises then turned to us and whispered. "I'll buy you some time to get away. When I give you the signal, make sure to run to the streets. My team will handle the rest once they find you."

"No. You can't handle them. Your wound might have closed up but you haven't fully recovered yet. I can handle them. Go get Dahyun to safety and get your team here. I'll be the one to buy you some time." I suggested.

He shook his head. "You can't. Don't you get it? THEY are after YOU."

I turned to him with confusion. But Paolo then shouted at us. "If you're done planning your escape, we would be very much happy to kill you now."

Dahyun inserted the knife carefully on my hand and was cautious enough not to let the Mexican Gang notice it. Ulises noticed it and decided to go with my plan. He then turned to whisper to me. "You better stay alive. I'll get help in five minutes."

"Make it two. I don't think I'd even last three minutes with these guys." I told him.

He sighed. "Just make sure you survive. I'll handle the rest once help gets here."

I gave him a nod before grabbing the nearest garbage bin and throwing it at the opposing end. "Go!"

After signaling them to make a run for it, I immediately turned to the nearest person who was about to run after them and did a roundhouse kick on him. Two guys were about to tackle me but I was quick enough to do a low sweep on the first guy and made the second guy miss his tackle. When the rest of the gang members saw this, they were now hesitant to attack. I then backed myself to a corner. This might seem dumb, but it was easier to move since only a small number of people were able to attack me at a time.

Paolo was starting to feel irritated. "Well? What are you all doing? Go get him! Vamos!"

The rest of them were still hesitating. Some were slowly closing in. After cracking my neck and taking out my knife, I gave them a grin and breathed out. "Come at me, hijo de puta."

When they all heard that, they all started charging at me. That must have gotten them really angry. Two guys who were rushing at me were dealt with swiftly, I quickly swiped my knife onto one of the incoming guys' hand, grabbed his head and pushed him to the rest of the crowd. The next guy to come at me was stabbed multiple times in the arm and torso. I then kicked the guy who was about to hit me with a pipe onto his stomach, sending him flying backwards.

The series of attacks were getting faster, but the people who got near either got kicked in the stomach or on their faces, or were bleeding because of the stab wounds and cuts on their bodies, and were on the ground writhing in pain. Only eight of them, including Paolo, were left. Because of this, the Occulta started to back away slowly. They were pretty smart for a gang. Their attacks were not working so they started to play it safe.

"Amigo, we just want to talk to Ulises properly. Why can't you just let us through?" Paolo tried to play it slyly.

I chuckled mockingly while I surveyed the surroundings carefully. "You have a funny way of 'talking' to people."

He shrugged. "You can say that. I just have a funny way of 'dealing' with people who stab me in the back."

"Well, Ulises DID have plenty of reasons to stab you in the back now, didn't he?" I said while slowly walking to a better spot where I could see all of my opponents clearly.

Paolo chuckled. "True. You could say that. But we're just running a… 'business' you know. We can't afford to lose this… 'job' since we have our families to feed."

I rolled my eyes. "You call 'selling drugs' a 'business'. There must be something wrong with your head."

"Selling what now? Drugs you say? You must have confused us with someone else now, mijo. We don't sell those… things. Those are for small-time cartels." Paolo shook his head while smiling weirdly.

"Oh yeah? Then what are you goons selling? And is Luis the head of your gang?" I tried to stall for time. Honestly, I was pretty much exhausted already. After all, I also suffered a few blows along the way. I just hope that Ulises has already met up with his team.

"You don't need to concern yourself with us. After all, you already know what we're selling. If you did help Ulises with his wound, then you would know that there's only one thing in this world that can inflict that kind of wound." Paolo explained.

"Plasma guns…" I muttered to myself. Plasma guns were dangerous. They basically are like laser guns but other than burning a hole in you, the plasma that hits you slowly eats up the wound, making the hole bigger every minute it is not treated.

"That's right. You're pretty smart for a dead man." He mocked.

I then glanced on a nearby street and knew that help was already on its way based on the cars that were parking. I just needed more time for them to get here. "So Luis? Is he the head of it all? Or is he someone else's middle man?"

Paolo then sighed. "Stalling for time I see. You don't have to do that. You'll be long dead before help arrives. And when we're done with you…" He then started laughing evilly. "Oh don't worry. You won't be lonely down there since I'll be sending your girlfriend to you really soon."

I must have gone crazy. When I heard those words, it was like something in me snapped. The next thing I knew, I wasn't playing it safe anymore and everything around me blacked out. Paolo was the only one in my sights. Anyone who came in my way was basically nothing to me. I slowly made my way to him. The first guy who tried to stab me with a knife, I countered it first by stabbing a hole on his wrist first. I then pulled it out before punching his throat and knocking him out with another punch on his temple.

Three guys then came charging at me. Out of the three, the frontmost guy was dead in seconds as I slit his neck before going to the next guy, stabbing his stomach before using him as a shield to block the third guy. After giving him one more stab in the gut and twisting it, I then threw him to the side and stabbed the remaining guy on the forehead.

At this point, my blade was already starting to get dull so I kept my knife on my hand for defensive purposes. Only four more guys left. The next guy to come, it didn't take much since he was running towards me, I just stepped aside and tripped him. He landed face first and was knocked out instantly. The last two guys excluding Paolo were brutally knocked out. The first guy? I slammed his head on a dumpster and repeatedly closed the lid on his head. The next guy tried to punch me so I met his fist with my knife. Not learning his lesson, he tried to punch me with his other hand and I did the same and countered it with my knife. Seeing that he had no chance of winning, he started running away. I then threw my dagger at him and hit him at the back of his spine.

And then there was one…

Paolo was slowly backing away from me and was stumbling along the way. "Hey, amigo. I just wanted to talk, you know? Why can't we just-"

Before he could finish, I punched him straight to the face which sent him stumbling down. He began writhing in pain while clutching his face. Without giving him a chance to get back up, I pinned him on the ground by sitting on top of him. I don't know why it felt great on my end, but I started beating him to a pulp.

One hit…

Two hits…

Three…

So on…

So forth…

It didn't feel like forever as I kept hitting him while he begged for mercy.

A hand then stopped me from hitting him. When I turned to see who it was, it was Ulises and with him was Agent De Leon. Ulises then crouched beside me as he patted my shoulder. "You've done enough now, Mr Kim."

I slowly stood up with my head down. I could still feel the rage from what Paolo said. The thought of Dahyun being killed because of me was just something I could not tolerate. There was this sense of fear that rose with me just thinking about it.

Agent De Leon then turned to whisper. "Crap… How am I going to explain this to headquarters?'

I turned to him with a stoic expression. "I claim self defense."

After saying those words, I slowly walked out of the scene. Agent Campbell just went into the scene and saw the massacre that happened. He was about to stop me from walking out but Agent De Leon told him to get out of the way. Even Ulises didn't do anything. When I saw Dahyun, she was slowly walking to me. Without saying a word, she gave me a tight hug. All I did was cry on her shoulder while returning her hug with an embrace of my own.

_________

"Have you already calmed down now, Mr Kim?" Ulises asked.

We were now at the hotel where all of the KPOP idols were staying for the Mexico KCON. It was the day after the incident. Jeong Do had to deal with the formal legal procedures and came to a close. The CIA didn't even make a move regarding the matter. It was as if the event didn't exist in the first place. The explosion was then covered up as a terrorist attack by the Occulta which the masses had no doubt about since the Occulta was known to have sold illegal weapons.

Everyone that I tried to kill was fine though. They were given immediate medical care. For those who had serious injuries and fatal injuries are, however, still in the ICU. Most of them wouldn't be able to live a normal life if they didn't go through proper rehabilitation. Still, I'm glad that I didn't become a murderer.

Today, I was asked to meet with Ulises to discuss the details of the events and to explain the events that took place yesterday. Hopefully, we could get some clarifications on the matter at hand.

"Yes. I do apologize for not having to meet with you yesterday. I needed some time to think and cool down." I reasoned.

Ulises chuckled while waving it off. "Don't worry about it. I would probably do the same if I went through that kind of situation."

"How's your wound? Are you fully recovered now?" I asked.

"All thanks to you. Really… I'm in your debt." He gave a slight bow as he said that.

I smiled. "Please… Anyone would have done the same in that situation. Besides, how could I let an agent of the CIA die? And oh, should I be calling you Agent Estrada now?"

He started laughing loudly. "Oh come on! I think we've gone through enough experience to be friends. Just call me Ulises."

"Alright then. Ulises, can you tell me everything you know from yesterday? Why were they after you? What is the Occulta? Why did you have to infiltrate such an organization?" I asked.

Ulsies then began explaining. The Occulta was a famous Mexican Cartel who started off with selling drugs but then became an empire in the underground world. They were in charge of exporting, importing and transporting illegal weapons both military grade and premium grade. Some of the more dangerous weapons were sold in the black market to the highest bidder. According to Ulises' report, Occulta was not capable of this alone. Someone bigger than them was pulling the strings from behind the scenes. He just didn't manage to find out who since his cover was blown.

What was interesting is that someone from the inside leaked his information to Occulta. This was after he found out that the attacks from the LA KCON was because of the technology that was sold by the Occulta. In short, the person supplying Occulta with the advanced weapons and technology is the same person that ordered the attack on LA KCON. Because of this, Luis tried to have him killed. After he was able to escape, the tank that was hit during their shootout exploded. Hence, the explosion.

I then tried to clarify. "So you're saying… someone has the capacity to manufacture these advanced weapons. But in order to make these kinds of weapons… you need someone who would assemble these and have the parts available at any given moment. The only place where this is possible is-"

"Atlantis City." Ulises confirmed. "We also found this logo on one of the computers that was supposedly used during the attack at LA KCON. Do you know who it belongs to?"

He then placed the device with the logo on top of the table. I then took a look. I couldn't quite put my finger on it but this definitely looked familiar.

Just then, Zee and Yo Chul-hyung went inside my room. Zee then turned to me "Oh, sorry. I didn't know you guys were here."

"It's fine. Zee, Yo Chul, this is Agent Estrada. He's from the CIA and is helping with the LA KCON case." I introduced them.

They shook hands and after the small talk, Zee then turned to narrow his eyes at the device that I was holding a while ago. He then snatched it out of my hand. Ulises wanted to take it from him but Zee was very nimble and was able to evade. He then became serious. "This… why do you have this?"

Ulises and I stared at each other before I asked him just to make sure. "That's evidence from the LA KCON. Why? Do you know what that is?"

Zee's eyes began to widen and it looked like he was in disbelief. "Are you sure… this is evidence?"

Ulises then affirmed. "Yeah. I found it in the inventory from the team who sold it for the terrorist attack in LA KCON. Why? Do you know what that is?"

Zee bowed his head and he looked really depressed. He sighed. "Do I know what this is? Hyung, I designed and built this ten years ago. This… This was the breakthrough for supercomputers back then. This… was from my old company… Yang Global Electronics."

_________