Midnight

It took a while for her to calm down; she took a sip of water he had placed before her and registered where they were.

“We are at my home,” he said when he noticed her looking around, “Rest a little bit before the stylist arrives,”

“Rest? I need to go to work.” she stood abruptly and the room spun, causing her to sti back down.

“I informed Leader Lee that you were being hospitalized,” he said to her.

“Hospitalized? Me? What if i get in trouble?” she asked, a slight panic in her eyes.

“You know that is my company, right?” he gave her a deep look and she froze mid-rise and sat back down.

“True, How can knowing your boss not be useful,” she said as though she finaly discovered this truth. If he had not known how important this job was to her, he would have thought she had found some loophole to exploit. Her reaction so different from her usual stance on working, made him sure she was still in a panicked state. She had definitely not forgotten what was going to happen in a few hours. She almost sprawled on the sofa, only to pause and sit up abruptly.

“Stylist? We are going in style?” her lips widened into a mischeious smile, exposing her beautiful set of teeth. Her reaction made him speechless. He sighed lightly and walked into his home office and she followed behind him in a shuffle.

“Is this where you work?” she asked and started looking around, while he sat and started working on his computer. While he worked, she shuffled around restlessly, touching this and that, asking questions and answering them. He felt so dizzy looking at her, but did not have the heart to stop her. It was clear she was still terrified about the hours coming. He tested the tracking devices in her jewelery; he did not give her that many only because he thought she would loose it. He gave her that many because they were not all the same technologies. What happened to them was not in the realm of normal. He had thought about it in great depth. To create the phenomenon he had expirienced, an experimental or new technology had to have been used. There was no guarantee that a tracker would work in that simulation. He had broken down a lot of what happened. The plane they had ended up in may have been real, but there is nothing to prove that the supermarket was real. It might have been a transition space. He suspected that even if the tracker worked in places like the plane, there is a chance it will not work in the supermarket. He had collected a lot of security tapes from where he and Kim Hana were taken and had watched it several times. He need to know. They needed to take their own technology in there. Already, their phones did not work the last time they were there, but they never tried using it on the plane.

An email arrived for him from a contact about the money trail he was leaving for Kim Hana and himself abroad. He wanted to know who was watching and where they were watching from. The door bell rang before he could open it. He looked up in time to see Kim Hana shuffle out to the living room.

Kim Hana aproached the door and looked through the monitor to find people outside with what seemed to be clothes and opened it.

“Mr Kang asked us over,” a tall woman with sleek back black hair stood before Kim Hana. Kim Hana was almost sure she was Kang Seo Joon’s height.

“Come in!” she hurriedly led them in, “Seo Joon-ssi, the stylist is here, hurry,” she shuffled over to the door of the office just when he was stepping out. He grabbed her by the shoulder and redirected her back into the living room.

“Miss Gim, right?” Kang Seo Joon asked, “Assistant Jang must have sent you my requirements. You will be dressing her,” he said, nudging Kim Hana forward.

“What requirements?” Kim Hana asked, But Kang Seo Joon had walked back into the office.

“What requirement?” Kim Hana asked Mis Gim.

“Mr Kang said you need a collection that is easy to move around in, for when you don’t want to be recognized,” Miss Gim answered, “We will introduce the collection to you now,” the enxt moment, rows of clothes were rolled forward in racks. Kim Hana was confused for a second, before taking a seat and letting them go ahead.

“We kept the color simple; brown, grey and black. They are mostly trouser outfits that make for easy movement. We have paired them with several styles of shirts, all with sewn in covers that go all the way to the face,” Miss Gim introduced. As she did so, her attendants took out several outfits to show to her.

“Miss Gim, right? I am Kim Hana,” Kim Hana asked, “What is Miss Gim’s full name?”

“Gim Ha-Joon,” she responded.

“Then, can I call you Ha-Joon-ssi? What do you reccomend, since you are the professional?” Kim Hana asked but saw a bit of hesitation in Gim Ha-Joon’s eyes.

“I would like to know your prefered style, then I would modify it to your body type,” she answered.

“Let’s find me a style. Don’t worry, bring your entire collections, we will find me a style today,” Kim Hana said mischieviously and Gim Ha-Joon’s eyes flashed as though she had seen a white wall calling to her to stain it with her expensive foundation.

“Hana-ssi, call me Summer,” Summer introduced again with a wide smile.

Kang Seo Joon was busy for about an hour before Kim Hana walked in asking where the outfits should be placed. He looked up to meet her shining eyes and paused for a second.

“Put it in one of the rooms upstairs for now,” he answered and she hurried away. He got up for a second and walked out of his office into the living room and noticed her hurrying around with the attendants, leading them upstairs. He watched as she and Miss Gim who Kim Hana called Summer chatted for a while before informing him they would be leaving.

“Call Assistant Jang to handle the rest,” he said to them and they bowed before leaving. He watched her colapse on the sofa with interest.

“Shopping makes everything better, I once heard. It seems it’s true,” he said to her.

“What do you know? It is everyone’s dream to have someone pay for you to shop,” she answered.

“I asked Assistant Jang to arrange food to be delivered,” he said glancing at the time. It was already past seven pm.

“I am not sure I am hungry,” she answered.

“Then read through this,” he handed her a tablet, “These are places you have been before,” he explained.

“Will it come up?” she asked.

“There is a ninety percent chance it will not, but this is so you condition yourself. Hiding our faces doesn’t matter if we behave like ourselves. Depending on the situation, Hana-ssi, you may need to become someone else,” he said and walked back into the office. He honestly did not htink it was necessary and she too knew this. He was just keeping her busy and distracted while time passed and they both knew this. Soon, someone dilivered their food but Kim Hana could barely swallow. As midnight neared, they both went upstairs to change. Kim Hana changed into a black wide legged trouser and black dress shirt. She put on the attached silk face cover, leather gloves and a low heel shoe and went downstairs.

“I feel as though I am about to go commit a crime,” she commented when she saw him in the living room and he turned around, allowing her to see him dressed in all black, with a dark coat, gloves and baseball cap and paused.

“You look like a crime,” she blurted, making him pause while about to put on his mask.

A small smile crept up his face before disappearing behind the black mask.

“Come,” he said, stretching his hand to her and she unconsciously walked over and took it, an embarrassed blush hidden behind her mask. Pulling her closer, he checked the bottons if well fastened.

“Good thing you can joke at such a time. It is almost midnight, are you sure you are ready?” he asked. He watched her take a deep breath and nod in response.

“There is nothing else I can do, right?” she said, her voice shaking slightly.

“Hana-ssi, do you want to know something about those in high places. You can never seem unsure about everything. So, Hana-ssi must make every decision as though you have no doubt. We don’t know who they think we are and we must never let them know who we think we are,” he held her gaze firmly causing her to nod in agreement. He took her hand and gripped tight as they watched as the clock eventually ticked to midnight.

The scene around them cracked like a faulty LED screen the moment midnight struck.