The darkness did not last long.
Emergency lights flickered on one by one, bathing the room in a dim red glow that felt less reassuring and more like a warning. The hum of backup generators vibrated through the walls, low and constant like a restrained growl.
Xinyue exhaled slowly, forcing her pulse to settle. "Please tell me this is a part of your plan," she whispered.
Taehyun was already moving. He crossed the room in two quiet strides, checking the door, then the terminal, his body language precise and economical like someone who had rehearsed chaos more times than peace.
"It wasn't," he said. "But it's not an unexpected one."
"Of course it isn't," she replied dryly. "Why would anything involving you be normal in the first place?"
His lips twitched at her response despite him trying not to. He crouched by the terminal, fingers moving fast across the screen. Xinyue watched him for a moment longer than necessary, irritation slowly tangling with something else she refused to name.
Competence was dangerous at the same time clam under pressure was worse.
"What exactly are we waiting for?" she asked.
"For them to make a mistake."
"You sound very optimistic."
"It's not, I'm being logical," he said to her.
She folded her arms to her chest. "Very comforting."
The lights flickered again. This time bit closer, somewhere beyond the wall, footsteps echoed soft, deliberate and unhurried. Xinyue stiffened at the sound. "You hear that?" she whispered.
"Yes."
"And? Enlighten me?"
"They are being careful, which means they don't know how much I know yet," he said.
"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"
"No."
She huffed. "You really need new material from now on." He rose smoothly to his feet and stepped closer – too close – placing himself subtly between her and the door. His shoulder brushed her arms, the contact was brief but her body reacted instantly.
A spark, sharp and unwelcomed one. Which made her drew back half a step. "You're in my space."
"I know."
"You're doing it again."
"Yes, so?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "On purpose?"
He glanced down at her, gaze steady. "Partially."
"Care to explain?"
"If they come through that door," he said to her calmly, "you won't be the first thing they see." Her breath caught despite herself. "So, this is protection without permission," she pointed at his earlier speech.
His jaw tightened. "Be still." Her mouth opened to continue arguing with him, then the footsteps stopped. Right outside the door. The silence that followed was worse than anything at that moment.
Xinyue heart pounded loud enough that she was sure it would give them right away. She held her breath, every muscle coiled tight.
A shadow slid beneath the door. One, the another one too. Taehyun's hand lifted slightly like an unspoked signal.
Stay still.
This time she completely obeyed him, though her every instinct screamed to do otherwise. The handle didn't turn. Instead, a voice murmured something indistinct on the other side. Which was too low to hear and they weren't rushing but they were listening.
Xinyue swallowed at their action. Her elbow brushed Taehyun's wrist this time by an accident, which is unavoidable in any such confined space. But he stilled instantly at that, the contact lingered for half a second too long. She could feel the warmth of his skin, the tension beneath it. His fingers flexed once, like he was restraining the urge to move somewhere else.
And her pulse spiked entirely for a different reason, then she shifted back deliberately. "Accidental," she whispered more to herself than him. "I know," he replied just as quietly. A strange situation they were both involved, but couldn't care to understand it.
After a minute later the footsteps retreated, slowly and deliberately like they didn't want to announce the other side they are retreating. The shadows slipped away.
Xinyue let out a shaky breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Her almost give out now the immediate danger had passed. Taehyun didn't move away yet either. "Are they gone?" she asked.
"For now."
She looked up at him. "You always say that."
"Because it's usually true."
She scoffed weakly at him. "You're terrible at reassuring people."
"And you're terrible at staying out of trouble."
She snorted before she could stop herself. "You dragged me into a secret room with no cameras and strange men lurking outside."
"And you followed me."
"Because you grabbed my wrist like a dramatic fool."
A corner of his moth lifted at her words. "It worked."
She glared at him. "Don't be so smug."
"I'm never smug."
"That might be the biggest lie."
He stepped back at last, giving her more space. The absence of his proximity felt…a noticeable effect. Annoyingly so.
"You, okay?" he asked her carefully. She nodded once, "Physically."
"And the rest?"
She hesitated and replied back, "Ask me later."
"Ok, I will."
"That wasn't an invitation to you."
He shrugged lightly. "Didn't take it as one though."
They stood there for another moment in silence, the tension slowly uncoiling into something more precarious than fear. Just then Taehyun's phone buzzed. He checked it and frowned at it, which doesn't give away anything.
"What?" she asked immediately.
"They rerouted, and changed floors" he said.
"Towards us?"
"No."
That should have been good news, it wasn't. "Then where"? she asked.
His gaze lifted to meet hers. "Towards the records wings.
Her stomach dropped. "That's…."
"My leverage," he finished.
"And my career," she snapped at him. "You said you were limiting variables."
"I am."
"By letting them destroy evidence?"
"By letting them think they are," he corrected. She stared at him, "You planned this."
"I adapted to it."
"That's not a better though."
"It keeps you breathing."
She ran a hand through her hair in frustration burning hot. "You don't get to play chess with my life."
He stepped closer again carefully this time, as if he is aware of the invisible line between them. "I don't play games, I end them" he said quietly. Their eyes locked. The moment stretched dangerously intimate, charged with everything neither of them was ready to say. Then the lights flickered again. This time, they stayed on.
Taehyun straightened. "We need to move."
"Where?"
"Somewhere less predictable."
She raised an eyebrow, "That narrow it down to nowhere." He gave her a look, "Trust me."
She snorted at him again showing not believing him again, "You really don't ask for much."
"I'm asking now."
That made her to take a pause. She studied him really studied him for the first time since the darkness fell. "You're not telling me something important," she said.
"No." he replies was immediate.
"That wasn't what I asked."
He signed softly. "They weren't supposed to come this close to night." Her chest tightened at that, "Meaning?"
"Meaning someone was leaking timing."
"And you didn't expect that."
"I did," he admitted shamelessly. "Just not this soon."
She took a deep breath and looked at him again. "So, this is escalating faster than you thought?"
"Yes."
She nodded slowly like she understood everything. "Figures."
They moved towards the door together. As Taehyun reached for handle, Xinyue's fingers brushed his sleeve again. Another accident, this time neither of them pulled away immediately. His gaze dropped to where her hand hovered close enough to fee; the heat through fabric. Her breath hitched at that, "Still accidental?" he murmured.
She looked up at him, her pulse racing. "Don't get used to it."
His lips curved faintly. "I won't"
But the way his eyes lingered told her he already was. Then he opened the door, the corridor beyond was empty. Too empty for her liking.
As they stepped out, Xinyue felt it again that familiar prickle at the base of her spine. Eyes where there should be none.
And for the first time, she wasn't sure if the danger ahead scared her more…
…. or the man walking just close enough beside her.