"Sir? I think you need to see this." Jung 's secretary came in holding a manila envelope. He was the President of the OIS, the Organization of Intelligence Services in Daejeon, South Korea.

"What is it, Yong Un?" He asked looking up.

"One of our agents sent a report from America." Yong Un said. "It's concerning the Rogue Ranger." Baek Hyeon glanced up as though he got an electric shock.

"It can't be..." he rasped with a look of recognition."We haven't heard that name for ages! Are you sure it is – the Rogue Ranger?"

"It appears so sir. They've found a lead on his whereabouts." Yong Un said.

"He avoided detection for two years..." Baek Hyeon gritted his teeth. He read the report keenly before putting it down. He intertwined his hands thoughtfully.

"Sir? What do you propose we do?" Yong Un asked. Baek Hoon flattened his palms on the table.

"We take a flight to New York. I want a group of our top intelligence agents ready. We have to approach him wisely this time."

"He might escape us before we can get him again sir."

"Yes... there is a chance of that. He is more intelligent and elusive than half our men put together... I trained him too well."

"If we approach him slowly, set a trap for him, we might be able to corner him."

"Perhaps. He must not see it coming. I must bring him to a point where he will give himself up. That will be a challenge since he has nothing to lose..."

"What will you do once you have him sir?"

"What I should've done the day he betrayed us – finish him." Baek Hyeon's face contorted with rage as he clenched his fists. "Brief agent Yoo Min Seo. She'll come in handy in drawing the Rogue Ranger into our trap."

"Yes sir." Yong In said and left.

Baek Hyeon took out a framed photo of himself with a young boy, not older than fifteen from his desk drawer.

"Kim Ji Hoon, did you think you could run forever? I found you at last."

The cell phone that was on the dining table buzzed with an incoming call. Ji Hoon glanced at it, then answered it.

"Are you missing me or something?" he asked. "You're calling a lot these days. Andrew's sarcastic guffaw came at the other end.

"Ha ha. Don't flatter yourself. I'm calling to warn you that the media have you in their sights. They got a hold of the 'mysterious boyfriend' Laura Talavera's been hiding from Wetmore and want to know who he is. She's not the only target of attention anymore."

"What do you want me to do about it? You already assured me you'd get me a new identity."

"I'm just saying keep your head down. Reporters are hounding Talavera Headquarters and they'll be at Fort Estienne soon."

"Too late. They showed up at the gate a couple days ago."

"What?! What did you do?" Andrew asked, surprised at this information.

"Ignored them; they can't get in anyway."

"Phew, good. But don't let your guard down. There have been fake reporters trying to get in or get too close, if you know what I mean."

"No need to warn me."

"Right. Just keep alert. Things aren't doing so well at HQ at the moment so I have my hands full."

"Why?"

"We've had an unusual amount of staff quit or retire in the last week. Staff who have been with us for years. They didn't give reasons nor would they accept increments. It's like they're afraid to work here with everything going on. Because of short staff, the rest of us have been slogging. The only good thing from all this is that there are a lot of young people willing to work here – people I have the tedious task of interviewing." He sighed. "If only we still had the old staff..."

"Maybe they're being threatened." Ji Hoon said thoughtfully.

"If so, there's only one man who could have enough power to do so – Vultaggio."

"Who's that?"

"The crime boss around these parts. He rules the NY underworld. He's the reason Mr. Talavera's on edge."

"And the reason Laura's in danger?"

"Exactly. But there's nothing we can do about it. The police can't get involved because there's nothing tangible to get involved in. Mr. Talavera had to get private guards because he can't justify his safety needs to the police."

"That's to be expected."

"I suppose. Until these land deals get passed, everybody's on edge." Andrew paused.

"Aish, is that the time? I have to go. I just called to warn you. Oh! And one more thing. You're gonna have your hands full tomorrow." He said.

"Why? It's a Sunday." Ji Hoon said.

"It's Laura's birthday. She'll probably want to go to church, she's a stickler. And there'll be a few dozen birthday parcels to put through a security check."

"You're not serious?" Ji Hoon asked.

"I am. Talk to you later." Andrew said and hung up. Ji Hoon put the phone down and stretched his arms above his head. He turned back to the tablet he was reading and opened some news websites. After confirming Andrew's words and reading dozens of articles asking why Laura is MIA from the public, he opened the Talavera site and started pursuing its articles. He came across a recent article labeled The Renovation Plan. He opened it and read about Jason Talavera's project. From what he read, Talavera intended to level the underworld parts of the city, sweeping away crime hubs and rebuilding affordable apartments for the struggling classes. Ji Hoon could see why criminal networks located in the areas about to be leveled to the ground would have a problem with that. Their money minting crime sprees would come to an end...

There was nothing about the threats or difficulties the company was going through; Ji Hoon supposed they would keep that undercover. But there was a mention of Laura becoming the head of the company in a few years though the directors would manage the main projects.

"They never asked her if she wanted it..." he muttered to himself. He was thinking about the unusual events going on at the company when he got a text from Andrew.

If anything happens, move the mockingbird to the nest. Ji Hoon grunted. Like he didn't know that. He shrugged off Andrew's treating him like an amateur. After all, Andrew didn't know exactly what sort of work he did.

He gave a little smile at the name 'mockingbird'. He had come up with that codename for Laura; it was perfect because it was a sin to try to kill an innocent mockingbird. Like they were trying to kill Laura.

He turned his attention to the next day. Since it was her birthday, he felt like he had to get her something – he wanted to get her something. He opened a gift shop website on his tablet.

"Hey. Whatcha doing?" Laura's voice made him look up. She had come into the dining room just then.

"Huh? Oh nothing. Just browsing." He said quickly shutting off the tab. He would have to do his gift shopping later.

Sunday dawned full of anticipation and unease for Ji Hoon. Anticipation because It was Laura's birthday and it could be a busy day for him. Unease because anything could happen – especially since there was a party to attend.

He had been rather disgruntled at midnight when he received a briefing from Andrew saying Laura's birthday party which her stepfather would be throwing would take place at the St. Regis hotel. Ji Hoon texted back asking if it was safe for her to be out in public again so soon. Truthfully it was because he hated parties; he wanted to avoid it if he could. But Andrew texted back saying that's what Ji Hoon was there for – to protect her in public. Ji Hoon groaned. He hadn't been to a social gathering in ages and now he would have to go as a bodyguard. Well, it was for Laura. He had committed and he wouldn't turn back now.

But he didn't know that in a few hours his role would be switched again – and he would be the one to suggest it.

He had just finished two hours of parcel scanning which he had even checked with a state-of-the-art weapon detection device, a new device used to scan people or items for dangerous articles or bombs. By now he knew exactly what Laura would be getting for her birthday. He turned to the gifts he got her – a large peach rose and baby's-breath bouquet and a box of ginseng extract. For a girl who had everything and didn't want anything, flowers just might appeal to her. And the ginseng was good for her since she was still recovering from the accident. She came in a minute later wearing a pretty pastel summer dress.

"Good morning." She said. Ji Hoon sprang up.

"G-good morning." He said, caught off guard by how radiant she looked. He looked around for the bouquet.

"This is for you – Happy birthday." He said holding it out to her. She blinked.

"Really? Those are –" she took the bouquet and inhaled from it.

"These are ridiculously gorgeous!" she said with shining eyes. Ji Hoon laughed.

"That's a strange way of putting it." he said.

"It's just something I say when I really like something. Who are they from?" she asked, looking for a card.

"Actually... from me." Ji Hoon said, scratching his neck. Laura looked up in surprise.

"Oh! you didn't have to get me anything..." she trailed off awkwardly.

"I wanted to. As long as you like them we'll say no more about it." Ji Hoon said.

"I do love them. They're beautiful, thank you." she said with a sweet smile.

"You're welcome. I got you that box of ginseng extract too. It's a Korean root that is really good for health. I didn't know what to get an heiress so... Ahem, I've cleared all your other presents so you can open them safely. And if you want to know what's in them, I can give you a few spoilers." Laura giggled.

"Thank you. But I'll open them later. Usually they're some extravagant branded stuff that makes me choke at the sight of them." she said. Ji Hoon thought about how not off target she was.

"My mom must've sent something..." she mentioned.

"It's right here. It's a little box." Ji Hoon said, giving her a white box with a red ribbon. She opened it. There was a little gold pendant shaped like a swan inside.

"Another pendant... she never changes." Laura said with a wistful smile.

"It's pretty. It's a swan right?" Ji Hoon asked.

"Yes. She always gets me a pendant. Last year I got a Freesia shaped one."

"Are you gonna wear it?"

"Not now. Maybe tonight at the party. Andrew told you about it, right?"

"Yes. Your stepfather also sent you a dress for tonight." Ji Hoon said, pointing to a clear dress bag. Inside was a navy blue pencil cut full sleeve dress with a gold belt. Laura eyed it distastefully.

"Not again..." she muttered.

"You don't like it?" Ji Hoon asked.

"I know he's just trying to get me a nice gift but... he really has horrible taste in fashion."

"So what are you gonna do?" Ji Hoon asked. Laura contemplated with her hand on her chin.

"I'm gonna get my own dress." She said with a furtive smile.

Ji Hoon stood gaping like a fish out of water in the middle of the Dolce & Gabbana store Laura brought him to after going to church.

"I thought you didn't like branded stuff." He said to her.

"I don't, but they probably won't even let me into my own party if I wear a dress I picked up from forever twenty-one. There's a strict formal dress code. Also, all the guests are people I barely know from the 'upper-class' circles which means they'll brutally whip me with words if I wear anything below standard. If I have to dress up, I'm at least gonna wear something I like." She said.

"That's – logical." Ji Hoon nodded in agreement.

"Now come on, you'll have to get fitted for a suit too!" Laura said, pulling his hand.

"What?!" Ji Hoon twitched in horror.

"You can't show up to a party looking like that! You're my bodyguard but you have to blend in at a party." Ji Hoon sighed. He couldn't wait till the party was safely over.

That evening as he was getting ready in the tuxedo Laura bought him, he stood looking at himself in the mirror.

"Aish, now I really miss my overalls... but still, I can pull this off." He said to himself with a hint of self-satisfaction. After checking his shoulders and cuffs and making sure his weapons were well hidden on his person, he went to stand by the front door waiting for Laura. She came down a few minutes later.

"Oh good you're ready. You –" he froze when he saw her. She was wearing a coral colored satin off the shoulder high and low dress paired with silver stilettos. Her hair lay in soft ringlets on one side, showing off her shoulder to perfection. She wore light makeup and small silver earrings that glittered when she moved.

"Wow Laura..." he said breathlessly. He had seen hundreds of women all dressed up on his missions before; this was nothing new. But no one had ever taken his breath away until he saw Laura.

"You look 'wow' yourself." She said with a smile at him. He shook himself and cleared his throat.

"Shall we?" he asked, offering his arm. She took it with a sigh.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, it's just that – by twenty two I hoped to have a stable relationship and a boyfriend. I haven't dated since high school."

"I take it Luke Wetmore wasn't up to standard?" Ji Hoon teased slyly knowing fully well she despised him. Laura shivered.

"Ugh, don't even mention his name. I'd rather be single than date him for a minute. Even if it means getting dissed for the fact." She said. Ji Hoon paused for a moment before speaking suddenly.

"I can do it."

"What?"

"I can stand as your boyfriend." Laura looked up at him unsure if he was serious or not, a strange look in her eyes. Was he serious? Of course, he'd played her pretend boyfriend twice already to wave off Luke Wetmore, but this was going to be in front of hundreds of people. Even more rumors would circulate if she let him.

"It's only pretend, but if it will ward off unwanted comments towards you, I'm willing to go through with it." Ji Hoon said. Laura debated for a moment. Was she willing to let him act as her boyfriend for the night?