The alarm didn't even need to go off. The stress of the past week, which had been weighing on Jun-ho, brought him back to consciousness at five in the morning.
Instinctively, he reached his arm out to the left side of the bed, expecting to find the familiar warmth of Salin's skin. His hand, however, found only the cold sheet.
Jun-ho sat up with a start, his dark eyes scanning the room in a split second. His heart, usually rhythmic and cold, skipped a beat. Where was he? An attack? A security breach?
— Salin... — the name came out low, almost a command.
But then, the memory of the night before returned like a punch. Salin wasn't there because he himself, Jun-ho, under Kun's insistence and the pressure from the council, had allowed him to go on his first Level A mission. Salin was with The Five.
