At that, Xing Han nodded, bobbing his head up and down.

"It's funny," he said as he looked at the people around them, "Everyone wants and desires financial freedom. Yet, they do not realise the sort of burden we are under to obtain and maintain that."

"You don't get one thing for nothing," Kyle agreed, "So that's why I want to give my children the best of both worlds. There is the danger that they'll get spoilt, or be taken advantage of though. I just hope the MIB is enough to protect them."

Although that is Kyle's hope, he knew that anything could happen. You can have the best of intentions, the most meticulous of plans but it can unravel all so easily.

Just take that darn Randall for example.

✿.✿.✿.✿

That night, Kyle started dressing up to go out.

This time, Kyle was sharing a room with Xing Han while Kay and Sam had their own rooms. It wasn't fair to have Sam deal with Xing Han and his antics at night all the time, after all.

"Where are you going?" Xing Han asked as he watched Kyle put on dark track pants and sweatshirt with a hood, "You look like you're going to steal something."

Kyle looked at himself, dressed all in black and he was going out at night. He shrugged.

"More or less," he answered, "Not to steal anything but I just don't want to be noticeable."

"You're not going to look for your kids again, are you?" Xing Han said, getting up and staring at him.

Kyle turned his head to the side.

Xing Han stomped over, grabbed Kyle's head and forced him to look at him, "Kyle."

"One last time," Kyle said in a whisper, his eyes pleading, "I won't be coming back to Country M for quite a while after this."

Xing Han's heart wrenched at the pain and longing that was so evident in Kyle's eyes.

"Kyle, you have to be strong," Xing Han said, trying to persuade him, "If seeing them just for a brief moment earlier was enough to break you down, what more if you go and watch them at home?"

Kyle closed his eyes, "I need to do this, Xing Han. Please."

Xing Han bit his inner cheeks, sighed, then squished Kyle's cheeks even more before finally saying, "Fine. Be strong. Come back soon."

Kyle shook his head, and said through his fish lips, "I won't be back tonight. I'll need some time alone to just gather my thoughts after that. Don't worry, I'll be okay. I'll update Kay."

Xing Han frowned and squished Kyle's cheeks one last time before letting go.

"Will you be okay alone tonight?" Kyle asked worriedly as he headed towards their bedroom door.

"Yeah, go on," Xing Han said, "I've gotten used to the room already."

Xing Han waved him away and sadly watched Kyle go out.

Kyle headed towards the exit and then turned to look at Kay's room door.

[Kay, will be back tomorrow. I don't know what time. It could even be in the afternoon. Just block out till then, okay?]

Kay, who was in her room and on the bed at that time, gripped the bedsheets with her fingers. She didn't like it that he wanted her to block him out. She had hoped she would be able to project happy feelings to Kyle so that he could cope better.

It pained her that he didn't want that.

[Don't shut me out too much, brother] she said softly [If it gets too much, reach out. Okay?]

[I will] Kyle said as he walked out the door [I promise]

✿.✿.✿.✿

Kyle stood outside the window, peering into his children's bedroom. They had lived in a small bungalow, with an ample garden, and in a cul-de-sac. It was a house that Kylie's spouse inherited and thus, it was old.

But it was enough.

They really didn't have security and Kyle had easily climbed over the walls and blended into the night. The curtains were not drawn and he spent a few hours just watching them have dinner, play in the living room and finally, enter the bedroom.

When the lights were turned off, Kyle waited for half an hour before stealthily making his way to the bedroom. He scalled the wall and quietly entered their bedroom. The night light gave the room a warm glow and he looked at them.

His children shared a room until Joseph was 10. His bed was on the left side of the room while Lianne's bed was on the right. Kyle went to his son's bed first, reaching a hand and ever so softly, touched those cheeks.

Tears were spilling down his face again, as he pulled the blanket up and he kissed his son's forehead. Joseph's eyebrow twitched a bit, but he didn't wake up. Kyle then walked over to Lianne's bed and did the same, stroking her soft curly hair before kissing her forehead.

Lianne was a much deeper sleeper compared to Joseph, so Kyle could touch her more.

He sat in the room for a few hours, positioned so that he could watch both of them at the same time. Finally, when it was 2am, he forced himself to get up to leave. Giving his kids one final kiss, he also hugged them softly before going out the window.

Closing it quietly, he jumped down.

Landing softly on the ground, Kyle crouched for a minute, gathering his emotions. Gritting his teeth, he kicked off and ran at his fastest speed.

The hotel they were staying in was 10 miles away, but the distance was nothing to Kyle.

In fact, he relished the distance and only wished it was further.

He deliberately pushed himself more than normal, wanting the pain in his legs to overcome the pain in his heart. He wanted the wind in his face to sting his eyes and let the tears be caused by that rather than the ache in his soul. He wanted to be out of breath from running rather than having his chest heaving from crying.

It took him just 30 minutes to reach the hotel.*

Kyle skidded to a stop outside, gasping for air while his entire body was in pain.

He had never run that fast for that long, and he was feeling it now. Sweat was pouring down his face, his heart was pumping hard, his muscles were screaming at him and his eyes were red from the tears he had let go freely.

He leaned back on the wall, putting his hands in his hoodie pockets, as he closed his eyes, breathing heavily through the mouth. There was hardly a soul around, and Kyle relished the peace and quiet.

Until he heard some footsteps.

He didn't open his eyes but maintained his vigilance. He was in no condition to fight, but he was confident that he could handle whatever came.

He concentrated on regulating his breathing by taking a few deep breaths. He groaned, thinking of how sore he was going to be for the next few days.

Kyle frowned when the footsteps stopped in front of him.

He opened his eyes.

"Hello, Dean."