Splash. Splash.

Tiffany was in the bathroom near the infirmary, water dripping off her face as she stared at her reflection in the mirror in front of her with hands gripping the marble sink. She was a bit shook by the almost incident that happened just now and thought that she’d smack some life back into her. She convinced herself that even without the help of her cold senior, she could’ve made the escape. But all of the what-ifs was playing in her head and the marks on her flawless neck made it worse. Agent Hwang is still a woman, after all.

Tiffany pressed her eyes shut and shook her head before slapping her face a few times. “You’d still be fine, you are now, Tiffany. Yosh, let’s do this.” The woman took a deep breath and exhaled before confidently walking out of the door, only to have the confidence shattered into that of a timid mouse when she saw her soon to be supervisor standing in front of her.

“S-sunbae? What are you doing here?”

Hyunjoo gave the brunette a blank stare as if to mock her. “I have to use the toilet, of course. What else would I be here for?” she scoffed before entering the bathroom without sparing another glance at the other girl.

Tiffany let out a small sigh and ruffled her hair. “Of course she’d want to go to the bathroom, what, do you think she’d be that kind to wait for you? Lol dream on Tiffany. Hmm but I thought she had already left though.” The Korean-American shrugged her shoulders and continued her walk to meet Jessica. She was stopped by the same nurse who treated Hyunjoo from before when she was walking by the infirmary.

“Miss Hwang!”

“There’s no need for formalities, just call me Tiffany, Nurse…?”

“Soonkyu. Lee Soonkyu. But just call me Sunny though, and we can be friends!” Tiffany chuckled at the bubbliness the shorter person displayed, as if she had found a doppelganger of her since she acquire the same happy-go-lucky personality too.

“Hahaha alright, Sunny. Oh, is there anything I can help you with?”

“Oh yeah, hold on.” Sunny went back into the infirmary and brought out a small brown bag, handing it to Tiffany.

 Tiffany tilted her head in confusion and asked, “What’s this, Sunny?”

“It’s something Hyun asked me to pass to you.”

“Who is Hyun?” It was Sunny’s turn to chuckle because she had forgotten that Tiffany’s new there.

“Hyun is the agent from before, the one you wanted to have a word with?”

“Ahh, I see.” Tiffany nodded and mentally noted. ‘So his name is Hyun…’       “Hmm okay, but what is this for?”

“It’s to cover up those. Hyun said they look hideous.” She said with a sorry smile while pointing at her neck with her index finger.

Tiffany immediately blushed in embarrassment and covered the marks with her left palm in reflex. “O-oh. Okay, thank you very much then, Sunny-ssi.”

“Oh come on, drop the honorifics already. I could sense that we’re going to be best buddies soon!” Tiffany gave an eye smile to the bubbly girl and bowed slightly before making her exit.

The brunette rummaged through the contents of the brown bag and saw some ointment, concealers and some cotton, obviously to treat the evident bruises on her neck.

“Does he care for me..? Nahh he said they look hideous, that’s all.” The woman shook her head out off unnecessary thoughts and proceeded to find her friend with the bag in her hand.

Sooyoung was in charge of showing Jessica around the base and explain to her their daily routines and the basics personally but Tiffany had to tag along because according to Hyunjoo, the task given was, she quotes, “A waste of my time”. Not that Tiffany mind though, Sooyoung Sunbae was funny and really nice to be with unlike that icy, cold hearted mentor of hers and she swear she could see her best friend practically drooling over their senior with dreamy eyes. And the fun part was, Sooyoung didn’t seem to realize it at all, but was rather friendly with the two newbies.

They reached a plain-looking, medium sized library with books stacked alphabetically in wooden shelves and a few desks equipped with chairs by the side. The shelves were labelled with tags and serial numbers, too.

“Uhh, soo…we have a library….?” Jessica trailed off, feeling a bit strange as to why they own a library in there.

Sooyoung smiled, definitely understanding where the girl was coming from. “Ahh you see, it’s not just a normal room…” she brought the two girls in and went straight to the highest row of the middle shelf and pulled a book halfway, as if she was toggling a switch, which in fact she did.

“Some agents who still go to school usually come here to revise their studies, some to relax their minds by enjoying the peaceful vibe it gives off. But this place serves a bigger purpose than that. Come here.” The tallest out of the three motioned them to the most corner and secluded desk. It was too dark there even with the lights on, so people don’t usually go there, making the place perfect to hide. Sooyoung asked them to go under the desk, making the two women looked at each other in confusion, as if their senior has grown two heads.

“F-for what?”

Sooyoung gave out a hearty chuckle and slipped herself under the desk, disappearing into an open hole with a thud on her legs. Tiffany and Jessica widened their eyes in amazement. Back in America, their base only consists of training centers, to recruit new members, strengthen and polish their individual as well as team skills and they didn’t really have the need of such hiding places as their missions are focused in Korea.

Both followed suit and Sooyoung pressed a blue button at the side of the hollow corridor they just got in, making the floor of the library close back, looking like any normal floor would. The passage was a bit small, fit for two people at a time. They walked a bit further through the white walls and halted by a huge, locked metal door. Sooyoung punched in the code and the door opened automatically, making a creaking sound as it did so.

“This is one of the entrances to this place. It’s the IT section, as you two know, controls the running of the base, search, hack and provides top secret data needed for missions with the highest technology at the tip of their hands and mad computer skills you wouldn’t believe what they can do. Oh, and Chief Taecyeon also likes to monitor things from here, and since you guys will be training with us for quite some time, it’s best that I start introducing you to the rest of the members of special elite force, Team Aqua.”

They tailed Sooyoung like lost puppies, unfamiliar with the surroundings. There were plenty of closed rooms with transparent glass walls and people looking at them as they pass by with headphones and mic on their heads, which according to Sooyoung, were where the most of the IT agents spend their time at, doing their work. They reached the biggest room situated in the middle of the underground building. There were four agents standing and dressed in an all-black suit, a man clad in a brown leather jacket and a “Chief” name tag plastered on his left chest placing his muscular arms on his hips with an angry expression on his face. The were rest sitting on the armchairs, monitoring the screens on the walls and computers in front of them trying to ignore the booming voice of their Chief’s shoutings behind them.

“Owwkayyhh…” Sooyoung exchanged glances between the heated room and the two stunned woman beside her. Tiffany and Jessica saw that the taller woman was obviously trying to suppress a laugh and failed, which was weird since they didn’t find anything funny at that moment.

“Ahh, forgive me. It’s just that, I’m pretty sure the team did something to rile the Chief up on purpose. Aigoo. Alright, since it’s not really of a convenience going in there at this time, do you guys mind if I just introduce them from here?” The newbies nodded their head simultaneously.

“Okay, so I’ll start with the most right… Can you see her?” the agent pointed to a blonde woman with her hair tied into a ponytail.

“She looks foreign… Is she Korean?” Jessica asked and ran her fingers through her hair, somehow feling insecure with the girl’s defined beauty since she’s a blonde herself.

Sooyoung smiled slightly, and shook her head, amused by Jessica’s actions. ‘She definitely is more gorgeous than Momo though…’

“Nope. She’s not. And so is the guy beside her. The girl I mentioned first is Momo Hirai and the guy is Himuro Tatsuya.” She pointed at the man who had a fringe covering his right eye and a tiny mole under his left eye. The guy had a playful glint in his eye while looking at the Chief, making Tiffany and Jessica worry for his life if he decided to do anything to the Chief.

“Both of them are best friends since birth, originated from Japan. Their parents were friends, and former agents of FSA. The two kids developed interest in the field, and voila, here they are!” Sooyoung said jokingly. She was about to continue when Kim Heechul, a transferred IT agent from the American base as well, who guided the two newbies on their first mission through the earpiece appeared out of nowhere.

“Hey Heechul!”    “Heechul Oppa!” He playfully ruffled the two Korean-American’s hair and stood beside Sooyoung.

“Aigoo, miss me that much, huh? What are you guys doing here?”

“I was showing them the members of their new team lol. How ‘bout you?”

“I was on my break and decided to stroll around but I found you guys by coincidence. Go on, don’t mind me here.” He said with a smile.

“Okay so up next is Choi Seunghyun, or TOP, as he likes to call himself and it’s also his code name. He seems unapproachable at first, but trust me, he’s the last guy you thought you’d be making jokes with. TOP’s a bit shy though. Once you’ve gotten to know him, he’s quite the charmer, or a flirt, hehe.”

TOP was staring aimlessly at the floor, occasionally glancing and smiling at Himuro and Momo who were definitely not paying attention to what their boss were saying. But the last person whom Sooyoung was about to introduce was what that perks Tiffany’s interest. Her heart suddenly raced abnormally, anticipating the information about the mysterious ‘man’ that is so hostile towards her.

“Last but not least is our team’s captain. I believe you guys have already met at your first mission here in Korea, am I right?” she pointed towards Hyunjoo who had a poker face on while listening to the Chief’s rants.

“Yes, but he’s so meannn.” Jessica whined cutely. Sooyoung was about to squeal at the adorable sight in front of her but stopped when she recalled Jessica’s statement.

“Ehh? He?”

“Yeah, he…. Why?” Tiffany unsurely asked. Heechul then bursts into laughter and clutched his stomach while Sooyoung gave them an awkward smile.

“Umm… our captain is actually a girl…”

“H-he, wait no, - she’s a GIRL??!” the two friends gasped in shock.

“What, so like for these whole time you guys actually thought “Hazel” here was a guy?? If she really was, why’d we call her “Hazel”?? Hahahahaha!”
 

“Not funny, oppa! How could we know with her appearance looking all that delicious- ugh screw it. And we thought it was for undercover to confuse the enemy!”

Sooyoung shook her head and chuckled after all those misunderstandings subsided. “ ‘Hazel’ is her code name, as you guys already know. Her real name is Rachel Kim Hyunjoo. Along with Chief Taecyeon over there and her sister, they entered the agency at such a young age and trained the longest out of all people. Her late mom was an American while her late dad was Korean. After they passed away, the President found them on the streets and brought them here, uncovering their true potential, and polished their skills. That is why the three people are quite famous around here – the President’s prodigies and best agents in the FSA as of now. But they’ve never seen the President’s face though, just like anybody else.”

Tiffany was lost in her own thoughts after listening to Sooyoung’s explanation. ‘A girl, huh? What a feminine name for such a masculine appearance…’

“Umm, she has a sister?” Jessica asked.

“Mhmm, biological sister. But that I’ll let Hyunjoo tell you guys herself if she ever wants to. She’s a bit cold towards new people, and rarely discloses her feelings. And…since Tiffany kinda started off on bad terms with our captain, I’d say it’ll take a while before she warms up to you.” Sooyoung offered the brunette an apologetic look.

Tiffany waved off the statement with her hand, understanding where the girl was coming from. “Nonono it’s fine. I was in the wrong, I know. But I’ll try my hardest to break her walls hehe.”

“Aish, I hope so that you will. She’s your mentor after all. It’s going to be hard if you guys don’t get along.” Just then the door of the room creaked open and out came the four elite members of Team Aqua. Tiffany bit her lips nervously as Sooyoung called out to her teammates to have a quick meet and greet with her and Jessica.

“Hey guys! These are our new teammates~” Sooyoung sounded a little bit too happy saying that which made Himuro and Momo squint their eyes at her behavior.

“A-annyeonghaseyo Sunbae-nims. I’m Tiffany Hwang and this is Jessica Jung. We are new here and hope that you guys will take care of us.” The younger girls bowed 90 degrees to their seniors and received positive nods and smiles, except for Hyunjoo who had her eyes staring at the blank walls.

After Himuro, Momo and surprisingly even Seunghyun welcoming them with open arms, Hyunjoo decided to cut the fun off and reminded them of their next schedule that day.

The team captain clears to a bit too loudly on purpose to draw all of their attention towards her. “Ehem, enough chit chat. We’re off to the field. Soo, please bring Hwang and Jung to change into a…more appropriate gear.” She said as she took a glance at the two girls who were in their casual clothing.

After all of them got changed, Sooyoung led them to the “field”. The senior agent said the activity that they were about to do will increase their alertness and teamwork. The taller girl was also smirking mischievously when she said “It’s similar to playing paintball, but it much more….fun.” Tiffany and Jessica just shrugged their shoulders. I mean, paintball can’t be that bad, right?

Around 50 people can be seen at the bright, green field, lining up in pairs, side by side. It wasn’t really a  field, just a few good hundred meters of it because the rest were clouded with huge, chunky forests. The recruits had helmets on with what Tiffany and Jessica thought were normal paintball guns in their hands. The trio saw Hyunjoo half-jogging towards them with the same attire as the rest, except she was holding the helmet instead. Her black fringe bounced lightly with every step she made and used her free hand to slick her hair to the back as she stopped exactly in front of the girls. She didn’t know that her actions made a certain someone swoon in awe. Tiffany was pretty sure she is straight as hell, well that was until she saw this beautiful creation of God a few days ago. Her heart was saying that she might even be attracted to her appearance even if Hyunjoo had long hair.

“Guys. Since agents Hwang and Jung are new here, I’ll be explaining the game pretty quick, so make sure you guys listen carefully to what I say because I hate repeating my words. Understand?” The cold tone of her voice gave shivers down the two girls, making them nod furiously with a timid yes at the end.

“Okay so, the game is exactly the same as paintball, you got shot, you’re out. But we made a slight change to the play. As you can see, all of them are lined up in pairs, and so will we. We are going to be tied up at our ankles with a cuff, so we can never be separated unless either one of us get shot. It’s going to be hard, but it’s a team game, so if you work well with your partner, you’re good.” Tiffany and Jessica smiled at each other, thinking that they’ll do well if they’re with each other.

“Agent Jung, you are paired with Agent Sooyoung, and Agent Hwang, you are to be paired with me. Oh and by the way, the bullets aren’t normal paint.” The agent picked up her gun and aimed at a recruit who was playfully pretending to shoot at other people. She pulled her trigger and got a clean shot, making the boy clutch his leg and scream in pain. She turned back towards the two newbies who already had their jaws open in horror.

“W-what is in there…?” Tiffany asked timidly.

“The bullet is customized to stimulate a bullet-like pain to the human body. It’s not deadly, nor does it hurts like the real one, but as what you saw just now, it definitely will hurt. Are you guys clear?” Not wanting to waste any more time, Hyunjoo knelt down and placed a handcuff to her leg and Tiffany’s slender ones.

“Let’s go.”

Tiffany was having difficulties keeping up with the older girl’s fast pace with their bodies practically glued together because of the bind. Sure, she’d trained a lot back in America, and she had expected the training at the main base would be harder, but she didn’t expect it to be of another level. A part of her also thought that the senior was purposely torturing her by walking so fast despite her grunting in pain every once and then. Her sufferings ended for a moment when her partner halted her steps, making her head bump into the well-built body in front of her.

Hyunjoo turned to face her and placed her finger on her lips to motion her to don’t make a sound. The older girl didn’t close her front plastic cover of her helmet so Tiffany’s breath hitched when she saw those enticing, hazel eyes staring deeply at her. The stunned girl blinked her eyes a few times when Hyunjoo raised her gun to release a few shots behind her, and heard thuds in the bushes. A bell rang, signaling that there were 24 couples left in the game.

“Hurry up, I’m pretty sure their groans attracted some people already.” Tiffany nodded and did her best to match the older girl’s steps but unfortunately her untied leg tripped over a small stone making them fall to the ground.

“Ouch!” the brunette had torn some fabric on her knee area and wounded her skin due to the rough surface in the forest. She was bleeding and tears began to form in her eyes.

“Yah! How can you be so careless and slow??! Didn’t they teach you anything before you come here?? There’s a guy behind you, pick up your gun and shoot!” Hyunjoo’s words stung her heart more than her injury right now. Her mind wasn’t able to process the last sentence and she sat there blankly holding her knee as her partner viciously shot down another two.

“You know what? I think I’m better off alone.” Hyunjoo took off the gun that was slinging on Tiffany’s shoulder and shot the girl’s abdomen which was fortunately covered with a bulletproof vest and only caused her slight pain. The senior agent took out the key to the cuff that was given to each pair in case one of them got shot and uncuffed their legs before dashing into the woods, leaving the hurt Tiffany behind.

A/N :  Happy Eid to all of the Muslims out there!! Tmr is Eid but here I am, updating this story because I love this so much and your comments motivated me, so do drop some down there! Hehe~