The Announcement
License To KillGeneral Cha, who handled all of the offical gatherings, had called a meeting one night after dinner, excitedly notifying all of the female recruits that after six months have passed, all of the Special Forces VIXX members would be choosing a right hand woman to each of their positions. The kind hearted General also challanged all of you. He confirmed that for years, Captain Jung had refused to open said post and he hoped that one of the recruits from this batch would "break the curse". You could not remember laughing so hard when Major Lee once again jumped up from his seat behind the lecturn to take control of the microphone from his now exhausted looking superior.
"Starlight ladies~ don't be afraid to come to me~" the puppy-like blond flirted with the crowd as he winked and gave out multiple finger hearts.
The luck that you had once so fabulously cursed, you were now thankful for. The six groups that you had already been split into, were to be your fixed groups under the leadership of your respective VIXX member. Now more than ever, you were determined to ensure that Captain Jung made you his protege. Although it seemed you were not the only one. In your sizeable group, everywhere you went, your teammates spoke of wanting to be Captain Jung's right hand because "he was so dreamy~" and "have you heard - Leo is totally husband material! There was this time..." Give or take a few dreamy sighs and squeals and you pretty much summed up most of your training partners. You, on the other hand, tried not to think about how attractive you found him - much less the first time you met, when you were so close that you could smell the luxury branded cologne lingering on his uniform. No, all you wanted was to be promoted, get the intelligence you needed and get out of this operation before you do something that you know you should not.
The pressure of competing with so many talented women like yourself was far from being a problem for you - in fact you were thankful for such a hardworking and fiesty group as it served to keep you in check. You could not remember ever being on a mission where self-control had been a constant problem. Though you wished for nothing more than to snark your superior at every turn and to show as much resistance to his teachings as you could, you knew that your mission was more important - and that meant making yourself the more desirable option among your peers.
Hiding your years of knowledge and experience took a certain finesse. You learned early on that your Captain had a very keen and observant eye, it was an ability of his that you had to fool. You had to know when to look skilled or to feign ignorance. The physical parts of your training were far more difficult - as it could be wholly obvious whether or not someone was holding out on you. The strange thing about Captain Jung that no-one else could do, was get under your skin. You remember an exercise where you had to decypher a code and although you had feigned your ignorance so well that your peers kept sending you encouraging stares and "fighting" gestures, it was the eyes of a certain man that almost unnerved you. For the longest time, you could feel his eyes on you as if teasing "you can do so much, but not this? I don't believe it."
You broke at least two pencils and a ruler during that test.
Six Months Later
You paused at the entrance of the ceremony hall, taking in a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm yourself down. You smoothed down your already neat chignon as if a hair had moved from its waxed position in between the time you left your dorm and reached the hall. You could not fathom why you were nervous, but you were. Probably even more than the time you had been compromised on a mission for the first time.
As you walked in to find the room buzzing with conversation, laughter, food and drink celebrating the end of the half year, you found yourself looking for Captain Jung although you could see no sign of him unlike the rest of s. You also faintly noticed the music playing in the background, you immediately recognized it as the new single of Seo In Guk that your roommate was totally obsessed with at the moment.
You do not know how you accomplished it, but you ended up in a lively discussion with both 1st Lieutenants Kim and Lee, who like the rest of the group insisted on Ravi and Hongbin. You found your nerves somewhat neutralized at Hongbin's particular brand of savage humor that more than once made you keel over in laughter and Ravi's surprisingly shy nature despite the fact that he works so often with women.
Before you knew it, General Cha once again gently tapped the side of his champagne glass requesting silence.
"VIXX members, STARLIGHTs, congratulations on six months together! Although time has flown since our first weeks together, it has been challenging, difficult but no doubt rewarding. Today is the day that our Special Forces protege's will be announced. We have looked at many areas to de-"
"Was one of them beauty General?" one of the younger STARLIGHTs teasingly shouted out from within your vicinity.
As if it were a formulaeic gag concert, Major Lee jumps up from his seat and being used to it, General Cha merely makes way for the oncoming tornado that was his junior.
"If we had to choose based on beauty, our offices would be too full." Major Lee replied, exaggerating his syllables cutely as he winked.
Though you rolled your eyes at his reply, you could not hide the smile or blush that appeared on your face, much like your peers.
You briefly wondered if his job was to charm their enemies in battle. He certainly had the skill to disarm.
Your flattery changed to one of consternation as every VIXX member came forward to announce their candidate. The minute it skipped from the General to the Major, you felt creeping disappointment at the fact that it was quite possible that you had failed. It still did not stop you from having only eyes for your Captain as he looked at s with brotherly fondness as they went up to the podium one by one. It was cu - it was wholly inappropriate what you were thinking. Your thoughts were interrupted by 2nd Lieutenant Han.
"You thought we were done right?" the young man laughed boisterously, much to the delight of many women in the crowd. "Our dear Captain Taekwoonie has an announcement to make." The 2nd Lieutenant moved to throw his arm around his slightly shorter superior teasingly. You could not help but chuckle at how much of a bully their youngest member was.
Captain Jung merely gave a closed lipped laugh as he shyly took the podium. It was one of the most surprising things you have ever learned. You never thought a man as intimidating as Captain Jung could be so shy. Again, you felt your heart thumping on the inside of your chest.
"Good afternoon STARLIGHTs." the dark haired man greeted with his soothing voice. "It's been years since I've done this but this year I would like to make an exception. The candidate I have chosen is most suited to working alongside me and like General Cha has said before, there were many factors. STARLIGHT (F/n) (L/n), will you please come to the podium?" the Captain's eyes began to search the crowd.
The minute you heard your name come from Captain Jung's lips, you felt...relieved? You felt so many things that you could not even begin to place half of them. As you walked up to the podium amongst the defeaning cheers of your friends and peers, you could understand why you felt so proud of yourself. Why it was as if you were a bird strutting about with your chest puffed out. The idea that Captain Jung had chosen you was a pleasing thought but you supposed most espionage handbooks do not come with a section on "Being Pleased Your Intended Target For Revenge Is Playing Into Your Hands".
Once there, you exchange eye contact for one second longer than was professional before bowing in greeting.
"STARLIGHT (F/n) (L/n), do you accept the position of being the right hand of myself, Captain Jung Taekwoon of The Special Forces VIXX? Do you accept the position that calls you to absolute loyalty and trust? Moreover, do you endeavor to do whatever is in the best interests of your fellow peers, your superiors and above all, myself?" Captain Jung repeated the pledge that you heard many a time earlier. This time your gut clenched at the nuanced meaning he seemed to place on each word.
"Do you endeavour to do what ever is in the best interest of him?" the thought ran circles in your mind as you really thought about what you were getting yourself into for the first time since accepting the mission. Even as you looked up steadfastly into the brown eyes across from you, you knew the waters did not become any clearer from here on out.
"I accept." you firmly responded, a faint smile that you were not sure was genuine or false, graced your lips.
As he took your hand in his in what was some form of a handshake, you realized that you were not the only one pleased at the turn of events.
A/N: And here it is! I think the next part might actually be the last one but so far I'm enjoying taking and developing this idea slowly. I thought I'd have this up sooner but I run a Marvel related writing blog as well (imagine-that-christmas-cap atm) and that's been taking up the bulk of my time. Next to @0ttoke who commented, I thank you so sincerely and I'd like to dedicate this chapter to you. I only saw it yesterday but it inspired me to get going. This romance y'all...talk about slow burn. Even I'm like "get it together you two" but yeah lol. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Years annnnddd that you've enjoyed this!
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