Day Zero
Operation ChromeThe man marched hurriedly into the room and tossed the file onto the desk, waking the sleeping woman up.
The woman jolted up from her nap in shock.
"Wake up sleepyhead, I have got an assignment for you." The man then took his seat opposite the younger woman.
She only groaned and stretched lazily in her seat. "Again? But Minhyuk oppa, it has barely been a week since my last assignment ended!"
The man's lips curled into a knowing smile, revealing a set of teeth stained by cigarettes.
"I know we work you too hard, but this assignment is important and we can only trust you."
Her eyebrows furrowed. It was rare for her boss to say such things to her. She sat a little more upright, ready to listen.
"It is a bodyguard assignment. Agent Hwang before you say anything, no we can't assign this to the juniors."
"Why?"
Bodyguard assignments were usually given to the juniors, the lower ranked agents. They were considered to be less complicated operations involving almost zero classified information. Bodyguards are almost like shields for bullets. For an agent of her rank, her bodyguard days were a long way behind her.
"Like I have said, this is an important assignment from an important client. And it is far more complicated than the typical body shielding, bullets blocking job. Read through the case file to familiarise yourself with the client. There will be a briefing session with the big bosses later."
Briefing with the big bosses? Now this is a rarity...
She grabbed the file and started flipping through it.
The photo clipped onto the first page caught her eyes immediately. It was a girl, young and fair wearing thick rimmed glasses. The name of her client was written right under the photo - Kim Taeyeon.
She made her way back to the lounge with the file. She needed a cup of coffee before the painful, boring briefing session with the big bosses.
Strangely enough, there wasn't much information about her client, except for the fact that she was an art major in her final year. Granted, some clients would usually withhold some information but there was far too little about this client for Tiffany to gather any substantial information. What does she like? How does she usually spend her time?
She made a mental note to ask for more information during the briefing session.
"Noona!"
She smiled when she was greeted enthusiastically the moment she entered the lounge.
"Hi Joe"
"We have heard you got a new assignment again?"
"Yeah", the woman sighed as she pressed the coffee machine. "And I thought I could at least spend two peaceful weeks on standby duty before being deployed again."
"That's why you are our leader." Joe quipped.
Tiffany shook her head. "Where are the rest anyway?"
"Ah, Hyoyeon noona is conducting the physical training for the cadets. Yuri noona is out for her assignment. And Seohyun is preparing for some important briefing later."
"What about you? Slacking?" Tiffany asked teasingly.
"Noona! How can you say that about me?" The younger man gasped exaggeratedly. "I came back from my break just to cover your standby duties since you are starting on your new assignment. I was supposed to be off for this entire month remember!"
The older woman chuckled. "I know, I know. Thanks for covering up for me. When we are all free again, I would surely buy you dinner."
"Now that's a promise! Noona I will remind you again."
"Sure. Well then, I better get going. I don't want to be late for the briefing. See you around."
"See you."
==
Tiffany took a deep breath and walked into the briefing room. Seems like she was early, but not the earliest. A familiar figure was quietly tapping away on her keyboard in the corner of the room.
"Hi Seohyun" She greeted her junior who immediately took off her headphones.
"Hi Unnie. Looks like you're early."
"Of course I have to be. I heard the big bosses are coming in today."
The younger agent nodded.
"So what's the deal? The file that you gave me is really thin." Tiffany took her seat right beside Seohyun, readjusting the gun holster around her waist so she could sit a little more comfortably.
"That's all the information I was allowed to give to you, Unnie."
Being the alert agent that she was, Tiffany immediately caught onto something odd. Allowed...?
Before she could question her junior any further, the door opened, revealing her bosses. The pair stood up and respectfully greeted the people who were streaming into the room. Almost everyone else in the room were at least a rank or two higher than her, with the exception of Seohyun.
"Is everyone here?" Minhyuk, Tiffany's direct superior scanned around the room before nodding to Seohyun who immediately the soundproofing of the roomi and dimmed the lights, revealing a 3D hologram of their agency's logo in the middle of the room.
"Today's agenda is about Operation Chrome. The client's name is Kim Bongsu, who had tasked us to protect his daughter. Owner of Sunsung Corporation, producer of almost everything and anything in this country. A true blue chaebol."
The 3D logo in the middle of the room quickly turned into a hologram of the said man.
"His daughter's name is Kim Taeyeon."
The hologram of the said man dispersed, and formed into a young girl on a wheelchair. Tiffany instantly recognised the girl. It matched the photograph inside her folder.
So that's my client.
"Agent Hwang would be in charge of Miss Kim Taeyeon. Agent Hwang, you would be required to move into their residence for the period of your assignment. You will get three junior agents in your security team. Feel free to rotate and deploy them as you wish. For now, our commitment period is six months, subjected to further extension. You do get a day off on every alternate Sunday. Understood?"
Tiffany nodded respectfully at Minhyuk. But she got the sense that her task was not as direct as it seemed. The fact that she had three agents under her instead of the usual one was strange enough. This was not a normal bodyguard assignment. 4 agents just for one girl on a wheelchair?
"You must be wondering why all the fuss just for a girl." Her boss smiled knowingly, and continued. "I will let Major Choi explain."
Tiffany tightened up and sat a little more upright. All eyes in the room were on her.
The Major cleared his throat, taking the hologram controller from Seohyun. He clicked a button, and the girl dispersed, transforming once again into a house. Judging by the grandeur, she supposed it was her client's house.
"I would assume by now that an agent of your caliber and experience would have gathered that this is not just an ordinary bodyguard assignment. There are various reasons why we chose you, the most obvious being your capabilities and track record. We would need you to carry out some investigation covertly. The client, Mr Kim is actually a person of interest to the state. He is an extremely shrewd and corrupted businessman. We have long suspected him of dealing with smuggling of firearms and other weaponry into North Korea. To be honest, as of now the state does not have any concrete evidence. Get close to his daughter and him, find out things that we otherwise would have missed out on."
That's right. Despite their front as a private security firm, at the end of the day, this place was still considered a government agency. All agents, Tiffany included, were more than just ordinary private security bodyguards. They were specially trained agents, ready to serve the nation at any cost.
"All that aside, your priority is still in keeping that girl alive. There are people, or rather enemies threatening Mr Kim with that girl's life. They aren't simple people. Keep the girl alive at all cost. Only God knows what that Kim will be capable of doing should something happen to his precious daughter. He might start a WW3. All jokes aside, keep the girl alive at all cost, or at least until you find any discriminating evidence against him. Then we will take him from there. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
By now, Tiffany could feel her head spinning from the sudden influx of information. This was unlike any assignment she was given before.
"Agent Hwang." The Major repeated himself. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Tiffany tightened her fist into a ball under the table and nodded her head. "Understood. As always, I will do my best to complete the assignment to the best of my abilities."
"Good. We have high hopes for you." The Major seemed pleased with Tiffany's response.
It was times like this that Tiffany wished she had not gone down the path of being an agent. The immerse pressure and sky high expectations weighed down on her. She knew better than to let the people that trusted her down. This was her job and she was determined to fulfil and exceed all expectations.
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