"Love is the strongest weapon in the world"

Chapter 4

It all happened far too quickly.

By the time we even realised it, we were in the hospital. I've never seen Eunji unnie like this before, the dad and mom whom I used to regard as a role-model because she was always so calm and cool, broke down in tears. It was difficult to hear her silent cries because I knew someone had to stay strong in this situation and it has to be me. 

That's right, this happened because of me. They ransacked the house because of me. Chorong unnie was shot because of me. It's because of me, everything that I love is always taken away. Why does this have to happen to me? Why is the world so cruel just when I found happiness?

~X~

"Hayoung-ah, wake up" said Eunji as she gently shook Hayoung who slept right next to Chorong's bed, holding her hands tightly as she prayed every night. The two girls had a rough week. The older girl who got shot was sent straight to the emergency room, was operated for five hours and landed in the ICU unit. It took two days for her body to stabilize and she was transferred to the normal unit.

Because they were agents, this was part of work. Family members or even friends of Chorong would have no idea that this happened to her, only the ones who are her close working mates knew, someone like Jung Eunji. It was a rather, private ward in the highest floor of the hospital where occansionally, a tall man in a black suit would come over to talk with Eunji in private. Even Hayoung herself, was not allowed to sneak into their conversation.

"What is it unnie?" mumbled Hayoung as she rubbed her eyes. She took a glance at the time, it was 7am in the morning. A Tuesday morning.

"Listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you." said Eunji as she sat right next to her, holding her hands tightly. "You must follow what I am about to say and you must not disobey. I trust that you do as I say, okay?" she continued in a calm manner.

"I'm listening." said the younger girl with a nod as she realised that this was not a situation in which she could joke around. There was something different about her.

"We don't know when Chorong unnie is going to wake up and it might take a long time for her to recover from her injuries. Right now, what's important is finding out the culprit. The person who invaded and thrashed our home is targeting you. Remember when I said we were here to bring you to the government in order to help you and train you? Someone else out there wants your skills and because of this sudden situation, the superiors and I have made a decision to protect you at all costs."

"What? But, why me? What is there that is so important about me? I'm nothing." the girl was confused. "I'm just an ordinary high schooler. Why does the government want me? Why me out of all of the other kids in the world?"

Eunji paused for a moment, her eyes wavering about as she wondered whether it was right to tell her this. It was very confidental info. In fact, her superior revealed her just two days ago a secret that had her pretty shocked.

[FLASHBACK]

"What?! Are you serious sir?!" said Eunji with a gasp as she was at the corridor, speaking privately with her superior.

"Yes, it's true. We are sorry for not revealing the actual details of this mission. It appears to be far more dangerous than what we have expected. We didn't know that those guys knew about it too." said the man.

"We didn't sign up for this. This is a suicide mission!"

"I understand but we believe that you and Chorong were the most fit for this job, we-"

"We? You did not tell me about who Hayoung really is! You did not tell me that she is a product made from some crazy science experiment! You lied and tricked us into a mission that seemed so simple to do."

"Look, I am sorry. We are sorry. Look Eunji-ya, this is an emergency now. It's to the point where we might have the police and military force involved in this but I believe that you can do it. You have to stop them."

"And risk my life? Knowing that I might even die from this?"

"You are an experienced agent who has lived under risks. You should know better."

"That-" A heavy sigh left the girl's mouth. "Fine. I'll do it. But, on one condition."

"Very well."

"At the end of this mission, I will resign. I can't keep working for this job anymore. I'm sure, Chorong unnie will say the same too, once she knows about it too."

"Consider it done." the man said as he cleared his throat. "But that does not change the fact that we will still take Hayoung in. Or rather, we will be taking custody of her now. All of you have to do is complete your mission. Find that person, kill him and we will pretend none of this ever happened."

There was a momentary pause as Eunji gulped. "Fine." she answered as she did not feel too good with those words coming out of .

[END OF FLASHBACK]

"I-It's just how it is Hayoung-ah. No excuses. One thing that's for sure, you must not follow me. I don't want to get you into danger and have you hurt. I have to protect you even though...it hurts." said Eunji as she clenched her fists.

"What? What are you saying unnie? What do you mean?" asked Hayoung in confusion.

"Collect your things. There's someone downstairs to pick you up. Just as promised, you will go to the centre and begin your training. It's the original motive of the mission and I can't fail this." the girl said as she stood up and took Hayoung's bag for her before opening the door.

"Now? But, what about you? What about Chorong unnie?" 

"No questions." said Eunji as she gently held her hand and brought her to the lobby where the same man in the black suit was waiting.

"Follow him and make sure to listen to whatever he says Hayoung-ah." said Eunji as she forcefully removed Hayoung's hand from hers and placed it with the man's hand.

"But unnie, what about you? Will I see you again? I didn't even get your number." said Hayoung in a daze as the man dragged her out of the hospital slowly. As she tried to look back, all she could see was Eunji smiling. But it was not a happy smile. It was smile that spoke of sorrow. It was a smile of sadness.

"I will see you again right? We are still going to be a family right?"

In hopes of seeing her again, Hayoung did as she was told. Disappearing into the mysterious centre where she was trained by the government, obviously she had no idea why she was being trained or why she was chosen to do so.

Of course, she shouldn't know. The dark secret of who she really is.

~X~

[TWO WEEKS LATER]

Mountains and forests filled the landscape as the sun shoned brightly over the horizon, a place that was tucked far from the busy metropolitan city and in between the countryside grounds, there was a rather, mysterious warehouse located at the top of the hill with towering fences surrounding the compound, obviously showing that visitors are not allowed. In fact, it was already suspicious enough to have a warehouse in the middle of nowhere.

In the midst of the silence, something rustled among the bushes as a young lady crouched and creeped through a small opening while viewing through her binoculars. She was all by herself, a dangerous one-man mission that she had set herself upon for the past two weeks. That girl is agent, Jung Eunji. 

She had quite a rough week, doing her best to find where the culprit has gone into hiding while also finding time to visit her partner, Chorong at the hospital as she prayed for a fast recovery. Her mind was all over the place, she couldn't help but to worry about Hayoung as well. Is the girl doing well at the centre? Is she eating enough? Is she happy? But, the mission is more important. After two weeks of searching hard with all of her blood and sweat, she finally found where the culprit who broke into her home that day, was.

"Alright, you can do this Eunji-ya, let's finish this, kill that guy off, head back home and visit Chorong unnie." mumbled the girl to herself as she looked through her binoculars as she figured out a way to sneak into the warehouse. Carefully putting it back into her back, she crawled out of the bush and carefully climbed over the towering fence. She may look tiny but something like this is a piece of cake. Successfully getting through the barrier, Eunji was now inside the warehouse. It was much larger than she had expected from far away as she sneaked past walls and narrows areas to make sure that she wasn't spotted.

"Where the heck are you?" she mumbled as she climbed upstairs. The warehouse was as empty as a ghost town and she had to be alert for any sudden sounds or movements. Any mistakes may mark her getting shot or even killed. It was then, as she hid behind a wall, she noticed someone walking across. It was in that split second of thought, she pulled out the gun that was hidden inside her sweater and began to slowly position her aim. Just as she was about to fire, someone suddenly pulled her behind. Thinking that it was an enemy, Eunji immediately went into defense mode and took out a hidden pocket knife that was tucked inside her sleeve. Almost ready to attack, the person suddenly grabbed her hand as if already knowing that she would do that. Immediately, she looked up as her eyes widened in shock.

"Chorong unnie?!" said Eunji in a silent whisper.

"Who else would know you better besides me?" said the girl in a whisper yet smiled as she let go of Eunji.

"But-"

"We can talk later. Let's finish the mission first." whispered Chorong as she took out her gun as well.

Eunji scanned her partner from head to toe, it was still obvious that her wounds had not healed yet. Knowing Chorong, she must've forced her way out of the hospital after hearing that she was going on a solo mission to kill the culprit. There was no way her partner was going to let her do this alone. There was no way Chorong was going to let her do that.

Feeling somewhat thankful yet sorry in her heart, Eunji was finally able to smile lightly as she nodded.

"Let's kill him and go back home." she said.

"I'll follow your lead." said Chorong.

"Roger that unnie." nodded Eunji as she peeked through the wall again. There was now, an apperance of four other man walking around the area. Within the count of three, the girl shot one man down before running across another wall as a gun-war began. Chorong who stayed on the left side, aimed carefully and shot another man down. Exchanging bullets from the front and back, it was indeed a very dangerous situation where anyone could die at this very moment. But it was how their life has always been. They signed up for this job and chose to risk their lives for it.

Upon Chorong's signal, Eunji nodded and went straight head-on into the battlefield, using her skills in boxing to corner her enemies while Chorong backed her from behind, acting as a sniper. Mobilizing the rest of the enemies onto the floor and knocking them out cold, the battle was over as they soon found themselves in the room that contained various confidental documents that belonged to the government. 

"So they were spies huh?" said Eunji as she took pictures of the site.

"They have the documents to passwords, files from military research, weapons, we have to destroy them Eunji-ya."

"Eunji-ya?" asked Chorong again after not hearing a response from the girl. As she turned behind, she was busy reading one of the documents.

"Unnie...." mumbled Eunji as she looked at her. "Did they tell you about Hayoung?"

"I know that she's a product of the science research institute. They told me at least about that." said Chorong as she went to her side.

"They also have files about her and it looks like, there's more to the secret unnie." said Eunji as she flipped through the pages. She was completely taken aback, learning more about who Hayoung really is. Frustrated and somewhat feeling her anger boiling from inside, Eunji felt that this was no longer right. It was a bad idea to hand Hayoung over to the government officials.

As written in the file records, Oh Hayoung was made purely out of scientific methods which clearly makes sense as to why she has no parents in the beginning. An experiment to produce the first ever human without biological methods was indeed a great success 18 years ago, possessing abilities far greater than what a normal human could do, it was easy to say that the girl was destined to become a military weapon eventually. But someone knew that this was a crazy, inhumane thing to do.

A scientist who goes by the name of Huh Gak, broke into the institute and stole the baby, before giving her up to her unknown orphanage located in Seoul. The whereabouts of that man, remains unknown till now.

"Do you know what I'm thinking Eunji-ya?" asked Chorong as she read the content.

"Mm, it's a crazy idea right?" nodded Eunji with a smile. "We've already gone this far to risk our lives, might as well go full out."

"I knew you would say that." sighed Chorong as she looked up and then smiled.

"Let's go and get our daughter, honey." teased Eunji as she held her hand while using her other hand to burn the rest of the documents with a lighter.

"Stop calling me that" frowned Chorong.

"I won't~" teased the younger girl with a snicker.

~X~

As the two girls hitchhiked onto a kind farmer's truck who offered to drop them off onto Seoul, they comfortably sat at the back while enjoying the cool breeze of the countryside. While being squeezed in between piles of wheat and vegetables, they didn't mind as long as they got a free ride. For a moment, they enjoyed the momentary silence as they watched the sunset across the horizon, making them to think deep into their thoughts. Exhaustion consumed their mind as all they could do was to stare into space.

"Unnie." said Eunji quietly.

"What is it?"

"I know your wounds still aren't fully healed yet. You don't need to hide it from me."

"Well, I can't let you go on a mission alone. You'll die without me around."

"Of course, I always need my Rong sniper around." snickered Eunji as she moved closer to the girl.

"Stop giving me weird nicknames.." sighed Chorong as Eunji laughed.

Soon, there was silence again.

"Sorry. I probably made you worry a lot because I took the shot instead." said Chorong, breaking the silence.

"Mm, you definitely did." pouted Eunji as she looked at her eye-to-eye. "Don't do that ever again. I don't want to lose you." she said.

"I don't want to lose you too either." said Chorong with a sad smile. For awhile, the girls stared at each other in the midst of the silence.

It was at that moment, Chorong felt a soft, wet peck on her lips. At that point, she froze.

'A-Ah! Sorry unnie! I-I-It just happened like that!" said Eunji suddenly realising what she has done, completely flustered as she started moving her body out of anxiety. It was then, Chorong grabbed the girl and pulled her into an embrace, kissing her lips. She didn't want to hold back against anything. Knowing very well that the two could die at any moment, she did not want to have any regrets.

"Unnie...." said Eunji as she looked at her.

"What?"

"You like me don't you?"

"And what about you?" she asked.

"I don't." said Eunji as she suddenly kissed her even more deeply before removing her lips with a bright grin. "Just kidding."

The two agents had been working together for so many years, it would be no surprise if they would eventually fall in love with each other. They were there for each other in times of despair and also in times of happiness, it was a partnership that absolutely inseperatable. But knowing that dating was not allowed in their working policies, they kept their feelings to themselves. But since, they were no longer "agents", there was no need to hide anymore.

They were so busy in their work, they had no time to love. At least, they could now.

Deep into the beautiful sunset that painted across the skies, two girls kissed, expressing everything that they wanted to say. 

Knowing that it could be their last together, they did not hold back. A kiss that was deeper than ever, a kiss that represented their years together, a kiss that expressed their love that was kept hidden.

~X~

The moment they had arrived in Seoul, night had fallen and the girls headed straight to the centre facility where many young teenagers were trained under the government and provisioned with whatever necessities required. It was a rather mysterious place for the two agents who weren't really allowed to fully explore as they always went back and forth just to complete their missions; to safely send the children to the facility. No questions were asked and they had no idea what went on, inside.

Arriving at the front lobby that seemed so spacious without much furniture, a lady greeted them as they showed their identification cards.

"What is your purpose of visiting? According to the records, you currently aren't registered to return any children to the facility." said the lady coldly.

"We're here to visit someone. Her name is Oh Hayoung, i'm pretty sure she entered just recently." said Eunji.

"Sorry. Visitations are not allowed." the lady replied with a straight expression.

"Look, it won't be long." said Chorong.

"As stated by the law, you are not allowed." the lady insisted.

"Why can't we? We are her parents! We have the right to visit her!" said Eunji raising her voice as she was slowly losing her temper.

"Eunji-ya..." said Chorong as she pulled the girl back.

"Only those who are given the special permission cards by the superiors are allowed into the facility. No one else is allowed unless you are a researcher."

"Wow, look at this bull. It's so obvious you guys are hiding something in there that you don't want us to know." mumbled Eunji as she clenched her fists as if she was about to break the door.

"Eunji-ya!" said Chorong as she grabbed Eunji's arm tightly and held her from doing anything more. "Sorry. We did not know about such rules. Sorry for creating a ruckus." she continued while forcing Eunji to bow as she too, did the same before leaving the facility.

Heading outside as the night sky decorated the area, it was obvious that her partner was boiling. It just didn't make sense and was far too suspcious.

"Unnie. They're hiding something from us all along. We've been tricked into a lie! Hayoung isn't going to trained in that stupid facility. She isn't going to get good food or even get a home in there! She's being used by those weird scientists for god know's what!" said Eunji letting out everything.

"I know Eunji-ya. I know. Listen, you have to calm down first. You can't act recklessly like this." said Chorong calmly as she cupped her hands onto Eunji's face and looked at her straight in the eye. It was the only method to settle her boiling blood.

"Then what? We have to save Hayoung from that place." said Eunji as she took a deep breath.

"I have a plan." the girl said while holding Eunji's hands carefully. "But we have to be ready for the consequences."

"As long as I'm with unnie, there's nothing for me to be scared of." said Eunji as she grabbed her hand back with much warmth and a gentle smile.

"I knew you would say that." Chorong said with a chuckle, never getting used to her partner's cheesy ways of saying things. It always the reason why her heart would skip a beat at times. Perhaps, that's how she fell in love, to think that this young, wild girl in front of her belongs to her heart now.

~X~

After being unable to gain access to the facility where Hayoung was located, the girls headed back to their office as planned. It was only normal for the agents to hand in their completed mission after a trip to the warehouse as well as reporting those, whom they have killed in their hands. Originally, this was their last mission and the duo agreed to finally resign from their job after nearly 5 years of working together. It was difficult to keep up despite being the most experienced agents in the team.

Clearing , Eunji took the first step and knocked the door two times, before hearing her boss saying the magic words "Come in." Taking one glance at Chorong, the two nodded and opened the door. The plan was finally set and they knew, this was a bad idea. Yet, they had no choice. They had to do this for her. For, Hayoung.

"I'm glad to see the two of you unharmed and safe. Please report what you have found at the warehouse." said the man who seemed delighted to see the female agents enter his office. Without him noticing, Chorong secretly locked the door tight to make sure no one else could enter from the outside.

"Yes sir. The culprits were spies as they had possession of many copied documents stolen directly from the research facility. Things like passwords, military research notes were all destroyed just as said." said Eunji as she stood straight and placed her hands in front of her politely.

"Good. It would be bad if they got hold of those. As promised, this marks the final mission for the two of you. It's a pity to see such talented agents leave when you two have still, so much potential at your age." the man said with a sigh.

"Apologies sir, it's just like that." said Chorong as she bowed.

"Well of course, you should wary that leaving this agency means that you have to pretend that none of this ever happened. I am aware that you have seen how this whole thing works, the things that the government do behind the scenes, you have to keep it a secret from the public. Otherwise, it will be quite a hassle y'know?"

"Yes, we have understood the terms and conditions upon signing the contract five years ago sir." said Chorong.

"But let me make sure of one thing." said the man as he looked up. "You didn't read any of the documents did you?"

"No sir." said Eunji without hesitation. Chorong glanced at her, while maintaining a normal expression.

"Good. Hold on while I get your contracts." said the man as he searched through his drawers and took out a file.

"However sir, there's something that I would like to ask of you out of respect since we might not see each other again..." said Eunji carefully as she sneakily moved her hand behind her back, taking something out that was hidden in a pocket.

"What is it?" the man asked cluelessly.

It was at that moment, Eunji took out her gun and pointed it directly at him while Chorong too, did the same.

"What do you think you're doing?! Have you two gone mad?!" said the man absolutely flustered by the whole situation.

"Maybe we are sir. We've gone mad at how sick this whole thing is being run." said Eunji as her eyes flamed with anger.

"And don't worry, your bodyguards won't even know what happened. The door is locked, you can't run sir." said Chorong.

"If it's money that you want, take it all. If it's about military secrets, you might as well kill me here." said the man, obviously well-trained by the government force to prepare himself in situations like these.

"Oh, it's none of that sir. I mean, Mr. Choi Jin Ho. It's a rather, very simple request." said Eunji with a smirk.

"It's about Hayoung." she continued, while loading her gun with a loud click.

[END OF CHAPTER 4]

A/N: The parents finally realised their feelings for each other but will things go their way? Do share your thoughts of this chapter and I will update soon! Thank you for reading and subscribing!