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III. THE TIME BEFORE (PT. 1)

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Siren Chaeri.

The first time Taehyung had met her had been at the rebel army hidden headquarters. She had sauntered through headquarters looking out of place with her wide smile and a hop in her steps with the ever-stern commander Kim Namjoon showing her around. To say she had immediately captivated nearly the entire intelligence agency was an understatement.

She was pretty.

Taehyung might have been brash at times but he wasn’t daft enough to deny it. He had been 18 at the time and she had been 16. It was normal for the teenage boy to think another girl was pretty.

Though pretty may have been an understatement.

Beautiful was more correct when it came to Chaeri. She had long, wavy chestnut hair combined with a petite frame and a cute smile that contrasted with her mischievous, flirty gaze.

There was a reason the Government found her a major threat other than her magical skill. It was her entire being combined with that magical skill that made her a potent threat. The way she smiled, the way she laughed, the way she attracted everyone to her without even trying.

That was her biggest weapon.

“I’m Chaeri,” she had said. Her eyes were so expressive, it made it hard for him to look away.

“Taehyung,” he replied. It had been a short introduction. He didn’t know what else to say to the new fascinating girl that had seemingly made herself at home in headquarters in the few days that she had arrived.

Siren. It was a befitting title the Government had bestowed on her when she had made it into their black list of rebel criminals. Dangerous creatures who lured men of the sea to their death with their enchanting voices.

“Ehh? The infamous fire user? Nice to meet you, hot stuff.”

And Taehyung swore she would be the death of him.

All their first meeting consisted of were minor introductions. Words barely exchanged yet he already knew she would be a handful.

“So little Boss, where do you want me next?” She shifted her attention to Namjoon, whose eyebrow twitched at the title.

“You’re headed to the Summer Archipelago and Yoongi will meet you there,” he ordered.

“Ehhh,” she pouted, crossing her arms. “Why can’t Jin be there instead? For a guy whose code name is Suga, he’s so mean.”

“Just go without complaining, will you?” Namjoon said exasperatedly.

Taehyung noticed how fondly Namjoon spoke to her even through his frustration and he wondered how she got the strictest commander to break.

“Really,” she huffed, “You and Yoongi need to learn to smile more. How are you ever going to get a girlfriend! You’re going to be alone for the rest of your life if you can’t turn that frown upside down.”

Namjoon clicked his tongue. “You’re rambling, Chaeri. Something wrong?”

Chaeri clasped her hands behind her back and gave him an innocent smile. “Nope,” she replied, popping the ‘p’. “Just being annoying as per usual.”

Taehyung stifled a laugh and Namjoon’s annoyed façade broke as a small sigh escaped with the curl of his lips. “Get going.”

“Aye aye, little Boss.” She saluted before turning to Taehyung. The wink she gave him caught him off guard and she smiled. “See you around, hot stuff.”

Taehyung sputtered and Namjoon let out a snort of amusement at his reaction.

Their first encounter had been nothing extraordinary. A fleeting instance.

Over the next few years, they had become somewhat friends. The four of them—him, Yuna, Chaeri and Jimin. They were the most distant amongst their small group of four, greetings in passing and short phone calls when she reported to him for missions ever since he had gained more authority in the rebel army and infamous notoriety amongst the Government in the past years.

Why were they the most distant?

She annoyed him.

It wasn’t how he expected to feel about the girl when he first saw her at headquarters that fateful day but boy, did she know how to push all the right buttons to make him lose his patience. Taehyung prided himself in being a patient man and for treating women with kindness and care. But with her, his patience ran thin and he snapped.

Every day she would say something that would grate his nerves and he would give her a hard, firm flick to the forehead, sending her reeling backwards. He had worried once if he was giving her brain damage but when she came back full force with sass and snarky comments, he ruled that out.

had no filter. Anything that came to her mind, came out of . Brutal honesty is what some would call it, though annoying is what he called it.

“Hey hot stuff, did ya miss me?” She would say every time she came back to headquarters after a mission.

Taehyung flicked her forehead with his strong fingers and she stumbled back, holding her head in pain. He heard a string of threats