CHAPTER 2 | SUB-ZERO

IRIS RECOGNITION SCAN COMPLETE.

WELCOME TO SUB ZERO, LEE SUNGYEOL.

“You know,” Sungyeol began as he stepped in the conference room, “I will always be fascinated by that little thing over there. Brilliant idea, Sungjong-ah! Absolutely brilliant!”

“Not like it doesn’t recognize your own pupil, oppa,” Jiae commented.

Sungyeol turned to her, blinking before he took his seat on the right of the leather chair at the head of the table that was currently preoccupied by Son Hanbyul who seemed to be deep in thought. She had a small plaster on the apple of her right cheek but it did not seem to affect her for she casually replied to Sungyeol by brushing it off as a mere scratch.

Sungjong, who had his legs pulled up to his chest and was fiddling lazily with one of the mini GPS devices in his hands, yawned a little and stretched before he sat up properly. “I couldn’t close one eye last night. I kept dreaming of that man coming after us.”

“Relax,” Jiae smiled across the table to the youngest, “unnie assured us all he won’t even lay a finger on us.” She turned to Hanbyul who tossed a plastic folder on the table. “Right unnie?”

“Right,” Hanbyul nodded then checked the watch clasped around her wrist. “Where’s Myungsoo?”

“He woke up late,” Soojung replied with a chuckle. “Slept in the medical room throughout the whole of last night for a very odd reason. Not even Sungyeol agreed to the nurse when she suggested he stays for the night. He went right up to his room but I suppose Myungsoo just-“

“I’m here.”

The five people at the table looked towards the entrance of the conference room: there stood Kim Myungsoo dressed in a dark tracksuit with designs on each side; like every morning, he was not wearing any eyeliner or makeup of any sort and like usual, Myungsoo shined in his beautiful glory. He walked to sit opposite Sungyeol, on Hanbyul’s right. The door slid shut and the six people were sat in silence for a few seconds.

A clock behind Hanbyul ten o’clock in the morning but the few people at the table were drowned in silence, the only sound behind that of occasional paper flicking or the ticking seconds of the clock. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Hanbyul leaned back in her seat and rubbed her eyes tiredly.

“I won’t drag it on for long and I will cut right to the chase, it’s really not worth the lecture I planned on setting beforehand,” she explained. “I don’t think you guys are in the mood either and I think it’s best if we finish this as soon as possible so we can all catch up with some rest.”

“And the folder?” Sungjong asked as he inched forward a little. “Are you going to tell us about its importance now?”

Hanbyul nodded. “I think everything will link in fairly well, I’d say.” She heaved a deep breath she did not realize she was holding then continued. “I don’t know if any of you checked your pagers for updates but I forwarded an article to all of you. We created quite the ruckus within the headquarters of Com-Vinculum last night and unsurprisingly, the press found out about it.”

“WHAT?!” Sungyeol shrieked.

“Relax,” Hanbyul held her hand up to silence a frantic Sungyeol. “Mr. Choi was rather sly and managed to make it look like a false alarm. Of course, he would try to cover up something like this or the National Intelligence Services would publicly put him and his billion status at risk. He, of all people, would not like that. I can’t guarantee he won’t be on our tail but I’d say we’re pretty safe. The N.I.S guaranteed our safety.”

“Oh, but Hanbyul...” Sungyeol sighed, “you can’t rely fully on N.I.S...”

Hanbyul smiled. “I’ll put my life on the line and promise you, Sungyeol-ah, that we are more than safe. Choi’s little bodyguards won’t ever find us here.”

“Sub-Zero’s pretty safe,” Myungsoo agreed at once. “Base one is the safest of the lot considering we don’t hold anything in base one apart from some hi-tech developments but even so, it could be considered as extra safety regulators. We’re good.”

“I took the liberty of running a radar scan along the perimeter when we arrived last night and nothing or no one seemed to be following us,” Sungjong agreed and by his side, Jiae immediately nodded.

Feeling reasonably defeated and outvoted in his cry for safety, Sungyeol nodded half heartedly but it was pretty obvious to see he was not going to let the issue go for a while. Nonetheless, he held back his little questioning session, allowing Hanbyul to continue.

“We do have to complete a statement, as you all know, and hand it back at once to the director of the N.I.S but I’m already half way down completing it. I just need completed reports to attach to this regarding the checking of the arms used as well as the gadgets- you know, typical old story.”

Soojung rolled her eyes. “I don’t see why they’re so bureaucratic... I’m pretty sure a simple video call or visit will do the job.”

“Tell me about it...” Sungjong muttered as he rested his head on the table.

“So regarding the manila folder...” Hanbyul trailed on, her eyes glancing down at the folder before her and everyone perked up in curiosity. “We did a good job, thank you very much for the hard work, everyone.”

“But?” Myungsoo pressed. “I can sense a but in there.”

“You sensed well,” Hanbyul nodded with no trace of amusement on her features. “But every bit of the information presented in this folder is completely encrypted.”

“So there’s nothing helpful in there?” Jiae asked with a small pout.

Opening the folder, a single card paper lay turned upside down. With another sigh, a defeated one if not, Hanbyul held it out to the group, sliding it to the middle of the table. She gave the five some time to analyse it but they were done within seconds.

“But...” Sungjong scratched the back of his head. “I don’t understand... The information is of absolutely of no help...”

“Information?” Soojung snorted. “Please. If only there was some information in this thing! Don’t tell me we have to return back to N.I.S with this, Byul!”

“Even if we were to return it, the case will still be ours. Sub-Zero have been employed by the N.I.S to stabilize the nation’s security and dig out what they think will be a new opposition,” the leader, Hanbyul, replied. “Which is why I think we need some help... Sitting here and staring at this trash won’t do anything considering there is an infinite amount of options to fill in the blanks.” Upon taking notice of their confused expression as well as Myungsoo’s inquiring raised eyebrow, Hanbyul leaned back and mentally barricaded herself from the uproar that was to erupt. “We need to merge with Woollim. It’s our only way of completing this.”

“Excuse me, what?” Sungyeol coughed. “I don’t think I heard you well. Did you just-“

“A merge with Woollim is a big no, I’m sorry,” Myungsoo frowned.

“They’re competing with us. They hate us!” Soojung argued.

With a sigh, Hanbyul quietly fought back, “they don’t hate us...”

“Yes, they do!” Sungjong gasped. “Before you know it, they’ll have us all at gun point when we’re done with everything or worse, kill us when we’re not looking. Those are sly people, Byul noona, snakes.”

But the Sub-Zero group members were not in for listening to an explanation and the roots of the potential merge was left forgotten as debates across the table burst; factors ranging from how they could get killed to how badly their living conditions would deteriorate, they were not listening and not one of them paid any attention to the growing impatience of Hanbyul. The group leader sat silent in her seat, leaning back and rubbing at her temples, a growing throb pestering her head making it unable for her to think straight.

The feud between Sub-Zero and Woollim was nothing new and more or less, the reaction from her fellow team members was expected. However, she did think they would take into account the amount of connections and money Woollim have compared to them; as much as she, herself, hated to admit it, Sub-Zero needed Woollim. And Woollim, as admitted by their CEO the night prior, needed Sub-Zero. Simply because they were capable of doing something an agency as big as them could not do- how awfully shameful and what a laughing cause it was for Hanbyul...

It seemed, however, Hanbyul was underestimating Sub-Zero’s pride.

“No,” Sungyeol concluded as he violently leaned back in the seat, crossing his arms. “I refuse to merge with them.”

“Me too,” Jiae and Soojung chorused as Myungsoo and Sungjong fell silent.

“Well, really?” Hanbyul hissed, her anger boiling up at once. “Good luck to you deciphering this piece of crap. Have fun reporting this back to the N.I.S and not being able to step foot in public-“

“I doubt my reputation will be damaged,” Sungyeol cut through. “I’m second in command, for heaven’s sake, I should have a say in this!”

“Then have your say. How do we, Lee Sungyeol, decipher where the hell whatever piece of documentation is mentioned in this paper without enough people and without good worldwide connections?” Hanbyul challenged but smirked as the only reply was silence. “Exactly.” And with that, she pushed up from her seat and stalked off towards the door. “When anyone’s willing to use their common sense, come talk to me. Until then, I suggest you all step back and rethink this whole mess out.” Tucking the folder under her arm, she allowed her eye to be scanned and walked out of the now silent conference room.

*

The room was large and absolutely empty except for a few mats messily sprawled on the wooden floor. The lights flickered on and the fragrant smell of vanilla sticks welcomed her as she stepped inside, allowing the door to softly close behind her. With each step she took towards the very back doors at the other side of the tall, wide room, a squeaking sound echoed but it did not disturb her. Unlocking the set of French doors opening to the garden of the house, she sat on the concrete steps and looked out at nothing in particular.

Unproductively, Son Hanbyul had spent the rest of her day sleeping away the sudden frustration gained throughout the short meeting; in fact, she had used sleep as a mere escape but even as she slept, her dreams themselves were vague and with plenty of missing pieces to complete them. Unconsciously, her hand slithered to the pocket of her hooded jacket and she pulled out the folded copy of the document they had retrieved with quite a hassle.

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

 secret location underground where the  ___

was placed. The second piece reveals the

___________________________________________

Upon the opening of the ___________________

second phase begins. P. N. S. B. __________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

....

___________________________________________

ELIMINATION.

Secret location... Second piece... Second phase... P.N.S.B... Elimination.

Filling in blanks was never Hanbyul’s speciality which is why she had Myungsoo. His quiet demeanour and stunning looks were always of help whenever extraction of information was needed because Myungsoo was simply good at manipulation. And if Myungsoo’s cover was ever blown, Sungyeol was there to resolve it.

Lee Sungyeol’s extended knowledge of all sorts of weaponry had made him a valuable member of the team simply because behind all of his in-house charades and lively personality, a genius was hidden with enough skill of telling apart even the most similar bullets. He was, largely speaking, the key to their life for Sungyeol’s expertise in weaponry meant every mission was successfully escaped. And if the bullets ran out or the guns were kicked out of their hands, Sungjong was there to lead them even from the furthers of places.

Sungjong, although young and painfully feminine, was the mastermind that truly proved human brains were faster than computers; but Sungjong’s brains and the computer’s motherboard always worked hand in hand for he was so passionate about technology and gadgets. It took him a mere forty eight hours without sleep to break into N.I.S’s documents to prove them Sub-Zero were the perfect candidate for this particular job.

And then there was their valuable tag team made up of Jiae and Soojung who always worked hand in hand, a bit like twins. Though they were still partaking in missions, they were largely involved in training long hours in order to participate in anything that was classed as “life threatening”. The two girls were still young but their innocence and apparent sweet looks was the future key, from what Hanbyul assumed, to reaching key figures.

Finally, there was Son Hanbyul- the Zero, the starting and centre point of Sub-Zero, hence their organization name. Skilfully trained in short range shooting, the closest Hanbyul ever got to key political figures was within mere centimetres, acting the perfect role of the decoy she was to abide to. Originally a student in Seoul’s Hanyang University, Hanbyul’s interests laid deep within the tangled, confusing world of politics which is the reason why Sub-Zero mostly took part in missions regarding the protection of the nation.

Sub-Zero were a reasonably small group with very little lime light which immediately caught the eye of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service in their latest quest of preventing a seemingly potentially damaging uprising which threatened the nation- but what they threatened the nation with and who they were was largely unknown. Which is why Woollim was Hanbyul’s only option to decipher anything in the stolen document- because as much as she adored holding on to her pride, Sub-Zero simply could not handle such a vague, broad mission all on their own. And thinking to back out was not only shameful but consequential.

“Scrunching that up is not going to be of any help.”

Looking up, Hanbyul’s eyes rested on Myungsoo as he leaned against the now closed door, his hands dug deep in the pockets of his dark material trousers.

Staring back ahead bitterly, Hanbyul shrugged but loosened her hold on the paper. “Non cooperation isn’t going to be of any help either.”

“It’s a normal reaction. You would of been the same if any of us even dared recommend such thing. Try understanding us too.”

“Try understanding me too.”

Myungsoo sighed softly and he sat down next to her, leaning back on his elbows. “Sungyeol’s still angry but I think he, at least, deserved to be consulted. If anything happens...” his voice trailed off but Hanbyul said nothing to interrupt. “...he will take over.”

“I know...” the girl muttered. “I know and I realized my mistake but I’m on a time limit too, Myungsoo-ah. Jungyeop only gave me forty eight hours to make a decision before he intervenes and demands the case. We can’t lose the amount of money put down for this, Myungsoo. We just can’t.”

“What did he say?” Myungsoo asked, curiosity bubbling in his tone. “Woollim’s CEO, what did he say?”

“113 billion won and the missing puzzle piece.”

“He has the money, no doubt, but the remaining of this... I doubt it...”

“I doubt it too,” Hanbyul admitted with a nod, “but he’s more experienced. They have access to more archives and places and people. Jungyeop knows the briefing for the case and he’s absolutely stepped on his pride by making this his fifth offer. He’s insistent.”

It fell silent then... “And in return?” Myungsoo asked. “Surely he has a gain from this.”

“Praise from the N.I.S, of course. Imagine how much they will admire us and Woollim for the joined effort. A country is a country and you know how keen they are on national security lately.” Hanbyul’s voice then trailed off as she looked at her nails then stole a glance at Myungsoo. “And something else.”

He looked at her, his dark eyes twinkling. “What else?”

“He wants his main decoy back. And he wants us to get him the moment we sign the merge.”

“His decoy?! But isn’t that...”

“The president’s son? Yes. And Woollim wants us to free him and bring him back alive.”

Myungsoo frowned and his bitter expression was an exact reflection of Hanbyul’s reaction when Jungyeop traded his idea of deals with her the previous night. It seemed outrageous that a team as unaware of the event as hers would have to bring back the president’s son but a quarter of the promised money would be given to them upon return. What seemed even more outrageous, however, was the fact that the only information Jungyeop decided to reveal was that the boy was simply “closer to home than you think” before he walked off, allowing Hanbyul to dwell and debate the issue over and over until her mental walls crashed and she fell asleep.

“You have to tell everyone,” Myungsoo advised. “Look, I’ll be on your side of the argument but you have to promise me that if anything seems out of the ordinary, we’re backing out with or without the money.”

“I promise.”

*

One hour later, the six members of Sub-Zero were picked up in three black Range Rovers with the destination as Woollim Agency. Sungyeol was still bitter so even as he sat next to Hanbyul in the back of one of the Range Rovers, he dug his earphones in and turned his iPod on. Sooner or later, however, she was pretty sure he’d turn to her and ask her to accompany him to a coffee shop as they were the only caffeine addicts.

That’s just how the Sub-Zero first and second in command leaders worked.

***

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in this chapter but I'm pretty busy with college now and upcoming exams; I kept confusing myself throughout the chapter so I had to refer back to my notes, particularly for the set up of the "document" and its hidden words. I hope I haven't confused everyone but more will- obviously- be revealed regarding Woollim, Sub-Zero, the mission and of course, the President's son! I promise Woohyun and the rest of the boys will make an appereance very, very soon- most probably in the next chapter. :) Thank you for reading & don't forget to leave some feedback as it is much appreciated!