"Nothing in this world comes to us easily. We work hard for what we want. I speak now as your new Chief-of-Staff but I speak only from experience. I did not take this position by force. I agreed to this position knowing I will be responsible for all of you. I look forward to seeing everyone work hard and achieve only the best. We are South Korea's most elite and I am proud to be serving with you as your newest leader."

We all applaud to the speech made by our new Chief-of-Staff Ahn Jaewook. He has been in the NIS for about 15 years. He was stationed in Japan but was offered to come back here ever since the position suddenly became open. The new chief, who is standing on stage, salutes everyone. We all salute in unison. I'm lined up in the last row together with my fellow rookies. The rank 1 agents are in front of us and rank 2 agents in front of them. In the very front is our NIS Head Choi Minsik. I scan the entire auditorium and I am half-intimidated and half-proud. I'm working with this amazing people. 

Lee Seunghyun of the Foreign Investigations Team was able to solve the case on smuggled found in a fish market in China. He used his wide network of connections to track down one of the dealers.

Partners Yoon Bora and Kim Yukwon were able to track down a prisoner who escaped to Vietnam. The prisoner was a North Korean refugee who was assigned to introduce nuclear weapons to potential buyers. Because of the partners' excellent teamwork, they tracked him down before any transaction was made. 

And then there's Bang Yongguk, my own partner. He was able to find me in a warehouse in Busan where I was captured. He saved me and even killed the leader of the operation, our former chief-of-staff, Kim Byeong-ok. 

Although Bang Yongguk can be a pain in the , he is a brilliant man. I don't give him enough credit for what he's done. He received a medal of honor. I think he deserves it. A lot of us do. Okay, maybe not everyone. There are some people who are extremely jealous over others' achievements. Okay fine, it's not some people but just one person by the name of Kim Sungkyu. He gets annoyed by anyone that successfully closes a case. But whenever he starts bragging about his own closed cases, we all roll our eyes. He's just a show-off. 

"Back to your stations, everyone!"

We all leave the auditorium and walk back to our respective floors and departments. As I head towards the elevator, I feel someone put their arm around my shoulder. When I turn my head, it's Bang Yongguk.

"Where are you headed?" he asks me.

"I'm going downstairs. I have to get the findings from Gina. Our case isn't over yet. We still need to locate Jeon Nomin and Gina might have a lead."

"Don't you want to eat with me?"

"Huh? Why think of food at a time like this?"

"Everyone has to eat some time! We're not robots, Himchan-ah!"

Whenever he uses casual speech to me, I imagine me throwing a baseball at his head and then the bat to follow. 

"Bang Yongguk," a third voice comes in. 

We look to see who it is and it's our new chief. We both bow out of respect.

"Yes, sir, what can I do for you?" Yongguk asks.

"I need to speak with you."

"What about, sir?"

"It's a private matter. Please join me."

Ahn Jaewook walks away and Yongguk looks at me before leaving and says, "Rain check on our lunch date." He winks at me. I punch him on the shoulder and he laughs as he walks away. There is a ding and the elevator doors open. I enter it and others as well. Some people are staring at me. Why? Is there something on my face? When I see my reflection in the mirror and don't notice anything out of the ordinary, I realize that maybe they heard Yongguk say the word 'date'. Will people start talking about this? Will there be rumors flying around?

Oh no... this isn't going to happen again, is it?

To be continued...

➳➳➳➳➳

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Here is the start of ARC 2! There is a new chief, there is a reintroduction of other NIS agents. Gina is going to appear frequently. She is helping Himchan and Yongguk with their case so she'll be around a lot. What do you think the new chief is going to talk about with Yongguk? And what does Himchan mean by "again"? 

Don't forget ! ONCE is the sequel to my first story A.R.M.Y - BangHim. Go and read it ! 

SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL MY UPVOTERS ! YOU DESERVE LOTS OF LOVE <3 I'll be doing a special mention to new upvoters in each chapter. ^_^ If you upvote, it must mean you like my story. I appreciate the love so I give it all back *hugs*

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