“…”

Hae Ri woke up to a low voice grumbling something.

“Pabo¹, pabo, pabo…”

She opened her eyes and saw a familiar face towering over her. Chanyeol’s face was serious but the things that he was muttering were far from serious. She cringed upon seeing his face so close to hers and she awkwardly turned to the side, trying to find out where this place was and how did she get here.

White walls, white furniture and irritatingly bright white fluorescent lights.

“We are in the infirmary, and you, PABO, forgot to take your iron pills again,” Chanyeol announced as he stood over the bed, wiggling a bottle of dark red pills in his hand with a disapproving expression.

Hae Ri clutched her head and sighed,

“Oh right…”

Hae Ri had been diagnosed to be anaemic, a fatal flaw for one of the best agents in the NSA. She has to take her iron pills regularly to provide her body with sufficient iron. However, 5 days in the dungeon with no access to her iron pills had obviously taken a toll on her body and it did not help that…

“Who goes to the garden immediately upon release from confinement?! Obviously you’ll go and wash up, apply medication for your bruises and TAKE YOUR IRON PILLS,” Chanyeol continued to nag.

“Mother Nature doesn’t mind me being dirty and rundown,” Hae Ri retorted.

“Yeah yeah, you and your plants, Nature Girl,” Chanyeol mumbled as he finally sat down on the chair beside the bed.

Chanyeol had never been a fan of greenery. Sure, he is bonded to Nature but not in the same way as Hae Ri. He had always felt an affinity towards fire, an element of Nature. He would choose to stay cooped up in his dormitory with a book he secretly borrowed from the forbidden library, poring over fire spells than spend the day in the garden. This is how he endearingly earned the nickname ‘Fire Boy’ from Hae Ri.

“Hey Fire Boy…” she started as she noticed the look of upset and worry on his face.

She reached out and patted him lightly on the back of his hand. She had always been awkward with affection but she felt really uncomfortable with Chanyeol possibly being mad at her. Appa² always told her that ‘touch’ was one of the best ways to convey feelings. Carefully, she laid her small hand on his big one. Chanyeol slowly turned around, waiting for her to finish her sentence. She struggled with her words and finally decided on an apology.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I’m not angry with you…” he began, turning her hand over and gripping it tightly, as if to emphasise his point.

“I just want you to take better care of yourself.”

She nodded slowly and there was a moment of silence. She did not really know what to say and the most baffling part of it all was the fact that Chanyeol was actually holding her hand. Her heart started to leap in her chest as he gazed straight into her eyes. She held his gaze, feeling herself drown in his warm large eyes.

However, the beautiful moment was interrupted shortly.

An agent appeared out of nowhere and cleared his throat. Chanyeol released Hae Ri’s hand immediately and she slipped back into her cold demeanour – the way she carries herself in front of anyone else apart from her partner because in NSA, there are only the ones that you can definitely trust and the ones that you better not try to trust.

“Chief brings word that after Agent 104 gets enough rest, he would like to meet the both of you at 1700 hours,” the agent reported.

After she was left alone, Hae Ri fell into a deep sleep…

It was a bright and sunny day. There were 2 teenagers in sight. A girl with long straight black hair was sitting beside a tall boy with big eyes on a large rock by a river. Hae Ri was too far away to hear what they were saying but she could see that both of them were really happy. The girl was smiling one of her rare smiles and the boy had his brightest smile on. As Hae Ri walked closer, she caught snippets of their conversation.

“There is no room for romance in my life…There is a duty that I have to fulfil,” the boy stated while looking ahead of him as if he could see the very duty he has and the honour of fulfilling such a responsibility.

However, he was simply making sure that he did not turn around to see the girl’s expression upon hearing his words.

The girl tried to maintain her smile but the more force she exerted on her lips, the more it looked like a frown. Up till now Hae Ri could still hear what the girl was chanting in her head.

Hae Ri and Chanyeol strode down the corridor, fresh and neatly dressed in their uniforms. The agents they passed by greeted them with respect. Hae Ri nodded at them coldly whereas Chanyeol grinned at them. The agents in NSA have always wondered how two people of such different personalities could work so well together. There was no doubt that they were the best pair in NSA. Even after their recent slip-up which may be perceived as incapability by some government officials, the agents in NSA knew that there would have been worse repercussions if the duo had not managed to escape the garage and they respected the duo’s decision to use magic. Furthermore, not everyone has the capability to use and control magic and the fact that the duo could do so just makes them all the more superior.

*Knock Knock*

“Come in.”

“Good evening sir,” the duo greeted in sync.

The Chief looked up from the various documents sprawled on his desk and nodded at his two most trusted agents.

“Well, Agent 104 and Agent 105, I was supposed to give the both of you a post-punishment lecture…” the Chief began.

When he spoke the word ‘punishment’, the 2 agents caught a glint of concern in his dark eyes and to them that was enough comfort. To be an agent was to be strong, they did not need someone to their wounds and ask if they were alright, they had undergone conditions that were worse in their training.

“…but I will just skip that and proceed on to the real business. I hope that the both of you are well-rested because I have a very important mission for the both of you. Failing is not an option.”

¹Pabo = Idiot/fool

²Appa = Father

Omgggg, Chanyeol has black eyes NOT brown eyes LOL. This author-nim wasn't thinking straight and just made the changes!