"What the hell are you thinking?!"

Two men sit across from one another at a short wooden table. Both are nearing their golden years. One is stocky with the king's golden, five-toed dragon shimmering luxuriously on his chest in the candlelight. The other is slimmer, more lean, but no less imposing. The clothing he wears clearly displays his noble status, but the way he speaks to the king betrays a much more sinister back story.

"I-I'm sorry...I'll get the money to you immediately."

"You think this is about money?!"

The mystery man slams down his clay cup with enough force to send a large crack up the side. Soju trickles out of the cup in thin streams.

"You're an idiot. A spineless, worthless idiot. It's a wonder how I managed to get you on the throne," the man mutters, drying his hand on a cloth.

"I'm sorry. I will fulfill my promise. I just...right now it isn't possible. Please!"

And in a scene that commoners and court officials alike would recoil at, the king kowtows to the mystery man. But the man isn't taking it.

"No, I don't think it'll ever be possible." The man stands, brushing dust off of his hanbok. "I've fulfilled my end of the bargain, but it's clear now that you will never fulfill yours."

"No! Please!"

The king grovels at the man's feet,  tears mixing with mucus on his face.

"How disgusting."

The man coldly kicks the king away and roughly yanks the sliding door open. Moonlight enters into the room through the open doorway.

"You'll hear from me soon enough."

The city bustles with excitement. It's midday, meaning that farmers from surrounding villages have arrived in order to sell their wares, and city locals have come out to buy them. Despite an increased military presence over the past few weeks, the market is abuzz. People push past one another, too preoccupied with their own business to see what's around them. It is this teeming atmosphere that lends an outsider the perfect camouflage.

There are hundreds of orphans and vagabonds in the city every day. Most go nameless, and all are overlooked by the blind eye of society. And yet, they are everywhere and see everything. For any infiltrator, they are a vital network of information.

A figure slinks down streets and alleyways. To the wandering eye, she is faceless and nameless. Exactly how it should be.

"Buy something or scram."

Chaerin looks up at the owner of the stall she'd paused in front of moments before.

"Go on, now! You're scaring my customers away."

She frowns but continues on down the street. Certain people definitely need a little discipline, but she can't risk blowing her cover immediately after entering Hanseong. It'd be a rookie mistake that could put the entire mission in jeopardy. And as her landmark twenty-fifth mission, Chaerin wants this one to go smoothly.

Take a left here, keep going for a while, then a right and another left, and....is this it?

She stands in a narrow back alley - the kind that goes unnoticed and unknown to most. Before her is a small, unimposing wooden door. It certainly seems like the right place...

Without knocking, she pulls a small key out of her sleeve and unlocks the door.

"Hello?"

Chaerin steps into a small, dark room. A thin pillar of light leaks into the room from the open doorway. Empty shelves line the walls, and in the middle of the room sits a stout table. The room itself resembles a cellar, with no windows and only one visible exit. A scattering of candles are the only source of light in the room.

Closing the door behind her, she quickly secures the area before getting started on her orders. As the first to arrive, it is her duty to establish base camp for the others. They'll have a hard enough time forming a convincing cover.

Chaerin walks in circles around the room. The wooden planks creak under each step. Suddenly, she drops to the ground, pushing aside a threadbare rug to reveal the oaken planks beneath. Moments later, she extracts a scroll from underneath the floorboards.

Inside are her instructions for the next month. A month until the next agent would arrive on the field. A month to gain as much intel as possible on the area.

"Ugh, they should've sent Byun to set up," she grumbles, pulling a mishmash of objects out of her sleeves - rope, paper, brush, ink, a handful of coins, a partially eaten kimchi pancake, a bottle gourd, and finally, a map. Rolling out the map, she begins to mix ink using water from the gourd.

To be honest, Chaerin hates being the one to lay the groundwork. Too many logistics, not enough action. Unfortunately, years of training and successful missions have made her an ideal candidate for the job.

But enemy infiltration is way cooler.

Moonlight streams into the empty hall, dampened only by the thin sheets of rice paper covering the windows. Gilt shimmers brilliantly in the dim lighting. The hall is still, the only sounds coming from outside. The rustle of leaves in the wind. The calls of nocturnal creatures. All of the makings for a calm night.

It's anything but.

The main doors pound open with a loud boom. A harried eunuch stumbles into the empty room, the rustle of his silken robes echoing throughout the hall. With one hand, he holds onto his hat, and with the other, he tightly grips a thick scroll. He scurries down hallways and past countless closed doors. He navigates the winding corridors with ease, finally coming to a stop before a set of sliding doors, flanked by two armed guards.

"What business do you have?"

"A message...for the king," the man gasps, panting heavily.

"His majesty is resting. You'd be better off coming back in the morning," the guard states.

"This can't wait. Announce my arrival, or blood will be on your hands."

The two guards glance at one another hesitantly.

"Your majesty, Kim Taekseon requests an audience. He claims it to be a matter of utmost importance."

There is a pause, during which the eunuch readjusts his clothing in an attempt to look presentable to the highest power in the country.

"Enter."

The guards slide open the doors for the eunuch to step inside.

"Your highness."

Immediately upon stepping into the room, the eunuch falls to his knees in a deep bow.

"I apologize for the lateness of my arrival, your majesty. I just received this urgent message."

"Bring it to me."

Head bowed, the eunuch humbly shuffles over and passes the scroll to the king. With the attitude of a man born and bred to rule a nation, the king unrolls the scroll and began to read. His grip visibly tightens as he proceeds to scan the paper. Once he finishes, he slowly sets the scroll down onto the small table in front of him.

"Your highness..."

The king averts his eyes from the scroll and to the eunuch.

"Summon the guards."

What? Is this-is this the teaser? Wow, that took long enough! x) Sorry for the delay, but this is the first teaser (written by sweeteri, so please excuse my bad writing). I wasn't sure what to write, so sorry if you think it . Haha, anyways, I hope I didn't screw up the first teaser too badly. :T