(3)

"She's chaos."

The sound of the wind blowing filled the boys’ ears. The cherry blossoms had started to bloom. It was that time of the year again. Namjoon, who was known as the ‘poetic one’ in the group, sighed dreamily. Spring had finally come. Stretching his arms and placing them behind his head, the said boy began skipping. “We can finally rest-” he began to cheer, but was cut off when Jungkook spoke. “Shush. I think I heard something,” he said, making everyone stop in their tracks. They looked around and frowned. Yoongi quickly brushed it off when they failed to see or hear any suspicious movement. “That’s just a squirrel, Kookie. Walk faster, will ya? I miss my bed,” he said while looking at the younger, his face utterly emotionless. However, just minutes after they continued to walk, a loud hustling was heard, causing Jimin to stop at his tracks. “Guys, I think Jungkook’s right. And, I don’t think a squirrel is big enough to be able to make that kind of sound.” The boys became wary after hearing him. They scanned the area once more but this time remaining more careful and alert. Seconds passed with nothing but the sound of the wind, so their heartbeats began to rest easy once more. “Let’s hurry home,” the leader said and everyone followed.

“I can see our house. Just a few more steps and we’re safe!” Hoseok grinned and dashed on his way towards their house when all of a sudden, a girl came out of nowhere, which caused him to a sudden halt, almost bumping the girl. “Everyone, take a few steps back,” she yelled. Not knowing how to react, the boys unconsciously followed her command. They counted each second that passed, unconsciously holding their breaths. Then, it came. A loud booming sound filled the whole neighborhood and the boys watched in horror as their house get blown up. Too many things happened in just a minute that they find it hard to process everything. And to top it all, that strange savior, who they now recognized as Astraea, had came out of nowhere and saved their lives. They don’t know what to feel when their house was blown into a few pieces of burning wood and the debris of leaking faucet. The boys stood there, seemingly processing what and why it happened. They weren’t a bunch of gangsters that have a huge debt or an angry mob chasing after their tails, except Jungkook. That kid has tons of insecure men wanting him dead. Their group might come off as a bit arrogant, yes, but that’s it. They don’t get into a fight with people, it’s the people that wants to get into a fight with them. But still, they’ve never done anything bad for something like this to befall. “What just happened?” Namjoon finally spoke. Astraea raised a brow and faced him, “What do you think happened?” He sighed and rubbed his nape. “I- no, that’s not what I meant. Why-… who did this?” he asked, frustration written all over his face. “We’re still in the process of investigating. For now, I have to get you to somewhere safe,” she said. They looked at her, discombobulated. “And why should we trust you?” Jin finally questioned. Astraea fished out her phone and mindlessly dialed a number, ignoring Jin’s question.

“We’re ready.”

“Okay. I’m on my way.”

She scanned the boys from head to toe. Jungkook did the same and it pissed her off, causing her to create scenarios of killing him inside her head. Astraea’s eye twitched. This isn’t the right time to be thinking about smething like that. They’re her new subjects whether she liked it or not. Just then, a car stopped in front of them and she instructed the boys to get in, opening the door for them. BTS glanced at each other. She's basically a stranger and these boys won't trust her easily. However, their lives appear to be at stake right now. Should they trust her and solve this fiasco on their own? After seeing Astraea sit at the passenger seat, Namjoon leaned in and whispered, “As soon as the car stops, we run.”

A few minutes later, the car stopped in front of a building located at the heart of Seoul. The boys exchanged knowing looks and prepared themselves for their escape but unfortunately, all doors can’t be unlocked. She knew. Ugh. "Where are we?" asked Seokjin. The boys looked outside the car windows and gulped at the sight in front of them. This is... "Daehan Group's Seoul Branch," she stated. They've always dreamed of joining this company after they graduated. “What do you guys think?” Jin asked,  observing his friends’ reactions. “I think we should solve this on our own. We don’t need their help.” Jungkook answered, arms crossed in front of his chest. He got reminded of the time he met Astraea inside the walls of this very building. Jimin and Taehyung nodded, acknowledging what the youngest had said. Can they trust Astraea knowing what she’s capable of? But if they said no, she might kill them any minute. Even though they’re confident with the skills that they have, they know that they’re not on par with her. They looked at it each other, sending knowing looks as the medium of their discussion. Namjoon nodded his head at Astraea and she opened the door for them. She motioned them to stop and face her. “Hi, I’m Astraea and starting today, you’re all under my control. This is all for your safety so if you want to die early, you can leave now.” The tone of her voice was so cold and sharp that they couldn’t help but gulp and oblige to her. All of them hoped they wouldn’t regret this.

“Room 601 will be Taehyung and Jin’s room,” she said as she opened a door bearing the said number. Seeing the mentioned two nodding, she proceeded to the next room. “602 will be Hoseok and Namjoon’s room.” she continued, “603 will be Yoongi and Jimin’s. And lastly… 604 will be Jungkook’s. Are we clear?” They nodded and were about to enter their respective rooms when Hoseok spoke, “Do you reside here as well?” She nodded, “It depends on my schedule, actually.” His mouth formed an ‘o’ shape. “In what room, if I may ask?” he didn’t want to run into her so knowing her room number will be beneficial. Astraea stared at him for a moment, thinking if she should answer him or not. But seeing that the boy was determined to know, she thought it’d be best answering him now than hear him pester her more in the upcoming days.“608.” she replied. “As for your clothes, you don’t have to worry about them. We’ll provide new sets for all of you. That’s all.” She gave them a curt nod and disappeared from their sight.

“So what’s our plan?” Jin started. The leader just shrugged and sighed in defeat. “Nothing. We’ll do nothing. Let’s just see how this turns out,” he said with a sigh. None of them knew what to feel about Astraea, except Jungkook. She might’ve saved his life before, but he knew she was the type of person that wouldn't hestitate to break a person from the inside, no matter if that person's an ally or friend. In the end, none of them liked her. “But why would someone like her save us? I find this very suspicious and odd,” She screamed mystery, and none of these boys liked mystery. Having direct contact with her was the last thing that they wanted to have happen but the current situation had forced them there, just a few rooms away from her. “Let’s trust her for now,” Taehyung decided, earning a look from Jungkook. “But we still need to keep a close eye on her, find out who’s the person behind that mask,” he said, receiving nods from the elders.

“Hey, Dad. You called me?” Hani asked as soon as she entered the president’s office. He faced her and smiled, “Are the boys doing well?” She nodded, “They looked like they’re fine with the rooms.” Mr. Im massaged his chin. He looked at his daughter and smiled. “Can I ask you another favor? Will you show them around? I don’t want them to get lost and see something they shouldn’t see,” he advised. Sighing, Hani knew what her father meant so she gave him a weak smile and stood up. “I’ll be staying with them from now on to make sure they won’t. Bye, Dad.” She sent him one last glance before she bowed and left the room. The moment the doors closed, Mr. Im opened a drawer, brought out a folder and began reading it, analyzing each sentence. Good luck, my child.

While inside the elevator, Hani wore her mask and sighed. She’d have to wear it every day now and all she could do was sigh. She ruffled her hair and let out a stubborn pout that she’d been hiding ever since meeting the boys. I’ll just finish this case and they’ll be out of my life in no time. She knocked on the three doors simultaneously and motioned them to follow her. “I’ll be giving you people a tour around while we wait for your new clothes to arrive. Then, after that, you all have to go to sleep early since you have school tomorrow.” Jimin frowned, “Don’t you have school too? In fact, we go to the same school.” Astraea only replied with a shrug,“So, where do you guys want to go first?”

After showing BTS around the whole facility, she got tired and was relieved at the sight of her beloved bed. She could sleep all day tomorrow before those boys arrive. Astraea received a text from Mr. Han, one of the company’s agents, saying that they needed her help. Ugh. I just got here. With a groan, she hopped off the bed, grabbed her weapons, then ran downstairs to where her motorcycle was waiting. “Don’t forget; self-control!” she heard Mr. Jung yell from afar. She chuckled and started the engine.

She arrived at an abandoned apartment and turned her flashlight on. It was only 9 at night but the town was already quiet. The only lights she could see came from the second floor. She walked with guns in her hands, careful not to make a sound. She frowned when her feet fell into something sticky. Maybe, it was the floor? That's odd though. She continued her pace, her footing faltering as it landed upon something big and soft. As she flashed her light to it, her eyes twitched at the sight. The whole floor was stained with blood; even the walls were dripping with it. “Goddamn it. What happened here?” she hissed and advanced towards the second floor with her head throbbing from the sight. She found her co-agents all tied in a chair. Her eyes twitched again and the familiar itch at the back of her head came creeping back. Her eyes became restless as it traveled around the room. People. I see lots of people. She made her way towards them but stopped halfway when her eyes lande to a certain agent mouthing the words ‘Stop. It’s a trap.’ Seconds after making a brief eye contact with him, a large blade suddenly fell just a few centimeters away from her face. Astraea sighed. They do this every time... Stupid, stupid bunch of people. Calming herself, she freed her co-workers. Just as when the victims thought all was clear, Astraea started kicking chairs out of the blue. “Astraea! Astraea!” they called and tried to stop her, all of them holding her down. “Where the are they?” she tried to sound calm but the tone of her voice came out differently, almost hyterical. “They just left so they’re still near," a fellow agent supplied. Astraea tried to free herself from her comrades' grasp, but failed because she was obviously outnumbered. “Let me go! I need to kill them!” she protested, but they remained heedless to her concerns. “We’ve already sent some back-up. We need to bring you back to the headquarters before you do something stupid again.” He said, covered and nose with a handkerchief. Everything started to fade away as Astraea lost consciousness.

***

“Good morning, boys,” Mr. Jung greeted BTS once they exited their respective rooms. They bowed in response, Hoseok and Jungkook searching for a certain menacing highschooler's familiar mask. “In case you’re wondering, Astraea won’t be here, due to personal reasons, so I’ll be your guide for today.”

“Do you mind if we ask where she is?” Jin asked. Mr. Jung smiled apologetically, “My apologies, but it’s classified information.” He coughed, “At any rate, today was supposed to be the second part of your tour, but since Astraea’s not here, we’ll give you some briefing about the company and its facilities instead.” He led them towards the conference hall.

The time they spent with Mr. Jung was draining. Yes, the man may seem nice but he talked like a robot and it bore them to death. After enduring hours of briefing, BTS slumped back to Jin and Taehyung’s when Jimin suddenly shouted through with a smirk, staring at the piece of paper in his hands. “Who else has Astraea as their trainer? I have a plan.”

This was quite a long chapter, heh.
Dear readers, let me hear your thoughts!