March 2018

                  There was a neat line forming in the spacious training room. Twenty of us would be tested for the sole purpose of serving the Blue House under the President and her cabinet. There were sixteen men and four women, all ready to fight for blood and to death. Most, if not all, had a solid expression to express their absolution to serve for a lifetime. To the people of South Korea, this was an honor to be chosen. To me, this was a test to see my worth as the leader of Seiryuu.

                  Ten was extremely efficient and needless to say, I was satisfied with what he had done so far. He implanted an untraceable fake identity for my test and told me all the careful details I needed to memorise before I came in. It wasn’t that difficult in reality. My name was Kim Sara, 23 years old, fresh graduates from Yonsei University majoring in social welfare. It wasn’t a subject I knew well, but I just had to make-do with what I had.

                  “Do I really have to fight them?” Taeyong lazily raised his eyebrow at me. He was the only Elite I brought with me. When I told him what I wanted to do, he never once questioned my motive and went along with my plan. I was honestly grateful for his complete trust and compliance. I could not think of anyone more suitable than this man at the moment. He had known me in my unstable high school year and went through hell in the past two years. I favored Taeyong over the others and that often got Luhan irritated and jealous by our intimacy.       

                  “Well, technically, you are supposed to, but unless there is a really strong candidate, then you should loosen up and cut your strength by half. There is no need to show off much to outsiders,” I reminded him lightly as we both went to one corner and started stretching up after the instructor told us to disperse and got ready in ten minutes. I glanced at the girl with red hair in a tight ponytail and her partner, a bulky man in his mid-twenty who had too much muscle to scare people off.

                  “He is showing off,” Taeyong muttered unhappily with a heavy frown on his fair face. There was an ugly crease between his usually smooth forehead. Wordlessly, he pulled off the black gloves from his hands and flexed his fingers. I looked down at the many scars and lines on my hands and smiled wearily. “What’s wrong, Sena? You look unusually happy today and that’s not always a good sign.”

                  “Can’t you let me be happy for a while?” I glared at him and returned my stare to the people around me. We were definitely among the youngest of the group since the Blue House would not accept anyone older than 35. These were rare talents, selected from good background, be it education or physical training or even family and connection. Like the man sitting on the wooden bench near the locker. He was the son of the previous head of security, hence he was trained to succeed his father when he came of age.

                  Taeyong was amused. He did not laugh, but there was trace of mirth in his unusually clear eyes. I shook my head and shoved him away playfully. It was a good thing I never showed up in front of the public or I would not be free to do whatever I wanted. This mission, though seemingly unimportant, concerned life-and-death of countless people. I needed to destroy Grandfather once and for all. Byun Baekhyun would be second after him.

                  We lined up by partners, so I ended up with Taeyong, standing in the middle of ten pairs. I was the smallest girl by size, while the other three were over 5-inches-5-feet at the very least. Taeyong was also the shortest of the males, but what he lacked in height, was made up by the pressuring aura he had around him. His gaze was chilling, none of the warmth he displayed earlier on was present. This was the man who, when he fought, showed no mercy, much like Jongin.

                  “Twenty of you are selected from hundreds of thousands applicants, so consider yourself lucky and blessed to be able to enter the compound. The president of South Korean,” The man in black training suit slowly emphasized his words. He was forty at most, and soon to retire, “is a lady with duty to the nation, more so than us, citizens. Hence, she needs two bodyguards – two very capable bodyguards – to be by her side anytime of the day. You shall be judged by your skill in analytical and problem solving in critical times, so be prepared.”

“The Blue House is not your playground, kids. This is a battle field. No mistakes tolerated, no chance for cheating or slip-up. Drastic measurement and heavy punishment will be bestowed upon those who think they could rebel and throw a tantrum like a child. In short, we do not tolerate anything,” Lieutenant Kim – as his name tag suggested – folded his hands in front of his chest, and in a swift movement, kicked a candidate out of the line and glared down at him. “You, what’s your name?”

The candidate was foolish enough not to stand up, and instead, held onto his bruised stomach with a pitiful expression, “Yoon Woohyun, Lieutenant!”

Woohyun was awarded with a glare from head-to-toe. Lieutenant Kim’s frown deepened and he did not hold back his dissatisfaction, “Mr. Yoon, I will allow you to scram from this room in 3 seconds. Pack up your things and go back home. The country does not need someone as cowardly, and certainly, not as fragile and weak as you are. Even the girls have better mentality than you! You should be ashamed!”

I kept my head lowered and eyes on the ground, but my ears were careful not to miss anything in case Lieutenant Kim tried to attack me as he did to Woohyun. Taeyong was unfazed, and he seemed to be one of the few who showed little to no reaction. The girl in ponytail I was observing earlier had a very stern expression, and when the lieutenant passed by, she hid a wide smile that threatened to break out sooner or later.

Lieutenant Kim unexpectedly pulled out a gun and pointed it at my head. My hands gradually became colder when I saw Taeyong’s murderous gaze. He might not be as rash as Luhan was when it concerned my safety, but Taeyong did not possess the patience Sehun had. He would certainly act upon his own judgement, with or without my acceptance. I blinked and forced myself to calm down as memories I tried hard to suppress came back all at once.

I had had a knife slicing my throat before, came in contact with fire and been drown many times, but gun held a weak point with me. At this moment, it was like two years ago, when Jongin pointed the gun at my head, and I was forced to do nothing as others fell down because of me. This time, it would be no more. I swallowed and quickly – perhaps almost too quickly for normal human’s eyes – turned around, grabbed his hand and threw the guns away. Crack! I could hear the bone in his hand cracked in a not-so-subtle sound.

“What do you think you are doing?” The ponytail girl raised her eyebrow in amusement, but her tone was not quite friendly. I threw her a glance and kept my eyes on the Lieutenant, who was now bending halfway forward, hissing in pain. His legs shot up as he tried to forcefully pull his hands away from my grasp, and it would have been a beautiful move had it been done to any other human. But I was not just any human. I was the descendant of the Dragon, his blood flew in me, and though Seiryuu might be kind and at times, passive, we were defensive creatures. I would strike whenever I saw fit.

                  In the past two years, I trained with Sehun almost daily, whenever I had no schedule in the afternoon or at night. The training improved my ability rapidly to the point that I could hold against Yixing for one-hour match. The one thing that never changed, however, was my temper. I was as hotheaded as before, and I did not tolerate anyone trying to belittle or bully me.

                  “I am doing my job,” I spat out loud and threw a round kick and a hard slap on his neck, rendering him immobile for a good thirty seconds. The lieutenant fell onto the floor and rolled over in pain. He refused to make sound and suffered in silence as his eyes found their way to me in grievance. Only then, did he notice the stubborn stance I was at, and how unwilling I was to surrender to others, no matter what the circumstance was. If there was anything Grandfather taught that I had always obeyed, it was never to submit to anyone else because I was born to be up and above. Arrogant, I knew, but it was the hard truth.

                  “Lieutenant Kim, what are you doing on the floor?” A soft, almost fatherly voice resounded in the room. I turned around – as did everyone else – to greet a man in his fifty with white hair around the corner of his head. His smile was comforting, and on his uniform was a three-star rank that glistened under the light, showing his status far above Lieutenant Kim. I had seen this man in Elder Junjin’s house before and it gave me a prickling sense of warning when I recalled that particular memory.

                  Lieutenant General Han Sungho, a name feared amongst the military for his sharpness and intelligence. He was recently promoted to a three-star lieutenant general for his contribution in the North Korean-border war, something only he could accomplish in the past decade. His eyes moved from the pitiful figure on the ground to the crowd and finally rested on me.

                  In that moment, I forgot all about manners and superiority and blankly stared at the approaching man. He was not imposing in a way Joonmyun was, or even intimidating like Taeyong and Jongin, but his aura reeked of danger, and I could sense that beneath that warm smile, was a mind full of schemes and careful calculation. If he had had close contact with the Elders, he would have known me. He would have recognized my face, and at that moment of vulnerability, I lowered my gaze to the ground and avoided his curiosity.

                  If he was here, then there was only one possibility: Grandfather had sent him here. Red alert. Retreat. Go back to the comfort of my headquarter. I was stubborn. I held my ground and refused to move an inch even when the lieutenant general stood in front of me expectantly. His smile disappeared as he looked at Lieutenant Kim and lightly scolded, “I have told you countless of times before not to mess with the gun and the newbies. You want to frighten them and yet, you end up being the one scared witless. Get up, Soldier! Where is your dignity?”

                  “Yes, Lieutenant General!” Lieutenant Kim slowly got up after he spat the blood on the ground. The kick must have wounded him so, because his face was deadly pale and he looked rather sick. I supposed he deserved at least half of his current condition, given that he also treated Woohyun rudely. But in South Korea, the superiority and seniority defined the reward and punishment almost to the point of blindness. “This girl create havoc in the training room and attack her superior without being told to. I ask your permission to eliminate her before the first trial, Lieutenant General.”

                  What a ing bastard. I wished I had punched him harder instead.

                  Lieutenant General Han shook his head and paused for a while, “No need, Lieutenant Kim. In fact, I think we’ve found the perfect candidate to serve beside the President.”

P.S: For real, my bae is fine as . He is just a piece of art. You are not allowed to take him away from me. I will have Taeyong, Sena can have the rest. 

Bae, I hope you brighten up the readers' days like you lit up mine with that smile. Your existence makes me happy.