Waking up one fine Sunday morning and hearing a loud bang reverberating around a house was supposed to rouse a sense of dread and fear to any sane and normal living person. Jihoon knew that.

But the thought that he wasn’t even near sane and normal clouded his brain before he decided to sit up on his bed, his hair sticking out in every direction and the purpling bruise on his cheeks that he got from his last mission throbbing – putting a beautiful contrasting color against his pale skin.

Finally having the strength to stand up, he walked out of his room and was welcomed by his younger brother who was staring at him with fear swarming in his eyes. Before Jihoon could process that something was definitely odd, he was pinned down to a wall, a gun pressed roughly by his side and a blue hair surrounding his vision. Ah, what a pain in the .

“I got you,” he heard the man whispering as he felt lips hovering over his earlobe, his hot breath fanning his cheeks. “How can you even think that your father will choose you when you can’t even be careful inside your own house?”

That struck a nerve on Jihoon as he quickly kicked the shin of his attacker, successfully switching their position. It was obvious with the expression of the latter that he was amused and it irked Jihoon so ing much. “As much as your offense improved, I guess you should practice your defensive stance more Kim Mingyu.”

“Well, I guess the almighty 034 is still almighty even when he just got out of bed, eh?” The smile on the man’s lips never wavered even when the shorter man let his rough grip on him go, carefully snatching the gun out of his hold. “Titanium Gold Desert Eagle in .440 Cor-Bon. That’s an expensive gift from someone so I suggest you give it back.”

Jihoon stared at the pistol he was holding, humming in appreciation before giving it back roughly to the younger and yawning tiredly. “It’s too early for your , 036. You’re scaring Chan.”

The said kid huffed before puffing his chest with feigned intensity. It made Jihoon smile for a split second. “I’m not scared, brother. It’s just that I wanted to warn you about his presence but he was a second faster than me.”

“I know Chan, thanks for that.”

Mingyu cooed at their interaction, his arm finding its way around the older's waist. “Isn’t that kid one of your little weaknesses, Lee?”

“Shut up, 036,” Jihoon spat out with venom lacing his voice before smacking the arm of Mingyu. He took the right hand of the youngest and descended downstairs, keen on getting away from Mingyu who followed from behind. “What are you even doing here? What’s with the gunshot?”

“Well,” the taller paused as he unloaded his gun, “your father invited me for a shooting practice. I guess his son isn’t capable of that. How much more in being his successor?”

Jihoon stopped in his tracks that made Chan bump his nose sharply into his brother’s back. Knowing that the older man was already at the highest peak of his limits, Mingyu smirked because this was going to be the highlight of his day. “I guess I’m more than capable than you, almighty 034.”

“What did you just say?”

Jihoon was already fuming inside because how dare he? Mingyu was inside the household which he was a part of so the least he could do was respect him but of course, he couldn’t do that. Secret agents, like him, were trained to kill and protect people not to please others.

“I sad that I deserve your own father’s position more than you,” the taller man said as if they were just talking about the daily forecast and if Jihoon was just fuming a while ago, now he was ing boiling inside.

“You son of a .”

Before he could smack the other straight in the face and teach him a lesson, a voice from above stopped him midway. It was his father – the man he was scared of more than God himself. His father who was also the leader of their clan. His boss that favored an agent who was no less than a stranger more than his son himself.

“Lee Jihoon.”

A shiver ran down his spine that was not unnoticed by the sharp eyes of Mingyu. It made the younger so damn happy whenever he saw Jihoon like this. All scared and weak. This was ecstasy.

“Yes, Mr. Lee?” Jihoon’s eyes that were once radiating anger now turned into steel as he stared at the nearest wall and heard his father going down the stairs.

He heard his father clicking his tongue and saw from his peripheral vision how his arms found its way around Mingyu’s shoulders. “Are you being impolite to a guest? 036, is my son a problem?” Jihoon’s fingers twitched at that.

And now, the acting begins.

“No, Mr. Lee. How could you say that? We were just having fun,” Mingyu answered, the ever deceitful smile gracing his lips. “Right, Jihoon?”

Jihoon hated it the most when the other called him by his first name but he knew the other hated it more. So with a sneer, he answered – “Right, Mingyu.”

Mingyu's sudden clenched fists gave Jihoon so much glee.

“I thought so,” his father hummed before letting go of his hold on Mingyu and directed the other towards their dining room. “Chan, lead our guest. Jihoon and I will be following shortly.”

“But papa –”

“You heard me, Chan.”

With elbows dangling low, Chan hastily walked towards the dining room but not without forgetting to give Mingyu the look.

On the other hand, the tallest of the three gave them one final bow before throwing Jihoon his signature smile.

When the man was already out of earshot, Mr. Lee snapped his head towards his son. “034, what is with that attitude?”

Jihoon kept silent at that because he knew from every experience that any excuses that would come out of his lips would be only taken as weaknesses by his father. He wouldn’t want that. He couldn’t let Kim Mingyu win.

“You know what? You’re still so weak, Jihoon,” his father murmured, turning around to proceed to the dining room. Yet, he did not forget his change to once again break Jihoon into pieces with his next words. “036 was right. He deserves my position more than you.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Lee.”

But it was too late. His father had already left him standing in the middle of the hallway without so much as a glance towards him.

So much in asking for a good morning. His life was totally ed up.

“Hey, slow down.”

Jihoon heaved a deep breath as he continued to hit Soonyoung hardly.

It was currently their monthly assessment and they were having a hand-to-hand combat, where Jihoon was best at. He needed to show his father that he was not weak, that nobody deserved that position of his more than his own son. That Lee Jihoon was his pride.

His mind was clouded with a lot of thoughts that he did not even notice his current rival falling down and shouting, “Fine, 034. I lose, I lose.” Soonyoung struggled to even out his breathing, clutching on Jihoon’s leg as if it was his lifeline.

The random antics of his friend made him smile a little. As he looked at the nearest screen showing his latest win, he noticed Mingyu sitting down on one of the stools and showing him his newest badge with a smug smile on his lips. er.

“036, eh? Heard he’s now the leader of the Minister of Taxation’s protection program,” Soonyoung, who was finally on his feet, leaned closer towards him and whispered as if they were speaking about huge secrets.

Well, it was not a secret that Kim Mingyu had finally climbed up the ladder and became the head of the protection program of the minister. It was also not a secret in their clan that the guy was more favored by his father more than him and even Chan.

“Is that why you’re so pissed off today?” Soonyoung continued his babbling as he followed Jihoon who went out of the combat room, sweat glistening on his forehead. “You know that I think you’re better than him, right Ji?”

“You only say that because you are my partner.”

“And I’m the best partner you could ever wish for.”

Jihoon grumbled under his breath because Soonyoung, his partner, could really cheer him up and pissed him off at the same time.

Codename 042, Kwon Soonyoung was the 42nd in their generation to join the Lee Clan and unluckily got partnered with the son of the leader himself. Looking at their attitudes and personalities, they couldn’t really complement each other at first. Yet, they became notable in their generation with Jihoon’s short-range expertise and Soonyoung’s long-range proficiency. Because of that, they were always given missions wherein they were supposed to kill and not protect.

It was clearly the opposite of Kim Mingyu who had a impeccable record in keeping very important peop