Jiyong didn’t actually see his group for the rest of the week. He was promptly shipped out after his chat with the director, on one last solo mission before his tenure as a team player started. Last chance to stretch my wings, Jiyong had thought gloomily as he put a bullet through the target’s skull. It was a simple (boring), in and out assassination, which left Jiyong feeling unfulfilled when he arrived back at the training base to properly meet the rest of Big Bang. 

    “I feel like a freewheeling bachelor being shackled into an unwanted marriage,” he told Youngbae after his return. “So, what’s my poison?”

    Youngbae hesitated at the query. Jiyong groaned.

    “That bad?”

    “Oh no, the guys are good,” Youngbae said quickly. 

    “But?” Jiyong prompted.

    “They’re just a bit, um, green. Lots of potential though.”

    Jiyong knocked his head against the wall.

    “So we have to play babysitter before we can even think about missions.”
    Youngbae grimaced. “Seems so, boss.”

    “Wonderful. That’s just ing wonderful. Anything else?”

    Youngbae shook his head. He opened the door to their reserved training gym, and motioned for Jiyong to enter. With the air of a man heading towards his execution, Jiyong stalked in. 

    “Go easy on them,” Youngbae whispered as he brushed past. “They’re fond of you, for some ungodly reason.”

    Jiyong grunted noncommittally, eyeing the two kids sprawled on the wrestling mat.

    “Attention!” he barked. Youngbae dutifully saluted, and the two rookies scrambled up, one of them nearly falling over himself in his haste to obey. up, Jiyong thought unkindly. 

    “Kang Daesung and Lee Seunghyun, I take it?” 

    “Yes, sir!” shouted Up, echoed less enthusiastically by his companion.

    “Well, noobs, from today on, I own your asses. You are accountable to me and me alone. If you need something, tell Youngbae and I’ll get back to you. Watch yourselves and remember that your actions reflect directly on me.”

     Up looked like he was going to piss himself from either fear or excitement. The other one blinked bemusedly.

    “Kid, wipe that disgusting look off your face,” Jiyong snapped at Up. Up practically went into hysterics.

    “I’m Lee Seunghyun, sir, codename Seungri, sir!” he chirped breathlessly. “Second year trainee agent, specializing in tactical infiltration and assault, sir! I’m a huge fan of yours, sir!”

    “What in the fresh hell…?” Jiyong muttered. He could hear Youngbae’s barely contained snickers behind him. “Well, just keep in in your pants, noob.”

    He looked at the other one. 

    “You got any secret es involving my person that I should know about, Daesung?”

    Daesung flashed an unsettlingly beatific smile.

     “Just a healthy admiration, sir. Though I don’t blame Seungri for being so excited to work with a legend.”

    Jiyong shot a long-suffering glance at Youngbae, who offered a smirk in return, the bastard. Seunghyun, unable to contain himself, started shrieking at Daesung. 

    “He said your name ohmigod!!!!!! Why didn’t he say mine?? Ugh, I’m soooo jealous…”

***

    They worked well together, Jiyong grudgingly admitted a year later. Youngbae was a solid mass of sheer, dependable power, Daesung was shaping up to be a peerless marksman, and despite his puppy-like and overzealous personality “Seungri,” as Seunghyun liked to refer to himself, was one of the craftiest, smoothest liars Jiyong had ever met.

    Surprisingly, they even got along. Or rather, all of them were able to tolerate and look past Jiyong’s pissy personality when he was in a snit and Jiyong trusted their abilities and decisions, and made a concerted effort not to blow up too much when they made mistakes. It was practically friendship, Jiyong commented to Youngbae bemusedly. Youngbae staggered back in mock horror, gasping “It has feelings!”

    Of course, it was almost too good to last. Their third official mission went straight to hell, and Big Bang only narrowly managed to extract themselves without any severe maiming. It was Seungri’s turn manning the tech and comms, a duty which rotated between them every mission. Though none of them were experts, they had all gone through the grueling course in their training and could handle standard missions. 

    Unfortunately, their mission had skewed far beyond “standard,” resulting in Jiyong staggering off the base’s helipad, face contorted with fury and an unconscious Daesung slung across his shoulders. 

    After depositing Daesung on the waiting stretcher and barking at Youngbae to follow him to the medical bay, Jiyong stormed into the comm room where a terrified Seungri was waiting. The pale glow from the multiple monitors cast Jiyong in an icy silhouette, illuminating the ragged scare marring his cheek and enhancing the murderous glint in his eyes. He allowed the intimidating image to sink in before he started bellowing. 

    “WHAT THE DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING? DAESUNG NEARLY DIED BECAUSE YOU, LIKE A ROOKIE IDIOT DIDN’T THINK TO DISABLE THE ALARMS!”

    “There were layers of encryption on those things!” Seungri shrieked, scrambling back in his chair as Jiyong approached. “How the hell was I supposed to crack them in fifteen minutes? My specialization is interpersonal espionage, not professional tech operating!”

    “Multi-layer encryption cracking was a key part of the basic training exam, and exam that I know you received a perfect score on,” Jiyong seethed. “I put you on tech this rotation because you’re the only one who knows how to do it.”

    A highly uncomfortable expression flitted across Seungri’s face before it smoothed out into a reproachful glare. Jiyong narrowly clamped down a scream.

    “Agent Lee Seunghyun,” he hissed, grabbing Seungri’s lapels and lifting him clean out of his chair, “did you or did you not receive full marks on the level 10 tech exam when you were a trainee?”

    “I did,” Seungri ground out.

    Jiyong pressed his face within an inch of Seungri’s.

    “Now, Agent, did you or did you not take that exam yourself?”

    Seungri studiously avoided Jiyong’s eyes, a rather impressive feat considering ninety percent of his vision was occupied by Jiyong’s eyes. 

    “ANSWER ME,” Jiyong screeched, slamming Seungri into the edge of the desk.

    “I-I-I,” Seungri spluttered, “I may have had help.”

    “Go on,” Jiyong breathed, applying pressure to Seungri’s sternum.

    “W-Well, I always had some trouble with the tech exams, a-and I was worried it would hold me back from graduating, and I always wanted to be a field agent, ever since I was-”

    “Spare me your sordid backstory,” Jiyong snarled. “How did you cheat the test?”

    A part of Jiyong felt just slightly vindicated as he watched Seungri squirm. Back in the day, perfect scores in the tech exams also eluded him, and Jiyong never liked being second best.

    “Daesung did it too!” Seungri shrieked. “As well as half the class. Not all of us can score as high as you without help, hyung.”

    “Jesus ing Christ.”

    Jiyong released Seungri and stalked out of the room. Daesung should be awake in a few hours.