The Chaser

The Target
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La Sagrada Familia was a Roman Catholic basilica built under the Gothic and Art Nouveau influence. It remained one of the top tourist attraction spots in Barcelona. Even on a hot day, the number of visitors from all around the world were swarming in front of the classical architecture.   There were no signs of Mr. Lee or any of his followers. They wondered why he would even meet up with the merchant at a public place—the historical monument did not come with a secret underground passageway of some sorts, so all appointments were visible in public. They soon understood that the true camouflage was to be hidden among these people.   Tae Min, Maerin, Ji Soo and Hana were tasked to paste small undetectable cameras all around the area. The images would then be monitored by Dong Woo and Hee-Jin back at the hotel the IT genius had secured for them. They surveyed the area multiple times, making sure they remained undetected by the security, while calculating the angles that would give them the best view of the site.   Woo Hyun had been staring at Hyun Mi for a while now as they queued to enter the inside of the basilica. He watched her pupils scanning the surrounding so frantically without a rest, waiting for any familiar faces to appear. He sighed.   “Barcelona is such a beautiful city, don’t you think?” He suddenly spoke, flashing a smile when she stared back. At first she frowned in confusion, but soon realized he was attempting to distract her with calming and pleasant thoughts.   “It would’ve been if I had more time to admire it instead of trying to stop a man from unleashing this SM-Zero. We don’t even know what kind of weapon it is,” Hyun Mi told him with little humor in her tone. At least she still smiled, satirically.   “Hm,” he hummed to himself, directly meeting her eyes in a familiar gaze. “Any place is beautiful as long as you’re in it.”   Hyun Mi blinked at his sudden line, not expecting him to humor her in the most unsuspecting timing. He always knew how to make her smile, or even laugh. He successfully morphed her frown into a heartfelt chuckled, even earning a soft slap against his chest.   “Stop distracting me,” she then told him with a grin that showed no truthfulness to her words. She secretly enjoyed his lines as much as he enjoyed saying them. “But you are right, Barcelona is beautiful. I’ve always wanted to come here.”   “For whatever reason?” He asked her curiously.   “To make memories,” she answered, turning to him with sudden excitement as her hands clasped together dreamily. “I’ve always imagined taking pictures here for when I get mar—” She bit her lips, giving him an awkward look.   “When you get...?” He began reeling her in, slightly shifting his head sideways in pretentious wonderment.   “Nothing.”   Woo Hyun smirked at her sudden fretting, knowing what she wanted to say. “I want to have my pre-wedding photoshoots here,” he then declared.   “You too?” She turned to him with that childlike excitement again, grinning in amazement like she had found someone with common interest.   “Only because I have a feeling the girl I like would want it that way,” he told her cheekily.   Hyun Mi felt her heart hammering against her chest and her cheeks taking on another red shade. He had been more blunt and outspoken regarding his affections, which she did not mind if they weren’t trying to stop a criminal. Even now, it was hard to stop her grin from growing when he was smiling so charmingly.   “You just made that up,” she accused.   “No, it’s true. I’ve always wanted to visit Camp Nou.”   His tone was convincing enough for her. She remembered he was quite fond of soccer as a player and a fan. Maybe they really had a common interest.   “Hey guys,” Tae Min suddenly appeared, watching Hyun Mi curiously who immediately threw her gaze away. He dismissed it, knowing Woo Hyun probably said something cheesy. “Dong Woo said he sighted Ki Bum through the cameras.”   “Where?” Hyun Mi immediately switched to her serious mode.   “Somewhere near the souvenir stands.” Tae Min’s hand pointed towards an area that was filled with numerous stands selling different kind of merchandise. It was filled with many people and items.   “You stay here, I’ll find him!” Hyun Mi said determinedly, patting Tae Min’s shoulder with gratitude, and soon ran off.   Woo Hyun roled his eyes and slightly shook his head in front of Tae Min. “Get Maerin to accompany you,” he simply stated before running along after the girl.   He wondered what she was thinking to behave so recklessly. She only won in terms of agility but would possess no strength to fight anyone off. He had to protect her and followed closely from behind without her knowledge, or so he thought.   “Woo Hyun, I see him!” Hyun Mi shouted, pointing at the person with flashy clothings that was undoubtedly Kim Ki Bum. He was talking to one of the merchants at a nearby stand, holding an unknown black colored plastic wrapped aroubd an item in his hand.   At that time, Ki Bum turned his head around, widening his eyes at the incoming sight. He quickly paid the money to the merchant, running away with the unknown item.   “Stop!” Hyun Mi yelled, frustrated that she had already exerted her depleting energy on the running. She soon activated their in ear monitor to contact the others. “We spotted Ki Bum purchasing an item from a merchant. Requesting backup.”   “I can direct Ji Soo and Hana to the said merchant. I saw everything from the camera,” Dong Woo said casually.   “Got it!” Both Ji Soo and Hana chorused together, following Dong Woo’s instructions leading them to the exact same merchant Ki Bum had encountered.   “Disculpe,” Ji Soo called out to the merchant in perfect Spanish.   Hana was simply admiring him as he questioned what the previous customer had bought, for he wanted one of those. The expression of the merchant faltered, apologetic at first, but raising his voice next. Something was wrong.   Ji Soo then turned to her and spoke to the ear piece simultaneously. “He says he is not willing to share private information regarding previous purchases.”   “Ki Bum must’ve asked him to say that. It is your job to dig out the information,” Dong Woo said.   “I decipher codes. This is not part of my job description,” Ji Soo said with annoyance.   Hana pouted a little, seeing the pride appearing in Ji Soo. It was the number one reason why people misunderstood him and rather left him alone. She shook his hands a little, silently pleading him to give in for now.   “You are welcome to fly back to Seoul right this instance, all expenses on you.” Dong Woo proved to be quite the manipulator too at times. When he saw Ji Soo turning back to the merchant for another negotiation, he smiled at the camera monitors. He won the argument.   “I’m doing this for Hana,” he then quickly added, and Dong Woo’s victorious chuckle faltered.     “Wouldn’t they have caught Ki Bum by now?” Maerin questioned as she had joined Tae Min in the queue. The line was narrowing and they were almost inside the basilica.   “There are no news,” Tae Min said.   “I don’t have an eye outside of the basilica. They must’ve left the site,” Dong Woo guessed.   They both moved along with the line, finally being the ones granted access to enter the famous tourism spot.   The interior of Sagrada Familia was magnificently beautiful with a wide array of colors decorating it, unlike any of the churches they had seen before. The nave vault reached up to the ceiling in a curvy line, decorated by lots of geometric patterns. The pillars resembled colorful trees and branches, just the way it was intended by the great architectural designer, Gaudi.   The two were too mesmerized by the view, spinning around to take in every single detail they could find. Their awe and wonderment were cut short when Maerin suddenly picked up distant chattering of the Korean language. She nudged Tae Min and pulled him along to the source of it.   “Well, looks like Soyou is here as well,” Dong Woo muttered, watching the female agent converse with another Caucasian male. The male left as soon as Tae Min and Maerin stood behind her.   “You actually followed us to Barcelona. I’m surprised you even knew where to find us,” Soyou spoke, baffling the other two. She turned around, grinning menacingly as a greeting. “Are you looking for something?”   “You know what we came for. Hand over the weapon!” Maerin said bravely, mimicking what she had seen in movies. She reached a hand out to Soyou, but was met with a rather smug scoff.   “Do you even know what the weapon is?” Soyou questioned with zero amusement. She crossed her arms, silently waiting for an answer.   Tae Min and Maerin exchanged looks with each other. This information was still being researched by Hee-Jin back at the hotel since the others were occupied. They had no idea how big or small it was, or whether it was even visible to the human eye.   “The SM-Zero…” Maerin trailed off, unable to convince anyone with that hesitation. She had only heard the name being mentioned, but its true identity remained a mystery.   “You really don’t get it, do you?” Soyou continued with a tone that looked down on the two younger ones. She placed a hand against her hip, her gaze suddenly cold. “The weapon isn’t with me.”   “Where did you hide it?” Tae Min asked.   Maerin began interrogating and felt up Soyou’s arms and any other pockets for the hidden object.   “It was never with me in the first place. I just wanted to see whether you meddlesome kids would stick your nose in our business,” Soyou spoke with a tone of resentment and hatred before calming down again. “And you did.”   Tae Min and Maerin exchanged looks with each other, knowing what this meant.   “This was a distraction. It wasn’t with Soyou since the beginning,” Maerin reported as she and Tae Min secretly formed a huddle.   “How are you so sure of that?” Dong Woo was always thorough with the details.   “I checked her and found nothing,” Maerin spoke.   Dong Woo did not seem to buy the story. Soyou must be lying. “Interrogate her more until we get the answer we want. In the meantime, we wait for news from the other two.”     Ki Bum had always been one of the fastest runners at the organization, but he stood no chance when the other two decided to split up, ambushing him from two opposing sides so he’d be stuck in between. He grabbed the item tighter in his hand.   “I’m surprised you managed to track me down,” Ki Bum said, watching the other two close in on hi
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Purple-Peng
1301 streak #1
Chapter 24: I finally finished this today.
I should have seen it coming with Ki Bum since I do watch a couple of spy movies/dramas.
I think my favorite part is seeing Hyun Mi threaten Mr. Lee and then her conflicting view on their mission in the plane.
Purple-Peng
1301 streak #2
Chapter 21: I love how there's another reference to HIPS with Hee Jin mentioning she nearly killed someone with a curling iron. It makes me wonder if that's where she got the idea to use it as a weapon.
Purple-Peng
1301 streak #3
Chapter 19: I love how Hyun Mi and Woo Hyun are closer which makes it sadder with what happens to him in HIPS.
Purple-Peng
1301 streak #4
Chapter 17: I like how this is kind of like a foreshadowing of HIPS and love the cameo of Hee Jin and Min Seok.
Purple-Peng
1301 streak #5
Chapter 14: I don't think Woo Hyun is lying to Hyun Mi.
I like how Hyun Mi and those close to her want to change what their company does. I couldn't help but think maybe one of the higher-ups in their company or maybe Ki Bum is using them for their own goals.
rajnbow #6
Chapter 14: Wait whatt that was unexpected... I've been feeling that Ki Bum and Mr. Lee were slightly off though, so I think they're both probably lying. There's no way Woohyun would actually deserve to be killed...

But on a happier note, yay Taemin and Maerin! The hand holding part was really cute XD
Purple-Peng
1301 streak #7
Chapter 12: Love the appearances of the other characters from HIPS, Seollin and Taehyung introducing themselves made me laugh.
I think my favorite part is when Taemin touched the check because one thing I learn from a game called "Women's Murder Club: Death in Scarlet" is that people tend to press a bit hard when writing. So whatever they wrote might be indented into the next sheet of paper.
Purple-Peng
1301 streak #8
Chapter 11: The part where they nearly got caught is so intense. It reminded me of a level I played in "Hitman 2", where Agent 47 has about at least 3 to 5 minutes to kill his target before his identity gets discovered.
Also, the two finally kissed! I laughed at the part where Hyun Mi realized the others might have seen it from the CCTV.
Purple-Peng
1301 streak #9
Chapter 10: Woo Hyun to the rescue! I find it sweet he's there to save Hyun Mi from Sang Gyu since she and the others were stuck on what to do.