The bartender tosses a cheeky wink. “Looking extra hot tonight. Are you out to kill?”

Taeyeon smiles at the bartender as she takes her drinks. “Is it that obvious?”

A knowing grin stretches across the bartender’s handsome face. “Which one’s your target?”

“Neither,” Taeyeon replies, her smile turning mysterious. “My target isn’t here.” She walks away with the drinks before the bartender can ask more questions and heads back to their table where Yoona, Irene and Wendy are waiting. They are chatting like every other group of friends here in this bar and she smiles to herself as adrenaline spikes once again. This is what keeps her alive. This is what makes her heart pump stronger. Not the inane life she leads as the daughter of an eyewear tycoon. Not the asinine routines she has had to go through every day since she was a toddler. “Drinks for everyone,” she announces with cheer upon her return.

Smiles light up extra watts as hands reach out for their drinks. A series of thanks later, the conversation is back on alcohol tolerance and bosses and work life. Irene shakes her head slowly, like a demure woman with a fragile neck. Her immaculately shaped eyebrows dip and Taeyeon knows the information they are fishing for is coming.

“Our bosses have been in such a mood lately. I don’t know what happened but they’ve gone all secretive on us.”

Wendy nods like an enthusiastic school girl, the agreement on her face evident. “Yes, totally weird and a little scary. Like something went wrong. I haven’t seen a smile on Dan for days.”

“Something must be troubling them,” says Yoona, her tone concerned as she leans forward on her elbows. “Yours too?” she asks, looking at Irene.

Irene nods. “Mine too. It’s been so tense around the office these days.”

“And they’re not telling you anything? Maybe it’s something personal.”

“They’re not talking about it but it’s about work. I’m sure of that.”

“Hm, sounds mysterious.”

Taeyeon raises her glass. “Enough work talk. It’s time to enjoy our night.”

Glasses meet with a clang and smiles are all around. Yuri strolls by their seats and Taeyeon smiles to herself as she sips her mocktail. Her job is about to be done.

---

“Plan B is on track.”

Tiffany nods at Agent Amber and Agent Seulgi. “How many extra levels of security have they added?”

“Surprisingly, only one. And we are able get around it without much trouble,” Agent Seulgi replies.

“They are complacent.” Tiffany smiles. “That’s good for us, as long as we don’t become complacent like them. They found the missing token and Nicholas is still using it. If their plan is to catch us out with the token, it’s not going to work. If that’s not their plan, then their complacency is more than what we think it is.”

“We will continue to operate with maximum caution,” Agent Seulgi says.

Tiffany nods. “I trust both of you. What else is left on the list?”

“We are a quarter way into cracking C.O.R.E. which is right on schedule. Expected completion is as planned.”

“Good, good. Seo will be ready once you have everything decrypted.”

---

“The secretaries’ security passes have not been changed,” Seo reports the moment Tiffany steps into the room. “They do not suspect the secretaries. It is possible that Nicholas thinks he dropped the token by accident and does not suspect foul play.”

“Or it is a ploy to lure us into a false sense of security.”

“We will continue to track the passes and logins at Elgoog. We will also monitor the security cameras.”

Tiffany frowns as thoughts run through her mind. “Does it make sense that they keep everything the same after losing their token?”

“The security of C.O.R.E. is high. It is also more complex than most security systems. They know how difficult it is to get into the system so they feel confident that nobody can get in without alerting them. As for the token, as you said, Nicholas might see it as accident. And he has had the token for months. For most people, their sense of heightened alertness tends to dip as time passes. He might have reasoned that it is not impossible to lose it by mistake after carrying it around for such a long time. The guards they sent to check also reported nothing out of the ordinary. They have no real reason to panic.”

“These are the things I have contemplated too.”

“Without the token, he knows that no one can get into the system. And we deleted the most recent record so he doesn’t know we accessed the system. Therefore, he has no reason to suspect any foul play.”

“Thank you for clearing our tracks so well,” Tiffany says with a smile.

Seo smiles but her eyes remain stoic. “It will be harder to get the token from him after this.”

“Am and Seulgi will find a way to intercept the token once they crack the system open.”

“They have to find a way.”

Tiffany pats Seo’s shoulder. “They will.”

---

The unmoving figure sitting in darkness gives Taeyeon a shock when she opens the door to her given accommodation. “Holy . Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” she snaps while switching the light on and closing the door.

Tiffany stares her in the eyes, unsmiling. “I’m checking your level of alertness which appears to be pretty low.”

“My level of alertness is just fine. What are you here for? Don’t you have an operation to plan for?”

“Am I not welcome here?”

Taeyeon snorts. “Must you ask the obvious?”

“You are taking this too personally.”

“What am I taking too personally? You are the one who entered my room without my permission. There’s something we call basic courtesy, even if these rooms belong to your organization. So who exactly is taking this too personally?”

“Sit down.”

“I’m not a dog that takes orders for a biscuit. I’ll sit when I want to.”

“I’m here to iron things out with you.”

“Iron things out as in apologize?”

Tiffany’s eyes harden as her brows dip. “What do I have to apologize for? The solitary? It was necessary for you to understand how severe your offence was.”

“I can understand the severity without being thrown into solitary. All I needed was a little more time to accept your explanation.”

“That’s not how we work here.”

“I don’t exactly work here, do I? I’m just someone you blackmailed into doing this.”

“We consider all of you our colleagues and we don’t want any of you to be hurt or caught in the operations.”

Taeyeon snorts through her nose. “It all sounds very nice but you can’t fool me. It’s all business for you. And the only reason why we are the ones blackmailed into doing so just so we can be the scapegoats if anything goes wrong. Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you said to me before all of this started.”

“That is true, but it doesn’t mean we don’t care for your safety and well-being.”

“Look, I’m not interested in how you want to spin this tale of yours. I’m just here to do the job like you so kindly reminded me to in solitary.”

Tiffany stands and moves swiftly towards Taeyeon, startling her into stepping back. With her back up against the wall, she holds her chin up and glares at the advancing agent. She is ready to put up a fight, to return blows in any shape or form. What she does not see coming is Tiffany lowering her head and sighing.

Tiffany’s head is still down when she says, “I will admit to putting you in solitary longer than I would have.”

“What did you say?”

“I may have said three days in anger, but I let you out after less than a day.”

“Twenty hours and seven minutes, I know.”

Tiffany tosses her head back, her lips twitching irritably. “Agent Amber again?”

Taeyeon nods and a smile breaks out on her face. She tries to wipe it off before Tiffany sees it, but it is too late.

“Is this funny to you?”

“Agent Amber is cute.”

“Agent Amber is cute?”

Taeyeon raises a brow. “Don’t you agree?”

“She is my colleague. She is smart and efficient and effective. She—”

“Then what about me?” Taeyeon raises her chin an inch higher. “I’m not your colleague. What do you have to say about me?” Tiffany’s eyes land on her lips, sending a zap of electricity down her spin. Taeyeon is not ready to back down, however. She wants a fight. But Tiffany’s stare is long and intense and she ends up her lower lip in anticipation.

Tiffany takes another step forward, eyes locked steadfast on Taeyeon’s lips. “Are you nervous?”

“Why should I be?”

“Give up on the pretence, Taeyeon. It’s written all over your face.”

“It’s not nerves, Tiffany. You obviously don’t know me well enough.”

Tiffany’s brows climb an inch. “Then tell me what it is. Let me know you better.”

“It’s anticipation.”

“What are you anticipating?”

“For a secret agent, you’re quite clueless, huh.”

“As a secret agent, I’m trained to leave nothing to chance and assume nothing. Spill the facts. What are you anticipating?”

Taeyeon cannot resist the teasing grin stretching across her face. “The length of our next kiss.”

Tiffany presses up against Taeyeon, their legs interlocking. “How long do you want our next kiss to last?”

“Longer than Amber can count,” Taeyeon replies with a wink.

---