Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiing! The sharp ringing of the school bell awakened Luhan out of his boredom. How could teachers expect him to find equations and history interesting if he could steal a hundred million dollars?

But it's not like they would ever know about EXO. By night, Luhan and the other eleven members were pro hackers that could take down top corporations. By day, however, they were high schoolers that fell asleep in class and skipped out on homework, but still got As on all their tests. EXO, the twelve hackers, acted as a professional unit when they worked, but they were also the closest of friends, practically brothers, outside of the digital world. They all came from different places, with different people and different pasts, but they all had three things in common: they were smart, they could fight, and their parents were dead to them. 
 

 

We're the modern Robin Hood, part nerd part badass, as Junmyeon would put it, but all the EXO members knew that was some bull leader talk.
 

 

Luhan dragged his feet out of class, the energy starting to come back to him with the thought of more hacking tonight. As he walked out, students milled into the hallway like ants, and shoving and shouts could be heard along with the slamming of lockers. 
 

 

"Luhan hyung!"
 

 

Sehun, code name OSH and the younger freshman of EXO, waved towards Luhan, waiting for him to catch up with him and Jongin, code name Kai and the other freshman. Both were great hackers but were also known for their physical strength and good looks, despite (or maybe because of) their young age. Luhan looked after Jongin and Sehun like they were his blood brothers, and he knew his duty as the second eldest member of EXO was to protect them as much as he could, even though they all experienced the same dangers as hackers.

Luhan jogged to catch up with them. "Where's the rest?"
 

 

Sehun shrugged. "I don't know. But I saw Junmyeon hyung earlier, and he said he and Yifan hyung have something to tell us."
 

 

That was code for an EXO meeting, which rarely happened in person unless it was important. Luhan figured it must be about the money, considering both Junmyeon and Yifan, code name Kris and EXO M's leader, called the meeting. The two leaders were close despite their cold facades towards the members within hacking, and even though they disagreed frequently on important votes, they held no secrets from each other. Luhan was a member of Yifan's subunit, EXO M, or EXO Mapping. They planned attacks carefully, making sure there was no room for error, before EXO K, or EXO Kill, executed them perfectly. EXO operated like a factory machine with one mind and one purpose, despite having twelve very different individuals manning the different parts.

 

Sehun and Jongin quickly moved on from EXO to their school lives, with Jongin complaining about his biology teacher and Sehun making comments every once in a while. Luhan tried to pay attention, but he found that he just couldn't bring himself to care about school, not after four years of the crap, and definitely not after all he had been through.

 

"Oh, Luhan hyung! There's a new Chinese girl in my class. She's a transfer. Have you seen her around?"
 

 

Luhan suddenly tuned back into the conversation with Jongin's mention of his homeland. They only knew so much about his past, but they knew he had moved from China when he was fifteen. 
 

 

"Really?" 

 

Sehun snickered. "Jongin has a crush on her!"
 

 

Jongin rolled his eyes, but his face turned slightly red. "Don't lie to hyung!"

 

"But it's true!"

 

"Oh Sehun, stop making stuff up!"

 

"I'm not!"
 

 

Luhan chuckled as the two boys started bickering, but a little voice in the back of his head told him they wouldn't stay that way for very long. Especially not if the Unibank mission was to be completed. It would change all their lives, and Luhan knew that it would probably be a change for the worse.
 

 

They're just kids, Luhan thought. They don't know what they're getting themselves into. 
 

 

***
 

 

"There are two things Yifan and I will talk about today," Junmyeon began as the twelve boys stood in a group behind the fence at the back of school grounds, their usual meeting place. He stood in front with Yifan, with the subunits roughly clumped together listening attentively to his words.

 

The K team, composed of sophomores Chanyeol (code name PCY) and Kyungsoo (code name D.O), Jongin, and Sehun, stood towards the left. The M team, composed of Luhan (code name LH), junior Yixing (code name Lay), and sophomore Zitao (code name Tao), stood towards the right. The CBX, or Cyber X unit, composed of EXO's best hackers Jongdae (code name Chen), Baekhyun (code name BBH), and Minseok (code name Xiumin), stood in the center.

 

"First, the operation last night was a great success. Everyone did a great job. However, we need to realize that Unibank is no joke. Once we get on their radar, we will be hunted by them until they find us. I know this is a risk everyone is willing to take, but plans have been made by Yifan and myself to minimize this risk." Junmyeon took a small step back as Yifan cleared his throat.

 

"Our subunit structure has benefitted us greatly recently in terms of communication and efficiency, but we will be adding new responsibilities in order to account for the upcoming mission. First, Luhan, Zitao, Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, Jongin, and Sehun will form a new defense subunit. Your job will be to serve as physical protection in case of future conflict."

 

Luhan wasn't surprised by this at all. Junmyeon and Yifan were both great planners, and they knew how to put skill to use. Another part of his past that was known to the EXO members was his defense training. Zitao and Baekhyun were trained martial artists, and Kyungsoo, Jongin, and Sehun had brute strength on their side. Together they would be the perfect combination of deadly force.

 

"Hyung, what exactly might happen that would cause us to have to fight?" Zitao asked Yifan. The two were especially close, and Zitao didn't keep up his macho martial artist badass image around him.

 

"We don't know yet, but we know it will happen eventually, so we need to be prepared," Yifan answered more gently than usual. Zitao nodded, barely disguising the fear in his wide eyes. Luhan felt bad for these kids that now had to realize their lives could be on the line at some point.

 

"Another unit that has been decided on is an advisory unit," Yifan continued. "This will be composed of the leaders, Minseok, and Luhan. Our job will be to make important decisions that are high risk and have more severe consequences."

 

The whole group went silent at that. Severe consequences meant death, and not even Sehun was immature enough to not understand that.

 

"Finally, a coordination unit will be composed of Yixing and Chanyeol. Your job will be to run large scale operations and give instructions and monitor conditions for the other subunits."

 

Yifan took a deep breath. "Anyone who does not accept the job they have been assigned, or does not want to take the risks the group will face, say something now."

 

The silence was deafening.

 

It was too late to back out now. Everything was happening so fast, but every member of EXO had their own reasons.

 

Only Luhan knew his.

 

"Now, for the second part of the meeting," Junmyeon spoke. "I got an encrypted message earlier today."

 

All the boys looked at each other with mixed expressions. "I tried tracking it, but whoever jumbled it did a damn good job. And it was bounced around several international servers before it reached me."

Junmyeon paused, and a collective breath was held by the all the boys. 

 

"It said that the person who sent it knew who we are, and that they want to join us."