The young man swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat as he pressed the doorbell on the wall beside the gate that he was standing outside of, fidgeting nonstop in his stance as he held tightly onto the envelope that his higher-up had given and tasked him to deliver, fingers trembling uncontrollably and feet toeing the ground restlessly. The young man darted his eyes from left to right in fear, looking over his shoulder from time to time to see if there was anybody behind him before turning back to the front and facing the wall where the doorbell was secured onto, examining the speaker that was fixed above the doorbell and noticing the small camera implanted in the plate surrounding the speaker. The young man let out a huff of breath as he wiped away the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead, drying his sweaty palms against the track pants that he was wearing as he looked around himself at the forest, wondering what kind of person would live so deep into the forest and be okay with it, and then his thought wandered to those TV shows and movies where rich people were often seen living in forests and in the middle of nowhere, with probably no outside connection whatsoever, and he once again wondered if such things only applied in fiction or also in reality.

A sudden loud buzzing noise broke the quiet air and caused the young man to almost jump out from his skin as he turned back to the wall, looking at the small camera as the speaker droned out the voice of a man, “Who is this?”

The young man gulped anxiously before answering, his words coming out as a stutter and Spanish accent showing, “H-Hello? Good sir, m-my name is Roberto Ruiz.”

“What business do you have coming all the way here, Mr Ruiz?”

The young man hesitated for a moment before replying, “I-I am here to send a message to someone called-”

The young man looked down at the envelope and read the name written on it, squinting his eyes as he tried to make out the words in the dark, the moon hanging above in the sky not helping him to see clearly at all, “Someone called ‘Special Agent J’?”

There was a short moment of silence before the gates suddenly swung inwards, surprising the young man with its deafening and eerie squeaking noise, as if it had been long since the last time someone had oiled the hinges, the gates creating a rumbling sound as they automatically opened, stopping once it reached its limit and allowing the young man entrance onto the property. The young man squeezed his eyes to a close and muttered a quick and fearful prayer before making his way through the gates and onto the estate, observing his surroundings and taking in the beautiful sight of the manor, mouth agape in awe as he continued to indulge himself in the beauty of nature. It was not until the sudden sound of metal squeaking ringing in the air that the young man finally broke out from his daze, jumping a few feet off the ground as he spun around to stare at the closing gates behind him, a loud ‘bang’ going off once the gates came to a full close before hastily scurrying off to the front door and knocking hurriedly on the wooden surface, eyes wide as if he was being chased by a ghost.

The door soon opened and the young man stopped hitting the door as he took a step back, watching as a butler appeared from behind the door and greeted professionally, “Please come in, Mr Ruiz.”

The young man nodded in agreement to what the butler said before quickly entering the mansion, ogling at the wonderfully decorated interior while the butler closed the door behind him and informed, “Special Agent J would come down and greet you shortly. The living room is through the door on the left. You may have a seat while you wait. I will go and prepare some tea for the both of you as you chat.”

The young man absentmindedly nodded while the butler went away to prepare the drink that he had promised, the young man slowly dragging his feet towards the direction where the butler had claimed the living room to be while still gazing at the scene surrounding him, too awestruck to close his mouth and look where he was going, which resulted in him not noticing the slight levitate in the threshold and tripping over it, falling flat on his face. The young man blushed in embarrassment as he quickly picked himself up and made his way towards the couch in the living room with hurried steps, plopping down onto the soft furniture before burying his face in his hands and groaning bashfully, mentally kicking himself for being so clumsy and stupid.

Just then, the young man heard footsteps entering the living room, and he lifted his head up to connect gaze with the one and only Special Agent J that his higher-ups always praises about, heat spreading from his cheeks down to his neck and up to the tips of his ears.

Special Agent J blinked at the young man in curiosity and confusion before asking, “What is wrong?”

The young man snapped out from his mooning as he shily replied, “I-It is nothing! There is nothing wrong!”

Special Agent J raised a brow and continued to question, “Then why were you staring at me like that just now? Was there something on my face?”

“I-It is not like that,” the young man squeaked, afraid that he had offended the special agent, “I-I just heard so many stories about you from my seniors, Special Agent J. A-And to finally see you in person, i-it is a bit overwhelming.”

Special Agent J smiled before laughing wholeheartedly at the boy, “Such a cutie you are, are you not?”

The young man flushed furiously at the comment as Special Agent J sat on the couch opposite of him and asked, getting straight to business, “So, what are you here for? What business do you have with me?”

The young man instantly offered the envelope to the special agent, trying to speak as professionally as he could, “The higher-ups want you to investigate on a case.”

Special Agent J took the given envelope and tore it open, taking out the content and unfolding the letter before reading it, “‘The government and president of the United States would like to formally request for your assistance in the investigation of a Mafia case that had became an international problem since this January. The trading of illegal objects had spread to large countries such as the United Kingdom, Russia, India, China, the United States and so on. If this case goes on, major issues would ensue. FBIs from all over the world are now working together to solve this case and end this difficulty once and for all. Many countries had offered up their best detectives to work on this case, and to present the United States, we would like to invite you, Special Agent J. This worrying trouble is based in’...”

Special Agent J quirked a brow in mild amusement, eyes flickering upwards to meet the young man, who jumped in his seat in surprise when the special agent’s attention was suddenly on him, “Korea?”

The young man nodded, “It seems to be as such.”

Special Agent J nodded and continued reading, “‘We would like to ask you to’-”

Special Agent J’s eyes widened in disbelief, “‘To go to Korea and settle this mess there’?”

Disbelief was evident in Special Agent J’s eyes as a forced laugh resounded in the air, “Are they serious now? They are going to send me to Korea to investigate this?”

The young man only managed a shrug as he cowered back into the couch, afraid that the special agent might have an outburst as he voiced out his thoughts, “I mean, if you go to the scene of a crime, you will be able to gain more informations and find more clues, right? I think this case works the same too. I guess that you will be able to know and understand more about the issue if you go to the site where this whole thing was taking place in.”

Special Agent J stared at the young man for some time in silence, not uttering a single word, which was slowly starting to put the young man off as he asked, “Special Agent J? Are you still with me?”

The young man watched as the special agent blinked a few times before smiling, as if finally finding the missing piece to a puzzle, “That actually makes a lot of sense.”

The young man could feel heat rising to his cheeks as he asked in uncertainty, “I-It does?”

Special Agent J nodded before standing up from the couch, walking over to the young man and patting his head before praising, “You are a really smart boy, my dear. What is your name?”

The young man was sure that his face was as red as a tomato now courtesy of the affectionate pats and praises that the special agent was giving him, covering his hot cheeks with his palms as he squeaked meekly, “I-I am Roberto Ruiz.”

Special Agent J smiled softly at that, “That is a nice name, Roberto.”

The young man really liked the way his name rolled off Special Agent J’s tongue so fluently, hoping that his body was not heating up too much in sheepishness.

“You should go now, Roberto,” the special agent noted and patted the young man’s shoulder, offering him a smile, “It is getting late, you need to go home. I will ask a butler of mine to send you back, it is dangerous to return by yourself. Who knows what kind of people you will encounter at night?”

The young man nodded in agreement to the special agent’s words as he stood up from the couch, one of the special agent’s hands on the small of his back as he was guided out of the living room and towards the front door, watching as the special agent opened the door for him before turning towards him and smiling gently at him. 

“Well, I will be seeing you soon then, Roberto?” Special Agent J asked as they connected eyes, causing the young man to feel his heartbeat picking up and for heat to rise once again, either in bashfulness or embarrassment, no one knew.

“Yeah,” the young man nodded, trying to push down his silly timidness as he offered one last comment, “I am sure we will be seeing each other again soon, special agent, very soon.”

Special Agent J nodded and called for a butler before bidding, “Well, goodbye then.”

The young man nodded before following the butler that the special agent had called over out of the mansion, sparing one last glance at the special agent as the front door came to a close.

The young man hoped that he would see the special agent again soon.

Meanwhile, inside the mansion, Special Agent J’s smile dropped the moment the front door closed, turning around to face the butler that was standing at the entryway to the kitchen, shooting an exhausted frown at the butler before walking towards him in long strides, speaking coolly as they brushed shoulders, “Prepare my necessities. We are leaving.”

The butler’s eyes followed the special agent into the kitchen, following after the latter as he asked, “May I ask for what reason?”

“I am needed in Korea,” the special agent explained, pouring tea into a teacup while continuing, “The government wants me to solve an ‘international problem’, as they put it.”

The butler hummed, “And what is this ‘international problem’, if I may ask?”

Special Agent J smiled apologetically at the butler, raising the filled teacup from the table while apologising, “Sorry, I cannot share governmental information with outside people.”

“It is okay, I understand,” the butler shook his head in understanding, looking up at the special agent who took a sip from the teacup before asking, “So, when will we be leaving for Korea?”

Special Agent J placed the teacup down once done drinking, turning to the butler and answering, “Today, tonight, right now. Pack your bags, we are leaving soon.” 

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter! (^^) I actually wanted to enter this fanfic for another contest, but because of some difficulties I decided against it in the end. Luckily, the contest in the foreword had the prompt I needed, so I joined. :D

So, thank you guys for reading! Comment your thoughts below. Was it good? Did you enjoy it? Are you excited for the next chap yet?

Last but not least, have a nice day!