{SKI HEADQUARTERS, CALIFORNIA.} AT THE DIRECTOR'S OFFICE. ”Sir, you called for me?” Taeyeon asked peeping her head into the director's office. ”Ah, yes Kim, please have a sit.” He ordered then stood on his feet and round his huge table before standing in front of her. ”You're going on an important solo mission kim, the Emperor Sunjung line lives on. Our intelligence has it that princess Sooyeon managed to escape the attack on her two months ago, by the Korean government and continue the Imperial joseon line. And now, our sources have found her location. You, Agent Kim, are to bring her into SKI, where we can make the appropriate safety arrangements for her.” he paused making sure the massage has been sent across. ”No one but SKI quite knows where she is, so it should be a simple retrieval mission. We aren’t expecting many hostiles, but with her influence with the government of south Korea and the surrounding area, it is imperative that we secure her safely before anyone else gets to her. You’d be surprised at how blurred national boundaries can get after fitting a historical lens onto things.” Mr Lee clarified. Taeyeon blinked, “With all due respect, sir, this is a very important mission as you mentioned. I’m sure there are other agents who are more phenomenal, experienced and more senior in the field than me available for the job. Shouldn’t you be sending a more experienced and promising team just to be safe?” “Our main objective is stealth and extraction, Kim. A team would be too intimidating for the grand princess, so we’re hoping that a level-headed feminine touch might put her more at ease than the hard-headed approaches of our male agents. You will also be connected to an informant on the location. Barring seniority, you are also one of our most outstanding field agents… Unless you feel unworthy of this mission?” Damn Mr Lee for appealing to her competitive side. “Sir, no, sir!” As the words left her lips, she immediately regretted her overly militaristic tone. Lee didn’t smile, but his eyes crinkled at the sides, “Always the perfect soldier, Kim. I knew we hired you for a reason. You will find a more extensive mission brief with Agent Donghae, and your handler for this mission. Meet them at 15:00 in the conference room. Dismissed.” She resisted the urge to snap to attention and salute, proud of her formal nod as she retreated from Lee's office. She still found it hard to shrug off the habits picked up in the military even after a year now in SKI. Lee only shook his head as he watched the stiff back of his favourite junior agent leave his office. Donghae was excellent at giving mission briefs, succinct with the right amount of pertinent information. She took mental notes just in case she found herself in the position to give one. He handed her a device that she could only describe as a highly sophisticated and portable blood sugar meter. “This device has been programmed with all the DNA of the Sunjung family tree as we can gather from their remains. It will analyse any DNA sample and let you know the possibility of any persons with the Joseon Imperial bloodline. Find the missing grand princess, and bring her in, agent.” He went on to detail her the contact and details of the entire mission. Her assigned handler was Agent Heechul, she eyes him a little, satisfied at what she sees, and shakes his hand. After she was dismissed, Taeyeon readied herself for the mission (loaded up on minimal ammo, perfected her outfit—civilian, casual, but battle ready.) That same evening she was dropped off in the outskirts of Seoul in a quinjet, and even though everything went as smoothly as it could, Taeyeon still kept her guard up, for the mission was going far too smoothly. Yuri, the SKI informer was the most fabulous Korean latina waitress in the café she was directed to, and after making contact with her, she yelled at her crew that she was going for a break, before leading Taeyeon to a motel right above the café. There, she knocked on the second room to the left, poked her head in, muttering in Spanish something that sounded suspiciously like, “A cute girl is here to see you. In the day, Jessica? Lucky you.” Before standing out of the way for Taeyeon to enter. Something about the exchange unnerved Taeyeon, and she eyed Yuri guardedly before sliding into the doorway. The clever arrangement of the furniture meant that Taeyeon had to step within the room to fully see its inhabitants. The moment she did, she came face to face with a gun trained on her head, and Yuri slammed the door shut behind her, yelling a carefree “Have fun!”. Taeyeon cursed inwardly. It was a rookie mistake that she should have known to avoid, despite having only cleared for field missions four months ago. If this was going to be her last moment alive, Taeyeon decided she was going to go down with dignity. Scanning her opponent, she found startlingly dark eyes that contrasted sharply with the blondish bangs that partially covered the woman’s face. She was wearing a hoodie and sweatpants, completely relaxed, and holding a pistol almost loosely in her left hand. ”Hello, beautiful.” the woman’s voice dripped with husky appeal, eyeing Taeyeon fully before asking, “Who are you, and why are you here?” To Taeyeon, it made no sense. “Who are you? Where is the grand princess? What did you do to her? SKI won’t let you off if you harmed her. I won’t let you off.” Even as Taeyeon said those words, she realised… Oh, crap. The princess wasn’t already dead, was she? Taeyeon hadn’t already failed her first solo mission within an hour of being deployed? Trying to stifle her internal panic, Taeyeon tries to reach for the pistol holstered at the back of her jeans. “Nuh-uh, smart , hands where I can see them.” The woman made a show of cocking her gun, moved forward, and a glimmer of reflected light bounced into Taeyeon's line of sight, it was from a necklace with a pendant of blood red, shaped in the shape of an hourglass. Taeyeon's eyes widened with recognition. 'The Red snow?' 'But… what is she doing here?' “Who hired you? Where is the grand princess? What do you want with her?” Her words only accomplished in putting a -eating smirk on the Red snow's face, “Such fear in your eyes, yet such courage. I see that you finally recognised who I am, rookie. Any last words?” the Red snow asked still wearing her signature smirk. This was it. This was the end of Taeyeon's line. She just graduated from SKI training and was going to die before she could finish her first solo mission. She allowed herself some self-pity, before deciding that she was not going down without a fight. Taeyeon knew she was not going to win against the Red snow, but she’ll die trying for her mission, and for the joseon princess’s safety. Taeyeon appeared to consider her last words, before high kicking the gun out of her face and throwing a punch at the Red snow. As soon as she’d fully extended her arm, hitting nothing but thin air, of course! she found her arm twisted painfully and her leg entangled with one of Red snow’s. Then she found herself faced down on the bed, the red snow on top of her, arm to Taeyeon's nape, the air slammed out of her even with the soft mattress cushioning her fall. But Taeyeon had seized the opportunity to turn her comms on. Her handler would now be able to hear her last words. “Where’s the grand princess, Red snow? What did you do to her?” Agent Heechul squawked in surprise at her words, before frantically telling her that reinforcements were on their way. The Red snow actually chuckled before grabbing the comms out of her ear, replacing it with her luscious lips and muttering an entertained, “Cute,” before dropping it on the ground. Then she released Taeyeon and got off her, taking care to stomp on Taeyeon's comms as she got up. Taeyeon blinked at her in confusion, before jumping out of the bed and drawing her gun. The Red snow chuckled even more, clearly enjoying the upper hand she held over Taeyeon even as she raised her arms in mock surrender. “I like you. I’m going to keep you.” Taeyeon makes a show of unclicking the safety and cocking the gun, “I’m not going to ask again, where is the princess? What did you do to her?! What do you want with her?” The Red snow’s smirk was wicked now. “Cute agent, we both know I can disarm you quicker than you can pull the trigger. But if you really must know… I didn’t do anything to the grand princess of Korea that you are so concerned about. In fact, you’ve succeeded in your mission. She’s right here. Standing in front of you.” The Red snow informed, raising her brow. Taeyeon's frown deepens in confusion. The Snow's gaze is fond now, “Such an innocent expression. Allow me to clarify: the Red snow's name is Jessica…” She slides closer to Taeyeon, a cheeky grin on her face, “Jung…” she walks past the gun Taeyeon still had pointed at her. “…Sooyeon”. She’s inches away from Taeyeon now, eyes challenging, arms still raised in surrender. “So, why don’t you use that machine tucked in your jacket to confirm it?” Her grin turns from cocky, to playful. “I’ll even give you a drop of my Imperial blood.” Shocked at this turn of events. Taeyeon eyes the Red snow warily, stowing her gun away obediently, she was nothing if sensible. If the Red Snow wanted to kill her, she would already have done it, and reaches for the machine that Donghae had handed her. She turns her attention away from the snow for a second, and the next thing she knew, Jessica had booped her on the nose with a finger. Taeyeon flinched badly, before cursing when she realised that Jessica was waving her finger in front of Taeyeon, complying with her promise to provide some blood for identification. ”How old are you? You truly are adorably cute, you know?” Jessica asked as Taeyeon did the necessary to obtain and test Jessica's blood. The results? Jessica was 99.95% related to the Sunjungs. Taeyeon couldn’t believe her eyes. 'The notorious Red snow was… the lost joseon princess?' “Now, now, why aren’t you bowing down to her Imperial Highness?” Jessica asked. “I’m not even Korean born.” was Taeyeon's whiplash reaction. Jessica scoffed, shrugged and disengaged from Taeyeon. “You don’t have to be born in Korea to bow down to it's royalty, you're Korean heritage, I can see that.” Taeyeon tried to make sense of the entire situation she was in and drastically failed. “Will you come in with SKI quietly?” Taeyeon asked, avoiding the princess's royalty . “That depends… Are you going to be with SKI?” “…Yes.” came Taeyeon's stern reply. “Then yes, I will.” “You don’t even know why we’re bringing you in…” Taeyeon grumbled. “You’re going to offer me protection, weren’t you? But as you know, I don’t need protection. Nothing SKI can offer me, anyway. You’ve caught my attention, little one, and as I’ve said, I’m going to keep you.” Taeyeon didn’t know quite what to say, and thankfully, she didn’t have to. “But, our time is up, dear. SKI is not the only one who’s found me, the government and some northern spiest have a lead, so it’s best to be on our way,” Jessica grabbed Taeyeon's arm and pushed her out the door and out the back door, snapping and activating Taeyeon's tracking beacon as she did. “Hey! I’m supposed to be the one protecting you!” Taeyeon cries. She immediately clamped shut at the uncharacteristic childishness of her words. The princess barely restrains herself from laughing out loud, and if the twitch of her fingers is any indication, the urge to pinch Taeyeon's cheeks. “Hard to put my life in your hands when I don’t even know your name, cutie.” “Really? You’re doing this no....” Taeyeon sighed. “ The name is Taeyeon. Kim Taeyeon.” “Okay, then, Taeyeon,” Jessica's self-satisfied smile made Taeyeon's blood boil . “Lead me to safety.” “It’s Kim for you.” Taeyeon said, uncomfortable with the Red Snow using her name. “Okay, Taeyeon.” Jessica returned. Taeyeon chose to ignore that jibe, and attached a silencer to her pistol, leading Jessica through the streets of Seoul, keeping to alleys and sideways that she’d memorised before the mission, always making sure that she checked the roofs before turning a corner. She enters a main street, with plenty of cars parked at the side. Glancing about, she deems it clear, and was about to lead Jessica to the car that SKI had provided as transport to the rendezvous point on the outskirts of Seoul, where the quinjet that had sent her here would also be waiting to send her back to the organization. Just as she was about to unlock the car, she stopped in her tracks, and paused to consider. Jessica sidles up to her, glanced at the car, “Yeah. I totally trust your