Coffee.

 

The aroma of the freshly grounded beans made its way into Jaemin's nose, bringing a smile to his lips. He took a sip of the warm black liquid and sigh contently. It was only 8 in the morning and all of the five Dream members are still asleep, blessing Jaemin with a quiet morning. He moved to the window, watching the view outside as he took in the bitterness of his drink.

 

They live in a dorm house. Cozy and has five bedrooms, each for one of them. Jaemin looked outside at the towering building looming near their beloved home Made up of steel clads and glass panels, it was NCT headquarters. From the outside it looked like a normal office but inside, it was anything but. Inside were a maze of halls, training facilities, simulation rooms, a medic wing and of course, their chief in command's office room. This building took a lot of government's budget and it was highly secretive. Situated just outside the city, the President of South korea had generously gifted it to the nation's agents. 

 

Jaemin then glanced at the tall iron fence encircling them and the headquarters. They were heavily guarded, cameras in every corner. It was to ensure no outsiders can enter without being caught. After all, the government can't have normal civilians walking in the same area as trained killers. They were told to be vicious and cold, to follow command without fail. It was something that was drilled in their heads since the day they joined NCT.

 

Outside the gates however, they were nobody. They did not and must never exist. They were dressed in normal everyday clothing, use different names and walk in a straight line just like others. They were to not stand out. It was as if they exist but also do not exist.

 

But Jaemin liked it that way. He never liked attention anyways.

 

The quietness of the kitchen went on for about another minute until he heard a ping coming from his phone. He picked it up from the kitchen counter. It was a message from the chief of command's secretary, miss Kang. He read, 'Attention all field agents, you are requested for a short briefing with the commander in meeting hall 3. Briefing will start 15 after you've received this message.'  

 

He groaned. Great, now he has 14 minutes left to wake up five boys. There goes the peaceful morning.

.......

 

After waking up the Dreamies, which was a workout by itself by the way, they made their way to the designated meeting hall. As they pushed open the large doors, they were met with the seven members of the 127 unit. The Dreamies were gestured inside within a second. 

 

They exchanged greetings, some of them received pat's on the back, some if them hugged. Doyoung in particular complained loudly on how they never get to hang out much while at the same time, crushing Jeno's ribcage at the same time. It made Jaemin wonder, when was the last time they all get to hang out together? It seemed like they never have time, Jaemin thought sadly.

 

But then Johnny threw an exaggerated wink at him and he couldn't help but jokingly wink back, even blew a kiss for good measure.

 

Suddenly the doors opened again and two figures walked in, their chief in command, Lee Taeyong and behind him his secretary, Kang Seulgi. 

 

The agents all stood as a show of respect. None of them dared to utter a word, the only sound being miss Kang's heels clunking loudly as they entered.

 

It gave Jaemin flashbacks of two years ago when an assassin broke into the building, a plot by enemy lines to kill Taeyong. Miss Kang had to take him down by herself when the guards moved too slow. He wasn't there when it all went down but he was there when the janitors were cleaning up the scene. The poor guy had his heart punctured by a red stiletto.

 

Jaemin shivered at the memory.

 

Taeyong scanned the faces inside the room. He nodded when he was satisfied, "sit down"

 

They all sat down at the mahogany table. It was then Jaemin realised that there was a screen projector on the middle of the table, pointing at the white wall behind Taeyong. Miss Kang settled a silver laptop on the table and faced the screen in front of Taeyong. She typed something on the keyboard and suddenly the image of WayV's team leader, Qian Kun, appeared in the screen.

 

"Kun, how's Beijing?", Taeyong asked him.

 

"The usual. Me and my boys are here by the way"

 

The commander nodded in acknowledgement, "If everyone's here, I will start this briefing now"

 

The screen projector and the wall behind Taeyong lit up. He moved aside and they could all see that it was a mugshot of a certain man.

 

"Kim Woobin. Age 32. Mercenary. I'm sure all of you have know him"

 

Doyoung frowned, "Of course. 127 had been trying to catch him for 8 years"

 

"And we finally did 4 years ago", Taeyong glanced at Chenle, "With some help of course"

 

The blank expression on the second youngest's face remain unchanged. But sitting across from him,Jaemin saw how the boy tensed up slightly, his jaw tight.

 

At that moment, Johnny asked what they all had been wondering, "so why are we bringing him up again?"

 

"He escaped prison"

 

Everything went still. 

 

"When?"

 

Taeyong sighed, "2 days ago"

 

Jaemin felt angered. Two days ago?

 

Taeyong continued, "The guards that were assigned to him thought it was a good idea to keep this from us in fear they would lose their jobs", they could all hear the anger in his tone. But they can't blame him.

 

"A highly dangerous criminal escaped and all they care about is their jobs",Kun spat.

 

"Unfortunately, his whereabouts are unknown. The surveillance department are looking through all the camera's in and out the state. We've also been trying to trace him through the internet but nothing's been found. There's the possibility that he left the country in those two days and we're checking into that but we can't be too sure. Which is why I ask all of you to be on alert", Taeyong layed his eyes on everyone in the room, "Understood?"

 

A chorus of yes were heard.

......

 

Chatter was heard throughout the hallway as the Dreamies head their way out of the meeting hall. 

 

A ping was heard and Jaemin turned his head towards the sound. It was Donghyuck's phone.

 

Curious,he asked, "lover boy texted you?"

 

Donghyuck looked at him in confusion, "who?"

 

Renjun butted in, "the guy from the club yesterday? Doe eyes,tall as hell?"

 

"We're not lovers!"

 

Jaemin didn't believe that for a second. And from the sceptical look Renjun threw at him, it's clear he doesn't believe it either, "you expect us to believe that when you literally clung to him like a koala last night?", then he added, "did you two make out?"

 

Donghyuck chocked on his own spot, he looks visibly flustered, "we didn't even kiss. You're imagining things"

 

"It's true", Jaemin being the only sober one that night decided to rescue the poor boy, "I was watching them all night thinking they were gonna but all they did was talk"

 

"Exactly!", Donghyuck gestured at him.

 

"So what? Are you two just friends?",Renjun asked to which Donghyuck shook his head, "not exactly. We want to take things slowly"

 

Another ping was heard. Donghyuck quickly opened his message box with him and Renjun peekin at his shoulders.

 

Jaemin couldn't help the smirk growing on his face, "did he just asked you out?"

 

Donghyuck smiled shyly, not taking his eyes off his phone, "maybe"

 

Renjun read the message again, "no, he definitely asked you out"

 

Suddenly, Chenle appeared from behind them, "What? Who asked Donghyuck hyung on a date?"

 

"That tall guy"

 

"His name is Jung Sungchan", Donghyuck said in an exasperated tone

 

Another ping. Jaemin watched as the tanned boy looked at his phone again.That shy smile came back on his face and he stopped in his tracks. Making Jaemin and the two boys stop with him. Donghyuck looked up at them, still smiling, "you guys go ahead. I'll catch up later"

 

Without another word, he turned around and went the opposite way. A light bounce on his steps as he walked away, his light brown hair bouncing with his steps. Jaemin thought he looked cute that way, like a baby.

 

"What should we do with him?",he heard Renjun asked. 

 

"Nothing. He seems to like that guy"

 

"No, I mean him"

 

Jaemin followed Renjun's gaze, landing on Jeno. Oh.

 

"I don't know", he honestly doesn't. He gazed at Jeno's back. At some point, the guy had walked faster than them and when they stopped, the distance between them and Jeno grew further until he was a meter away. Jaemin wondered if he heard their conversation from that far. His eyes lingered on Jeno's broad and unsuspecting back, which honestly looks a little sad.

 

"You think he'll be okay?",he asked Renjun

 

"He will. He has to", then he turned to Chenle, "speaking of, are you okay? I know how much you hated that bastard. And now he's out of jail..."

 

Chenle frowned, "of course. I'm not scared of him anymore"

 

Jaemin noticed the fire burning in his eyes. He remembered when he first met the boy. Such a fragile soul. But that boy grew bigger and stronger, until he is what he is now. Fiery and bold, a blaze burning brighter and brighter.

 

And a little loud but Jaemin prefered it that way.

 

Making it his mission to lighten the mood, he put his playful face on, "Aww the baby's grown up. Come here, let me give you a kiss?", he puckered his lips. Renjun laughed beside him.

 

Chenle stared at him in horror, "Ew! No! Get away from me!"

 

Mission accomplished.

 

 

Authors note: Soooo,this took a while to upload. Sorry, college is being a right now but I think I can upload some more chapters in the next few weeks. Next chapter, we'll focus on 2chan's date. I'm honestly excited for that one cuz I've been shipping them since NCT 2020. Also, to Kim Woobin fans, I'm sorry that I made him the antagonist. I just felt like he fit so well as an evil character.