[CONTENTID1]re:claim[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Chapter 11[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

When Soojin arrived at work and exited the lift on EXO’s floor, she was met with a surprise. Her colleagues were assembled in the hallway, talking animatedly. She spotted three unfamiliar faces among the agents and figured they were the members of EXO who she hadn’t met yet. As far as she knew, they had been given a lengthy mission that had kept them occupied for weeks. Wondering who they were, she walked closer and was noticed by Minseok.

“Hello, Soojin,” he greeted her and prompted the three unfamiliar agents to look at her.

“Good morning,” she replied with a smile and introduced herself. “I’m Lee Soojin, and I joined your unit a few weeks ago. Nice to meet you!”

“Ah, you’re Baek’s new partner, right?” a black-haired man said. He seemed to be Chinese. “I’m Yixing, the tall one over there is Sehun, and that’s Jongin.”

“Hello,” Sehun said and Jongin nodded at her. “We were planning to have lunch together later. You’re invited.”

“I’m looking forward to it!” she smiled, eager to get to know the rest of her unit.

“Alright, you should get back to work now,” Junmyeon reminded them, receiving groans from all sides. Soojin wondered how he put up with the agents’ attitudes all the time, being their superior. His nerves were made of steel, and his patience was infinite…

“See you later,” she said and followed the other agents who vanished into their offices one after the other. As she walked, she picked up Baekhyun’s voice and looked ahead, seeing him talking to Jongin and Sehun.

“It’s a wonder you even survived the mission, considering your ty cooking skills,” she heard Baekhyun say.

“Like you’re one to talk. You can’t make any decent food either,” Jongin retorted, prompting Sehun to snicker. “Or did you forget the time you almost gave us food poisoning?”

“Don’t remind me. He at cooking,” Sehun agreed.

“What are you talking about? My dishes might not be perfect, but they’re better than yours,” Baekhyun shot back, visibly annoyed.

Soojin caught up with them. “Hey, Baekhyun, if you continue to be mean to our colleagues, I might add some cucumber to your salad when you’re not paying attention,” she teased. His shoulders tensed and he threw her an offended scowl over his shoulder.

“You wouldn’t dare!”

Her cheeky smile said more than any verbal answer could have. Sehun and Jongin laughed evilly. “See? You better be nice to us,” Jongin grinned. “Your partner sure knows how to deal with you...”

Baekhyun cursed under his breath, vanishing into his office. Soojin followed him, but not without exchanging another amused glance with the other agents, who were highly amused. She closed the door behind her and removed her jacket, hanging it over her chair.

“They seem nice,” she smiled, taking a seat in front of her computer.

“You could have taken my side, you know? I’m your partner!”

“Agent Byun is such a drama queen,” she teased with a giggle.

He groaned and ducked behind his screen so that she could only see a tuft of his dark hair. Nonetheless, she could imagine the pout on his lips.

Damp strands of hair were glued to Soojin’s face. She panted and narrowly avoided a punch from her sparring partner. He was agile and switched between punches and kicks, keeping her on her toes with his demanding strategy. Soojin loved it. There was nothing better than a good challenge, and since there were no high stakes involved (the loser would pay for lunch), she had fun. Not long after returning to the office, Baekhyun had challenged her to a sparring match—it had been a while since their last one, so Soojin had agreed.

“Is that all you got?” Baekhyun taunted, and she was tempted to wipe the smirk off his face. He was so damn cocky today.

“No,” she replied and prepared her next attack, grabbing his collar and moving her leg behind his. It was a simple but effective trick to make someone fall, and it worked as planned. Her partner landed on the ground, skillfully catching himself, but she made sure he wouldn’t get up anymore, fixing his wrists on the workout mat. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple. The resolve in his eyes was unbroken. He wanted to win.

So he bucked up his hips and threw her off of him, freeing his wrists in the process. He turned the tables on her, hovering above her body and keeping her wrists in his hold. His chest brushed against hers when he lowered his body, restraining her. Soojin could have resumed fighting, but her arms suddenly lost their strength. The fluttering of her heart increased when she saw the heat in his gaze, and she wondered—had this been his plan all along when he had asked for a sparring match?

He held her gaze for an endless amount of time until his eyes wandered to , lingering on the tempting fullness of her lips. Hot puffs of air caressed her skin as he paused—so close, but not close enough. Desire grew in her stomach and set her aflame. This was torture. She wanted to kiss him so badly, she needed to feel that rush of excitement it would give her. Although their situation was complicated, her body and heart yearned for him.

“Kiss me,” she whispered when she couldn’t take it anymore. “Now.”

His eyes lit up as if he had been waiting to hear these words. “With pleasure,” he drawled and let go of her wrists to gently hold her face. He tipped her chin upward, his finger teasingly trailing over her jawline. Then, he sealed their lips and they melded together like many times before. At first, he slowly mapped the shape of with his tongue, but when she whined impatiently, he became more demanding and nipped her lip. She tasted him and wondered if kissing him had ever felt like this. Maybe being separated for so long had increased her desire for him.

He pushed his knee in between her thighs and parted them. Simultaneously, his hand wandered under her shirt. She drew in a breath—his palm felt good on her skin. The heat within her mounted, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer. She needed to get rid of his shirt, it was in the way… As her fingers pulled at its hem, she received a husky groan.

“Kitten, what are you doing?” he asked, voice rough and breathless. He chuckled, liking this side of her. His teasing was a challenge, so she continued her endeavor and finally reached his bare skin with her fingers, followed the outlines of his abs and lower—

 “Wow,” Jongdae’s loud voice boomed. “Are you seriously making out on our gym floor?”

“I knew they were still into each other,” Minseok chuckled, “But this is a bit much.”

“Can’t you do this when you’re at home? We’re trying to train here,” Jongdae joked.

Baekhyun paused, a look of intense annoyance crossing his face. He detached himself from his partner and sat on his feet, crouching on the ground. “What the is your problem?” he growled. “You just ruined a perfect opportunity.”

Soojin kept shut and avoided looking at the others. She sat up, rearranging her shirt and hair. It shocked her how fast things had escalated—what should have been a normal sparring match almost ended in lovemaking, and she hadn’t spent a single thought on stopping it. It hadn’t even crossed her mind that it was a bad idea to do this in the gym…

She wrapped her arms around her mid, staring at the ground. The sensation of his lips lingered, eliciting a blush on her cheeks. It had felt wonderful to kiss him. It always felt wonderful…

“Sorry, Baekhyun. I’m sure there will be more opportunities in the future. You should find a bedroom next time,” Jongdae cackled without remorse. The agent put his towel on the bench in the corner and began warming up for his daily workout. Minseok joined him.

Baekhyun wore an ominous scowl when he got up, lending his partner a hand to pull her up. She didn’t meet his eyes when they left the gym together, but the blush dusting her cheeks was hard to miss.

A day later, Soojin and Baekhyun headed to Junmyeon’s office—EXO’s leader apparently had a new mission for his agents. She no longer was surprised to see the disorganized state of his desk—Junmyeon was the kind of person whose chaos had order. No matter how messy it was, he always found what he was looking for and knew exactly where he had left every single item. Other than his room, his suit was immaculate—as an agent, he strived to maintain a professional appearance.

“I have a special operation for you and want to brief you on your specific tasks,” he began after the agents had taken a seat in the chairs in front of his desk. “The Secret Service received intel about a businessman named Im Joowon. He’s suspected to be involved in financial fraud; tax evasion and money laundering. Other Secret Service units are currently in the process of collecting more information and evidence, and it will be your job to help them. The suspect is hosting a large party at his estate this weekend—it’s the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at his home and search for evidence he might be hiding there,” Junmyeon concluded his explanation with a sly grin. “You’re on the guest list for the party, or should I say, your aliases are.”

Soojin was delighted at the news. “We’re going undercover at a party? Sounds interesting.”

He nodded and smiled at her. “I figured you would like it. Please take a look at the guest list and familiarize yourself with the names and faces. Oh, and there’s another thing.” Junmyeon sheepishly scratched his cheek. “Your aliases are a rich married couple. It makes your story more believable and allows you to stay close during the mission.”

Soojin almost let out a groan and her excitement shrunk—of course this had to happen right at the time when she had to figure out her feelings for Baekhyun. Now she would find out how good Baekhyun’s acting skills were. A bitter voice in the back of her head reminded her they were outstandingly convincing—after all, he had managed to fool his own fiancée…

Not realizing what went through her mind, Baekhyun didn’t hide his pleasure about the upcoming mission. “Did you hear that, Soo? It’ll be just like a date,” he smirked. “Please wear a dark red dress.”

“Why?”

“Red looks y on you.”

She flushed and coughed in embarrassment when she felt Junmyeon’s slightly amused gaze on herself. “Stop flirting, we’re at work!” she complained and nudged him with her elbow while their superior chuckled to himself—their bickering was quite the sight and relieved Junmyeon. He had been worried about Baekhyun, but it see