“Agent Minji is reporting from 2020, South Korea, I need reinforcement. Hello?” Minji is still trying to communicate with the future or someone who is passing by at her time current. But no use at all, her device with her time pod crashed hard. She’s fine, but now she’s stuck at this time current, 2020. One of the years that many time agents won’t go. 

 

Minji is glad that she changed her destination to South Korea before she recognized the error from the time stream on her time machine even though she's in doubt that she’s the one who did it. The machine itself was acting weird when she tried to change it. It was her first time having this accident in almost five years as a time agent. 

 

She is still trying the n-th counts giving a signal to other time streams who pass by but still, no help. 

 

“,” Minji curses out her frustration. 

 

At her surroundings, no one at her sightings, only trees, woods. Minji landed at such an isolated place, it seems it's a vast hill. Glad that she didn’t land at a crowded place or at the city, it will be making such commotion.  

 

Though, she doesn’t know what to do. 

 

A rustling sound somewhere near Minji, from the woods behind her, she put her alerts at her surroundings. Trying to figure it out, who is making noises, wild animals? She thought. 

 

“There you are.” 

 

Minji looks at the one that shouldn’t be here, by her alert, she grabs her weapon and points it at her. The person just nonchalantly puts her hands up, trying to sign Minji that she comes with peace. 

 

“It’s nice to see your iconic gun, so old one you use there. I still want that gun for my collection.” 

 

“Why are you here?” Minji just ignored what the person said and just asked the question in her mind since she showed up in front of her. 

 

“To help you.” 

 

“Help?” 

 

Minji is just confused, she’s not trusting her at all, after all the person in front of her is the one that Minji needs to stop, to catch. Time Criminal, Lee Siyeon, who always tries to mess with time, steals some confidential information from the past or some great nation treasures for money. Minji is always trying to stop her or clean her mess, it’s basically her only job since beginning. 

 

Though she's not supposedly here, Minji is chasing her to 2019 but this current time is 2020. Minji doesn’t expect to see her in here, at this time. So many questions in her mind. 

 

“You should stop hoping for reinforcement and should dismantle all of that time pod. Burn until ashes so no one finds it…..,” 

 

“Wait! Wait! Stay there!! What are you doing here exactly?” Minji cuts her sentence because it’s too sudden for her brain to take.  

 

Siyeon stops to approach Minji after what she demanded. Siyeon just throws her backpack to Minji and just turns back to walk away from her. “STOP!! You haven’t answered my question?” Minji still points her gun at her, Siyeon just glances at that gun. 

 

“Like what I said, I’m here to help you but well if you want to kill me with that gun sure, go ahead. Perhaps that's the way you can go back.”

 

“What? What do you mean?” 

 

Minji is really lost, what the heck is Siyeon doing it right now? “Are you trying to pull some tricks here or what?” 

 

Hear that question, Siyeon just laughs at it. “I already did it and NOW in this time you are here, it’s because of me. I was on my mission to annihilate you and guess who I got the mission from, your organization.”

 

Minji blinks at what she heard from Siyeon’s words there. Her mind goes everywhere where she can't get a grip at all at the situation she has here. She doesn’t believe it….. “You are just messing with me right now! Messing with my mind state here!” 

 

“Sure, if you believe it like that.” 

 

“I don’t believe it, Bora will notice and come.” Minji keeps sending signals to the time streams. 

 

“Bora? Kim Bora? The one that you have a thing for her? Sure sure, she’s part of those people who want to eliminate you.” 

 

Minji stops, glares at Siyeon to find the behind of her words there… She looks frustrated, she didn’t like lying at all. She knows her target very well, Siyeon only says honest things, she even tells what she stole and what purpose those stolen things she had to Minji. But all these things right now feel like lies, Minji keeps denial at it. 

 

“You are lying!” 

 

Then she keeps sending signals even the smoke from time pods hit her face sometimes. She coughs several times, waves her hand to make the smoke go away. 

 

Siyeon mutters something but Minji can’t hear it, her mind is already overheating, the smoke probably can come out from her head. Ironically, she was surrounded by the smoke from the broken Time Pod.  It hits her eyes, it stings that makes her cry. 

 

Several minutes later, not far away from Minji’s time pods, She sees people in time agent apparels. Minji knows they are coming, Siyeon is lying, she is really playing with her mind. 

 

“Find the pod, if you find the body make sure it’s dead, if there isn't a body then we accomplished the mission.” One of the agents shouted at the other while walking towards Minji’s pod. Probably because of the smoke.

 

Minji listened to it, she couldn't believe it. Siyeon, she’s right…. She’s not lying. She’s already gone left with the backpack she threw at her minutes ago. Minji takes it and slowly hides in the forest. 

 

They slowly come to the pod, Minji still watches them from afar. She notices one of the agents.

 

Bora………

 

“Scrap all of these and bring them back to our HQ!” 

 

So Siyeon was right again, Bora is one of those people, apparently she is the one that gives commands to other agents there. When Bora looks at her surroundings, at the scene, Minji hides quickly behind the tree, making sure she’s not noticing her. Minji glances several times until they go away, now she can breathe normally. She held her breath when those agents came closer. 

 

Now, Minji can’t think anything…. she felt anger, sad, disappointed. At some point she is questioning why is this happening? Why does the organization want to get rid of her? 

 

In years she served as a time agent, following everything rules and orders, but now they want to get rid of her. Minji doesn’t understand. Even at Bora, after all those years, how she closed to Minji and everytime she went out for dates, it was for nothing…….. 

 

She should be dead, right? It’s their mission. 

 

Minji hopes it’s really happening. Dying. 

 

Minji closes her eyes, waiting if the grim reaper takes her life. But it sounds really stupid when she can just put her gun on her head and take her life by herself. 

 

But Minji doesn’t do it. 

 

She scared. 

 

It was like the first time she learned about her parents' accident, the first time she stepped at the organization, the first time she got the bullet through her body, the first time she’s near the death line. 

 

How can she’s in this kind of situation? 

 

“Just like what I expected, They came, huh?” 

 

Minji opens her eyes and finds Siyeon standing in front of her while inhaling the nicotine. And everything sounds click on her mind, so she dashes towards her and throws a fist at her face. Siyeon lost her balance, dropped to the ground and groaned painfully. 

 

Minji locks Siyeon's position and grabs her collars. 

 

“If I catch you already and put you behind the bars, this will not happen!!” Minji shouts her feelings. 

 

Siyeon wants to respond, but Minji puts an acclamation on her statement. 

 

“Right?” 

 

That one is more frustrating than anger. Feeling defeated. Can’t exactly point it out to blame, but mostly herself. Siyeon who looks at Minji can’t say anything, she still registers how hurt her jaw is. She sure knows how bad Minji’s punches are since she always got them sometimes at some encounters of the time agent. 

 

Reminds her at the first encounter with Minji

 

.

.

.

 

Siyeon stops suddenly when she runs away from people, looking at the person in front of her who holds the gun and pointing it out towards her. 

 

“Wow, revolver, huh? Quite fitting around this era,” said Siyeon after observing the person in front of her. 

 

Costume…. Checked, she’s using a time agent uniform. 

 

Weapon…. Checked, sure it’s different than what time agent weapons have, but she’s sure enough that it was a Revolver, the one that really has real bullets, instead of some energy charged . 

 

“They send a new person, huh? Who are you, pretty?” 

 

“I don’t need to answer that, I’m here to catch you.” 

 

By the swift moves, Siyeon grabs the revolver and drops it to the ground, far away from the owner. 

 

“Isn’t that your organization's rule to always state your name clearly when you want to catch the criminal like me?” said Siyeon exactly in her ear. 

 

Instead of the answer Siyeon expected, she got the punch on her jaw. 

 

“It’s not worth telling my name to criminals like you.” 

 

Siyeon laughs, it’s been several times she saw time agents who chase her. Not from them really caught her attention. She is always at her ease to flee from them, it’s much easier than she expected. Though this one really stopped her at her escape route. No one did that before. 

 

“Your punch sure is good enough for a time agent who uses a revolver, hmm let me see…. Miss Kim Minji?” Siyeon smiles at her victory for getting the name of the time agent at her badge she snatched it earlier. 

 

The time agent was surprised by how Siyeon had her badge. She just checked herself in to search her badge, to make sure that the criminal really stole her badge from her. 

 

“How…. you….?” 

 

“This?” asked Siyeon, waving Minji’s badge. “I'm a criminal for a reason too, stealing is one of my specialties. They didn’t tell you?” 

 

“Give it back!” 

 

“This? I heard there is punishment if the time agent loses her badge,” said Siyeon with a smirk. She knew that it would be troublesome for the time agent, that is why now it’s the other speciality of her. Making a deal. 

 

“What? What do you want?” 

 

“Simple as you just let me go.” 

 

The time agent felt conflicted, she wants to say something, is ready to say it, but it zips again. 

 

“Does it hurt your pride huh? To let the criminal escape from your own eyes?” Siyeon tries to pour and rub some salt there, it must sting like hell. 

 

“Ck, just give it back already.”

 

As Siyeon sees the feeling of defeat and gives up on the time agent, it was another victory on her. She smiles and throws the badge to the time agent. When the time agent tries to catch it, Siyeon runs towards her and passes her easily. 

 

“Seems like we will meet later in another time, unless you give up already like other agents,” shouted Siyeon still running to her escape route. She knows Minji will hear that. 

 

“I will catch you next time!” 

 

By that, Siyeon knows, the agent is really serious about it. About to catch her. Probably will be the longest time and break the record from other agents who tried to chase her and gave up soon enough. 

 

.

.

.

 

“I don’t think so.” 

 

“What do you mean?” Minji frowned, questioning whatever she lost at it. “Answer!” The feeling of anxiety came from not knowing anything it really . Minji grabs Siyeon's collar hardly, she really needs the answer.

 

“They really want to kill you no matter what. I’m just their best option to use with their plan. So they can use my name, as a scapegoat. While all of that is from them, their plan.” Siyeon explains to the time agent who still locks her body that she can’t move. 

 

“But why…..?” 

 

“They felt threatened by your existence. It is always like that, to us, to other time travelers, to other time agents, to whoever that messes with time.”

 

“But I’m not!!” said Minji. 

 

Siyeon laughs at that, it really annoys Minji, so another punch on her face. The laughs stop, Siyeon looks up again to Minji. Smirks like she doesn’t care or whatever that Minji does. She can punch her everytime until she loses her life. She really doesn’t care. 

 

“What is so funny for you about this?” 

 

“Everything, the way they didn’t tell you or other time agents anything, the way you are clueless, the way that you didn’t know about yourself. It’s just like a puzzle to me, I just connected the pieces,” answered Siyeon, willing to get up after she felt the loosen up on Minji’s lock on her body. 

 

Minji tries to register what Siyeon said, she lets Siyeon get up as she drops her back to the ground. Seems she’s really clueless like what Siyeon said, she felt so betrayed, ashamed of herself, really doesn’t know what to do. 

 

Siyeon looks at her from top now, see the time agent laying on the ground questioning whatever is on her mind. 

 

“Change your outfit! I bring pairs in that backpack. I will wait there,” said Siyeon, pointing at the big tree. 

 

“Why should I?” 

 

“It’s getting dark, you want to be here? And your outfit is from a different time, it will be so noticeable from people in this era. Unless you don’t really care that you are being everywhere since the city will capture your presence and people weird it out about “There is a person that looks like not from this generation”, whatever boat you pick.” 

 

Then Siyeon walks away from her towards the big tree. Minji stares at her, then at the backpack. She opens it and sees a shirt, jacket, pants, etc. Looks like it quite her size too. 

 

Finally, she did what Siyeon said. 

 

Still her brain is racking such questions and answers. 

 

Especially when the place she works wants to eliminate her. It reminds her of the first time she stepped foot at FTA, Federation Time Association’s building. 

 

.

.

.

 

Minji runs as she is excited about going to work, she stops when she’s in front of FTA’s Building. It is always her dream, becoming a Time Agent since the family that adopted her taught her many things about TIME. They really love Minji until their last breath, they are still looking forward to what Minji will become. 

 

It was an accident, Minji is quite grateful that she can be on their side at their last breath. 

 

“Minji, you will be a great person. It will be hard, but you can through that. Just remember….. Whatever it will be out there, you will find a way. Always. That is already in your body, your blood. The strong person you are…..” 

 

That was from her mother. 

 

“Even your tears are so precious, so save them for someone special for you.” Her father looks at her eyes that are filled with sadness. “We are sorry to leave you like this…. We can protect you anymore….