Sunny had never felt more helpless in her life. She looked left and right, her sharp eyes scanning the crowd for the petite girl that she had just lost. Her grip on Sunny Bunny tightened as her anxiety rose exponentially by the second. This was serious. You didn’t just lose a Prime Minister’s daughter on a date. How could a fully grown person – albeit, shorter than average - simply disappear into thin air without a trace?

Unless…

GASP.

Sunny’s heart stopped. Time seemed to stand frozen around her as the most unsettling seed of thought germinated and sprouted stalks and leaves, spreading through her panicking mind.

Could Taeyeon have been… kidnapped?

Her bodyguards were most distressed and their leader was on the phone, talking rapidly to whoever was on the other end. They knew that their jobs were on the line. It was doom’s day for them if Taeyeon came to any harm on their watch.

Sunny felt like crying as she stood amidst the crowd. The most inexplicable feeling of despair drenched her heart and tore it apart. She couldn’t afford to lose Taeyeon. What would she do without her? Who could she look forward to seeing when she completed her missions? Who would be smiling at her as she slept like a baby in the mornings? Who could she hug and kiss when she felt like it?

Who?

No one.

No one but Taeyeon.

She wanted no one else but Taeyeon.

Not giving up, she decided to comb the area surrounding the arcade. She pushed through the crowd and walked up and down the crowded streets, all the while looking out for that beautiful face that she had come to know and love. However, in the massive sea of faces, none of them corresponded to the face of Taeyeon. She had indeed slipped off the edge of the Earth.

+++
 

Her arms were restrained and a seemingly innocent face mask was donned on her. That was not your ordinary face mask that you would use when you have a cold. No. That was a face mask that had been drenched in an odourless solution which would knock a fully grown man out within three seconds. The men were smooth and efficient. They were elite. Mercenaries who carried out their duties in exchange for handsome rewards, that’s what they were. With no fuss and no muss, they held her up and made their way through the crowd towards the nearest exit. This had been the chance they’d been waiting for. It would be impossible to find anyone in this crowd and by the time anyone realized anything, they’d have left with their target held captive.

Who was their target?

Oh, boy was she an expensive target. They figured that they would be able to retire early and enjoy the rest of their lives after completing this job. They’d been moderately surprised to receive an order for such an important, yet seemingly harmless person but their eyes lit up at the sight of the number of zeroes that had been written in the sand. They nodded, agreeing to the deal and the man who hired them shuffled his feet in the sand, wiping out all traces of their deal.

They’d been given a period of two months to get their job done and time was running out but she had suddenly left her house for a location other than her school. They perked up, sensing an opportunity in the making and sure enough, she had drifted far enough from her bodyguards and friend, putting herself in a vulnerable position. Like the vultures that they were, they swopped in and claimed their target within seconds.

They would hold her for a week and their promised sum of money would be given to them in cold, hard cash – wads and wads of fifty thousand won bills with random serial numbers. They understood that the organization that hired them had intentions other than money. It was none of their concern, however. They simply wanted money.

Once they were at a safe location, their leader made the call that Yunho was waiting to receive.

+++

Life went on for most civilians as though nothing had happened. In reality, civilians had no idea about the utter turmoil and chaos that the entire department of national security was in, namely, NSI.

Sunny felt her NSI communication device buzzing away a couple of hours after Taeyeon disappeared. She was already on her way to the NSI HQ, preempting the upcoming situation accurately. Boa was surprised to see her early arrival when most of the other agents were still on their way.

‘That was quick. Anyway, it’s code red, Sunny. Our PM’s daughter has gone missing.’

‘I know… I was there.’ Sunny was most distraught. She had spent an hour searching the premises to no avail before deciding to head to NSI HQ.

Boa cocked an eyebrow. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I was with her when she disappeared.’

‘Are you serious? You actually know her personally?’

‘I’m her…’ Sunny paused for a split second. ‘…friend.’

Boa detected her minute hesitance and raised her eyebrows even higher. ‘Friend?’

Sunny’s head drooped lower than ever. ‘We’re a little more than friends.’

Boa let out a soft whistle. ‘You sure went under the radar there Sunny. Even NSI doesn’t know about this. You’re truly worthy of being a member of Light.’

She looked carefully at Sunny. ‘I’m afraid I will have to take you off this case then. You’re too emotionally involved. Just look at how aghast you look right now.’

Sunny’s eyes shot up to meet hers in an instant. ‘No.’ Her voice was firm. ‘I have to be on this case. She went missing with me around. There’s no way I’m going to live this down.’

Boa placed her hands on Sunny’s shoulders and gripped her firmly. ‘Are you sure you can handle the pressure? Being on a mission involving a loved one can be immensely dangerous for you.’

Sunny looked straight into Boa’s eyes steadily. ‘I’d rather die rescuing her than to live and see her die.’

Boa closed her eyes. She knew there was no stopping Sunny. It was either they involved her officially or she made her way around it unofficially which she was get into trouble for. She sighed heavily.

‘I hope I don’t regret this, Sunny.’

‘You won’t.’

‘Promise me that you won’t get yourself killed.’

‘I promise.’ Sunny flashed a grim smile. I won’t get myself killed… not before I save Taeyeon from whoever is holding her captive.

+++

it was the worst moment of her life. For one, she woke up cold. They had splashed water on her to wake her up and the chill room had her shivering slightly as she lost more body heat through the water on her body. On top of that, she couldn’t see anything. A blindfold left her with one less sense to rely on and it was extremely nerve-wracking to her. Her arms were cuffed and tied behind the chair she was sitting on and her legs were bound to the legs of the chair. All in all, it made for a supremely uncomfortable and distressing situation for her. However, above and beyond all that was one major concern that she had – Sunny.

Was Sunny alright?

Did she get captured too?

Would she ever get to see Sunny again?

Question after question flooded her weary mind and her heart couldn’t handle it. She had to ask.

‘Am I the only one you took?’

The person or people who splashed the water on her ignored her question. She heard some shuffling of feet and deduced that there was more than one person in the room with her. As she opened to ask again, a soft piece of bread was stuffed into her open mouth and left there. A pang of hunger stuck her just then and she bit down on the bread, chewing it and swallowing rapidly.

Another piece of bread was put near her lips and she opened hungrily to devour it. She counted ten pieces of bread before a straw was stuck into instead. She on the straw and a steady stream of cool, refreshing water greeted her. She drank the water thirstily, not realizing how much her body was craving it until it was offered to her.

Then the straw was taken away as the rustle of plastic and light footsteps tapping on the floor told her that her captors were about to leave the place she was in. The door creaked open and creaked shut. She could hear the clanging of keys as her captors locked the door and left; their fading footsteps tell her exactly that.

She knew that it would be useless to try to get out of her bonds but she tried anyway. Tugging her wrists against the rope that bound her to the chair only made her skin sore. She couldn’t move any part of her body except her head., which didn’t help things much. She wasn’t gagged; for that she was thankful but that also meant that her captors had brought her to a totally isolated, deserted place where there was no one to hear her scream, if she even tried, and that wasn’t good news to her.

Breathing slowly and deeply, her thoughts settled gradually and she calmly assessed her situation. She wouldn’t be killed, of that she was quite certain. Being the daughter of a Prime Minister meant that she attended several different classes that prepared her for the potential dangers of being who she was and at this very moment, she was infinitely thankful for her photographic memory.

Her mind systematically went through the various points:

1.      If they wanted to kill her, they wouldn’t have fed her bread and water.

2.      Being the daughter of the Prime Minister, she could be sure that she was being used as a bargaining tool in exchange for something they wanted from the government. In such a high stakes case, they wouldn’t kill her, for it would land them in hot soup without achieving their objectives.

3.      National security would have been alerted by now and they would no doubt be looking for her right now.

Well, she did well to remember everything she learnt for she was right on all three accounts.

+++

Jessica snuggled close to Tiffany under the covers. They were watching a movie they had rented for the night – The Hangover.

No, it wasn’t a romantic flick. Nor was it an action movie. It was everything in one – romance, action, comedy, horror and also a thriller all rolled in one. There’s nothing like watching an epically wacked up movie to loosen the funny bones and enjoy your night together.

When the movie was over, they were nursing aching sides and a really tired jaw from laughing too much. They collapsed into each other’s arms, weak with laughter and laughed till they couldn’t laugh anymore.

‘Oh… ha ha ha…’ Jessica wiped the tears of laughter off her face. ‘…that was so funny!’

Tiffany couldn’t reply beyond nodding her head in agreement. She was still giggling over the funny moments. She stretched out on the couch and propped her legs on Jessica’s lap with a sigh.

‘It’s back to work tomorrow.’

‘I’m looking forward to it.’ Jessica grinned. ‘I’m itching to snipe some baddies.’

Tiffany laughed. ‘Remind me never to get on your bad side.’

+++

As it turned out, their rest was cut short by a day. Both of them heard their device buzzing away and responded immediately.

+++

Boa nodded at them briskly as they entered the meeting room and took their seats. She looked gravely at her agents who were seated at the round table.

‘We have a code red situation right now.’

Yoona nudged Yuri excitedly. She loved it when there was a crisis of some sort. She was a little strange that way but Yuri loved her for it and nudged her back while keeping her face looking solemn.

Sooyoung threw her brother a look and Minho looked twice as serious as usual. He would tense up when things got serious and some of his friends actually gave that look in his eyes a name – flaming charisma – that described it perfectly.

They had been shocked to know that Hyoyeon was the mole and even more shocked to know that she was romantically involved with another agent. She had showed no signs of being in love nor did she appear to be dating anyone.  Of course, dating fellow agents wasn’t allowed and most agents who did would keep it under wraps and hide it from the agency. However, having known her for such a long time, they were surprised to find out that she had kept it from them from the beginning.

Now, they were sorely missing her presence as they listened to Boa telling them about what had happened to their Prime Minister’s daughter.

+++

‘No ransom message has been received yet. However, we expect the demand to be in pretty soon.’

‘Who’s going to be our IT genius for this?’ Sooyoung wondered out loud.

Boa looked at her watch before answering. ‘We got a transfer agent who is arriving in approximately fifteen minutes. Her name is Nicole Jung. She’s just been transferred over to our unit from our station in the US.’

‘Can she speak Korean then?’ Yoona was curious.

‘Yes she can; just not as well as you do.’

‘Is she as good as Hyo?’ Sooyoung felt a tinge of unhappiness at the thought of NSI replacing Hyoyeon so easily.

Boa sighed and shook her head. ‘I’m afraid Hyo is difficult to match up to in terms of her skill in all things IT.’

Sooyoung grinned a little. Hyoyeon wasn’t so replaceable after all.

+++

‘Sunny! It’s good to see you back in the team!’ Yoona and Yuri greeted her enthusiastically.

Sooyoung and Minho gave her a warm hug each as YoonYul smiled happily at Sunny.

‘I’m happy to be back with you guys too.’ Sunny grinned in her trademark sunny way.

‘How did you spend your long break?’ Yoona was curious.

‘Lots of sleep, idling around and generally just having a good time.’ Sunny said dryly.

Yoona narrowed her eyes into slits. ‘You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?’

Sunny laughed. ‘You’re as sharp as ever Yoona.’

‘Whatever you were doing, we’re glad that you’re back here.’ Sooyoung smiled warmly at the petite girl whom she towered over. ‘I miss resting my arm on your head.’

Sunny rolled her eyes and laughed.

+++

Jessica and Nicole hugged each other tightly.

‘I was so surprised to see you walking into the meeting room!’ Jessica was astounded and in disbelief. She wouldn’t have guessed in a million years that she’d see her very own cousin in a place like that.

‘You don’t say. I almost screamed when I saw you. Luckily for me, I didn’t scream out loud but my eardrums almost burst on the inside.’ Nicole grinned widely – her trademark super happy eye smile; not unlike Tiffany’s.

Tiffany stood by the side watching. It was going to be harder for her now. Neither of them had informed their families about their relationship with each other except for Krystal whom Jessica kept little secrets from. She wasn’t so sure if Nicole would be let in on it too. On top of that, dating between agents was frowned upon at NSI so the arrival of a cousin was only going to make things more complicated now.

She was happy to see Jessica happy, however, so she smiled.

+++

The NSI team arrived at the PM’s house – all but Sunny. She couldn’t afford to have her cover blown as she was still a member of Light. She would hover around unseen and await instructions from Boa herself.

‘Sunny is backup, Nicole will handle our communications and gadgets, Jessica, Tiffany, YoonYul, the four of you have to be on stand-by to rescue Tango Yankee as quickly as possible. Chois, you two will be clearing the premises from around the back as usual. Seohyun will monitor the situation and control the gameplan.’

Everybody nodded. Seohyun nodded extra vigorously. She was exceedingly thankful to Boa for pleading for leniency on her behalf. She had been suspended for a short while, had her pay docked and subsequently let off with a severe warning from the superiors. Boa had a large part to play in persuading the superiors to give her another chance.

‘Our unit needs her. She is the best strategist we have. Her operation success rate is 99%. You can’t beat that.’

And the superiors had relented.

‘Officer Seo, you have a lot to thank Kwon Boa for. If it weren’t for her, you’d have been sent packing by now.’ One of the superiors made it clear that Boa’s reputation was on the line for her.

Seohyun owed Boa and she was going to return her favour with blood, sweat and eternal loyalty.

+++

At long last, the phone rang. The PM, Mr. Kim looked nervously at Boa and her team, awaiting permission to answer the call.

Nicole set her software ready and gave the thumbs up.

Boa nodded.

Mr. Kim picked up the receiver.

‘Hello?’ His voice was shaky.

‘Your daughter is with us. We demand the release of Kangta and thirty billion won as ransom.’

Obviously aware that the authorities would be tracking their location, the kidnapper hung up immediately without giving anyone else a chance to talk.

Nicole smacked the table in frustration. She needed just five more seconds to get a more precise location.

Sunny gasped. Boa had given her an ear piece which enabled her to listen in on all the happenings in the PM’s house, including the phone calls. Now, as she listened to the ransom demand, she was shocked to hear that they wanted Kangta released.

Kangta, before being imprisoned, was the well-known leader of the organization BLACK. BLACK was known for it’s dealings in illegal drug trafficking and arms dealing. Kangta had been apprehended by Light but not before killing half of the Light members a few years ago. Most of the members of BLACK had gone into hiding after that and had not been heard from since then.

Sunny remembered watching the news about the underground trains being blown to bits when the government stood firm against their demands for a few ministers to step down from their posts. BLACK had created a lot of chaos back then.

This was bad news indeed.

BLACK was back.