(A/N: This chapter may be a little slow. Please bear with it; it'll pick up the pace shortly.)

It was too cold for spring in Korea, even for the dead of the night. Agent IU found herself keenly wishing for a coat.

"Don't shiver, IU," she told herself sternly. "Shivering is a sign of movement. A sign of movement can get you spotted."

She set her gaze on the mansion before her. The porch was set in white marble with columns that spiraled to the starry night sky. Every wall was plated with stained glass windows that splashed the massive lawn with brilliant colors. Flowers of every kind bloomed before the mansion, painting the air with a soft fragrance like light mist.

I'll bet a hundred dollars that a bunch of spoiled brats live in that mansion, IU thought.

Her wristwatch vibrated. This wristwatch was no ordinary wristwatch; it came with a communicator, a removable smoke bomb, a bright LED light, a video camera, a memo taker, a voice recorder, and around a billion other things that IU could use with her hands tied behind her back.

She activated the communicator. "I'm about to make my way inside."

The voice of her father, the Director, broke quietly through the speaker. "You know how much security surrounds the Jang mansion, IU. Couldn't you just hand this one over to SR?"

"Trust me on this one, Director," she said. "I know exactly how to approach this situation."

Her father cut the communication without a word.

IU straightened, walking right at the front porch of the mansion as if she hadn't a clue that it held ten guard dogs, thirty different laser sensors, five video cameras and two hidden mics in each room, pressure pads at each door entrance, two infrared scanners on each floor, eighteen different combination locks and fifteen different key locks and twenty different number locks, twenty-eight hidden guns, forty-five glass sensors, and six hired video monitors to watch over everything.

IU's watch vibrated again. "IU, what are you doing?!" the Director demanded. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

IU only smiled, muted the communication, and rang the doorbell.

She was answered by a kind elderly lady with a floral dishrag in one hand. "Yes, dearie?" the lady asked, eyes coasting over IU from soft brown hair to big, innocent eyes to snow-white hoodie. IU had purposely dressed in the least threatening manner, even if it was terrible for camouflage.

"I... I saw my big brother run off this way, and I was wondering if he came here," IU said tremulously. "Have you seen him?"

The lady's eyes instantly softened. "I'm sorry, dearie, I haven't seen a soul," she said sympathetically. "Would you like to come in for some cake?"

IU feigned hesitation. "That sounds very nice, but I shouldn't like to intrude..."

"You won't be intruding in the least," the lady said, ushering her in. "Please, I've been craving some company. An old woman gets lonely about these parts."

IU carefully slipped off her shoes as she stepped through the doorway. (After all, the last thing she wanted to do was to offend the person that she would soon be stealing from.) The mansion was even more extravagant on the inside; chandeliers, broad paintings, ornate furniture, exotic rugs, and glass sculptures everywhere the eye looked. IU spotted a family portrait and surreptitiously took a picture of it with her wristwatch.

"Come, sit on the sofa," the lady said. "I'll be just a moment." And she slipped into a kitchen the size of a concert hall.

IU instantly noted that 1) she was being watched with two video cameras; 2) a mic was hidden just beneath the elaborate coffee table before her; 3) a guard dog, chained to the opposite corner of the room, was directing a very hostile gaze toward her; and 4) there was a hidden gun pointed straight at her head.

"Why are you looking so nervous?" The lady settled down on the sofa opposite of IU, a plate of cake in her hands.

"Th-the dog," IU invented. "My big brother was attacked by a wild dog when he was little... and he can't use his left hand anymore because of it."

The lady set the plate on the coffee table. "I'm very sorry to hear that," she said; IU was surprised at her sincere tone. "I can assure you that Phillip is nothing but a big sweetheart!"

IU smiled, feigning anxiety. "Okay."

"Please, eat some cake." The lady's eyes twinkled. "I promise that it's not poisoned."

IU stealthily wiped a speck of the frosting on her wristwatch; it blinked green. It's not poisoned. "Why would I think that?"

"Oh, there are all sorts of nasty rumors about this place. It's not really all that it's cracked up to be." The lady smiled warmly. "What's your name, dearie?"

"Bo Ra," IU responded readily. "Ah... This cake is very delicious, Ma'am."

"Call me Eun Hee," the lady responded. "My grandson loved this cake. I used to make it for him every year on his birthday..."

IU caught the past tense. "Ma'am?"

Eun Hee sighed. "It's a long story, Bo Ra."

IU felt strangely sad from the pained expression on Eun Hee's face. "I'm sorry, Ma'am."

"Don't be," Eun Hee said. "I've had way too much sympathy in my lifetime." She stood. "Would you like to stay here for the night? I'll tell my neighbors to keep a watch out for your brother. What does he look like?"

Eun Hee's kindness momentarily stunned IU into silence. I'm a complete stranger... and yet she's offering to keep me for the night? Even when I'm going to... steal from her?

"I know that you need to look for your brother," Eun Hee said quickly, registering the whirlwind of emotions that appeared on IU's face, "but it'll be very hard for you to find him when it's so dark. Why don't you wait for the daytime?"

It was a perfect opportunity. A perfect opportunity to take the money, the money that the Director wanted so badly. "A-ah. S-sure."

Eun Hee's face lit up with a smile. "How wonderful! Who knows? Maybe when we find him, I can take you two out for a meal."

"A-ah."

IU felt like she was losing her soul.

"Alright, IU. We've got the loop ready for the video cameras. Ready when you are."

"There's no need for that," IU said quickly. "I have a different idea."

"IU." The Director's voice was as hard as rock. "You're not going to change your mind just because an old woman fed you some cake, are you? Get that money."

"That's my mission."

"Are you going to do it?"

IU shut off the communication. The truth was, she had no clue. Her heart and her brain were in their biggest conflict yet; Eun Hee had been so nice to her, but IU had a mission to fulfill...

"If you fail any mission, you will become an outcast, chased to the ends of the earth by those you once called friends."

IU swung her legs out of bed. Thankfully, she only had to worry about the laser sensors, pressure pads, and infrared scanners; so long as she was cautious, there would be little problems with this mission.

"My grandson loved this cake. I used to make it for him every year on his birthday..."

IU winced. Get rid of those thoughts, IU. You are a spy. You are a criminal. You cannot be sentimental.

She slipped out of her room. The safe was on the very top floor, the most heavily guarded feature of the house. It would take awhile to get to without using the elevator, but the stairs were unmonitored...

"I'm sorry, Eun Hee."

It was a whisper; a whisper lost in the great emptiness of the house, lost in the lonely void that one elderly lady called home.

IU wondered if she was hallucinating.

She was at the top floor, but there was nothing. No lasers, no hidden guns, no mics, no guard dogs, no pressure plates... absolutely nothing.

It unnerved her.

Who in their right mind would place billions of dollars in an unguarded safe? It made no sense. No sense at all. And yet... this safe was completely unguarded. Save for the standard combination lock, of course.

Was the fortune just legend? IU thought. Was the Director wrong?

Impossible.

IU slid toward the door, every step cautious and silent; there was nothing. She risked a communication with the Director.

"Director, something weird is going on."

"Get rid of your conscience and take the money already," the Director snapped.

"It's not that," IU said. "The safe is completely unguarded. There's the ordinary combination lock, but... that's it."

"What?"

"I've scanned the entire area. There's nothing."

"You're certain?"

"Yes." IU slipped on a glove and gingerly touched the safe door. "Nothing."

The Director clucked his tongue against his teeth. "Interesting... For now, let's roll with it. Enter the combination."

The door swung open easily. IU slunk inside the safe. "Still no sign of defenses, Director," she reported.

"Do you see the money?"

IU flipped a switch on her wristwatch. Blue light filtered through the safe, illuminating stacks and stacks of money, piled as high as the ceiling. "There's a lot of it. I'm not sure about billions, but there's definitely a lot."

"And there's no defense?" The Director sounded flabbergasted.

"Nothing," IU confirmed. Something caught the corner of her eye. "Wait."

"What is it?" the Director hissed.

"A note," IU said. "There's a note." She slipped her fingers behind the note, holding her wristwatch close to her face.

My dear Bo Ra,
I understand why you would do this... but please. Think before you take this.
--Eun Hee

IU gasped, flinging the paper away as if it were a hot coal in her hand.

"What is it?" the Director said sharply. "What did it say?"

Impossible. How could she have known? How on earth could she have known?

IU's head spun. Guilt. Panic. Sorrow. Urgency. "I..."

"Agent IU! Tell me what it says, now!"

IU squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm sorry, Director."

And she bolted from the safe, jumping out of the nearest window, plunging toward the ground one hundred feet below.

(A/N: The quickness of this chapter is entirely due to the encouragement I recieved from mysticangel. Thanks so much, mysticangel! I actually didn't have very much inspiration for this story before... but now I have an idea.

Leave a comment, please? :))

Chapter Two Preview:

The rake dropped from the boy's hands, clattering against the cement below. "Y-you're bleeding! And you're... you're... Oh my word. You're Ji Eun."

"Yeah," Ji Eun said.

The boy recovered his senses quickly. "Okay. I have no clue what you're doing bleeding in my basement, but you need some treatment now. Stay here. I'll get hyung. He's a whiz when it comes to first aid. Stay here, okay?"

(Estimated release date: July 11)