Bold = Korean

Italics = Thoughts

Normal = Korean

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Airin was playing the piano in her room until her intercom rang. Airin stopped playing and got up from her seat to open the door. Airin found Suji, Soojung and Aeri outside her room with their pillows, blankets and clothes. Airin opened the door for the three girls to come in. The three girls left their things on Airin’s bed which was big enough to fit all four of them.

“Unnie, your room is really beautiful.” Said Suji.

“It’s really pretty unnie, you must stay up at night just to see the moon. The apartments which are to the west of the elevator starting from the eighth floor are the best rooms to be able to see the moon.” Said Aeri.

“The moon is very beautiful at night. How is your wrist Soojung?” Asked Airin.

“It’s just a small sprain unnie, but I’m suspended from missions and trainings for two weeks.” Said Soojung.

“Don’t put too much strain on your wrist.” Said Airin.

“Unnie, can you play us a song?” Asked Suji, glancing at the piano.

“What song do you want to listen to?” Asked Airin.

“You can pick unnie.” Said Suji.

Airin nodded and took her seat at the piano. Airin took a deep breath to calm herself down before her hands started pressing the keys, playing the familiar tune of “Canon in D”. Aeri, Suji and Soojung relaxed themselves as they listened to Airin’s playing.

“Unnie, that was beautiful.” Spoke Aeri.

“Unnie looks the prettiest when she is playing her music.” Said Suji.

“She is, unnie you should play for us more often.” Said Soojung.

Airin smiled bashfully, “I don’t know.”

“The others will love it!” Said Suji.

“Speaking of the others, let’s go and have dinner.” Said Soojung, getting up.

Soojung helped Suji and Aeri up while Airin closed the cover on the piano keys. Airin got her phone and keycard before the four girls left the room. They bumped into Jimin, Junho and Minho outside the dining hall.

“EXO-K went on an emergency mission just an hour ago, they’ll be away for the next few days.” Spoke Minho.

The seven agents entered dining room and found Jungkook, Myungsoo and Chanhee having their dinner which was mushroom pasta. Myungsoo and Chanhee passed out the plates while Jungkook passed out the utensils.

“Do you girls want to join us for a movie tonight?” Asked Myungsoo.

“We are watching the movie in my room because I have a projector and screen in my room. The others are coming as well.” Said Chanhee.

“We’ll pass oppa, we need some girl time together.” Said Suji.

“You girls are always free to join us.” Said Minho.

The four girls nodded as they ate their pasta and Junho gave his sister an encouraging smile.

“We’ll be leaving first.” Spoke Myungsoo, getting up.

The boys cleared their dishes before grabbing the two buckets of popcorn and two bags of nachos on the table. The boys bid the girls goodnight before leaving the dining room.

“I’m stuffed.” Sighed Aeri.

“Me too.” Said Airin.

“Let’s go and have our girl talk then!” Said Suji.

“Calm down Suji, you’ll get a stomachache if you run after eating a meal.” Laughed Soojung.

The four girls cleared their dishes before heading back up to Airin’s room. The girls settled themselves on Airin’s bed.

“So, any good gossip?” Asked Suji.

“Well, I heard that Doojoon oppa is dating one of the senior members of Shadows’ Chinese branch, apparently that agent knows how to speak Korean and they met while on a mission a long time ago but they have only recently started dating.” Said Aeri.

“I know, Doojoon oppa is dating FeiFei unnie. She was my mentor when I was sent to China to train for a month a few years back.” Said Suji.

“Are they any other members who are in relationships?” Asked Airin.

“There are a few other agents who are dating. There is no rule or whatsoever that says that we can’t date. The bosses have no problems about us dating as along as it does not interfere with our work.” Spoke Soojung.

“I know that Minyoung unnie has an on-off relationship with her former colleague, Lee Kikwang, from when she was still a police officer. They are apparently high school sweethearts.” Said Suji.

“Why do you ask unnie? Do you like someone?” Asked Aeri.

Airin shook her head, “Junho told me that Jackson is trying to convince Mark to ask me out, he heard it from his classmates who are friends and groupmates with Mark and Jackson.”

“They are members of the agency.” Nodded Suji, recognising the two names.

“You should just ignore them, Jackson is always trying to get Mark to date someone. But Jackson must have noticed something about you if he asked Mark to ask you out. As much as Jackson wants to help Mark find a girlfriend, Jackson would never find a girl that Mark wouldn’t like.” Said Soojung.

“And how do you know that Soojung?” Asked Suji.

Soojung shrugged, “Rumours, and it is a common topic in our school.”

“But unnie should still be careful right? They are members of the agency, who knows what they can do.” Said Aeri.

“As far as I have observed, Mark is the only one who knows about my situation since his parents are high ranking members of the agency, but even with that advantage, Mark doesn’t know why his father wants to catch me.” Said Airin.

“Mark is a very strange fellow, Myungsoo oppa once encountered him during a mission and Mark helped Myungsoo oppa.” Said Suji.

“I remember that incident, Myungsoo oppa was quite puzzled and confused when he gave his report and so were the other agents and because of the incident they put Mark on their watch for a while but they have since dropped him from the list when nothing else happened.” Said Aeri.

“Unnie, you should still be careful, who knows what the agency will do?” Said Soojung.

“Unnie, we are just worried about you.” Said Suji.

“I’ll be fine, after all I have you guys with me.” Said Airin.

“Speaking of the others, have you noticed anything strange or out of the ordinary lately especially about the guys from the agency?” Asked Suji.

“No, why do you ask?” Asked Soojung.

Suji sighed, “I overheard Chanhee oppa and Myungsoo oppa talking about unnie’s situation and it seems that the agency is unaware that unnie is being hunted down, at least the normal spies are unaware. It is the higher ups in the agency that wants to capture unnie, just like how unnie observed the situation to be. It seems that Mark knows about unnie’s situation through his father but his other groupmates are unaware.”

“But Mark doesn’t want to help his father, does that mean something?” Wondered Soojung.

“He probably likes unnie, I mean who wouldn’t like unnie? She is smart, pretty, talented and not to mention a very good friend.” Said Aeri.

“That’s a possible reason but from what I know, Mark is quite reserved and he doesn’t interact with new students all that much. He doesn’t have much friends outside of his team either. It was strange to me when I realised that Mark was interested in unnie, the rumours in our school made the issue even stranger to me.” Said Soojung.

“It was strange even to his teammates, Jaebum-shi even asked me if Mark was bothering me.” Said Airin.

“Did they say anything else?” Asked Suji.

“They mentioned about the bullying incident from last year and we talked and they really want to be friends with me. They are nice people but I still can’t figure out why they are in the agency? I understand Mark’s case his parents are both high ranking members in the agency but the others?” Said Airin.

“I wonder that too, a few of my schoolmates are in the agency as well and I have no idea why. They are nice people and they just don’t suit the type of work that the agency does. But then again looks can be deceiving and we as Shadows’ agents do similar work as them, the only difference being is that we cannot kill anyone. But it’s not like Shadows recruits that many people either, so we sort of lose out to them in a sense.” Said Suji.

“But I don’t like what the agency does, they kill and harm people in ways that I’d rather not know of, in order to achieve their goals. They would go as far as to capture the children of two “spies”, the children, who in this case are unnie and Junho oppa, who are completely innocent. No parent would put their children in such danger.” Said Aeri.

“I agree but we can’t shut down the agency, it’s too big and they probably have more spies than us when we combine all of the agents from the various branches.” Said Soojung.

“Unnie, don’t worry. We’ll help you with your situation.” Said Suji.

“Not just we, the other agents will help you too.” Said Aeri.

“Just be careful unnie, who knows what the agency will do the capture you and Junho.” Said Soojung.

“I know, I’m already threading on dangerous ground and not to mention that I’m in a place where the agency can easily capture me, since they have people all around the place.” Said Airin.

“That’s true but if anything happens to unnie, Mark will probably be there to help her. If what unnie says is true, Mark will do his best to help unnie.” Said Soojung.

“Mark is a nice guy but please don’t describe him that way. As much as a nice guy he is, he doesn’t seem like someone who would save me when I’m in a pinch. I don’t need a prince charming to save me and neither am I a damsel in distress that needs saving.” Frowned Airin.

“Appearances can be deceiving unnie.” Smirked Soojung.

“Unnie, you should discuss this with the senior agents. What if Mark’s father is manipulating Mark so that he can find you?” Asked Aeri, thinking of the worst case scenario.

Suji’s eyes widened, “That is a possibility despite what we have already discussed.”

“Aeri has a point, but I know that the senior members are already doing their investigations. Minyoung unnie would have already told them.” Said Soojung.

“I don’t think that will happen and besides I can take care of myself. Don’t worry too much.” Said Airin.

“Alright, let’s get to sleep. You three have training tomorrow morning.” Spoke Soojung, glancing at the clock.

“What training do you girls have? I have agility training with Chanhee oppa.” Said Suji.

“I have hacking training with Minho oppa.” Said Aeri.

“I have stealth training with Myungsoo oppa and Jungkook.” Said Airin.

Airin got up from her bed and adjusted her large jukebox, which was by the piano, to radio mode and switched it to a station which played classical music. Soojung and Aeri each set an alarm with a five minute interval on their phones, Suji then the nightlights while Airin turned off the main light before getting into bed. There was complete silence after a chorus of “goodnights” and the only thing that could be heard was the calm breathing of the four girls.

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The next morning…

Airin was the first one to wake up first at 7am, even though Soojung’s alarm was set at 8am. Airin quietly got out of bed and changed into her sports kit. Airin tied her hair into a ponytail and pinned her fringe up. Airin slipped a towel around her neck before leaving a note for Suji, Soojung and Aeri. Airin took her phone and keycard and kept them in the inner pocket of her sports kit. Airin headed downstairs for a morning run but she wasn’t the only one, Minho was there too but he had just finished his run.

“Morning, Airin. Out for a run I see?” Said Minho, wiping sweat using his towel.

“Morning, Minho oppa. You too?” Spoke Airin.

“Yup, I’m going to shoot some hoops with Jungkook, Jimin and Junho. You can stop by after your run.” Said Minho.

“Why not?” Shrugged Airin.

“I’ll see you later.” Said Minho, giving the younger girl a wave before leaving.

Airin stretched her body before going for a run around the compound. It was Airin’s first time trying out this running route, Chanhee had once mentioned to her that one whole round around their residential compound, is about 4km and this was only their housing estate. The whole compound was pretty big and it was good training. Myungsoo and Chanhee put up directions on where to run to complete the 4km run in case any agent got lost.

Airin panted heavily when she returned to where she had started out, exactly thirty-seven minutes later. Airin wiped away her sweat with her towel before she made her way to the basketball court, where Jungkook, Jimin. Junho and Minho were. But they were also joined by Chanhee and Myungsoo, so they were playing a 3 vs 3 game with Minho, Myungoo and Chanhee on one team and the triple J’s, Jungkook, Junho and Jimin in one team. Currently, the triple J’s were winning because of Jungkook, since he was a basketball player in school. Minho was really good at sports too but he preferred soccer over basketball, but that didn’t mean he was bad at basketball, in fact he was good at pretty much every sport he played and he played many sports.

“That was a good game.” Said Jimin, after the timer on Myungsoo’s phone went off, signaling the end of the game.

“Noona, how were we?” Asked Jungkook.

“Very good, all of you were.” Said Airin.

“Say Airin, how long did you take to finish the route?” Asked Chanhee.

“Thirty-seven minutes.” Responded Airin.

“Exactly?” Asked Chanhee.

Airin nodded and Myungsoo patted her head.

“That’s the second best record for the girls so far. Aeri’s timing of thirty-six minutes and eleven seconds is the record.” Said Myungsoo.

“Come on, let’s go and get breakfast. We have training after breakfast.” Said Chanhee.

“Hyung, can we have the training now? Noona and I aren’t tired yet and we are refreshed enough for stealth training. We aren’t hungry yet either and besides I have plans with my friends to play basketball later in the afternoon.” Said Jungkook, turning to Myungsoo.

“I don’t mind, I’m thinking of going out to the park for a while to relax and maybe play some sports.” Said Airin, with a shrug.

“We can do that but we need someone to help us with the simulation, I’m going to train as well.” Said Myungsoo.

“I’ll help you, the rest can go and grab some breakfast. We’ll meet at the dining hall later, we won’t take long.” Spoke Minho.

“I don’t mind.” Shrugged Jimin.

“And neither do I.” Said Junho.

“I’ll take Junho and Jimin to the dining hall to get breakfast for all of us, any special requests?” Asked Chanhee.

The others shook their heads and the group split up. Jungkook, Airin, Myungsoo and Minho headed to the training centre and they entered the training simulation room. The first agent up was Jungkook and he completed the training flawlessly. Myungsoo went up second and he also completed the training without any problems. Airin bit her lower lip before entering the simulation space.

“You can do it noona!” Said Jungkook.

Airin took a deep breath as her surroundings began to change. Airin found herself in an old warehouse and she was to escape from the place without getting caught. It took Airin a while before she found her way around the place and she escaped through a hole in a brick wall. The moment Airin stepped out of the “warehouse”, her surroundings started changing again and she soon found herself back in the simulation room.

“The three of you did a good job, and that’s all for today’s stealth training.” Said Minho, clapping his hands.

The four agents headed to the dining hall to have breakfast where Suji, Soojung and Aeri were also having breakfast. Breakfast was a simple meal of sandwiches and hot chocolate.

“Good job noona.” Said Junho, handing his sister a sandwich.

“I’m beat!” Spoke Airin.

“Noona, we are going to play basketball in the park later. Do you want to join us?” Asked Jungkook.

“Who else is going?” Asked Airin.

“Jimin hyung, Junho, Aeri and a few of your friends from school as well as Junho and my friends from school.” Said Jungkook.

“But wouldn’t it be suspicious that I know you Jungkook? The others are convinced that Jimin is my cousin but what about you? And what about Aeri?” Asked Airin.

“But they know that I’m very close to Jimin hyung so it shouldn’t be a problem to say that he introduced us and besides I can always have another noona. Aeri doesn’t have to know you, you two can “get to know” each other and besides Aeri usually hangs out with me so there is no problem with that.” Said Jungkook.

Airin laughed, “I guess that would work.”

After breakfast, Suji and Chanhee went for their agility training while Myungsoo overlooked the training. Minho and Aeri had hacking training while Soojung watched them. Airin headed back to her room for a quick shower.

“Unnie, what club are you joining?” Asked Soojung, when Airin came to check on Aeri and Minho after her bath.

“Maybe the tennis club, I used to play back in America and it can keep me in shape and besides my rackets are going to waste if I don’t use them. But I might join the library club instead.” Said Airin.

“The tennis club members are nice, your classmate Jiyeon is a member if I’m not wrong.” Nodded Soojung.

Airin nodded before turning her attention back to Aeri and Minho who were currently doing a mission simulation where they had to hack into a software in order to complete their mission. It took them a while before they finally figured out the base codes to rewrite the program so that they could unlock the file.

“Soojung, I’m leaving first.” Spoke Airin.

“See you later unnie.” Nodded Soojung.

Airin headed to the dining hall to prepare some food for later. Airin prepared some sandwiches and some salad for later, she prepared enough for about ten people. Aeri came to help her a while later and they two loaded the food into a picnic basket. Aeri and Airin then changed into clothes that were comfortable to play sports in. Aeri and Jungkook left first in order to avoid suspicion before Junho, Jimin and Airin left the compound ten minutes later.

“Noona, don’t be nervous about later. We’ll be there to help you if you need it.” Said Jimin.

“Thanks Jimin.” Sighed Airin.

Jimin and Junho each squeezed Airin’s hand as they approached the park. Airin walked slightly behind Jimin, letting the male drag her to where the others were. The others have already arrived, with Jungkook and Aeri chatting with Bambam and Yugyeom while Youngjae, Jaebum, Jinyoung, Jackson and Mark stood a little further to talk.

“You guys are here! Don’t worry, we just arrived as well, except for those two.” Said Yugyeom, gesturing to Aeri and Jungkook.

“I invited my sister and cousin along if you don’t mind.” Spoke Junho.

“The more the merrier right Eunji-shi?” Asked Jackson.

Airin blinked before nodding, she glanced over at Jungkook and Aeri who she wasn’t supposed to know.

“Noona, these are my classmates, Jeon Jungkook and Han Aeri. Jungkook is close friends with Jimin hyung too.” Said Junho.

Airin nodded, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you unnie!” Smiled Aeri.

“Nice to meet you noona.” Said Jungkook, while nodding.

“Let’s play a three on three?” Suggested Yugyeom.

“I’ll take Eunhyuk and Jimin hyung on my team.” Said Jungkook.

“I’ll team with Jackson hyung and Jaebum hyung.” Said Yugyeom.

“I’ll referee.” Offered Aeri.

The six boys agreed and they got into position while Aeri counted the score. Mark, Jinyoung, and Youngjae stood beside Airin to watch the game.

“Eunji noona, which club are you planning on joining?” Asked Youngjae.

“I was thinking the tennis club or the library club, I haven’t decided yet.” Said Airin.

“Noona join the library club with me! At least I’ll have a new friend. The hyungs hate being in the library so they refused to join the library club with me.” Said Youngjae.

“Yah Choi Youngjae!” Shouted Jinyoung, pretending to strangle Youngjae.

Airin gave a light laugh at the sight, one which made Mark smile as well. Youngjae quickly made a dash to escape from Jinyoung’s wrath while Jinyoung chased after him, leaving Mark and Airin alone.

“Are you feeling better?” Asked Airin.

“I’m fine now, thanks for the concern. I apologise if Jackson said anything strange while I was absent, he is a bit of a blabbermouth.” Said Mark.

Airin gave another light laugh, “No worries, nothing really happened. They are nice people, you don’t have to worry.”

“I’m not worried about them, I’m worried about the others. Jackson told me about the incident with Sungjun, but I’m glad that they were there to help you.” Said Mark.

“I’m fine, you don’t have to worry so much.” Said Airin.

“Our friends seem to get along just fine.” Spoke Mark.

“They do.” Nodded Airin.

“Can we be friends? I want to know you better, especially if I am going to protect you from my father.” Asked Mark.

Airin paused and felt a sinking feeling in her tummy when she saw her memories replaying in her mind within a split second. Airin didn’t even realise that her tears had started falling until Mark reached out to wipe them away with his delicate fingers.

“It’s alright, you are safe here with us. No one is going to capture you, I’ll make sure of it.” Whispered Mark.

Mark unconsciously ran his fingers through Airin’s hair while Airin unconsciously leaned her head against Mark’s shoulder.

“But I’m scared, what if they come after us again.” Confessed Airin, in a quiet voice.

“Who? My father?” Asked Mark.

Airin didn’t reply as she shivered slightly not only from the passing breeze but also the chill that ran down her spine at Mark’s words. Mark realised that things were getting serious, and that he had to act soon. Mark patted Airin’s head reassuringly.

“Nothing will happen to you and your brother as long as I’m around.” Whispered Mark.

Airin froze at Mark’s sudden touch, it was the first time that a guy has done such an action like this. Sure, Mark has patted her head before or even dragging her by the hand to their class but it was because he was teasing her, and this time Mark was comforting her. He was comforting her about something his father did to her and that was the want to capture her because of her parents not that Mark knew that Airin was being hunted down by the agency because of her parents.

“Thank you, Mark. I hope that we can become better friends, I still don’t trust you fully but I feel that I can trust you with my secret.” Said Airin.

“You can count on that. Airin, I really want to be your friend and nothing more. I don’t intend on listening to my father’s orders this time round. I make my own decisions and it is my decision to help you.” Said Mark.

Airin gave a small smile, “Thanks Mark, I apologise for our bad start. I have trust issues and I still do but it’s gotten a little better even since I met you and your friends. And I hope it stays that way.”

“It’s nice to meet you friend, I’m Mark Tuan.” Said Mark, extending the hand of friendship.

“It’s nice to meet you friend, I’m Merliah Song Airin.” Said Airin, revealing her English name for the first time while shaking Mark’s hand.

“But please don’t call me by my real name, not in front of anyone else or even in private, until everything ends. I’m Lee Eunji now, but you can also call me Annabelle.” Said Airin.

“You can count on me, your secret is safe with me.” Said Mark.

“Let’s go and join the others now shall we?” Asked Airin.

Mark nodded, “We should.”

Mark and Airin went over to join the others, and the others didn’t notice the “little” moment between Mark and Airin earlier, so their talk and interaction was a secret between the two of them.

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