The crisp morning air felt refreshing as Sera maintained a measured pace on the sidewalks. Her head was clear when the voice of her dad, who was also her Undercover Operations teacher, began speaking. The ear piece slightly crackled as the familiar voice ordered: “Sera, get your iPad out and check the security information of the building. Hana, I want you to tail Sera from 3 blocks back. Bora you-” the audio droned on as future assignments were given to each girl of Sera’s class, but Sera was already immersed in her task.

 

She didn’t pause her stride, but started poring over the networks of intricate anti-spyware of the sizeable corporate structure that stood tall ahead. She smiled inwardly as she noticed a fault in the system, a hole for her to get by. In celebration, she nodded along to the imaginary music coming from the iPad, for passersbys to see.

 

To anyone who noticed her, Yoon Sera was an average teenager, heading off to school in her red school uniform, carrying a backpack and an iPad, an earphone hanging in one hear, which the public would probably assume to be playing some insanely popular kpop song. Long, dark brown hair with a slight wave hung by her mid waist, clear eyes the same color as her hair shone in the early morning sun.

 

Little did those who saw Sera know: her uniform was a fake, her backpack actually contained materials that not even the KNPD* could obtain, the iPad was full of top secret & dangerous information, and the white earphones were only a part of the costume- covering up the miniscule earpiece. And her chestnut locks? Sera had been practicing the 38 different choke holds with it in her Physical Combat class. On the downside, several of the maneuvers created split ends. A pity.

 

From the corner of her eye, Sera confirmed Hana, her best friend, following nothing more or less than 3 blocks behind on the opposite side of the road. Hana was clad in her fake uniform as well, it being a simple white shirt with a burgundy pleated skirt. The uniform looked a bit too big as it hung loosely on Hana's small frame. In a motion that could easily be taken as an action to smooth down the rather short skirt she was wearing, Sera gave a slight wave towards the latter.

 

She registered the light lifting of Hana’s left lip- another blessing of Sera's physical feature, her abnormally perfect vision. It wasn’t soon after though, when her father’s voice cut out, “I saw that Sera”. She sighed in exasperation as she failed for the millionth time to do anything her dad couldn’t observe.

 

It didn’t seem like Yoon Heechan picked up his daughter’s sigh, however, as he said, “remember the details from the debriefing, girls. From now, I’ll make minimal adjustments to your positions and actions, so good luck”. The crackling stopped and the only sounds of the atmosphere were cars entering the roads, people talking and occasional calls of birds. Sera squinted into the sunlight as she aimed her gaze at the target building.

 

Like mentioned before, Sera was different. So was Hana. So were the rest of the girls in their class. They attended Sohan Elite Academy, which had sophisticated, high-quality, light blue uniforms, thank you, thought Sera as she itched her leg again; the cheap, ugly, and REALLY itchy red plaid skirt was getting on her nerves. Anyway, Sohan Elite Academy, school equipped with world-best education system for developing and perfecting elegant, powerful, and intelligent girls.. spies. Sera, and the rest girls, from generations in the past to the future- would devote their entire life to develop their skills in order to fight against those crimes and be hired by the government or international police forces.

 

To the general public, Sohan Elite Academy, is a fancy school, true to its fancy name. But no one really knew what the school actually did or looked like, because they didn’t bother to stop by the outskirts of Gangnam* where the gray stone walls stretched higher than any skyscraper in Korea. Rumors beyond imagination were a frequent gossip around the nation.

 

But rumors were rumors- there wouldn’t be anyone who knew what Sohan Elite Academy’s guidelines were, or of the lessons being taught inside the classrooms. Sera and her class, the high school 2nd level, were currently working on their end of unit field observation for her Undercover Operations class. This entailed tracking down a corrupt business physically and ultimately arresting them without revealing themselves. The week before, in their Technological Applications class, the girls were assigned with updating the files on the businesses' wrongdoings (in which Hana contributed the most out of anyone else).

 

It was only a few steps forward when Sera noticed the Starbucks up ahead in the street. She glanced between her goal destination and the Starbucks, then finally down to her wristwatch. I still have time, Sera thought as her mind was filled with nothing but a Caramel Frappuccino*. She ignored Hana’s slight frown and entered through the glass doors stamped with the green, ever famous logo. She quickly set down her iPad and backpack on a nearby polished wooden table, to get out her wallet. Thankfully, there was only one other customer in line, and soon enough, it was her turn.

 

“One tall Caramel Frappuccino, soymilk based with no coffee, extra whipped cream, name is Sera, and thank you.” The words sprouted out like a practiced incantation from Sera’s mouth, as she handed the cashier her credit card. The customer that had been in line next to her, who was still waiting for his drink, let out a snort. Sera frowned slightly and turned her head towards the stranger who made the noise.

 

Lively brown eyes is what her gaze first registered, then the slightly unruly hair, then the pressed gray uniform, then finally, the smirk on his face. Hey, she did agree that her manner of ordering at Starbucks was rather obsessive and she had nothing much to refute that snort. “What?” replied Sera coolly, slightly curious of why this attractive high schooler had made such an effort in getting his opinion of her out through the nasal sound.

 

It seemed like his smirk grew bigger when he said, “instead of memorizing the Starbucks menu, why don’t you work on more practical things, like the length of your skirt?”. His eyes scanned her legs. Sera was infuriated. Her disgust towards this boy erupted and she could feel her cheeks warming in anger or embarrassment- probably both.

 

Sera fought to keep her composure, taking a deep breath. Be nice, be nice, be NICE, she thought as she grabbed her drink and mustered all the niceness she could find in her entire body and snapped said “thanks for your concern” with an obviously fake smile and stomped out the door. Sera took a sip of her drink in order to cool herself down, but an immediate frown found itself on her forehead as the bitter taste of strong coffee melted down on her tongue. Frustration adding to her remaining anger, she checked the cup. Kai, it read.

 

In her mind, Sera visualized performing the latest punch-and-kick combination she had mastered on her own body. She bit her lip and looked back. As much as she wanted to taste the creamy sweetness of the frappe, she wasn’t going back. The replay of this Kai’s smirk made it clear. Although she did find that smirk strangely attractive. What kind of name is Kai and why is he so uncultured, rude, and ugh, how come- Sera shook her head fast a few times to clear her mind as she saw Hana again. Sera made an apologetic glance in the direction of Hana and threw away the drink in a nearby trashcan. She sighed for the 2nd time that morning. This was already the worst unit exam ever.

 

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Authors notes:

 

*KNPD: Short for Korean National Police Department, or just 경찰정 in Korean

*Gangnam: You have probably heard of “Gangnam” before in your kpopper career. But just in case- Gangnam is a sector of Seoul (the capital of South Korea), which is known to be the “upper-class” city, like that land is really expensive, and usually only the upper class families live there. It is often compared to Beverly Hills of United States.