LOG 3
The Classified Accounts of Ami HwangI arrive home to the sound of Kyungsoo and Joshua shouting at each other.
“An eHarmony account? What the hell is wrong with you, you dip?”
“Okay, well, I didn’t think anyone online would actually take it seriously?” Joshua splutters. “At least I scored you a date!”
“You ered some poor girl into taking your stupid prank seriously!” Kyungsoo shouts. “Now I’ll have to deal with the- oh, hey, Mimi. Want some- Mimi?”
I collapse face-down onto my bed, and simply lie there. The sound of hesitant footsteps padding in my room echoes through the room.
“Mimi?” Joshua says timidly. “We’re sorry for barging into your apartment again. We can leave.”
“Don’t,” I mumble into my pillow. “Don’t leave, please.”
There is a pause. And then I feel a gentle hand on my shoulder.
“Mimi, what’s wrong?” Kyungsoo asks softly. I roll over onto my back so that I am looking up at Kyungsoo and Joshua’s concerned faces.
“It was the internship, wasn’t it?” Joshua hisses. “I swear I’ll go to that Dominatrix place and beat the out of them-,”
“It’s not Dominatrix,” I laugh weakly. “It’s Sentrix. And I’m just tired. Give me food, Kyungsoo.”
“I’m on it,” he says, dragging me to the kitchen. “Now let me tell you about the stupid thing Joshua did-,”
“I did you a favor!” Joshua protests.
“We can’t date, Joshua,” Kyungsoo says in a low voice. “You know that.”
“Well, why not?” Joshua exclaims angrily. “We’re all going to be here for... a long time. Why can’t we...,”
He trails off when he sees Kyungsoo’s face.
“Never mind,” Joshua says quietly. “I’m going to go... pick up something at the store. See ya.”
He strides out of my apartment before Kyungsoo or I can say anything else.
The two of us don’t say anything for a few moments.
And then Kyungsoo says, “He shouldn’t be here.”
I narrow my eyes. “What?”
“Joshua isn’t meant for these kinds of long-term missions,” Kyungsoo tells me heavily. “He’s impatient, craves action. And he’s probably getting antsy because HQ hasn’t contacted us in so long.”
“Wait, what? Why? Has something happened-,”
“It’s not that big of a deal,” Kyungsoo chuckles. “There’s no need for communication, really. It’s been 4 years. We’ve all settled in. I’m just worried about Joshua.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “This is my fault.”
“What? Oh, stop, Mimi. You did us all a favor. If you and your friends hadn’t figured out what Project Cotton was, we would’ve all been so much worse off. As soon as our gangs put an end to it, we can all return to our normal lives.” Kyungsoo affectionately ruffles my hair. “Now text Joshua to stop sulking in our apartment and try some of my chocolate cake.”
As I take another slice of cake while Joshua bickers with Kyungsoo, a sense of tranquility passes over me. I’m fine. Everything is fine. My reunion with Annabelle and Preet is trivial; a rather cruel reminder by Marge and Baek of my circumstances at most.
And if something does happen, Joshua and Kyungsoo will protect me.
Just like they always have.
Fei finds me the next day at work.
“Are you doing better from yesterday?” she asks pertly. “I was a bit taken aback.”
“Yes, I’m really sorry,” I say apologetically. “That was really unprofessional of me. It won’t happen again.”
“Good to hear. I won’t keep you from your work any-,”
“Morning, sunshine!” Kris chirps, clapping a hand on Fei’s back. The effect on her is almost comical: her face immediately morphs from a look of cool composure to a teeth-gnashing, frustrated look of fury.
“Don’t touch me,” she snaps, jerking away from him.
“Aw, you’re breaking my heart,” Kris pouts. “And here I was, about to invite you two to a party. This is why you don’t have a boyfriend, Fei.”
“For your information, I’m going on a date tomorrow night,” she snaps. “And a party? What party?”
“Wait. What did you say?”
“I said what party? God, are you deaf?”
“No. The thing about a date. You’re going on a date? Who is he? What’s his salary? How hot is he? How did you meet him?”
I loudly clear my throat. “You were saying something about a party?”
Kris tears his eyes away from Fei. “What?"
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. "Party."
"Oh. Right. Well, one of our clients is having a party to celebrate the release of a new product line. I was going to bring you two to represent the technology side of our company, but if Fei has her date, I don't think it matters."
"Yeah, it doesn't," Fei sneers. "I don't need one of your stupid parties."
"Fine. Then I'll just take Mihae."
I look up at him, bemused. I'm literally just an intern. This is my second day here. Why in the world does he want to take me to a high-profile event like this one.
"When is it?" I ask reluctantly.
"Next Saturday," Kris says, smirking at Fei's haughty expression. "Wear a swimsuit. We'll go together."
He stalks away before Fei can say anything else.
"I'm not even going to say anything," Fei simply says. "You know what? I have a date tomorrow night. Nothing he says can bother me."
And before I can say anything, she storms back to her desk.
Professional environment? Yeah, right.
This is a mess.
I let out a long sigh and continue typing in verification codes for Sentrix's clients. When are they going to move me to something more useful-
A name near the middle of the list suddenly catches my eye.
Hands shaking, I quickly double-click on the client file.
Yohan Corporation, ID 838-90184
Services provided: Network security, 6-G encryption, package 848-A
Contact administrator to view full profile.
No.
No way.
I shakily stand up, hurtle to Kris' office.
"Who's the client that's hosting the party next Saturday?" I demand, my voice trembling.
Kris leans back in his chair, an unreadable expression in his eyes.
"Yohan Corporation," he responds coolly. "They're celebrating the release of their first line of products sponsored in collaboration by Fulton & Park and Cyntel. Amazing, right?"
Oh my god.
We are standing near the back of a subway tunnel, hidden amongst commuter rush and newspaper vendors and the occasional rat. People jostle past us, oblivious to the grave nature of our conversation.
"So the 4 Flames, Seven Stars, and X.E. are working together," Preet says dully. "X.E. and the Seven Stars said that they'd stop Yohan. This is why Marge and Baek brought us together."
"But why did they contact us now?" Annabelle growls. "They should've done this ages ago!"
"Ami's boss said that this is their first collaboration, remember?" Preet says. "They probably started working together very recently."
"Now Ami's working for the company that provides Yohan online security," Annabelle says furiously, "and she's supposed to go to a Yohan party? How in the world-,"
"Where's Lina in all this? She can't possibly be okay with this-,"
"Do our handlers know about this? I swear to god I'm going to beat the out of Sehun and Wonwoo-,"
"They probably don't, Anna, remember how Ami said how HQ hasn't contacted Joshua or Kyungsoo for a long time- they probably haven't contacted our handlers either-,"
"What the hell?!" I screech, slamming my fist on the wall. Preet and Annabelle freeze, astonished expressions on their faces. A few passerby give me confused looks.
"So ing X.E. and the Seven Stars literally move us to 3 different places, give us new names, and expect us not to talk to each other for our own 'safety', and it turns out that they were planning on partnering with the 4 Flames the entire time? So all the we went through 4 years ago was all for nothing? Who the do those sons of es they think they are?!"
Preet and Annabelle exchange a stunned look, but I keep going.
"I don't know how the hell Marge and Baek landed this Sentrix internship for me- they definitely didn't hack in, because for every one of them, there are 20 equally talented programmers at Sentrix- but I don't know what they're trying to tell us and this is absolutely ridiculous in so many ways! the Seven Stars and X.E. and the 4 Flames the most!"
Annabelle and Preet are utterly silent for a good minute. They simply gape at me in disbelief.
And then Preet's face cracks into a broad smile.
"That's the Ami Hwang I know," he grins.
Annabelle laughs. "I feel like we're sixteen again."
I give them a wry smile. "I really missed you guys, you know."
Annabelle sighs sadly. "Me too. The first year felt like hell."
"I know exactly what you mean," Preet murmurs. "After Marcus' death, I needed you all the most. But we couldn't even talk."
"Which is another reason why those stupid gangs can go my ," I snort.
"Marge and Baek are trying to say that it's up to us again," Preet says. "We need to get proof and put an end to this once and for all."
"And we're different now," Annabelle firmly states. "We aren't the weak teenagers we once were. We're smarter. We have connections and resources."
"So how about this," I say. "I go to the Yohan party and scope everything out. Try and collect information so we have a better idea of what we're up against."
Preet's forehead creases. "Wouldn't it be safer to just try and gain information about them through the Sentrix database?"
"I'm an intern. I don't have any administrator privileges, and the only two people I really know there are absolute idiots. It would take me forever to get anything."
"I don't know, Ami. This is really risky."
"Preet. I know how to fight now. I can defend myself. And besides...," I grimace. "We're in New York. I doubt we'll see... anyone we know."
Annabelle scowls. "I hope not."
"Don't do anything too stupid, Ami. We won't have our handlers looking out for us. If you get caught, you're dead. In case you get even a little suspicious, call me and Anna." Preet nervously rubs his forehead. "Actually, we shouldn't even be doing this. This is a terrible idea-,"
"It'll be fine!" I exclaim. "Just trust me."
"So no telling our handlers," Annabelle says. "We don't want to tip them off."
By the looks on Preet and Annabelle's faces, I know they're unsettled as well. Our handlers have been our closest friends and allies for 4 years.
"Why don't I just tell my handlers to stay nearby and pick me up immediately if I call them?" I suggest. "We wouldn't have to tell them anything more."
"Fine. Sounds good. We'll be nearby, too."
The three of us look at each other.
"I guess we're doing this," Annabelle breathes. "We're back in."
"If Marcus was here, he would be pissed," Preet laughs ruefully. "He would tell us to worry about our own safety first."
"Marcus is the only reason why this matters so much to me," I whisper. "I want Yohan to burn. And I want-,"
I pause before I say his name. I have avoided speaking it aloud for 4 years. Preet and Annabelle stare at me nervously.
"I want Jungkook to burn, too," I say in a low voice. "I want justice."
"Let's do this, then," Annabelle firmly says.
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