Chapter 1
*Rumi POV*
The thunderous crack of gunshots pierces the night.
Six men in black suits chase a target through the dockyard.
A girl dressed entirely in black leaps across a shipping container, narrowly avoiding a bullet.
Yup, that's me.
And if these idiots don't improve their aim soon, I'm going to start taking it personally.
I come to a complete halt when another four of them come at me from the front. Blocking my escape route.
Ten vs one.
Not fair at all.
But when was life ever fair?
“That's as far as you go, girl. Now give it back.” one of them steps forward, grinning, now that they have the upper hand.
My fingers tighten around the key I stole.
I hear a faint beeping. The corner of my lips curls up. I look him in the eye and extend my arm to him.
“Come and get it.” I whisper.
Meanwhile, my other hand pulls on a string attached to my backpack. Two beauties drop onto the floor from my backpack adding panic among my opponents group.
They explode, covering everything beneath a thick layer of smoke. Taking my cue, I make an exit.
Normally, I love to spice things up a notch, but tonight? Time is short.
Next time for sure, I assure myself.
At the side of the urban road, a black van waits for me. I hop into the back seat and heave a sigh before rolling down the window and looking at the dockyard from a distance.
One...
Two...
Three... and boom!
Explosions detonate one after another like a deadly symphony. Within seconds, the entire dockyard is engulfed in roaring flames, and alarms go off.
“Mission accomplished,” I mutter. I roll up the window and settle in my seat.
“To the headquarters.” I say to the driver.
And he hits the gas.
*********
(Back at the secret headquarters beneath the Seoul N Tower)
“Good job, Midnight!”
“Yeah, that must’ve been fun. If Reggie delayed half a minute you’d be shaking hands with the Grim Reaper.”
“Shut up, Jinx. Don’t spout nonsense.”
“I’m stating a mere fact.”
“Silence! What is this, middle school? Such a nuisance.”
Senior Agent Gu’s voice cuts through the chaos my colleagues create, surrounding me like bees as soon as I enter.
“Senior Gu, we were just congratulating Agent Midnight on completing her mission,” Ms. Jang, the ever-sweet receptionist, pipes up in her sickeningly polite voice. Sometimes I wonder how much effort it takes to sound that sugary. I’d rather drink vinegar than take after her.
“Yes,” the others chime in quickly.
Mr. Gu lets it slide with a curt, “Get back to work, everyone.”
And poof! They’re gone, vanished.
He fixes his glasses and says in his perfectly formal voice, “Agent Midnight. Mr. Han wants to see you. Come with me right away.”
I groan inwardly and follow him to the boss’s office at the end of the hallway.
Mr. Gu knocks and patiently waits to hear a response before letting me slip in. The door shuts behind me, leaving me alone in a room with my cold-as-an-iceberg boss.
“Mr. Han,” I say with a tight smile. He is sitting behind an antique wooden desk, covered with tons of documents.
I place the keep I acquired from the dockyard onto his table.
“I heard the mission was a success. Well done on getting the job done.” He stops typing on his keyboard and looks at me over his laptop screen for a second before picking the key and putting it away.
Mr. Han is in his late forties, with dark circles under his thick glasses and permanent stress lines etched into his forehead, making him look older. He used to be my father’s best friend.
Yet he won't bat an eye before sending me on dangerous missions with no backup.
Sure, no biggie. Midnight can do it.
“Thanks for your concern, Uncle Han.” I keep my voice polite.
“I expect nothing less from you.” He chuckles.
He slides a brown envelope across the desk to me.
I look at it suspiciously for a second before looking back at him and ask, “What’s in it?”
Perhaps a new mission.
The stress lines on his forehead deepen. He stares at me for a second before saying something totally unexpected.
“This envelope contains what you asked for the day you joined. I think you’re ready now.”
For a second, I can’t breathe. I stare at the envelope like it contains radioactive material.
Is he serious?
After all these years?
My fingers tremble as I pick up the envelope, open it, and empty its contents onto the desk. Photos spill across the surface.
My heart drops as my eyes settle on the pictures.
Years may have passed, but that night still haunts my dreams. The night I lost my parents. My parents’ faces have started to fade from memory... but his face never has.
The man with a burnt scar on his face.
These pictures were taken from weird angles. He seems unaware, carefree, living his life as if he has committed no sin.
Mr. Han’s voice breaks through my trance. “I know it’s not going to be easy, given your history. If you’re not ready, I can assign someone else...”
“I can pull it off!”
I slap my palms on the desk, sending a tremor through it.
Can you blame me?
“I’m leaving at first light. Alone.”
I put the photos and the pen drive back into the envelope and storm out of his office.
Before he can change his mind.
*********
As dawn arrives, I mount my black sports bike and head to the location, knowing well that this could be my only chance to avenge my parents.
I have waited years for this. I trained hard for this day. Now it’s finally here.
My thoughts consume me until the moment everything falls apart.
A blinding light hits me from ahead, stealing my vision.
I lose control of my bike and crash.
I’m launched off the mountain road and thrown directly into the sea.
Blue floods my vision.
My limbs freeze from the ice-cold water and the shock.
The one thing I fear the most... deep water.
I try to fight it. My mind screams at me to swim.
To move. To survive.
But my body doesn’t listen.
Everything happens too fast for my mind to catch up.
My fight dies with my breath.
'I refuse to accept death until I reach my goal!' I scream in my mind.
I refuse to accept such a pitiful end!
_______________
