Work Text:
Seven typed on his computer, his eyes flicking between computer screens. Ever so often, he would glance at the CCTV of the hallway of a certain apartment. A brown-haired girl sat there, enveloped in a blanket, reading a novel. She looked peaceful.
Seven had to figure out where, when, why, and how she came here. However, his search didn’t bring him any good results. The hacker that brought her into the lives of the RFA members was good.
Too good.
He couldn’t find anything useful. The hacker’s capabilities were too similar to his own, and it was tearing Seven apart.
One of his phones rang.
He ignored it. It was probably Jumin, asking for an update on the hacker. If it was really important, then Jumin could just text him through the messenger. Seven would just read it later.
It rang again.
Still, Seven didn’t stop his research. Maybe it was Yoosung. Seven did get him good with his latest prank, and Yoosung might have called to yell at him some more. This time Seven had managed to convince Yoosung that he knew his deepest, darkest secret. Seven had promised Yoosung to not punish him, as long as he told the entire messenger what he had done. This caused Yoosung to tearfully blab about the time he accidentally sat on Jumin’s precious Elly.
The truth was that Seven never actually knew about Yoosung’s oh so terrible secret.
Yeah, it might have been Yoosung calling, but Seven still didn’t answer, even though he was itching to mess with Yoosung again. His current work was too important.
Once again, his phone rang. Seven was about to ignore this call again when he thought of something.
It could be V, calling to let Seven know about the party date, or more information on the hacker, or something else useful.
Finally, Seven looked at his phone.
It was his boss.
Oh, he was going to be pissed.
Stopping his research, Seven answered his phone.
“H-”
“You missed your deadline, again , Agent 707.”
“Oh, I was a little busy,” Seven took another glance at the CCTV monitor. As if on cue, the girl looked up at the camera and waved. Instinctively, Seven responded with a small wave back, even though he knew that she couldn’t see him.
“And with what exactly?”
“Stuff~”
His boss sighed and paused, probably pinching the bridge of his nose, “We give you too many second chances. Agent 707.”
“That’s because I’m just that good.”
“Yes, but we have to draw the line somewhere. Your deadline for getting the information from The Blossom Organization was yesterday.”
The Blossom Organization was like Rika’s Fundraising Association in that they were both charity and fundraising groups. However, that was where the similarities ended. While the RFA raised money from groups of every class and monetary status, The Blossom Organization only focused on the wealthiest of people. Not to mention that there were some rumors of extortion, secrets, and whatnot behind the scenes.
Seven liked the RFA better, even if they were a little out of the party and charity business. There were no illegal matters, nor secrets going on.
Well, almost no secrets.
Hahaha.
Haha.
Ha.
…
“Well…” Seven said, “The Blossom Mission isn’t going to be too hard. Just give me a week to finish my current wo--”
“No, Agent,” His boss interrupted, “We’re doing something else. This time you’ll be teaming up with Agent 1089 to infiltrate the building where the information is held and to download it from the main computer in person.”
“Agent 1089? That doesn’t sound like anyone at our agency.”
“That is correct. In fact, they are from a different intelligence agency: the Korean Intelligence Service.”
Seven paused for a moment, “Teaming up with a different agency? That’s...completely unheard of.”
“I am aware of that, but I have had a long meeting with the head of the KIS. Both of us require the same thing, and we thought it would be unreasonable to fight over such trivial matters. It is better to work together in this scenario.”
“Uh, when...when will the infiltration take place?”
“Tomorrow night...”
His boss continued to speak, but Seven couldn’t think. Tomorrow night? No, no, no. He couldn’t do that.
Seven stole yet another glance at the CCTV monitor. The girl still sat in the hallway, but this time she was on her phone, the book cast aside.
He still needed to watch her, make sure that the hacker won’t do anything. He still needed to research more about that hacker. He still needed to--
“...and you will be Agent 1089’s date to the gala, of course.”
Wait, what?
“Wait,” Seven interrupted, “What was that last part, again?”
Again, Seven’s boss sighed, “The Blossom Organization is holding a gala tomorrow night to raise money for...certain gains. Agent 1089 has already managed to receive an invitation, and you will be their plus one. This will be the perfect time to sneak into the building’s main computer room, and get the necessary information.”
First Seven had to work together with an agent from a different agency, and now he had to pretend to date them? This was all too much.
He continued, “Agent 1089 has the rest of the information and will email you their plan shortly. Do not fail me.” And with that, he hung up, leaving Seven blankly staring at his phone.
God...what was he supposed to do? Seven still had tons of stuff that required his attention. He needed to talk to someone about this.
He reached across his desk to pick up the phone that had the RFA messaging app on it and opened the chatroom. Yoosung and MC were already in there. Not bothering to read their past messages, Seven started typing.
[707 has entered the chatroom]
707: Guess what?!?!?!
707: God7 has managed to obtain the most elusive creature!!!
707:
MC: ...Which would be?
707: An S/O!!
707:
Yoosung★:
Yoosung★: Wait...really?????
MC: Congrats, Seven~
707: Thank you, thank you
707: i’ve waited long and hard for this day
Yoosung★: How did Seven manage to get a partner?
Yoosung★: And why haven’t I got one, yet?
707: it’s cuz ur too short
MC: omg ;;;;;
Yoosung★:
Yoosung★: That’s so mean…T_T
707: lololol
MC: Oh, come on, Seven. Yoosung is lovable at any size ^^
Yoosung★: Thank you, MC;;;;
[Zen has entered the chatroom]
Zen:
Zen: Really? I don’t believe you.
707: About Yoosung being lovable?
Yoosung★: …
MC: ;;;;
Zen: What?
Zen: No!!!
Zen: About you having an s/o.
707: u don’t believe me?
707:
Zen: Nope.
707:
707: They’re real, I swear!
Zen: What’s their name, then?
707: Their name…? Oh, it’s…
707: Qwerty
MC: …
MC: ...Qwerty?
707: Yeah, their parents weren’t very creative. They’re super embarrassed about it ;;;;;
Yoosung★: Poor Qwerty T_T
Zen: Nobody would name their kid Qwerty lmao No matter how uncreative they are.
Zen: I still don’t believe you. Tell us more about your new “partner”
707: But they’re very private about their personal life so I don’t think they’ll like me talking about them here ;;
Yoosung★: Oh, they must be a perfect match for you, then! You’re very private, too!
707: Ikr? I love them so much…my darling 606
707:
Zen: ...I see…
Zen: Then send a picture.
707: Huh?
Zen: I want to actually see them. For real.
707: Oh, but they’re incredibly camera shy…
Zen: Send the picture.
MC: Don’t be so pushy, Zen. It’s Seven’s choice to send a picture or not.
707: Thank you, MC...but it’s the only way to get Zen to believe me...
707:
Yoosung★: Omg???? Is that really Qwerty???
Zen: Woah...they’re kind of cute...I’m sorry for doubting you, Seven.
MC: -_- guys, you’re joking, right?
Yoosung★: Wait, why??
MC: This is obviously Seven crossdressing lmaoooo
707: lololololololol
Zen: I
Zen: I knew that! I was just joking…
Yoosung★:
MC: =_=;;;
707: lolololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol
707: lolololololololololololololololololololololol
707: lololololololololololololololol
707: lololololololol
Zen: Stop hogging…
Yoosung★: Are you done, yet?
707: Nope
707: Not yet.
707: lololol
707: lolol
707: lol
707: Now I’m done.
Zen: …
Yoosung★:
Yoosung★: Does that mean Qwerty isn’t real, then?
707: No! They are real!!
707: They’re just private! I swear!!!
MC: I believe you, Seven.
707: Wait, really?
Zen: ...Seriously…?
MC: Yeah, you’re good looking, you have a funny sense of humor, and a nice personality. Who wouldn’t want to date you?
707: >_< ur too kind, MC!!! If I wasn’t already taken...
Yoosung★:
Zen:
Zen: MC...you are joking, right…?
Zen: I’m way better than Seven. In terms of both looks and personality.
Zen: I’m way more handsome.
MC: Both of you are equally handsome.
Zen:
Zen: That’s not what I wanted to hear, MC…
MC: You’re very handsome, Zen. :)
Zen:
Zen: There it is~
Yoosung★: =_=
MC: lol
MC: Anyway, Seven, is there any reason that you mentioned your date?
MC: Or did you just want to brag to us singles over here?
707: Oh!
707: Yes! There was a reason!
707: I’m going on a date with them tomorrow night, so I won’t be able to watch you on the monitor.
Yoosung★: Really? Tomorrow night…? That’s a bit…
Yoosung★: Can’t you postpone it? At least until we learn the party date…
Zen: No. He can’t.
707: ?
Zen: Listen, Luciel.
Zen: I’m not sure if this Qwerty person is real or not.
Zen: But I do know one thing:
Zen: When you’re in a relationship, you have to treat your partner right. That means that you shouldn’t back out of dates. No matter what.
707: Wow…! Zen...how romantic…!
Yoosung★: Wait! Why don’t we ask MC? Her life is what’s at stake here.
MC: My life…?
MC: I think that’s a bit too dramatic, haha ^^;;
MC: But I agree with Zen! I’m not in danger and it will do you good to take a break once in a while.
707: Aww!! You guys are all so sweet~
707: And don’t worry, MC! I’ll have my maid to watch over you while I’m gone!
Yoosung★:
Yoosung★: You have a maid?? Since when???
MC: That’s so cool!
Zen: First you come in here saying that you have an s/o…
Zen: Now you’re saying that you have a maid as well?
707: Yep!
Zen: Now I definitely don’t believe you lmao
707: Want a pic?
Zen: No!
707: lololol
MC: Hehe…
MC: Well, good luck on your date, Seven! I wish you happiness in your new relationship!
707: Thank you…
707: I can’t wait to do a bunch of cute things with them~
707: Like long walks on the beach…
707: horseback riding…
Zen: Are you actually into that sort of stuff??? lmao
707: or owning 707 cats…
Yoosung★: Wait, that reminds me!!!
Yoosung★: Seven, that was really mean prank to pull!!!!!
Yoosung★: Jumin almost killed me ;;;;;;
Yoosung★:
707: oh would you look at the time
Yoosung★: I’m not done yet!!!!!!!!
707: oopsgottagobyebye
[707 has left the chatroom]
Seven sat back in his chair and opened another bag of Honey Buddha Chips, but he didn’t eat any.
God, he had to open the email with the plan, create another fake identity, find an outfit to wear to the gala, work with another agent, and so much more that he didn’t even want to think about.
But first, he had to call a certain maid of his.
*****
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“It has already been decided, Agent 1089,” your boss, Ms. Lee, said as she broke your heart into a million pieces.
Ten minutes ago you were trying to get your report on your latest mission to your colleague when Ms. Lee called you to her office. As always she sat behind her desk. And as always, you stood in front of her. There were seats where you were standing, but you didn’t like sitting in places where you can’t easily see behind you. It made you feel vulnerable.
Her office had the various knick-knacks that you would expect at an office: filing cabinets, papers strewn everywhere, a computer, and photographs of past bosses framed on the wall.
There, she broke the bad news:
You had to infiltrate The Blossom Organization.
Tomorrow night.
With a partner.
From a completely different agency.
“But--but I did everything you asked for!” you tried to keep your voice down, but it was getting increasingly difficult, “I spent months being buddy-buddy with the top business people at The Blossom Organization. I received an invitation to their gala last month. I stole the key card to the computer room last week! And now you’re saying that I need to work with some stupid rando off the street! You told me that my part of the mission was over!”
Ms. Lee glared at you. Right...you were probably getting a little out of line. You needed to calm down.
Ms. Lee said, “I can assure you that Agent 707 is not ‘some stupid rando off the street’ as you so eloquently put it. He is one of the best hackers in Korea, and is quite famous within the industry for his work.”
She continued, “And I know that I said that your mission is over, but I have reopened the case. In order to gain access to the computer room where the information is being held, Agent 707 needs you. You are the one with the plan, the invite to the gala, and the key card needed to access the main computer. He will need to be your plus one for the gala.”
You shifted weight from your right leg to your left and back again, “None of this makes sense, though. Why do I need to work with a hacker from a completely different agency? If he was such a great hacker, why couldn’t just do his hacking mumbo jumbo remotely or something? And what do we even need this information fo--”
Your boss held up her hand and shut it, silently telling you to shut it, as well. You immediately complied because unlike contrary belief, you actually valued your life.
“None of these things concern you, Agent.”
You just silently nodded, clasping your hands together.
She said, “All you need to do is to prepare for the infiltration tomorrow and to email Agent 707 your plan. You are dismissed.” She waved you off.
With that, you left.
What were you going to do?
*****
[Jumin Han has entered the chatroom]]
Jumin Han: Hmm...interesting…
Jaehee Kang has entered the chatroom
Jaehee Kang: Are you talking about Luciel’s new partner, Mr. Han?
Jumin Han: Yes, I am.
Jumin Han: I find it odd that Luciel has managed to find a partner. He is the second to last person that I’d expect to get one.
Jumin Han: The last is Zen, of course.
Jaehee Kang: …
Jumin Han: Where do you think he’s taking them for their date?
Jaehee Kang: Truthfully, I do not know.
Jaehee Kang: Knowing Luciel however, it is probably something strange and completely out of my range of thought.
Jumin Han: ...I wonder if he’s taking them to the gala by The Blossom Organization. The one that we are going to. It’s at the same time.
Jaehee Kang: I doubt that Luciel would take them to something as fancy as a gala;;;;;
Jumin Han: Perhaps his partner is the one taking Luciel to the gala instead of the other way around.
Jaehee Kang: Maybe...but it feels strange to guess about Luciel’s personal matters.
Jumin Han: It’s not his personal matters, Assistant Kang.
Jaehee Kang: ???
Jaehee Kang: What do you mean?
Jumin Han: I find that it’s very irresponsible of Luciel to shirk his duties for something as petty as a date.
Jaehee Kang: Yes...I found it a bit irresponsible as well.
Jaehee Kang: But despite his...faults…and strangeness
Jaehee Kang: Luciel has proven time and time again to be trustworthy when dealing with important matters like this. Besides, he does have his…maid to look after MC.
Jumin Han: That is true…
Jumin Han: But that was before an s/o was added to the mix.
Jumin Han: Now, Luciel is going to ignore his personal duties just for his partner. That is how it always goes.
Jaehee Kang: How do you know that, Mr. Han?
Jumin Han: …
Jaehee Kang: Ah…
Jaehee Kang: Nevermind.
Jaehee Kang: Anyway, perhaps it would be better to get ready for The Blossom Gala. A lot of preparations have to be made.
Jumin Han: ...You’re right. I have to choose the perfect tie for this event.
[Jumin Han has left the chatroom]
Jaehee Kang:
Jaehee Kang: ...Luciel with a partner haa
Jaehee Kang: This is something that I can’t even comprehend.
[Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom]
*****
19:34.
He was four minutes late. How unprofessional.
You were standing near The Blossom Organization’s building, but you were hidden behind the building beside it.
You thought that the building you were hiding behind was a restaurant, but it was looking a little abandoned.
That didn’t matter, though, because you were still waiting for your ‘partner.’ People were already streaming through the entrance. A bouncer stood off to the side, opening the velvet rope for people on the guest list and kicking out the people who weren’t.
You pulled your tuxedo sleeve down to cover your watch again. You cursed Agent 707 under your breath. How could he be late? You had a tight schedule to keep, and he was ruining it.
Getting agitated was getting you nowhere; you needed to calm down. Taking a deep breath, you instead focused on something a heck of a lot more professional: your disguise.
It was subtle, which is what you preferred. You were wearing a wig, textured and colored in a way that was almost the exact opposite of your natural hair. Your makeup was pretty on point, too. It sharpened your naturally soft features and softened your naturally sharp features.
Your disguise looked natural, but it made you look like a completely different person. You had the disguise team at the KIS to thank for that. They were professional, always doing their work on time, unlike some people.
That was when you felt it. The shuffle in the grass. The change in the wind. The quiet breaths.
Something was out to get you.
You whipped around and grabbed the wrist of your would-be assailant.
It...it was a woman.
She had curly, purple hair and was wearing a floor-length bright blue glittering dress with a matching clutch. Her makeup was full of glitter, as well. Her gloves went all the way up to her shoulders. This lady looked absolutely ridiculous.
“Hiya, love,” she said in an obviously faux British accent.
No...it couldn’t be...could it?
You whispered, “...Agent 70--”
“What are you on about? I’ve never heard of that man in my life, but he does sound devilishly handsome.”
Oh God, it was him.
He wiggled out of your grip and opened up his equally horrendous clutch. After a second or two of him searching, he found what he was looking for and shoved it in your face. It was his fake ID.
His name was listed as Amy Steak.
You glared at him, “What is this supposed to be?”
“What is what supposed to be?” 707 feigned ignorance as he took his ID from you.
“All of...” you paused to gesture wildly at him, “this! First, you show up late, and then you come out with the most...extra getup that I have ever seen in my entire life.”
You took a beat to get a good look at him, “I mean, look at yourself! You even have fake boobs! Why would you need that?”
To emphasize yourself, you touched his fake boob. It jiggled.
Gross.
Agent 707 gasped, “How bloody dare you!”
He ripped off his right glove and smacked your cheek with it.
Now it was your turn to gasp. You stood in shock for a split second before snatching the offending glove from his grip and slapping his cheek with it.
“It’s not even real!”
He grabbed his other glove from his hand and hit you, “So? That doesn't mean that you can disrespect a lady!”
“You’re not even a lady!” You slapped him back.
In turn, he slapped you again. You couldn’t let him get the upper hand, so you slapped him again. This turned into a never-ending loop of glove slaps.
Back and forth. Back and forth. The stinging on your cheek was going to haunt you for days. Is this how you die? Getting beat up by your partner next to a maybe abandoned building?
You tried to smack 707’s cheek with the glove again, but held up his hands to stop you, “Wait, wait, wait! You're smudging my makeup! We need to stop.”
Shit.
What has gotten into you? Fighting was just childish, and it was not appropriate for this situation.
You cleared your throat, snapping yourself out of your violent trance, “...Yes...I...I’m sorry.” You handed 707 his glove back, which he put on.
He didn’t respond, too busy rifling through his clutch. He pulled out his mirror and let out a small whine.
“My makeup! It’s ruined!”
“Listen, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have continued--”
“Oh, don’t worry about that; the Defender of Justice has a plan!”
The Defender of Justice…?
He took out a bunch of different makeup products from his clutch and started applying them. From where you were standing, you could see that the inside of the clutch was a lot bigger on the inside.
“Just how much stuff do you have in there?” you asked.
“Just the bare essentials. Like lipstick, eyeshadow, tiny cameras, big cameras, cameras hidden in pens, tiny microphones, big microphones, microphones hidden in pens, normal pens, USBs, lasers, night vision goggles, Honey Buddha Chips, Ph.D. Pepper, pictures of my dear Elly--”
“Okay, okay, you can stop now.”
“Why? What did you bring?” 707 asked as he applied a second layer of lipstick.
Suddenly, you felt very stupid. All you really brought was a small bottle of pepper spray hidden in the pocket of your pants. Sure, you had a miniature camera and microphone hidden on your suit, but that was standard for all agents.
You decided to change subtly change the subject.
“We’re behind schedule, you know.”
“I was having a hard time choosing the perfect dress to match my eyes. I have to look absolutely perfect for my little Datemate.” He winked at you.
You were at your wits’ end. From his ‘Datemate’ comment or the wink, you didn’t know.“Can’t you just act serious for ten seconds?”
“Alrighty, then! Serious Mode: Activate!”
“Wha…?”
707 then shoved something cold in your hands.
You looked down at the cold object. It was an ice pack.
“What’s this for?” you asked.
“It’s for your face. Not gonna lie, your cheek looks like the same color as my actual hair.”
You gingerly placed your hand on your cheek, only to immediately wince and draw your hand back, “Wow, you’re tougher than you look.”
You put the ice pack on your cheek and sighed from the instant relief.
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” 707 fake pouted.
“I mean that you look like a twig in that dress.”
707 crossed his arms and looked away, “How dare you insult a lady? When will this abuse end?”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, you drag queen.”
He glared at you for a moment before his face broke into quiet laughter, “You’re so serious. Honestly…”
You ignored his little comment. Your cheek was feeling a lot better, so you handed the ice pack back.
You held your arm out, “Are you ready to finally go to the gala?”
“Oh, of course, I’m always ready, darling~” 707 purred, going back to his fake accent. He grabbed on your arm, and you--finally--lead him to The Blossom Gala.
When both of you arrived at the entrance, the bouncer asked for your names. You gave your fake one, and 707 gave his, too. The bouncer nodded and opened the velvet rope, allowing you two in.
As you and Agent 707 stepped into the huge room filled with tons of people to expensive-looking outfits, 707 leaned in and whispered, “So, what’s the plan exactly?”
You glanced at him incredulously and whispered back, “You mean you don’t know? I sent you an email with the exact details for my plan.”
“Eh, I was busy.”
You slowed down your pace to an amble as you shook your head.
Gesturing at a set of intricately carved of double doors on your left, you said, “See those double doors over there?”
He nodded.
“Well, go past those doors, take a right, then take two lefts, go straight until you see three brown doors next to each other after that go right, then you take another right, and the room that we're looking for will be the second door on the left. Got that?"
"Yep! It's all up in here," He tapped his glasses a couple of times.
"In your glasses?"
He stuck his tongue out at you.
"Anyway, the computer room is guarded by two guards, so we'll have to wait until the perfect time to strike. Luckily for us, the guards change shifts every two hours, giving us about a three-minute window. When it's around 22:00, we'll sneak to the computer room, and I'll insert the key card into the lock, which should open the door. After that, you'll do your hacking mumbo jumbo with your USB thing--you did bring it right?"
"Aw, do you do not trust me?"
"Agen..." you caught yourself, "Ms. Steak, do you have it or not?"
"We'll just have to see~"
You pinched his side, making him jump, "Alright after you do your stuff, we wait for two more hours for the guard's shift to end, then we leave. And if anyone catches you, just say that you got lost on the way to the bathroom."
By the time you finished explaining, both of you had reached the center of the room and he let go of your arm. Mostly people were conversing with each other, probably about business deals and whatever fancy, rich people talk about. Waiters were holding up platters, serving hors d'oeuvres and wine.
One such waiter walked up to you two. He offered a couple of wine glasses, which you graciously accepted, taking a small sip.
Agent 707 hesitated for a moment, but when he saw you pick up a glass, he did too. In between sips, he dropped his fake accent and asked, "So, what happens if we don't make it?"
What the hell?
Thank goodness the noise of others' conversations drowned out his question to prying eyes and ears or else you would have probably spat out your drink.
"It's...a simple mission. We'll make it."
It was terrifying to see 707's demeanor change so quickly. One second he was joking and making your life miserable, and the next second he was talking about death. Who was this man?
"You always have to prepare for the worse, in any situation. If my USB doesn't detect my fingerprint every half an hour, it will explode."
You were wrong.
Agent 707 wasn't a stupid rando off the street.
He was a crazy rando off the street.
It'll explode...?
Now you were sure of it: this was how you die.
You finally managed to squeak out, "I-isn't that a bit too extreme?"
Whatever murderous and scary thoughts he must have had in his head probably snapped out of his head when you said that because he blinked and looked shocked for a split second before going back of his usual (or unusual?) annoyingly joking self.
"Hey, you tricked me!"
"Uh, how?"
"You made me admit that I brought the USB with me. I wanted to keep it a secret," 707 forced a laugh and scratched the back of his head.
Um...alright, crazy, bomb-obsessed hacker.
"Just act normal don't make a scene, okay? We have a little less than two hours to kill, so go socialize or something."
707 put his horrible British accent back on, raising his voice above the crowd, "Of course, darling, I'll do anything for you, my little Snuggle Bunny! I just love you so much!"
He latched onto you and nuzzled your neck.
You stayed as stiff as a statue, holding your wine up, so it wouldn't spill. Thankfully, only a couple of people were looking at your direction. Everybody else just gave a quick glance towards you two before going back to their conversations.
Still, you couldn't let him get away with embarrassing you in public, especially when it endangered the mission.
You said, "Thanks, Dear, I appreciate it."
You gave him a quick peck on the cheek before pushing him off.
707 blankly stared at you. A shade of pink lightly dusted his cheeks. He shook his head slightly and laughed, "Wow, you're good at this, but you'll never beat me at being the most cringy."
With that, he walked away.
In hindsight, there were a lot of better ways to get 707 to stop, but you couldn't help it. It was extremely satisfying to see him still in shock, blushing ever so slightly. The way he shook his head, flustered, with that stupidly cute smile on his face--
Ahem.
You were getting distracted.
It was just satisfying to see the thorn in your side at a loss for words for once. That's it.
Yeah.
Anyway, you had to get a move on and integrate yourself into the crowd, just like 707 (surprisingly) managed to do.
*****
The next hour mainly consisted of you making small talk with wealthy business people. You occasionally took tiny sips of your wine. You wanted to blend in, but also be fully aware of what is about to come.
You mainly talked about The Blossom Organization with your so-called 'peers'. You wanted to get some extra intel about the organization to try and figure out why two whole agencies wanted the information so bad.
However, other than 'a charity organization for the wealthy,' you gained absolutely nothing interesting.
But you did get a good chuckle out of it. Why would the wealthy need any charity? They're already rich; what more could they possibly want?
Despite the...stupidity of the event, you were semi-aware where Agent 707 was at all times. At one point he was socializing with a group of five men in suits so expensive that you'd probably have to pay just to look at them. At another point, he was snacking on some of the food that the waiters brought out. There was even a point when he exchanged business cards with a brown-haired woman with an up-do that was at least two feet high.
You couldn't help but stare at him as he talked to a person with long, blond hair.
It was so odd.
He was so odd.
Just an hour ago, he wouldn't stop goofing off and drawing attention to himself. But now, even with his eyesore of a disguise, he seamlessly blended into the crowd. You almost felt as if he was two different people: annoying 707 and serious 707. Having fake personalities was probably included in his training, though. No one gets dubbed as one of the best hackers in Korea for nothing.
But it was still so odd.
What was his life like outside of the agency?
You tried to shake out those unworthy thoughts. This was a mission; you didn't care about his private life. Besides, it was probably the same as you: nothing. He probably didn't have anything outside of the agency. His life probably revolved around hacking, just like yours did with spying.
...
Did he have any family or friends?
What about pets? Was he a dog or a cat person?
What was his favorite food?
Was he ticklish?
Could he drive?
...Was he dating anyone?
Suddenly, he turned around and made eye contact with you.
Oh God, 707 caught you staring at him.
The back of your neck burned up as your eyes darted back and forth, trying to find something to look at that wasn't the crossing-dressing man looking straight at you.
Finally, your eyes settled on something right behind Agent 707: a familiar-looking man standing next to a short-haired woman. A small crowd surrounded the two of them, but it looked as if they were more interested in the man rather than the woman.
He looked really familiar, though, but you could remember why...
Oh!
That was right, the guy's Jumin Han, the director of that one company.
What was it called again?
C&R International...?
That didn't matter, though because now you have a good excuse if Agent 707 asks if you were staring at him.
Because you weren't! You were actually staring at that hunk of a dude, Jumin Han, with those muscles and...rock hard abs...of his.
This was getting ridiculous.
Actually, scratch that, it was ridiculous the moment Agent 707 stepped into your life.
You glanced over to 707 to see if he was still looking at you, and oh God, he was.
707 looked at you, bemused. He turned around to see what exactly enamored you behind him. When he turned back around, he had the most shit-eating grin you have ever seen plastered on his face.
Annoying 707 was back, and he was planning something.
You didn't know what, but you did know one thing: it was going to be evil.
You shook your head, silently pleading to not do whatever he was going to do. Agent 707 playfully nodded, giving the look of 'I am going to do this, and you can't stop me.'
Abruptly, 707 turned around, running through the small crowd, and launched himself in the arms of the Jumin Han.
As in director Jumin Han.
As in one of the richest people in Korea Jumin Han.
As in probably has a billion bodyguards ready to throw you out Jumin Han.
You tried to fast walk as normally as possible. You didn't want to add any more fuel to the fire. You pushed through the shouting crowd, and what you saw horrified you.
Jumin Han was holding up 707 bridal style, not willingly, of course. It looked as if Jumin was trying to let go of him, but Agent 707 held on tight.
"Hey, Cat Mom, how's my dear Elly doing? You know how much I love her," 707 giggled.
Yep, you were going to die.
Two bodyguards magically appeared behind Jumin Han, but before they could do anything, you pulled your partner out of Jumin Han's grip.
"I'm so sorry about that! It looks like my date has had one too many drinks. I'll take her away, now," you said, praying silently that you wouldn't be kicked out.
Jumin Han stared at you two a couple of seconds longer than necessary, and you squirmed under his grip.
He just nodded and called off his guards.
You almost collapsed from pure relief.
You had other matters to deal with, however.
707 laughed as you dragged him away from Jumin. "What is wrong with you?" you asked.
"Ooh, don't think I didn't see the goo-goo eyes you were making at Jumin," 707 said in a sing-song type voice.
You faced burned and you immediately stopped in your tracks, "I was not making 'goo-goo eyes!' Shut up!"
"Sure you weren't."
"Look, we only have about..." you paused to glance at your watch, "forty-five minutes left, so please just do what you've been doing and just blend in until that."
Agent 707 saluted you, "Aye, aye, Captain!"
He dashed off, leaving you to wonder again: who was this man?
*****
Of course, Agent 707 didn't do what you thought was a simple request.
After a while of mingling with your new 'friends,' you caught 707 slipping past those double doors, the ones that led to the computer room.
Was he starting the mission already? It was far too early for that.
You followed him.
However, when you entered the hallway, you saw that instead of going right, he went left, towards the restrooms.
Agent 707 placed his hand on the door handle for the men's restroom but thought better of it. He ended up going into the women's restroom.
After a beat, you walked up and grasped the handle, but you hesitated.
Why were you following him? He probably just wanted to use the restroom, like a normal person. Personally, you didn't like using the restroom during missions on the account of having a hidden camera and microphone on your body. You were certain that the people at the agency didn't want to see or hear that .
You should probably leave him alone, but you didn't like not knowing exactly where your partner is.
You decided to open the door, praying that no actual women were in there too.
Agent 707 was leaning over the sink, coughing his guts out.
"Are you okay?" you walked over towards him.
"I-I'm fine," He said in between coughs, "I just don-don't like alcohol. I don't drink, and the wine's making me feel a little sick."
You didn't know what to do. He did look a little sick. Were you supposed to comfort him? Did you want to comfort him?
Tentatively, you started rubbing small circles across his back. All he did was tense up, so you dropped your hand.
That was dumb of you.
"Well, you don't have to drink if you don't want--"
"Alcohol makes me sneeze."
"--to."
Huh?
You huffed in confusion.
"Yeah, I have 'Sneeze When I Drink Syndrome.' It's chronic."
This idiot.
Agent 707 stood up fully, stifling his last coughs. He was smiling now, but he still looked slightly unwell.
You couldn't tell: was this all just another prank? It probably was. He knew you were going to follow him, so he devised this just to mess with you.
He continued, "And I think it's going to happen again."
Agent 707 cupped his hands over his nose, "Ah--Ah."
He was pretending to sneeze. He was just messing with you.
"Choo!"
Just messing with you.
Agent 707 fake sniffed, "That one was a doozy." You looked down at his hands and grimaced.
Just messing--
He wiped his hand on your sleeve, leaving a trail of green snot.
Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew.
You yelled and flailed your arm all over the place.
It was gross.
It was disgusting.
It was...lettuce...?
You took a closer look at the 'snot' and saw that it was indeed just a piece of lettuce. You flicked it off.
He was just messing with you.
Agent 707 roared with laughter, "You--you sh...should have seen your face!" He had to hold himself up as he laughed, his eyes shut.
Two can play at that game.
You leaned towards the sink and turned on the tap, soaking your hands.
"Agent 707," you said, "I-I think I have the same disease."
His laughter eased up, "Huh? What do you mean?"
"Achoo!" you said as you flicked water droplets on his face.
Agent 707 stood in shock for a couple of seconds before a smile broke across his face. Soon enough, he doubled over. He was back to laughing, somehow even harder than last time. His eyes squeezed shut, tears of mirth clouding them. His whole face was red as he wheezed.
You didn't think what you did was that funny, but seeing his reaction made you laugh too.
After a while, Agent 707 managed to straighten himself. He wiped a tear from his eye.
"I didn't think you would do anything like that," he chuckled, "You always surprise me."
"Always? We've only known each other for a couple hours."
"You know what I meant."
That you did.
"You can just call me Seven, by the way," Agent 707 said.
"Hmm?" you hummed.
"Not right now, we still have our aliases to keep, but you can if we're in private. Agent 707 is too lengthy to call me casually.
"Alright, then Seven , what shall we do now?"
Age--Seven grabbed your wrist and looked at your watch.
"We only have about five minutes left, so I think that we should get a move on."
You jerked your hand away, "Oh, um, yes. That's right. W-we should go."
You would never admit it out loud, but for a split second, you completely forgot about the mission. At that moment, you were just a dork laughing carefree with another dork.
It was stupid of you to get distracted again. You had to put an end to this.
Seven and you walked out of the restroom and toward your mission.
After going through the maze of hallways, you guys finally arrived at your destination. There was not a single guard to be seen.
You resisted the urge to fist pump. Time was of the essence. You quickly slipped the key card through the card reader for the door. It beeped, and the doors opened. Quickly, you two slipped inside, and the door shut behind you.
The computer room was dimly lit and relatively empty save for the larger than necessary supercomputer on the other end of the room.
Seven ran up to the supercomputer and jumped into the office chair. He slid around for a moment before readjusting himself in front of the keyboard. Seven cracked his knuckles before getting to work.
A screen asking for a password appeared.
"Hey," he called over to you, "I think I need your key card again."
You walked over and handed him the key card. He looked at the numbers ingrained on it.
"974538-386954-69784352-798543," Seven muttered as he typed those exact numbers into the computer.
The screen changed to show a bunch of numbers and words in green text over a black screen. You didn't understand any of it, but it must have been good because Seven rubbed his hands together and said 'bingo' to himself. He started to type.
"So, what are you going to do?"
Seven continued to type on the computer while he spoke, "First, I'm going to disable the cameras and delete today's footage history, so we won't get caught. After that, I'll make a copy of all of the information and download it to the USB. Then, I'll be sure to get rid of the traces that I was here."
"How long is it going to take?"
"A couple hours at most. Just because of the amount of information here."
"Remember that we only have two hours until we have to leave."
"Yeah, yeah, but I am very good at this. It would be better if I had some Honey Buddha Chips and Ph.D. Pepper, but I'll make due."
Is that what his diet consisted of? That was just gross.
You paused. Seven had his hacking stuff to occupy himself for two hours, but you had nothing. How were you going to entertain yourself for two whole hours?
"What can I do?" you said.
"Sit still and look pretty, I guess."
You were about to tear him a new one when he added, "That shouldn't be hard for you, of course."
You glared at him, unsure what to think about his comment. Was he saying that you're lazy? Or did he mean...pretty?
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"Aw, what? Am I not allowed to call my sweet honey-suckle cinnamon bear of a datemate pretty?"
Yes, of course, you knew that he was just messing with you again. Seven was teasing you about this whole fake dating predicament that came straight out of fanfiction.
You ignored the burning feeling on your face and the knot in your stomach.
"I'm just going to stand guard." You placed yourself right next to the door, on guard just in case someone does try to get in.
"Aw, come on, you know how I love to get under your skin."
"Stop acting like we've known each other for years. We've literally only met like two hours ago."
"Alright, alright, I get it." he said, "Anyway, do you have anything to arm yourself with?"
"Uh, I have pepper spray...and my fists of fury."
Seven laughed before tossing you his clutch, "Here's something better, oh mighty God of Fists."
You caught his clutch, but you stumbled forward. You weren't expecting it to be so heavy.
"What the heck is even in this?" you asked.
"Just the bare essentials," he repeated from before.
Right. Right. Whatever.
You stood in silence, the only noise being Seven's typing.
Clickity clack.
It was kind of soothing, but also a little boring.
Only a little, of course.
It wasn't as if you were bored out of your mind with nothing else to do.
You meant...if Seven just wanted to talk or something like that, you wouldn't mind it, even if he was just going to make another joke.
You were just so bored.
"You know, I didn't think that Jumin was your type."
Be careful what you wish for.
He was still typing away. In fact, he didn't even turn around to glance at you.
"Oh my God, are you ever going to let that go? I wasn't even looking at him," you said.
"Then who were you looking at, huh?"
You looked away. You couldn't come up with a good argument for that.
"Nothing," you said, "He's just not my type, alright?"
"Then...what is your type?" he snickered.
"You," you joked.
"Wha--?"
This time, Seven stopped working completely and turned around to look at you. You couldn't see him that well in the dim lighting, but you were certain that he was blushing.
You weren't expecting that sort of reaction.
"Just trying to get under your skin," you winked and stuck out your tongue, "Looks like it worked."
Seven turned back around and huffed, "Whatever. Just...don't distract me."
"Jeeze, so you're allowed to annoy me, but I'm not? What a double standard."
Seven didn't respond, however.
That meant that serious Seven was back.
Yay.
You couldn't be angry at that because it's what you wanted in the first place. That jerk kept on being distracted and embarrassing you.
But, you didn't want to be stuck in a room for two hours with Seven not talking to you. That would make everything boring.
Also...you kind of felt bad for hurting him, even if you thought that he was being unfair.
You decided to speak, "Listen, Seven, I'm sorry for--"
"Don't be," he said, "It was actually pretty funny. It's just that..."
Seven trailed off.
"It's just that what?"
"You surprised me, that's all,"
"Oh."
The conversation trailed off, and you were back into the smothering silence. After a few minutes, you slid down onto the floor, sitting on it. The wall was behind you, and the door was still next to you, so you could still subdue any intruder. You'd probably have to unceremoniously trip them instead of doing any cool maneuvers in the movies.
You opened Seven's clutch and looked through it. A lot more items were in there than physically possible. At least, that was how it appeared to be.
There were a lot of miniature weapons, bugs, pens, magnifying glasses, and other knick-knacks. You wouldn't be surprised if you found a mini kitchen sink next.
What did surprise you were the multiple pictures of a white cat.
You held up the pictures, "Is this your cat, Seven?"
Seven hummed, "Oh, no, she belongs to Jumin, but I'd like her to be mine."
"...You have pictures of the director of C&R International's cat?"
"Yep!"
"Why?"
"Because she's my precious Elly! I love her!"
You put the pictures back into the clutch, "Y'know, just forget that I asked."
Both of you slipped back into silence again.
*****
You played with the cuffs of your suit. How long has it been? Only half an hour, according to your watch. You weren't going to make it.
"So..." you slid your finger across the floor, "why did you join the agency, Seven?"
"It's personal."
Ah.
"But, ah...why did you join?" Seven asked.
"It's not an interesting story, to be honest. I just wanted to make small talk. I joined because all of my family and friends were spies. It was just expected of me, I guess."
"Do you have any friends or family outside of your agency?"
"No," you admitted.
"Did you join because you had to or you wanted to?"
"Wow," you chuckled nervously, "I only wanted to talk; I wasn't expecting to be interrogated.
You toyed with the tiny camera and microphone on your suit, fully aware that Ms. Lee was going to see this conversation in at some point.
You said, "A little of both, I guess. It was expected of me, but I wanted to do this, too."
"Okay."
"What about you? Do you have any hobbies or anything like that outside of the agency?"
"Nah," he said, "I'm just Agent 707."
"And the defender of justice."
Seven stopped typing and turned around again, "Where did you hear that?"
"You mentioned how you were the defender of justice at one point," you put your finger on your chin, thinking, "I think it was when you were putting on your makeup."
Seven laughed and swiveled in his chair a couple of times until he was in front of the computer again.
"I didn't think that you'd remember that. You're so strange."
Now it was your turn to laugh, "Me, strange? Have you looked at yourself in the mirror recently?"
"No, no, I'm serious! At one moment you're completely serious, whiny, and boring, then the next moment you're joking around and doing weird things to me. You're weirder than me, which I didn't think that was possible."
"Whiny? Boring? I guess you're going onto my secret spy hitlist," you quipped.
He chuckled, "See? That's exactly what I mean! You're joking around when an hour ago, you wouldn't shut up about blending in. That's weird."
"Oh, please, like you haven't been acting the same way. You're almost always joking and kidding around, but then you have these weird moments of complete seriousness. I think you're the weird one, here."
"Why don't we just agree that we're both weird in our own ways? Truce?"
"Truce," you smiled.
The rest of the hour was hardly boring at all. Seven and you talked and joked around for most of it. And when there was silence, it wasn't as smothering and unbearable anymore.
The real problem was at the end of the hour.
After another one of your laughing fits, you remembered to check your watch again.
23:59.
That wasn't good.
"Hey, Seven?" you called out.
"Yeah?"
"How much more time is this whole hacking thing going to take?"
"About five more minutes. I need to remove all traces of me being here. Why do you ask?"
"I was just wondering, could you maybe do it a bit faster? We're running a bit low on time."
"How much time do we have?" he asked.
"Less than one minute."
"I see."
Seven pushed up his glasses, and you could imagine it glinting. His fingers were poised over the keyboard. Seven took a deep breath before unleashing Hell onto that poor keyboard. His fingers were a blur over the keyboard. You had to look away to stop yourself from getting any eye strain.
You picked yourself up from the floor and stretched. You took another peek at your watch.
00:01
"Seven," you said, "it'll be great if you could hurry it up a little."
"Don't worry, God Seven will take care of everything!"
You resisted the urge to make a quip about 'God Seven.' It wasn't the time for that.
"I'd appreciate it if you could take care of everything now," you bounced up and down slightly.
"Aaaand, Done!" He pulled out the USB, "Now let's get out of here!"
You didn't need to be told twice. You swiped your key card again and the door opened. Seven and you ran out. There weren't any guards around, again.
You were finally home free!
"You there! Stop at this instant!"
Nevermind, you were going to die.
Seven and you turned around. Two guards had rounded the corner and had caught you two.
The one on the right was tall and buff, with a scar trailing down the center of his face. The other one was short and frail-looking. A puff of air could subdue that dude.
"What are you two doing all the way down here?" the buff guy walked over, with the frail dude trailing behind.
Seven puffed his chest and said in his best (or worst) British accent, "We were just looking for the loo, darling, but I'm afraid we got a little turned around. Could you be a dear and show us the way?"
Buff Guy sneered and walked all the way up to Seven, so close that they were almost touching. Buff Guy towered over him, and you were certain that man's sneeze could topple over mountains.
You weren't sure what he was sneering at until you finally caught a good look at Seven.
In his haste, his purple wig had slipped off halfway, revealing his slicked-back red hair underneath. You didn't think that Seven realized it, yet.
Buff Guy suddenly clutched Seven's dress collar and slammed him against the wall.
"Sev--!" you started to shout but stopped yourself in time.
He hissed in pain. Seven tried to wiggle out, but he was being pinned.
"You're lying! You're a spy, aren't you?" Buff Guy said, "Mr. Jeong, grab the other one, don't let them get away."
Frail Dude--Mr. Jeong--advanced at you, but you remembered that you were still holding Seven's clutch.
In a panic, you did the only thing that you could come up without a plan: you threw it at him.
The clutch hit Mr. Jeong straight in the face. He stumbled and fell backward onto the floor. You nudged his leg with your foot. He didn't budge; you knocked him out cold.
Correction: it was not a puff of air, but a clutch that could subdue Frail Dude.
Using the distraction to his advantage, Seven managed to slip a little more out of Buff Guy's grip. However, Buff Guy caught on quickly and slammed his hand into Seven's chest.
Seven's boobs exploded, soaking both his chest and Buff Guy's chest.
It turned out that Seven had taped water balloons to his chest.
You didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so you just stared at him.
Disgusted, Buff Guy leaped back, freeing Seven from his would-be demise.
Once again, Seven ripped off his glove and slapped the startled man silly, "Un! Hand! Me! You! Hooligan!" Each syllable Seven said was emphasized with a slap.
However, Buff Guy managed to grab Seven's wrist and was about to pin him against the wall again.
You snapped out of your daze and grabbed the pepper spray in your pocket. You were feeling a lot less stupid about it now.
You walked carefully walked over to Buff Guy and tapped him on the shoulder. You said, "How dare you disrespect a lady,"
"He's not even a real lady," he growled.
In turn, you pepper-sprayed Buff Guys straight in the eyes.
He cried out in pain and let go of Seven.
Seven went to grab his clutch and then your wrist as he ran off.
"Come on!" he exclaimed, "It won't be long until security comes!"
You wordlessly ran with him, his hand still clutching your wrist.
When you both finally got out of the building, you stopped, but Seven continued to pull on you, so you kept running.
Where was he taking you?
How far away was it?
You were going to throw up.
You ran for a couple of blocks until Seven finally slowed down in front of a red sports car. He opened the door for you.
"What?" you gasped, "You have a sports car?"
"Yes, now get in," he practically shoved you into the passenger side.
Seven got in the car himself and started driving.
You held your breath, unsure whether or not you were really home free or not. When nothing happened you let out the breath you've been holding.
You started to laugh. Hard.
"You were amazing!" you said in between giggles, "The way you slapped that guy with your glove just like you did with me! That was pure genius!"
Seven laughed along with you, "You were amazing, too! I knew my clutch was destined for great things, like knocking a guy unconscious!"
"Oh, please. A puff of air could've taken down that guy."
"You're right. You're not amazing."
"Hey!" you lightly shoved him, not wanting to disturb his driving too much.
"But when you threw it at him, I had to do everything in my power to not laugh. It was so hard! Also, you were pretty great when you pepper-sprayed that tough guard straight in the eyes! I could tell that you were channeling God Seven: Defender of Justice energy when you delivered the final lines of your Special Move! I love y-it," he coughed, "It. I loved it."
You sighed and leaned back into the uncomfortable seat in Seven's car. You closed your eyes. Finally, this mission was over.
You said, "Yeah, well, I learned from the best after all. But enough about me, your hacking skills is what allowed me to even get this mission with you in the first place."
"This mission wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for your annoying meticulous plan--"
"That you didn't even bother to read."
"...That I didn't even bother to read," he repeated.
You opened your eyes to get a good look at Seven, your partner in crime.
Your partner in a platonic sense during work, but a partner in a romantic one during a mission.
You ignored the knot in your stomach.
"God, you were just...amazing in every sense of the word today. Even though I thought you were a total nutcase at first, I now know that you're a totally cute and capable nutcase."
Wait, did you just...? Maybe he wouldn't notice.
"Aw, you called me cute! That means you like me~" Seven laughed, his ears tinged pink.
Shit. He noticed.
You flushed, "I'm just saying that I wouldn't mind be--working with you again."
You almost said 'I wouldn't mind being with you again.' That was dangerous territory.
His laughter died down when you said that.
"Do you really think that they'd let us work together again?"
"I mean, yeah, they have to. We work so well together, after all."
"We do work at separate intelligence agencies. Our case was special. Actually, I think the whole reason that we had to do this was that I missed a deadline. In a way, this was my punishment."
You smiled, "I'm glad that you're laziness allowed us to meet."
He started laughing again, "Was that an insult or a compliment?"
"Why not both?"
Both of you fell into a puddle of soft giggles.
Seven stopped at a red light and turned so he could fully see you. In response, you sat up straighter. You two looked into each other's eyes.
"One day," he said, "I want to go to the space station with you."
He stopped, realizing what he said, "I-I mean, I'm sorry, th-that was stupid of me."
Seven's whole face was red as he looked back to the road.
"Hey," you gently held Seven's cheek and turned his face, so he'd look at you, "I'd love to go to the space station with you, too."
Seven squeezed his eyes shut and made a noise between a squeal and a snort. It was a happy one; you knew that.
The light turned green and he jerked away, "Stop it! Stop distracting me!"
Seven was blushing hard, but you knew that your burning face wasn't any better.
As Seven started to drive again, you leaned back, a small smile escaped your lips.
"You're such a dork."