Hanni stirred her milk coffee that had just been served. It was a beautiful and very peaceful morning in Korea, the sun was shining to the outdoor terrace of the café where she was sitting. It was not often that she left her home early in the morning on her days off, but today was different.
Hanni glanced at the person sitting opposite her. Despite the pretty weather, Hyein looked anything but happy. The tall woman had dressed up as usual, but even though she was wearing an oddly thick makeup today, Hanni could spot the dark circles under her eyes. It was as if she hadn't slept at all. Carefully, Hanni put the spoon on the table.
"Hyein... are you sure you're alright?"
Hyein only muttered something in response. She seemed to be much more interested in the barley tea in front of her. Hanni furrowed her brows. If the woman was tired, why ask Hanni to go out early in the first place? They could have gone later. And on top of that, she was sure her friend was leaving something out.
Hanni sighed. Hyein and she were very close, maybe Hyein just didn't feel like talking about it right now. Maybe she just wanted to relax for a moment.
The big, cotton clouds in the sky caught Hanni's attention. "It's such a pretty day, don't you think?" She tried to change the topic.
Abruptly, Hyein slammed her hands on the table. Hanni flinched, startled and turned her astounded look at the brunette. "Just quit the chitchat already! Ugh!" Hyein held her forehead, annoyed.
Hanni stared at her friend, shocked. What was going on with her?
Hyein sighed in frustration and looked up, having an unreadable expression on her face. "Can't you just tell me what really happened in Spain?"
"W-what?" Hanni was bewildered.
"Are you sure you're not hiding something?" Hyein narrowed her eyes.
"I've already told you. The same intruder locked me up and as I was escaping I lost my phone," Hanni kept her voice low. The outdoor terrace was actually empty, but talking about their missions in public was never a good idea. "Hyein.. did something happen? Why are you asking this?"
Hanni was being honest with her. Well, she was, but she just left out the fact that she had run into Minji here in Korea and let her to her apartment. She was well aware that her company wanted the woman and she had no reason to protect her. If Hanni could, she'd lead the company right to the woman but she had no real information about her. Just a name.
Hyein only stared at Hanni without saying a word, then she stood up, shaking her head. "I need to get a stronger drink." Hyein took her purse and walked inside the cafe, leaving Hanni alone at the table.
Something was definitely wrong, Hanni could feel it. Swiftly, she took her phone and opened her messages. Unfortunately, her company hadn't given her a new phone yet, it had something to do with the protocol. Instead, Hanni was using her personal phone for now.
Losing something as valuable as the company's phone was a big kickback, not only to her career but to the whole KSA. Of course, once Hanni had contacted the headquarters, they had started the safety protocol in order to prevent someone getting information out of the phone. It already had a very complex and multilevel security system, but if one was talented enough, the phone could be hacked.
Hanni didn't know what was going on since the company had pretty much shut her out from any information regarding to her mission. It was clear that they were investigating it and she understood they had to be careful, but surely they didn't doubt Hanni's loyalty, right?
Eyes still locked on the screen, Hanni heard as Hyein came back and sat on her seat, opposite her.
"Oh, you were fast," Hanni raised her brows, surprised.
"Did you miss me already?"
Hanni's heart skipped a beat. That voice. It wasn't Hyeins. She snapped her head up, and froze completely as she looked into Minji's brown eyes.
"I see you've got a new phone," the woman's expression was as smug as ever, as she leaned on the table.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Hanni growled, trying to keep her voice down. She's got a nerve!
"Just wanted to see if my favorite mission spoiler had made it safely back home," Minji shrugged, clearly enjoying the furious expression on Hanni's face.
Hanni had had enough. She didn't think Minji would be dumb enough to show her face here again, but since she was, nothing could stop Hanni from exposing her this time. Calmly, she picked up her phone again and started tapping numbers. Minji's expression turned around. Quickly, she covered Hanni's screen with her hand and lowered the phone, so that the Vietnamese had no option but to look at Minji again.
To her surprise, Minji's expression was serious, worried even.
"Jokes aside. I really need your help."
"Wow," Hanni could only laugh, "You really are stupid!"
Minji gritted her teeth, "You owe me that, Pham."
"Do I now?"
Minji stared at Hanni with her deep, brown eyes. She knew this wouldn't be easy. Hanni put down the phone on the table and gave Minji a long, sarcastic smile. "Look, I don't know what makes you think that I'm ever going to help you, but you better get over your sick fantasies."
Minji wanted to say something savage, but held it back just in time. If she wanted to win Hanni over, she needed to play her cards right. "Because, I have something that you surely want back."
What? Hanni shut her mouth. She couldn't possibly mean...
Minji put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a phone. Hanni's eyes widened as she stared at the phone that belonged to her company.
"I found this," Minji held the phone on her hand.
Quickly, Hanni dashed forward to snatch it out of the woman's hand, but Minji was faster, and pulled the hand away just in time. Hanni's blood was boiling as she stared into the brown eyes.
"But you know that it ain't for free," Minji smirked, satisfied. She really enjoyed teasing this Vietnamese woman, she was so easy to piss off. It was kind of cute.
Hanni clenched her jaw. If the table wasn't in between them, she would have already jumped and choked the life out of that damn sniper or whatever. "What do you want?" She could barely hold her rage.
"Work with me. Let's meet up tomorrow and I'll tell you everything."
"Fine," Hanni crossed her arms and leaned her back to the chair. A small smile appeared on Minji's face as she extended the phone. "You promise?"
"I promise," Hanni flashed a fake smile and snatched the phone out of Minji's hand. She then quickly put it in her bag and closed it.
"Oh and don't worry, it's not hacked. You can see it yourself."
Hanni scoffed and rolled her eyes. Naturally she'd take it to a check-up the first thing tomorrow, if possible.
"So... See you tomorrow?" Minji looked at the woman who seemed to be packing her things.
"No. Goodbye," Hanni stood up, took her bag and turned on her heels. She'd contact Hyein later.
Minji stared after the woman, stunned. Wait, what? She hurried up and rushed after Hanni. As she reached the woman, she grabbed her hand and turned her body around.
"Pham, the hell?! You promised me!"
Minji faced Hanni's cold eyes, "Well looks like you're not the only one who can lie and pretend."
Minji's grip on Hanni's wrist tightened. "Spain was a mistake, okay?!" She snapped. What did she have to do to get the woman work with her? No matter what she said, Hanni only seemed to get angrier.
"The only reason I'm not reporting you right now is because you saved me, so we're even," Hanni growled, eyes full of hatred. Then she pulled her hand out of Minji's grip and turned around again.
Minji took a step forward, "If you just listened to-" she began, furiously.
Hanni spun around, "Give me even one, one good reason why would I ever help you?!" She snapped, staring at the tall woman.
Minji stood still. What should she say? She couldn't think of anything. Normally she had a quick mouth but the woman's gaze made her hesitate. What did she want to hear exactly? She had already returned the phone, wasn't it enough?
"Tsk, that's what I thought," Hanni turned her back to Minji and started walking away. Her feelings were raging inside her, how stupid can one be? She? Helping her? Hanni scoffed, half amused, half annoyed. She didn't even bother to look to the sides as she stepped on the crosswalk. She just wanted to leave Minji behind, for good.
Minji gritted her teeth. Should she go after her? The woman really pissed her off right now, but she needed her help. As she was guessing, her attention was suddenly drawn to the right. Minji's eyes widened in shock.
"HANNI!" A loud shout was heard from behind.
Hanni furrowed her brows.
"WATCH OUT!!"
Then a loud sound of horn cracked the air. Hanni could only turn her head to the approaching truck that was driving too fast to stop in time. For a second, everything disappeared around her. It was as if the moment would have lasted forever. Then she felt a hand grabbing her arm.
The truck drove over the crosswalk. Hanni opened her eyes and blinked them a few times. She was laying on the ground but, for some reason, the ground didn't feel hard. Then her eyes spotted the Korean woman. Minji was laying under her, motionless. Hanni's heart jumped to her throat. "Mi-Minji..?" She was upset.
No reaction. "Minji!" Hanni started shaking her from the shoulders a little. "Wake up!"
Finally, the woman opened her eyes, slowly. A weak smile covered her face, "I think I've lost count how many times I've saved you already," she grinned.
"Oh my gosh... a-are you hurt?" Hanni felt tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Did this woman save her life just now? Her shock was overwhelming, and she could only stare at Minji, barely realizing what had just happened.
"I'm fine. Though it would help if you didn't lay on me," she tried to joke, but quickly grimaced in pain. She had fell on her back, and hard. But Hanni didn't need to know that.
Quickly, Hanni backed off, "I am so sorry," she whispered, weakly. She was in a rather hysterical state. For a moment, she really had thought the truck would drive over her. Her heart was barely calming down.
"Hey, it's okay, everything's okay now," Minji sat up and reached out her hand, a bit hesitantly. Then she pulled Hanni into her arms and hugged her gently. It was, in a word, weird, but the woman was clearly shocked and Minji just wanted to calm her down. Despite them being enemies, she wasn't heartless.
Hanni just sobbed against Minji's chest. She gripped on the taller one's shirt and let her hug her. Finally, she calmed down and the realisation struck her.
Minji... she saved me..? She saved my life.
Hanni's eyes widened as she raised her head to look into Minji's eyes. The woman was looking at her sympathetically. She had never thought that Minji had such side. But then again, she didn't really know her at all.
"I..." Hanni began, but she was lost in words. How could she express her gratitude to the one who had saved her? Especially after everything that happened a moment before the tragic. Luckily, Minji stepped in.
"How about the meeting now?" She smiled. And this time, the smile truly seemed genuine.
Hanni nodded. It was the least she could do. Minji grinned, satisfied.
"Tomorrow, 7PM at the local library, okay?"
"Okay."
Before they could continue, a loud scream filled the air. "Hanni Unnie!!" Hyein was running closer. She had dropped her drink the moment she had seen the two women on the ground. "Oh my gosh!! What happened?!"
Only now Hanni realized that a few people had gathered around the place, they had probably heard the screams and came to check what was it all about. Hyein ran to them and crouched down, immediately hugging Hanni. Hanni was a bit startled.
"Don't scare me like that! I heard loud screams and a horn and I..."
Minji stared at the tall brunette, confused. This was Hanni's friend, right? She had seen her sitting on the table with the short one. Minji narrowed her eyes, why did she look so familiar?
Hyein turned to Minji. "Thank you so much for saving her!" She bowed her head, feeling emotional.
"Of course," Minji smiled. She then got up from the ground and cleaned up her clothes a bit. The pain was throbbing in her back and head, but she bit her tongue. She'd get painkillers later. Besides, the fact that Hanni had agreed to meet with her made her chuckle inside. She had truly saved the Vietnamese because of her good will but, in the end, the situation had turned to her advantage.
Hyein stood up and helped Hanni to get back on her feet.
"I better get going now," Minji turned around and looked over her shoulder, "see you around," she winked at Hanni.
Hanni was speechless, did she feel her heart jump just now? Hyein bowed after Minji, one last time, then turned to the woman next to her. "I'm so sorry about earlier... I shouldn't have snapped at you," she looked at Hanni, with a sad expression.
"It's okay, Hyein. You know you can tell me anything."
"I know... I know."
***
"Here you go, Hanni," Jennie smiled as she extended the phone on her hand. "As you guessed, everything seems fine. I did not see anything out of the ordinary. The phone had not even been opened since the day it disappeared."
Hanni took the phone from the brunette. "Thank you Miss Kim," she bowed. Minji had spoken the truth after all.
Yesterday, after the incident with Minji, Hanni had informed that she had found her phone and to her surprise, today evening she had received a request from Miss Kim to bring the phone to a formal check-up. Often such things had a long waiting time.
"I activated it again so it should work like usual."
Hanni nodded.
"But please, be more careful in the future," Jennie flashed a professional smile and watched as the Vietnamese bowed one more time and turned around.
Her eyes followed Hanni until she stepped into the elevator and disappeared. Jennie crossed her arms, lost in her thoughts. The sound of high heels was heard and soon Jisoo was standing next to her.
"Everything alright there? You look doubtful," Jisoo smiled gently.
"Ah, yes. The check-up went well. It's just that I don't understand one little thing. If she lost the phone in Spain, how did it end up back here in Korea?" Jennie kept staring at the closed elevator door, as if Hanni would come back any time.
Jisoo hummed, quietly.
"You're not doubting her loyalty, are you?"
Jenni jerked her head towards the older one. "Unnie! You know it's not that! But..." She bit her lip in hesitation, "she hasn't been with the company that long. Could this all really be just a coincidence?"
"I don't know," Jisoo replied truthfully. She also didn't want to doubt the Vietnamese, but the recent events had truly been odd. Rosé, on the other hand, was on the edge of losing it. She had even refused to meet that poor sniper personally to hear her explanation.
Trust was the key to the whole company. If it didn't exist...
Jisoo shook her head.
"We should head to the main meeting now," she straightened her posture and looked at the brunette. "Our plan will be put on action, Rosé wants us both there."
Jennie tilted her head, "Today already? Very well."
***
Hanni put the hairdryer on her nightstand and brushed her hair. She had taken a shower right after she had got back to her apartment. It had started to rain with downpour and of course she didn't have her umbrella. Luckily, she had been close to her apartment. She glanced at the clock, it showed 8.56PM. For some reason, the trip had really tired her out. Fortunately, she had nothing else planned for this evening.
Her gaze fell on the phone on her nightstand. Hanni sighed. She hadn't received a mission after coming back from Spain. It had only been a few days, but she was ready for action. Her knee had already healed and even though the sweet secretary, Miss Kim, had told her to take it easy, she could barely sit still, it was making her feel restless. She wanted to prove herself.
A sudden loud bang on the door cut her thoughts. Hanni flinched, who could possibly be at her door at this time? Had Hyein forgot her keys again?
The bang was heard again and quickly, Hanni rushed to the door. Without thinking it through, she opened it.
Hanni gasped and took a step back as her eyes met Minji's. The woman was soaking wet. Her white, thin collar shirt was almost transparent and her messy bun had fallen down to the side.
"We had a deal," Minji growled.
Hanni blinked her eyes, shocked. She had completely forgotten about it. The request to bring the phone to the headquarters as soon as possible had been the most important thing. Still, how could she have forgotten the meeting with Minji? A hidden guilt grew inside her.
"It must have slipped my mind," Hanni said, averting her gaze. It had sounded way too indifferent than she had meant to. "It's quite late now so-" she almost closed the door in front of the woman when suddenly, Minji put one of her feet between the door and pushed it open, forcefully. Hanni flinched and backed off as the woman stepped inside her apartment.
Minji nearly slammed the door shut.
"You forgot?"
A bit annoyed, Hanni tucked a stair of hair behind her ear, gaze still on the side. "Some people have a life, you know? I can't put work above you."
Hanni waited for an answer, but one didn't come. Silence had filled up the lobby and she started to feel nervous. ...W-why is she so silent?
Without saying a word, Minji stepped right in front of Hanni, so that there was hardly any space between them. Water was still dripping from her clothes.
Slowly, Hanni raised her head to look into the scary, brown eyes.
Minji stared at Hanni. The woman was only wearing her nightgown, that seemed to be made of a silky fabric. It really complimented her curves and wrapped her body in a cute but still hot packet. Minji narrowed her eyes as pictures from the night of her mission came to her mind. She remembered how Hanni had looked in bed, under her. I wonder what she would have looked like if she was wearing only that silky gown back then...
Minji snapped out of it. Quickly, she took a step back and averted her gaze. She then, as casually as possible, took out her phone and extended it towards the confused woman.
"Give me your number," she blurted out, awkwardly. Gosh I must be so tired.
Hanni's heart was pounding weirdly, as she glanced at the phone that was now dripping water a little. Why was Minji acting so weird? Why did the situation seem so... tensed?
"Y-you expect me to take that?" Hanni stuttered a bit.
Suddenly Minji exhaled loudly. "I'm just wasting my time here," she put the phone back and turned on her heels, then walked to the door and pressed the door handle.
Hanni was stunned.
Then her eyes fell on Minji's back. She gaped. The completely wet collar shirt poorly hid the very painful looking, huge, red bruise. Hanni's eyes widened. Did she get that when she fell..?
A hand grabbed Minji's wrist and pulled her around before she had the chance the exit the apartment.
"Did you not... did you not treat the wound?" Hanni asked, carefully.
Minji could only stare at her, still irritated from the earlier. "What does it matter if I didn't?"
Hanni gasped, how could this woman be so sloppy? She hold on to Minji's wrist, firmly. "Come, let's get you a towel and dry clothes and then I'll treat your back."
Minji let out an amused laughter but quickly fell silent when she faced Hanni's serious and determined eyes. Minji's smile turned around. "You're annoying, Pham," she snorted as Hanni pulled her deeper into the apartment.
She only earned an angry glance from the short one.
"And you're stubborn."
***
Lisa looked at her computer screen. She was scrolling a website when suddenly something started blinking at the bottom left of the screen. Confused, she raised on of her brows and clicked the light. A message opened in front of her. In no time, her eyes had scanned the text.
"You gotta be kidding me..." she shook her head slowly, in disbelief. She couldn't believe her eyes.
Quickly, Lisa got up from her desk and rushed to her phone. She picked a number and put the phone on her ear. It wasn't too late in the evening, no one went to sleep this early, right?
Lisa waited.
Nothing.
"Come on..."
The phone kept ringing.
"Come on, Minji... just pick up."
The call went to voicemail. In dismay, Lisa lowered the phone from her ear.
"Please tell me you're not with that woman..." she whispered.