Eyes On You | Hwang Hyunjin

3

Naturally, I freaked out. Not only are gangs totally scary, but my cousin who I knew for my entire life kept this a secret from me. After fully explaining what this life entailed, I was given the choice to live somewhere else with my lips sealed, or join them.

   And I chose the latter.

   Why you ask? For one, the word gang doesn't describe it very accurately. Chan leads a private organization that is (mostly) legal. Sometimes we work hand in hand with government issues. We do things like cross-group negotiations, hijacking enemy intel, and assassinations. Secret groups have pledged to refrain from killing other groups unless it's necessary for the public's safety. Sadly though, some groups have bent this rule.

   The other reason is because of mom. This is what she wanted for me: to have a family and live with a purpose. Because of her I always wanted to open a shop of my own, maybe serving coffee or our family recipe of baked goods. Perhaps I could do that in the future, but for now, I want to serve people by protecting them through this organization. My mom always put smiles on people's faces, and by working with Chan and the others I could be helping a lot of people.

   But this did not come easy. Years of training nearly broke me— from countless bruises, broken bones, and suffocating self-doubt. I wanted to quit almost every day, but I had to make my mom proud and give myself peace of mind. Eventually, I learned to live with this and use it to my advantage. I learned how to push harder, which trained me to become a better assassin and combat fighter.

Boxing ring, 3 years in
   "Harder, Yuna!"

   I attempt to hit Changbin's punching mitts with all of my might. Sweat is dripping from both of us, but I'm the one almost out of breath.

   "HARDER!"

   Inhaling deeply, I put every ounce of strength toward his hands, throwing my final punch with a loud groan. Changbin barely moves upon impact, making me lose focus. He takes this chance to knock me off balance with his foot, causing me to roll in mid-air before slamming on the ground with a loud thud.

   "You good Changbin?" I hear from the doorway. It's Chan. Changbin gives him a slight nod, queuing Chan to leave. Changbin extends his arm to lift me up. He firmly takes hold of my shoulders.

   "Look at me," he says, searching for my eyes that stare at the floor. Meeting his eyes somehow cause mine to get watery.

   "You might disagree with me, but you have to use more force. Be aggressive. Don't go easy on me." All I can do is listen and nod.

   "We can work on agility and body reading later, but first you need to focus on pure strength and stamina. And I know that you can do much better than what you just gave me." He could tell that I was discouraged.

   "Hey," he now says with a soft smile. "Don't you get discouraged on me. You're doing great, and you'll get it, I promise." He pats my head, causing me to smile.

   "Alright, now let's get back to it."

4 years later, present day
   Changbin and I have been going at it for a solid 20 minutes, me dodging his attacks while he receives plenty of mine.

   "Good," he comments while I block his corkscrew punch and aim my fist at his torso. After a few more minutes of practice, he motions to stop.

   "Taeyong and Doyoung come here." The guys get up from the bench and enter the ring.
   "Let's practice some multi-combat. I know you have plenty experience in this, but the more we practice the better you will be prepared mentally if this were to happen in a mission." Changbin steps to the side with a clipboard in hand, giving us a nod to start.

   "Show us what you got," Doyoung teases. Since they're both wearing body pads, they come at me with full force— a fun challenge.

   After many rounds of punches, kicks, and falls to go around, I hear a knock from the entryway.
   "Nice job Yuna," says Chan. I respond with a breathy "thanks" and a smile, receiving high fives from Taeyong and Doyoung.

   "I just came to tell you guys that I'm holding a meeting in an hour," Chan says, "it's... sort of urgent." His expression grows serious.

   After a cold shower and a quick snack, I head to Chan's office. Sitting at the table are Felix, Jeongin, Changbin, Ji-hoon, Mark, and Johnny. Taeyong files in behind me, along with Changkyun, Soobin, Doyoung, and Mingyu. Any other girl might get intimidated by a room full of men, but here they're my brothers, and I'm their sister.

   "Yuna sit by me!" Jeongin says with an enthusiastic smile.
   "No, I have a seat saved for her!" Says Felix from the other side of him. Since I don't like choosing between them, I shrug and sit toward the back. After everyone gets situated, Chan walks to the front.

   "Thank you all for coming under these tight circumstances, I really appreciate it. As some of you know, Kang Daniel and his gang DKB hacked into our system and managed to steal some information from us. Felix tracked their history and showed that it wasn't much info, but a little is worse than none. Thankfully, our spies worked overtime last night and figured out their plans with it."

Chan turned on the projector, revealing a complicated diagram that resembles a maze. "Before I get to this, there's something important that I should mention." Everyone listens attentively. "There's another group that we aren't familiar with; they're fairly new, but have significant power. Daniel is trying to get them under his wing while he can."

   "What's the name of the group?" Jeongin asks.
"They go by GC, and Soobin mentioned that he read 'Golden Closet' in their fine print."

   Chan motions to the picture on the board. "DKB is planning to transfer our information slowly to a flash drive and leaving it in the center of this warehouse complex. GC is planning to retrieve that drive, and we have to snatch it before they do. We aren't fully aware of GC's intentions, so it's important that we prevent communication between the groups. But there's a catch. The warehouse has sensors that detect who goes in and out, so we must not get caught. And the best way of doing so is to send one person in."

   Everyone at the table looks at each other, then at Chan, anticipating what he will say next.

   "Felix, Soobin, and Jeongin will stay at our headquarters on communication lines, monitoring their cameras and having eyes over the premises. Mark, Johnny, and Taeyong are responsible for clearing each entrance to the complex before returning to our base; stay long enough for one of us to enter, but not too long because the area is too big for us to be scattered safely. The rest of you will either stay here or camp at surrounding stations, ready to fire if they harm us."

   "Now for the person who will retrieve the drive, I've decided that Yuna is the best fit for the job."

   Everyone turns around to look at me, some looking eager and others looking concerned. "You're our best runner, and you know how to maneuver quickly going undetected. Now let's take a 10 minute break before discussing the layout and other details. Afterward please get some rest, we will meet back here at 11:00 pm tonight...

Be ready."

Now that the background is done next comes the fun part 🤩