Blood and Roses || Lee Taeyong

Chapter 11 | "first mission"

Chaerin's leg wouldn't stop bouncing on the car ride over to the location. Clad in her full black body suit and combat boots, she felt like a total badass. Not to mention the three guns on her hip holster and custom set of knives held in place on her chest harness.

"Hey, relax." Doyoung said from beside her. "You'll be fine."

"I know I'm just nervous but excited. It's my first mission!" She replied, already envisioning an attack straight out of an action movie, complete with explosions and all.

"I get that you're excited, but this is serious." He warned her. "You have to stay focused because I'm not kidding: you potentially could die today if you're not careful. And you might have to kill someone for real."

She nodded her head as Johnny held up a finger to silence them, the gravity of the situation settling on her as she felt a pit forming in her stomach. She could hear Renjun's voice in her ear, telling her that they had arrived.

"Alright, Chaerin, remember: I'll guide you through this. Listen to what I say, keep an eye out, and stay calm. You'll make it through this." Renjun said soothingly.

"Thanks Junnie."

"Of course."

Usually he and Hendery would be guiding the group together but seeing as it was her first mission and only 127 was with her, they decided that Renjun would focus only on her and allow Hendery to do the rest.

With a final nod from Taeyong, the group split up, all going to their assigned posts and leaving her alone. She let out a deep sigh, forcing the shake out of her hands as she clutched onto one of her guns.

"Get ready, Chaerin, it's about to start."

Chaerin couldn't help but tense up as she heard the loud bang of a gunshot from the other side of the building, signaling that the mission had started. She was stationed at one of the exits, her job to make sure no one got out of the building and to provide backup if needed.

"Chaerin, relax. Your heart rate is skyrocketing, I need you to take a deep breath and calm down." She did as she was told, listening to the younger boy and trying to calm down. "If they do their job correctly, you won't even need to do anything. You're just there incase someone manages to escape, and I'll warn you in advance if someone is coming."

"Thanks Renjun."

She listened as more gunshots rung out from the building, screams of pain echoing down the hallway before being abruptly cut off by the familiar bang.

The sounds got higher, a sign that the group was moving steadily up the building, the mission so far a success. She let out a sigh as she gunshots reached a peak before ending.

"They got what we needed."

"Thank god." She sighed out in relief, hearing Renjun's words as she relaxed her shoulders.

"Just stay there until one of them comes to get you."

"Got it."

She put her gun back in her holster, stretching out her tense muscles with a small smile on her face. Her peace didn't last long as she noticed a dark van heading towards them. She quickly ducked for cover behind a nearby electrical box.

"Hey Renjun?"

"Yes?"

"Did you send for backup by any chance?"

"No, why?"

"Because there's a black van heading this way and if it's not ours then we might have an issue."

"Shit, one second." She could hear rapid typing through the line before Renjun let out a frustrated groan. "Fucking- yeah that's not one of ours, it seems they called for backup. Stay hidden, I'll alert the others."

She watched as men climbed out of the van, all clad in black and heading towards her.

"Jun, please tell them to hurry, they're coming this way."

"Fuck." She heard the young boy say. "They're on their way as fast as possible but you might need to handle this until they get there."

"What does that mean?"

"Kill as many of them as possible and don't get shot. This is your life on the line. You have an advantage of surprise right now, so I'd act fast."

Chaerin gulped nervously before pulling out her gun. She took a shaky breath, settling her nerves before peeking out at the men who were fast approaching the entrance she was guarding. She closed her eyes tightly, understanding what she was about to do.

When she opened them again, her eyes were dark, her gaze focused as she took aim. The second the first gunshot rung out, she watched her target fall to the ground with a shout.

Immediately all the men drew their guns, searching for their attacker. She used the distraction to take down a few more, their bodies falling with subtle thumps.

Quickly, the men scattered, Chaerin doing her best to hunt them down, watching body after body fall still and silent on the dusty ground. With a satisfied hum, she looked around, seeing no other men still standing.

Carefully, she stepped out from where she was, putting the, now empty, gun back in its spot as she carefully looked around. Just as she thought she was out of the clear, she felt something wiz by her, seeing a knife dig into the wall right past her head.

She spun around, seeing a man who she had missed facing her with an angry scowl, knife in hand. It was almost like slow motion, the moment her eyes landed on the man, the knife was already hurling through the air right towards her, and she was completely frozen.

All she could do was close her eyes and brace for impact as the knife sped towards her, the blade only inches away from her face.