How Long Do I Have To Keep Running? (Irene x Male Reader)

Chapter 1: The Mission

"(Y/N)! I need you here."

You got off the couch and walked to Faith.

"What's up?"

"How good is your Korean?"

You were taken aback by the sudden question.

"Uh, I dunno. Decent? I think I know enough to survive. Why?"

"I lost Icarus on the BeatLink. He's out of range and I want you to go get him."

"Did he not bring his phone?"

Faith pointed to the cellular device on the desk that answered your question.

"Ah. You wanted this to be secretive."

"You know me."

You glanced at the map of Korea which you were all too familiar with. Being from there helped familiarize yourself with the country you were once proud to call home.

Now, you wanted nothing to do with it. The reasons being were personal only to you.

But a mission is a mission. You couldn't say no.

Plus, you and Icarus actually hit it off pretty quickly unlike Faith and Icarus. So you wanted him here just as much as anyone else did.

"Count me in. Where do I need to go?"

"I told him to scope out the area for potential hideout locations. After some geographical research he told me he would snoop around Seoul. I don't know where exactly in Seoul so this is why I need you."

"Well it depends where. If it's a busy district we'd be looking at areas like K(G)angnam, Yeoui-Do or Hongdae. Yongsan is where a lot of the non-Koreans live so he could have started there so he didn't have to speak Korean."

"But if the whole point of the mission was to hide his identity, why would he go after busier areas?"

"Korean night-life is where people are out and about. That gives us cover to carry out some missions without causing a scene because it'll be covered by people mingling."

Faith was confused.

"But if people weren't around wouldn't that be better?"

"We'd attract more attention. It wouldn't be covered by the noise of cars constantly going back and forth so we'd be more open."

Faith was doubtful.

"Is Korean night-life really that busy?"

"Absolutely, especially amongst college students. They'd be the ones you'd see doing most of the partying and shit so expect them to be rowdy."

"There's your flaw though, our opponents so far have been businessmen who are relatively middle age to old. They're free to roam around the cities and do horrid things."

"Which means we can use the night ambience to our advantage. Even if college students were to interfere, they're most likely not going to have guns. Korea's a country that doesn't really carry firearms."

"How are you going to be able to carry a gun on a flight?"

Faith had you there. The Runners' goal was to operate with the utmost secrecy which meant trying to blend in with society as much as possible. Having to board a flight like a civilian meant you had to go through security like a civilian. A firearm would put the plan in jeopardy.

You had an idea though.

"Does Rebecca still have that boat of hers?"

"I think so, she hasn't used it in a while though. Why?"

"We can take one of Plastic's drones onto the boat and anchor it near the coast. Then we can drop off one of the guns on board in a forest or something where I'll be waiting."

"You do realize that the naval and air forces of Korea will most likely be able to detect such activity and break up the situation before it escalates."

You sighed in frustration as you realized the porosity of your plan. You always thought of yourself as a good planner but you realized that you still had a long way to go.

You've always wanted to be as good as Faith but as immense as your potential was, your abilities lay solely in physical capabilities. You could run, and run, and run.

However, it was clear that you couldn't be a leader. You would need much more experience to actually get a grasp onto what was required to take charge of a unit, let alone a group as secretive as this.

Sensing your frustration, Faith put a hand on your shoulder.

She knew how much you wanted this, and she wanted you to succeed just as much as you did. Seeing you flourish was something she took great pride in knowing that you were away from a stressful life and out here contributing to the Runner life whilst enjoying yourself. Gone were the dark days of your empty past. Now in place was a Runner who had overcome many obstacles to get to where you were.

Regardless of the flaws in this plan, Faith still had, no pun intended, faith. She was very well aware of your Mamba Mentality approach to Running and was confident that you'd be able to execute this plan with a few adjustments.

"Why don't we make a few changes to the plan hm? That way we can fix some holes to make this plan work like you want it to."

"Fine by me. What if we scrap the weapon approach? I don't want to enter Korea completely unprepared but what about the tech Plastic invented that can't be detected by security?

"Better (Y/N), you're learning."

The two of you continued to modify the plan to the best of your abilities. It completely shifted from a weapon drop to a stealth approach where you would simply blend in with society and strike when lights went out.

After about an hour of revising, the layout of the plan was now satisfactory. After many small arguments and debates, Faith was ready to let you go.

"Alright I'm trusting you (Y/N). You better not let me down."

"I never have, and don't plan on doing so anytime soon. When's my flight?"

"Let's schedule that right now."

You and Faith spent a couple minutes browsing flights and scheduling times. You also went over your objectives again so you knew what to do.

It wasn't simply to find Icarus. It was to find him, locate some safe spots, then be on the lookout for potential enemies. None of you knew how international KrugerSec was and given the unique tattoos all Runners had, you were hoping the reactions of some people would give away their identity.

It was going to be tough given tattoos already have a stigma in Korea but the goal was to incite a reaction so repulsive it made it clear as to who was your target.

The few days up ahead was arguably going to be the most challenging of them all.

But you never back down from a challenge, no matter how much the odds stack against you.

You were ready.