cloak-and-dagger → ateez (spy school au)

1 → Admission

I stumbled out of bed, rubbing my eyes in tiredness from the faint headache that felt like it had resulted from my lengthy sleep.

“That’s weird,” I groaned, yawning, “I didn’t really do anything last night, just one of those regular midnight shifts-”

A gasp escaped my lips as I froze on the spot.

The midnight shift. The fight. The knife.

The injured man.

Dragging myself to the living room, a stranger greeted me, our eyes locking with one another for what felt like aeons.

“Good morning, Joo Ha,” said the man sitting on the couch. “I’m agent Park Seonghwa, and I work for the SSA, the Secret Security Agency.”

“How do you know my name?” I interrupted him, creeped out by the knowledge of the stranger that I had just helped yesterday.

“I’m a spy. It’s my job to know things.”

I didn’t doubt he was a spy for a second. Now that he was in a well-lit room and all washed up, Park Seonghwa looked exactly like what I had always envisioned for a spy. A bit too young, perhaps just a little older than I was, but still extremely dashing and sleek. There was something very James Bond-y about him, and I finally understood why he seemed like a guy that would take out bad guys without breaking a sweat.

Except last night, where he was the one taken out instead.

“Am I in trouble because of, you know…?” I asked, pointing to his torso where I had cleaned and wrapped up neatly.

Seonghwa laughed. “Well, of course you are! The guy from yesterday knew that his identity had been compromised, so he will hunt you down without taking into account whether it was an accident or not.”

“So what you’re saying is my whole life is over because I helped you?”

“Essentially, yes,” Seonghwa replies, “However, the Agency has been watching you for a while, and it just so happens that you were also the person that helped me today.”

I paused, in shock, “Why? Wait, how do you even know me?”

“The SSA has all of the information it needs,” Seonghwa took a tiny handheld computer out of his pocket., “First off, you have incredible maths skills, speak Korean, English and German fluently, and were a straight-A student throughout high school.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What is 78,526 multiplied by 548?”

“43,032,248! Gosh…” I uttered a sigh, facepalming myself. Because of my aptitude for mathematics, I also have the strange ability to always know the precise time. However, for the majority of my life, I hadn't realised that this was anything special. I believed that everyone was capable of mentally solving difficult mathematical problems or quickly calculating how many days, weeks, or minutes they had lived. I discovered this when I was 3,756 days old.

“Whatever that was, Newton,” Seonghwa said, “You also completely aced your GETIQ exams.”

“Jeh-tique exams? I don’t remember taking those.”

"No, not at all. You were definitely unaware that you were taking them. GETIQ: Graduate Exit Test Inserted Quiz. They are included on every high school exit test by the SSA in order to evaluate possible espionage aptitude. You've answered each and every one correctly."

I was awestruck, delighted, and bewildered all at the same time. I've always wished for my life to drastically change or for something remarkable to occur. I wanted to become rich, to not have to worry about working a day in my life, to-

“You also did an incredible job treating my wound, which is a vital skill needed on the field. Well, enough chit chat,” Seonghwa rubbed his hands together excitedly. “The SSA is incredibly honoured to admit you to the ATeenagerZ School of Espionage.”

“I’ve never heard of any school named ATeenagerZ. What does that even mean?”

“That’s because it’s top secret. But I swear that it does exist. I am about to graduate from there myself! A fantastic institution, oh, and "A teenager Z" represents their commitment to developing agents from their teen years by providing them with all the skills they require from A to Z. Congratulations!” Seonghwa flashed a blinding smile. “Let’s get you packed, shall we?”

There were still a hundred questions racing through my head that wanted to be asked all at once, so I stammered a little, “I… uh… well… Why am I packing? How far is this academy from here?”

“Not at all. But all students are required to remain on campus, for free of course, as spying is a full-time job. Six years of training are required, from ages 18 to 24, but it doesn't really matter when you start to be honest. Despite being 22, you will be a first year, but every agent is always eligible to be activated for missions that are relevant to them or their set of skills.”

“Is the school's schedule different from that of other universities?” I pondered.

“No.”

“Then why are they accepting me now? It’s the middle of an academic year.”

For the first time since I had met him, Seonghwa seemed speechless.

“There was a sudden opening.”

“Someone quit?

“Your name was the next on the list after they got flunked out. Anyhow, why do you seem so unconcerned about this? This is only the beginning. Your training will be challenging. Even if you are successful, life won't be simple. Many people are unable to keep up with it.”

“I shouldn’t be, but where else would I go? I’m pretty sure that you have all of my details and know that I’ve been working everywhere I could during this gap year to supposedly “find my passion” for university, but it’s quite obvious that that’s not the case. I’m broke, without my parents, and I have no one to turn to, so nothing can get any worse than this life I’m living right now. Joining this school doesn’t sound too bad, it’s free and I will finally have a purpose in life.”

I stared into his eyes and continued.

“Now that I’m caught up in this mess just by helping you, you can’t let me go just like that. You have to take responsibility.”

And thus, I made the biggest mistake of my life.

“I want in.”

♥︎ ------------------------------- ♥︎

If Hwa ever offered me anything at all I would agree IMMEDIATELY, Joo Ha wake up 🙄