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

3 → Enlightenment

Once more, the lights turned on.

I instinctively balled up and cried out, "Please don't murder me! I'm just getting started here!"

"Begging for mercy? That's definitely a D-quality performance."

There were approving whispers.

I gradually took my eyes off the densely piled carpet. I suddenly found myself facing a conference table rather than a group of assassins brandishing guns at me. On the opposite side of it, three middle-aged adults—two men and one woman—sat, shaking their heads and taking notes on legal pads. Standing beside them was Seonghwa. Despite the thick tension present in the room, he managed to throw me a tiny thumbs-up, coupled with a genuine, proud smile.

I turned to look behind me when I heard an electrical hum. Views of every location I had visited on campus were displayed on a bank of monitors there.

As realisation set in, I groaned. "Was this a test?"

The man in the middle of the table, who was the owner of the dissatisfied voice, responded, "Lucky for you. We'd be mailing your remains home if this had been a real incidence of external aggression."

I argued, "But I haven't learned anything yet…  I just arrived!"

"I'm well aware of it. Every student must take the ABCD exam when they first arrive.”

I looked at Seonghwa in confusion. There was no way the academy was testing me on the alphabet.

“Analysis of Battle Capability and Durability,” he sighed, then turned to the panel. “I thought that trick she did with the reference book in the library was quite clever.”

The grunting man scoffed, "It was a lucky shot."

“And using the Taser on the keypad?” Seonghwa mentioned, quirking up an eyebrow. “We’ve never seen that before.”

“Because it was stupid, that’s why. Seonghwa, how could you praise her when you have combat skills that she could never ever dream of having herself?” the middle-aged man fixed me with a hard stare. “I’m the principal of this academy. These are the vice principals. Agent Seonghwa, Second-in-command of the SSA’s most skilled undergraduate unit, ATEEZ, and, of course, Hongjoong, the unit’s Captain, have already been introduced to you.”

I circled back. Behind me was the boy supposedly named Hongjoong. He hadn't made a sound as he came in. Knowing his status, I now understood why he was such an intriguing character when I first met him outside in the hallway. Hongjoong had a dissatisfied look on his face, bored by the contents of the meeting.

“I think we’re all in agreement that your performance today was deplorable,” the principal continued. “You've shown amateurish abilities or worse in almost every field, including unarmed combat, stealth, and savoir faire. ”

The principal's left eye was jerkily twitching as he glared at me. "To be honest, if you hadn't saved Agent Seonghwa and had an exceptional talent for Maths, I would have sent you home immediately. But it's up to us to see what we can wring out of you, Joo Ha. You have a ton of stuff to accomplish. Currently, you have a D-minus average.”

He then waved me off coldly.

I felt empty inside as I left the office. Behind me, Hongjoong entered the hallway.

“There's nothing to be embarrassed about, right?” I questioned him. "I mean, I haven't received any formal lessons yet. No one does well on this test when they first arrive, I assume."

He told me simply, "I aced it." then walked away without even saying goodbye.

Thus, only eighteen minutes after I arrived at spy school, I had realised something crucial about it: It wouldn't be simple.