AGENT TOP-NOTCH

CHAPTER-8

Jeonghan was deep in conversation with Vernon when a sound interrupted them.

"Nice to meet you again, Mr. Yoon."

It was none other than Seungcheol.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Choi," Jeonghan replied, his voice dripping with sass. "Never thought I'd end up teaming with the janitor-oops, I mean the leader of the Black Panthers, Choi Seungcheol," he added, a sly smirk tugging at his lips.

Seungcheol didn't miss a beat, leaning in slightly as he shot back, "Oh, I'm sure it'll be a pleasure working with you too, Mr. Yoon. Try to keep up."

Before either could say more, the door opened, and Mr. Lee entered the room, cradling a steaming cup of coffee. "Is the team ready?" he asked, his sharp eyes scanning the room.

"Yes, sir!" Jihoon responded promptly. "We've split into three groups: Hoshi, Agent Boo, Mingyu, Vernon, and myself in the first group. Agent Han, S-Coups, DK, and Agent Jisso in the second. Agent The8 and Wen are in the third group."

"Good work on the divisions," Mr. Lee nodded. "Now, I want to hear the plan."

Seungcheol stepped forward, his expression serious. "Group One will be handling J&L. As you all know, Jeonghan and I have already started our undercover mission inside the company. We've integrated ourselves well. Seokmin and Joshua will be covering the external side of the operation. Our main goal is to extract intel on Mr. Bae's next move-without setting off any alarms.

"Good," Mr. Lee said, taking a sip of his hot coffee. "And Group Two?"

Jihoon stepped forward, eyes sharp. "Group Two will be infiltrating the university under Mr. Bae's foundation. On the surface, it looks like a school for rich kids, but there's a lot more going on behind the scenes. We'll be blending in as students and staff to figure out what they're hiding."

Hoshi, unable to resist, chimed in with a grin. "I can't wait to look even more handsome in a uniform!"

Seungcheol tried and failed to hold back a laugh. "Sorry to crush your dreams, Mr. Kwon, but you're going in as a professor. And, hate to break it to you, but you're way too old to pass as a university student."

Hoshi glared at Seungcheol, his eyes practically throwing daggers, but Jihoon continued smoothly, ignoring the exchange. "As Seungcheol said, Hoshi and I will be going in as staff. Seungkwan and Vernon will pose as students, while Mingyu will play the role of a barista at the university's coffee shop. We'll be able to observe it from multiple angles."

Mr. Lee nodded, satisfied with the setup. Then all eyes turned to Group Three.

Jun stepped up, his expression focused. "Group Three will be posing as a middle-class family moving into Mr. Bae's neighborhood. Minghao and I will act as a couple to be exact Mr. Bae's new neighbors. The plan is to blend in and get close enough to him to gather intel. The only issue is we need a teenager to complete the cover. It has to be someone we can trust. And they need to be brave, considering the risk of kidnapping is high."

Jeonghan interrupted with a smirk. "No worries about that. I've got the perfect candidate in mind. I just need to talk to him first before we make it official."

Jun's eyes flickered with curiosity, but he nodded. "As long as they can handle the heat, we're good to go."

Mr. Lee gave a satisfied smile. "It sounds like everything is in place. Let's just hope your perfect candidate doesn't mind jumping into the fire."

"Alright, everyone. Dismissed!" Mr. Lee ordered, and the team quickly dispersed, heading to the nearby cafeteria to discuss the next steps.

Jun stretched his arms overhead with a grin. "Ah, I can't wait to play house. It's going to be fun pretending to be all domestic!" His excitement was contagious, and soon the others were chatting and laughing, the energy lighthearted.

But one person wasn't joining in.

Joshua sat quietly across from Seokmin, who hadn't spared him a single glance. Seokmin kept his eyes focused on anything but Joshua, pretending as if the person right in front of him didn't even exist. Every brush-off, every cold shoulder cut deeper, and Joshua could feel the weight of it. He tried to stay focused on the conversation around him, but the silent treatment gnawed at him, leaving an ache he couldn't shake.

It wasn't just being ignored-it was the fact that Seokmin, someone Joshua once considered close, was treating him like a stranger. And what stung more was that he himself was the reason for this.