INTO MY WORLD (ENG.VER) - [FF EXO]

Prologue

December 2017 – Pyongyang, North Korea.

Sun Hyang took a look at her watch. They had to hurry, the helicopter would be there in ten minutes.

With a stiff jerk of the shoulder, she reaffirmed her grip around Agent Y's waist. He suppressed a moan, whilst Sun Hyang desperately tried to keep him standing:

"Come on, there's only ten minutes left. You have to hold on, we have no choice."

He didn't answer, but the blood drooling down her hand as she held his wound was just another reminder that time was running out.

A group of soldiers passed by, and the young woman tried her best to stick to the wall, burdened by her half-conscious partner, whom she was holding against herself. The night wouldn't protect them much longer, and she could already see the first sunrays peering down the horizon: dawn.

Five minutes.

The meeting point was in an open area, so as to provide better aerial access, but its lack of cover made it twice as dangerous. She'd have to wait until the last moment, before darting out and dodging those bullets.

She tried to calm down her breath, inhaling and exhaling slowly, refusing to let panic take over. Nothing had gone to plan.

She knew the mission was dangerous, that the chances she should come back alive were scarce, but something was off. One way or another, they'd been alerted, and the difficult extraction now seemed impossible. She was supposed to repatriate an undercover agent, who held crucial information, and here she was, holding on to this said-agent, half gone from a bullet to the chest, and trying to run away from an entire North-Korean base.

The howling alarm and the soldiers' shouts were not helping her focus, either. The dust lifting off the ground, the noise, the gunshots, the halos chasing them: if the situation resembled a movie's for many, it was for Sun Hyang a dire reality she could not escape.

Chaos was everywhere.

The minutes were ticking by, and every passing second was a miracle of survival. At length, the last second of their wait struck and, inhaling deeply, Sun Hyang charged, dragging Agent Y beside her.

The odds were finally in their favour: crouching on the floor, the earthy mist shielding them from the early glimpses of daylight, they would be hidden a few moments longer. Her eyes scanning the perimeter, Sun Hyang did not pick up on Agent Y trying to tell her something. She ended up noticing him, and listened to his hurried whispers:

"Agent X, listen to me... In Seoul. 17th of January... he found it, he knows everything! He knows everyone, everybody, all the agents... 17th of January, in Seoul... He'll be there...He has...to be there..."

As Sun Hyang was trying to make him as comfortable as possible, listening to his words and keeping an eye on the soldiers at the same time, he grabbed her collar, and forced her to look him in the eyes.

Blood was still running from his head wound. She'd thought it would have started to coagulate by now, but apparently the situation was even worse than she'd thought. The lace of blood he spluttered out with a cough at that moment was additional proof that if backup didn't come now, then they'd lose Agent Y.

He attempted to speak again, but another coughing fit prevented him from it.

"Don't try to speak. Stay calm, the helicopter is coming."

With the few remains of his strength, he dug inside his pocket. It took two attempts for him to, eventually, grab a piece of paper, and press it into the young woman's hands. Without a second glance, she shoved it inside her own pocket.