Who I've Been Searching For | Sungjoy

Chapter 1: The Set-up

Unnamed Facility, Korea

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The unmarked helicopter circled twice around the landing pad before receiving the all-clear from the control tower. On the ground, two marshals guided the helicopter in with their batons.

Inside the helicopter, a young woman dressed in all-black tactical gear looked outside the tinted windows at the ground came closer. Her clothes were covered in dust and little rips, while small cuts and bruises could be seen where she wasn't covered.

"Control Tower, this is RV2014, aircraft Is in descent. Landing in 3, 2, 1..."

The woman waited as her pilot finished off his checks with the control tower before she grabbed her bag and long hardcase.

"Thanks for the lift!" she screamed over the sound of the whirring motors. The pilot simply nodded and gave her a two-figure salute before turning over to his co-pilot.

The woman leapt out of the helicopter and acknowledged the two marshals' crisp salutes with a slight nod as she walked past them.

The door hissed as she punched in the keycode, revealing a long dark corridor behind it.

"I hate this walk," she mumbled to herself. "Why can't the locker room closer to the pad?"

She already knew the answer to that question though. Still, every time she came back from a mission, the same thought would run through her head.

She entered the locker room and threw her belongings inside. Shower first, she decided. Then I'll clean my weapons.

--

One long shower later, she walked out of the locker room and headed towards another part of the building. Dressed in fresh military fatigues, she carried her hardcase in her left hand and held her headdress in her right.

Around her, other members walked down the hallway, similarly disregarding standard military protocol. Some wore civilian clothing as well.

No one cared. Not even the officers. Who could reprimand them when even the military said they didn't exist.

Such was the life of a Special Forces soldier.

In the military, there were the regular force and the special forces. The regular forces were the public face of the military while the special forces worked covertly. No one knew anything about them.

They weren't allowed to contact their family outside of certain times and they weren't allowed to be in unauthorized relationships.

They could work in teams or they could be alone.

But as far as the world and their country knew, their work was a secret.

The woman finally reached her destination, a heavyset door with a plaque that had "Armoury" written on it. She waved her key card over the sensor and waited for the light to turn green before she entered.

The armoury was filled with the sound of buzzing and metal working and was staffed by supporters from both the military and civilian world. Weapon technicians and researchers could be found here, tinkering away and trying to improve on the equipment that the special forces operators used.

She walked past the brightly lit areas until she reached a private lab area in the back.

In contrast to the other areas, it was dim and only had one man working in the back. He wore a dirty white lab coat and covered his eyes with safety goggles as he worked. He would periodically type something onto his laptop and turn his attention back to his work. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't notice the woman that had buzzed herself in.