USER://PZN-IVY

                     most of chunhei’s free time was spent in the target practice rooms at hwarang. aside from the design and maintenance of weapons, she was also quite the fan of using them ( made obvious by her impressive personal collection of firearms ). whenever leia was asleep the young woman would strap a baby monitor to her hip and make her way down into the belly of the headquarters to play with her dangerous toys. 

                     it wasn’t often that she found the place empty. sometimes when she worked late and leia was with the babysitter she would wander down with only edie’s ever-looming presence as her company and make her way through various stages of the test courses. it helped burn off some steam and keep her in practice, and it gave her a little taste of what she was missing out on the field. those nights were few and far between, though, as more often than not there would be at least one or two other people using the courses. sometimes more, if she had hinted to her students that there would be a physical skills test coming up. 

                     today when chunhei arrived to the courses there was only one other person present—agent ivy. hyera was one of the few agents at hwarang that chunhei actually looked up to, maybe even considered a role model when it came to her skills in the field. she was serious about what she did, and because of that she did it well; there was no way to have any qualms with such behaviour. her talent always intrigued chunhei, and just like it normally did this training session had her standing outside the observation window with mouth agape. the way her body wove expertly through the level six course as though it were a recruit’s entrance test was a pleasure to watch. she dodged bullets, hit targets with almost perfect precision, and managed to still look graceful while doing it.

                     maybe she should come in and teach a class sometime.

                     when the ending score for the run blinked up on the screen ( ninety-two, more than impressive ) and a pout came over hyera’s lips chunhei couldn’t help her little grin. cute. that was a good word for it. it reminded her of leia. the younger woman perked up slightly when hyera finally addressed her, despite the seemingly annoyed nature of her tone.

                    “ that was a good run, i’ve got no idea why you’re pouting. ” without waiting for an invitation she slid past hyera and into the training room. fingertips brushed lightly over the gun holstered on her hip, and when her eyes finally landed on the target that had docked hyera’s score ( just a bit off center from bullseye, no big deal. it would still be a killing shot if the target were a real person ) she pulled the pistol from her holster and cocked it, lining up the shot before taking it and hitting the middle of the target.

                     “ i’ve never been able to hit that one while moving. it’s a bitch, really. ” still holding the pistol, she flicked the safety back on before sliding it into her holster once more.

                     “ did you just get back from the field, agent ? ”

the thing that she had always thought about kang chunhei was how thoroughly small she was, with a devastatingly young face, the young woman stood up to her nose and yet as she held her various firearms; she was formidable. hell, any woman who could raise a child all by themselves while maintaining a full-time job was a full-blown warrior in hyera’s book. so she wiped the annoyed expression from her face as the younger woman opened her mouth, and tilted her head to the side as she studied chunhei’s almost perfect bullseye -- she couldn’t help but to feel impressed. with a few years between them, the gap was oftentimes felt rather than expressed, however her mind was quick to point out that really, hwang hyera was naturally distant to most in the agency; her very own family. many had heard of her cold disposition and would scarcely make an effort to stray close.

“a slim miss could make the difference between life and death.” she said almost reflexively, returning her gun back into the cabinet. it was a very decent paraphrasing of the recruit handbook, but she wasn’t one to brag. “its 50/50 for me, sometimes i hit it fine-- other times...” 

hyera tapped at the blinking screen with her score, pressing both the ( replay ) and ( full stats ) buttons. a hologram of her in the course was projected to scale, and she kept one eye at her movements played against the repeated course -- various statistics of speed and accuracy appearing as her hologram bullets whiz towards its intended targets. 

“i got back last week from macau, management gave me a few days off before sending me off for something else.” she murmured, watching as hologram hyera slid and hit perfect accuracy on one moving target and missing the next one completely. she hissed softly in disappointment. 

“how’s your kid?” 

she had heard whispers about the little baby’s parentage, it had all been confidential and kept locked up in carefully retracted files -- but being in the agency for a decade or so, the whispers that she heard over the years would come from a credible source. although hyera wasn’t one to gossip, she understood that it’s hardly her business to come poking around in others’ affairs. but the baby had been the only one to have been born in her entire time housed within the agency, and being in such close proximity to such a fragile thing had piqued her interest somewhat. 

despite so, she wasn’t one to be social unless expressively ordered, thus her interest never sated. 

“they grow up quick at that age, don’t they? at least that’s what i hear.” 

“Such a cold response for someone who has known me for so long.” A cheeky pout litters the edges of Areum’s lips as she leaned against the window, long lashes fluttering ever so lightly as she crawls up onto the ledge, curling her feet as she seated herself primly, a light tilt to her head as she watched Hyera toy with her usual handguns. “And you haven’t come to the costume department for so long!” Areum scowled slightly at the thought, dropping lightly to her feet and making her way towards Hyera with light, butterfly steps to her feet. 

“Miss your monthly costume fitting, and didn’t visit me–not even a text message or a call. How could you do this to me?” Areum whined cutely, dodging a sniper bot and poking it playfully with her finger. “I even had your return date circled in a bright red marker on my calendar–” Areum huffed dramatically, before rocking back on her feet and sucking her bottom lip between her teeth. “But I’m glad you’re here. I missed you.” As one of the older few amongst the specialists, Areum had spent 2 years being a field agent, which acquainted her with Hyera rather intimately, Areum supposed. Areum never understood why, but Hyera had always unsettled her somewhat. Perhaps it was because of the woman’s much colder attitude towards others, that always met her warmth with a seeming wall of ice that stopped her in her tracks, or the sharp precision that Hyera had always held herself with that made the other woman feel sharper edged compared to most.

“We should have lunch together.” The awkwardness in the air that Areum felt she was exhibiting had to be unbearable, but before she could even stop it herself, the words fell from behind her lips like a torrent that she couldn’t stop from her lips. “Ahhh…” Areum squeezed her eyes shut ever so slightly, a low but resigned exhale bubbling from her lips. “If you’re busy, its fine–”

so there was a split second of silence before she sighed, shaking her head as she pursed her lips at the woman in front of her. han areum had been a part of her graduating class of recruits, and although terrifyingly individualistic hyera had begrudgingly adopted a quaint sort of politeness when dealing with hwarang old-timers. a sense of camaraderie, familiarity, nor dare she say it: family. although when it comes to hwang hyera it’s safe to say that the warmest she could possibly muster up was a contrite nod and mildly soft eyes. 

“i’ve just gotten back from a mission-- spent a few days taking a break down south...” she trailed off. more specifically, she had spent a few days in her property on jeju island, a breathtaking house on top of a hill that overlooked the ocean. hyera’s permanent residence could be considered headquarters, given that she saw no point in renting a place of her own in seoul, but only a handful of people know of her little getaway -- her constant work in progress where she funnelled almost all of her money. just yesterday, she was meeting with a decorator for the new second floor addition that was recently finished. 

“i guess the cell service isn’t all that good outside of the city.” ( edie messaged her twice about her appointment, both ignored in favour of the cool sea breeze ) “but i could do the fitting now, if you don’t mind--” 

as her glance fell on the little awkward smile on areum’s face, hyera couldn’t help but to let out a small sigh before placing her gun back in the cabinet. it’s her day off after all, there was no harm in being friendly once in a while. they’re the same age, and when considering korean customs it should technically mean that they should get along better than most. that is, of course, when one does not consider the fact that the tall woman has always been terrible with company.  

“-- annd we can have lunch afterwards... if you’d like.”

LOCATION: an apartment in an undisclosed location OPERATIVES: ivy + @lupiins

there was no one reason why hwang hyera hated choi woong. there were many. first it was his ridiculously cocky little grin, the one he almost always miraculously pull out of his ass at the most ridiculous of times, she was so incensed at one point that she nearly pulled a gun on him. the second, of course, was his inability to follow the simplest of orders when it interfered with his ‘ideals’-- a terrible excuse in their chosen profession. lastly; her inability to resist him. so when she sat cross legged on his couch, hair mussed up and wearing one of his crisp button-ups, she could only glower darkly at his figure. far too smug for his own good. 

“this is the last time this is happening, you know that, don’t you?” 

now who could blame her, when confronted with woong’s stellar personality after coming home from the mission with yao; she had to relieve the tension somehow. hyera kept telling herself that it was all possible with woong because she hated him, because there could not possibly be any chance of compromising a mission. 

the elevator hidden within the tea shop hummed into life as she stepped in, a small holding table slid out of the wall for her bag, and the familiar voice rang out from above as the elevator zoomed downwards.

    “good afternoon, agent ivy -- you have nothing on the meeting docket today, how may i assist you?”     “good afternoon, edie.” she said evenly, pulling fluff from her the cuff of her sheer blouse. “i’d like to do some target practice today, please see to it that i have my usual room.”     “right away, agent ivy.”

a few minutes later, hyera found herself stepping into one of the practice rooms she frequented-- the open cabinet boasting her usual arsenal of firearms. the convenience of edie and the technology of headquarters had spoilt her, and truly, it had ruined her for any other ( even luxurious ) amenities. lengthening her arms and dipping into a low stretch of her calves and hamstrings, she swept her hair back into a ponytail before regarding the room settings screen that was slotted on the wall. without even thinking, the beautiful thing immediately selected level 6 out of 10, as she lunged forwards to grab one of her pistols when the timer chimed. 

3... 2... 1... GO!

so she jumped and dodged various virtual bullets, and dipped low to aim at a sniper robot up above before feeling one whiz by her ear from behind. another shot, and another, hwang hyera was a sight to behold as she whipped back and slid behind makeshift barriers, lithe legs catapulting her from one side of the room towards the other. a good two minutes later, a slow siren blared to signal the end of the drill -- and she whipped her head towards the monitor for her score; 

ninety-two.

“fuck.” an uncharacteristic pout, an impatient exhale, hyera went to reload her weapon when her eyes lingered at the large windows on the side of the wall facing the hallway. it seems as if she had earned herself an audience. 

pursing her lips slightly, she toyed with another one of her usual handguns as she opened the steel doors to address the figure loitering by the windows.

“can i help you?” 

MISSION: protect the south korean president’s daughter from possible assassination attempt COVER: the new mr and mrs xiao enjoying their honeymoon OPERATIVES: ivy + @yacshij

all things considered, these kinds of missions are usually the best option out of many. glorified babysitting, if you will, in which the ‘glorified’ part only entails a colourful arsenal of firearms. the president’s daughter was a lilting, beautiful thing. foreign-educated and so thoroughly reckless, it wasn’t the first time that a hwarang agent had been assigned as covert security detail; possible assailants would be perfectly aware of security in the typical sense, of five or six men in dark suits and dark sunglasses surrounding a drunk twenty-three year old girl, hardly inconspicuous. such babysitting would’ve been entrusted to younger agents if it wasn’t for the very real threat that came to the blue house, this time, the president was forced to take the threats seriously. 

so agent ivy stood tall, draped in white silk and diamonds-- the only way one could stay incognito in a vip room full of billionaires and their trophy wives. roulette table laced with men with far too much money in their pockets, handful of chips thrown carelessly across the velvet table, hyera flitted over to her ‘husband’s’ side after taking a slow turn around the room. a flute of champagne in each hand. her dark eyes were trained at the table of shrieking girls almost at the centre of the room, it seems as if the president would be forced to sell off a trade deal to finance his daughter’s next poker hand.  

“everything seems secure, from what i gather no one around here even knows who she is.” voice velvet soft in rapid mandarin, hardly loud enough for any eavesdropper to pick up above the raucous noise of the next roulette table. to outsiders, it might seem like her secret smile was a product of love, the very image of a shiny newlywed couple in their honeymoon. but her heart betrayed her otherwise placid features, for when her eyes were hazy and soft, her stomach flipped over and over with some strange sort of trepidation. hyera almost shuddered at the close proximity to shi yao, almost, as if only she was in any shape or form less talented than she truly was. but agent ivy never wavered, and with a natural little flick of her wavy tresses, she managed to glance subtly at an equally raucous group of hong kong rich kids. “nothing seems out of the ordinary, as of yet -- she might not need much babysitting after all.” 

she moved slightly away from him then, far enough to breath, yet straying close enough to mark her territory. that’s what protective new wives do, right? 

( im jinah (nana), cisfemale, she/her ) — Welcome back, HWANG HYERA. I’m surprised you’re still a FIELD AGENT ! Congrats ! You’re TWENTY-EIGHT years old ? Our agents usually don’t last that long ! :O I see you’ve been given a POODLE. Funny how it seems they work harder than you ! Can’t wait for another lovely day of you being POLISHED. Though, if we’re being honest, we really know you’re more DIFFICULT. Welp, have a good at work, Agent IVY. I really don’t care ! I’m a robot, I have no feelings. (rae, old, est, she/her)

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