"What?" Sung Ho scrunched up his face at his friend.

"I said I like her. So just fall back," Jae Hyun flatly asserted.

"Nope," Sung Ho, "If I say so, what are you gonna do?"

"You and her, you guys might be close friends. But dating? Not a chance for you. She just technically gives you one month to impress her so that you won't feel disappointed."

"What did you just say?" Sung Ho grabbed Jae Hyun's collar and rolled his eyes, "I dare you to repeat it."

"What are you guys doing?" Hae Won emerged from the bush and approached the two boys.

"Ah... don't worry we're just... having a little quarrel," Jae Hyun startled and stammered.

"Yeah, it's not a big deal. Just come back to your tent," Sung Ho wryly laughed.

"So you both like me," she gave them both a mysterious and naughty smile. "Interesting... So the ball is in my court and I can decide where to pass it, isn't it?" she remarked, looking back and forth between Sung Ho and Jae Hyun.

Meanwhile, Hae Won's two friends were exchanging hostile glares. Their stares were so intense that she felt like they were about to jump at one another and punch each other's face.

"Guys, stop this!" she placed herself between the two guys, wiggling and grumbling, "You both are making me awkward."

"I'm... sorry for that," Jae Hyun shyly scratched his head.

"Because you both like me and I'm close to both of you, let's have a fair competition, OK?" she peered at her friends and stepped aside, "Now have a handshake!"

"Fine," Jae Hyun agreed and extended his hand, waiting for a handshake from Sung Ho who was peering at him with weariness and reluctance.

Just at the moment when their hands were about to touch, a gunshot echoed from afar. With his super hearing, Jae Hyun could locate someone shouting, sounding like Ji Woo.

******

Jae Hyun rushed over to investigate the situation, with Hae Won and Sung Ho running after him. Arriving at the source, they saw Yoon Ah and Ji Woo. Yoon Ah was hugging her friend tightly while Ji Woo seemed to be crying in her embrace.

"It's OK. I'm here with you," Yoon Ah stroked Ji Woo's hair.

"Is... is that... a gunshot?" Ji Woo looked at Yoon Ah with her wet eyes, flustered and intimidated.

"Guys, what's happening?" the arriving friends rushed over and inquired.

"We heard a gunshot," Yoon Ah said, "Can you guys bring Ji Woo to the camp and calm her down. I'll stay here to search the area."

"But it will be dangerous, let me stay with you," Hae Won grabbed Yoon Ah's wrist.

"Don't worry. I'll be alright," Yoon Ah tried to reassure everyone, "I already have a knife with me to use as a weapon."

Nobody wanted to leave Yoon Ah alone. However, she insisted that she would be safe and sound so everyone eventually had to give in, reluctantly coming back to the camp without her.

Having made sure that everyone had gone so far that they could not hear her, Yoon Ah began shouting and pointed her knife outward.

"Hey, whoever you are, come here and face me now?" she yelled while scanning through the bushes, "If I find you, you're dead meat!"

Then the bushes shook and an eerie rustling sound reached Yoon Ah's ears. To her horror, the scar-faced man, Colonel Ri, showed up in front of her, holding a gun in his hand.

"Ri Tae Seok?"

"Who are you to call me by my full name like that? You're five years older than those kids but your manner isn't better than them," he angrily complained and threw a walkie-talkie at her, "We're planning a bigger operation so take this. By the way, call me Eagle from now on, it's my codename."

"What operation are you talking about?" she suspiciously stared at him.

"Well... There will be a full-force attack at Seodong High. But not so soon yet, only when the time is right."

"You know that I hate everyone who interferes in my mission, right?" she scoffed.

"Then what?"

"Were you the one who fired the gun then?"

"Yeah, I wanna check if that girl can heal or not... You know... Your process is a bit slow not so we gotta do something, right?"

"You could have killed her, bastard," she put her knife at his neck, "Stop butting in and call it off! That girl's innocent so don't you dare to mess with her again."

"This is the Minister's decision. No matter you like it or not, there's nothing you can do," he flatly said, "And put your knife down. You know you're not good enough to beat me right."

"You think so?" she glared at the man.

"Stop rolling your eyes at me," Eagle said and flung the knife off her hands, pushing her far away from him, "I know your power and your weaknesses. You can see infrared and UV radiation, but that also means that merely putting a strong heat source near your face can make you temporarily go blind. We have countless ways to get your back if you rebel. So listen to the higher-ups' orders. Otherwise, you're facing consequences."

"Tell the Minister to call it off. I'll handle things myself," she flatly said.

"I can't. Do you know how much this operation means to us?" he whispered to her ear, "We need to ensure that the South doesn't have any individuals with super power to conscript. If we can achieve that, the military upper hand is ours, and the day when both the North and South reunite isn't gonna be far."

"So all those kids are just pawns in your game, isn't it?" she scoffed.

"It's up to you how to interpret it... And yeah, one more thing... your younger brother's selected for the operation so you'll meet him again soon. I hope that's exciting to hear," the man said and then flew away. 

Meanwhile, Yoon Ah was left alone, horrified by the news that her brother would also be coming to South Korea for the next mission. She had been trying to dissuade him from being an agent all the time as she knew how dangerous it could be. However, he could not resist the temptation of being a special agent, being given power and influence as well as a potential position in the government. As a result, he did not listen to her. Now, they were going to send him on an operation, one that would definitely be very risky and might even cost his life.

Trying to put herself together, Yoon Ah strolled back to the camp and attempted to fall asleep. However, her mind could not find peace as she kept questioning her decision to become an agent. But for her, her brother might not have chosen to embark on such a deadly and bloody pathway. If there was anything happening to him, it would have been her fault for not being able to set a good example for him.

******

After the night incident, things slowly came back to normal and by the next day, none of the five friends mentioned it any more. Having packed all their belongings, they headed to the bus stop to come back home under the cheerful morning sunlight.

They soon parted way as they reached the city, except for Jae Hyun and Hae Won riding the same bus home. Hae Won had stayed up very late lastly night so she seemed absolutely exhausted, leaning her head on Jae Hyun's shoulder to take a nap on the way while he was gently stroking her hair. He was supposed to get off the bus before her. However, he stayed and accompanied her all the way to her home, for a few more stops, in order not to wake her up.

"Hey, wake up," he nudged her arm, "It's your stop."

"Huh?" she yawned and sluggishly opened her eyes, "Why are you still here?"

"I wanna walk you home," he smiled.

Just as soon as they got off the bus, Hae Won suddenly hugged Jae Hyun from behind and said with a baby voice, "Can you carry me piggyback?"

"Then get up," he took off his rucksack and sat down so that she could climb onto his back.

"Jae Hyun-ah," she said on the way home, "Why do you like me?"

"I don't know. Do I need a reason to like you?"

"Of course you do. If you don't, then it means that you don't like me that much," she retorted.

"Well... You're nice, caring and warm... and you're pretty too..." he chuckled.

"Thanks for telling me what I already know," she jocularly remarked.

"By the way, Hae Won-ah..." he paused for a few seconds and then continued, "You said that the ball was in your court yesterday, remember?"

"Did you just call me 'Hae Won-ah' right now?" she heartily laughed and pressed her cheeks against his.

"Can you pass it only to me?" he softly said.

Jae Hyun had finally summoned the courage he needed to tell Hae Won what he should have told her way earlier. But all he got in return was only an awkward silence as she gaped at him in confusion.

"I'm confident that I will catch it well and score a goal with it... and even if I get hurt by it, I won't lose it. I'll keep it at my feet no matter what. So Hae Won-ah..." he continued, "Can you pass me the ball."

"You're so cute," she giggled, "You have way more advantages than Sung Ho, so make use of them."

The talk went on until they reached Hae Won's house, tucked away in the end of a small alley. Jae Hyun then left for home and Hae Won rushed upstairs to her room, tossing herself onto her cushy bed. Unbeknownst to her, her heart began to flutter and her mind was occupied by what Jae Hyun's loving words. Meanwhile, Jae Hyun was, again, overwhelmed by his emotions. For a moment, he began to feel no longer any force pulling his feet down and all the weight of his body seemed to vanish. Lucky for him, the heavy backpack was there to keep him on the ground.

******

Later on in that week, the results of the end-of-semester exams were finally out.

"Hey guys, know what?" Sung Ho exclaimed and then approached Jae Hyun's table, "I got all As. What about you, Jae Hyun?"

"He got all As too," Hae Won said.

'Yeah, I got all As," Jae Hyun nodded his head, "And Ji Woo? Yours should also be good right?"

"Wow... you guys are damn good!" Ji Woo gave them a thumbs-up, "I got As for everything except for Lit. Unlike Hae Won who got Cs and Ds for all subjects," she light-heartedly laughed and poked Hae Won's cheek.

"Hey, at least I got A for my English," Hae Won grumbled, "What about Yoon Ah?"

"She has been sleeping for the whole day. I'm pretty sure she doesn't care about grades," Ji Woo said and then waved her hands at Yoon Ah, "What about you?"

"I got C for Maths and failed everything else," Yoon Ah showed her report card and flatly said.

"Huh? For real? Your parents are gonna be really mad..." Ji Woo approached Yoon Ah and sat down beside her, "But don't worry. Just try your best next time."

"My parents?" Yoon Ah mumbled and stared at Ji Woo for a moment, "Ah... they won't be mad. They don't even care... about my studying after all."

That evening, Sung Ho asked Ji Woo to drop by his house to have dinner and celebrate their good results. The girl said yes so both of them walked to his home together.

Meanwhile, Yoon Ah was discreetly following them to spy on Sung Ho. She was given a new task: to find out who Sung Ho's parents were. The higher-ups could not find out anything about his background while Eagle was occupied by finding a way to get the students' file. Hence, despite the Minister not wanting to, the only person to turn to was Yoon Ah. However, it did not take too much time for Sung Ho and Ji Woo to realise that their friend had been following them the whole time.

"Hey, who's that?" Sung Ho turned his head back as he heard a suspicious step from behind. That was Yoon Ah. Not wanting to be caught, she tried to run away. But unfortunately, Sung Ho got a grip of her jacket and pulled her hood down, exposing her face.

"Wait? It's you? Seol Yoon Ah?" Ji Woo looked at her friend, who was hopelessly trying to cover her face with her hands, in a mixture of disbelief and bewilderment.

Thank you very much for making it this far! If you enjoy reading my story and are excited to find out what is going to happen next, don't forget to click the star to vote for me as well as recommend my story to your friends. You votes really motivate me a lot^^