Haemin is her name. She's been working with the Secret Service. You all might think Secret Service is for people above twenty years old but they do make young people work too. But this Secret Service is not under CIA. It's the dark Secret Service. Haemin works for her father. In seek of the murderer who killed her family. Who took them away from her and only her and her father is left. She's been trained for 9 years already. Learned to act, learned to talk in other languages, learned to fight, learned to shoot using guns and pistols, learned to make good strategies.
Her father is busy as well. But their relationships are like best friends. They make great team work. Sometimes, Haemin pities the other people who work with her too. Most of them are like her. Lose their family, trained and being ordered. They all act well. They may look cheerful but the second they're told to kill, their gazes change.
She is only 19 years old. People say 10 is the age where almost every teenager enjoys themselves but not all of them. Kids who work under this dark Secret Service are mostly chosen because of their big sacrifices and deaths and their dark past.
"Have you completed the task I told you to?" said the leader who is in charge of all teens in Secret Service. Her question was directed to Haemin. "Yes, ma'am." The target had safely arrived to China." Haemin answered confidently. One of the rules; answer questions with confidence.
"Good. Wait for the new task. You can rest for now. Be sure to keep in shape. I see your shooting skill is a bit off. Dismiss." she said. Her name was Taehee. Taehee is strict and is a very skilled agent. There are a lot of reasons why she was chosen as the leader. Taehee is now 25 years old. That is considered young. Haemin's father is 42. But he looks young and is still fit to do hard tasks.
Haemin is not sure why she's in the Secret Service. Her father said it was to get her ready for the future. What future? Her father's words kept playing in her head. What kind of future is awaiting her?
She shook the thought off and headed to her room. Two girls awaited her. "You're done?" asked Hanna, a Russian girl. She speaks fluent Korean. "Yeah. Taehee said I can rest. For now." Haemin nodded and slumped in her bed. Her body felt tired from the latest work she did. Every job they receive is high-level and very tricky.
"We get to rest too." Hanna sighed. "At least we get to rest. I still like it here." Lee chuckled, a Chinese girl. "Why do you like it here? Don't you want to be free? Have fun with friends at a fresh-aired place, gossip with each other...don't you want that?" Haemin sat up. "I do...but..this is our fate. We can't go against it unless something happens, right? We need to accept who we are." Lee smiled, shrugging her shoulders.
"I don't know, Lee. How can you be so motivated? I mean, I want to enjoy life, you know?" Haemin sighed and lied down again. "Chill. Get some sleep. You too, Lee. Let us all have our sleeping beauty. We don't know what comes tomorrow. Better be ready." Hanna smiled to them both and they bid each other good nights and fell asleep.
Lee really likes it in the Secret Service's training centre, Winter Blaze. That's what it's called. Winter Blaze. The name is cool, the place is too. They get enough meal for one day, comfy beds and warm blankets for cold nights. The place is like real home but to Haemin, it feels like prison to her. Very similar to prison. You can say that. But everything they do in Winter Blaze is for a good or bad reason. That's what Haemin wants to find out.
She is curious of what is actually the dark Secret Service is. They work together with polices but not the other Secret Service which is under CIA. The police department are not as skilled as the agents in the dark Secret Service.
Haemin's father, Lee Hongkyu is a detective in the dark Secret Service. Hongkyu spends more time in the cities and big towns than the agents in Winter Blaze. But most missions are to be accomplished in the cities. Like assassinate bad villains and the big drug-dealers and such. Sometimes, big troubles come in the process but they are all trained to know what to do in that situation, no excuses. Winter Blaze's rules are very strict and organized. If they break the rules, a heavy punishment awaits them.
That's why they're all careful of their own actions. They can make friends in Winter Blaze but not too close that they lose focus in work. Love relationships are not really allowed for the workers in the Secret Service but when it happens, they'll face big trouble.
"Is my daughter doing well?" asked Hongkyu, who was looking through files and documents in Taehee's office. "She's doing very well. Just like her mother." Taehee smiled. "She did take after Jinhee." Hongkyu chuckled. "I have a hard task for her to do. Is it fine for you?" Taehee raised her brows, a file in her hand. "What is it? Let me see." Hongkyu creased his brows.
Taehee gave him the file and it took minutes for him to think about it. "I think this is fine. But it's quite risky. Our agents in China are mostly the quiet and strict ones. But I'm sure she'll do well." Hongkyu tilted his head. "I thought of it already. She's perfect for this job. Thus, her fighting skills are strong enough to fight ones who are bigger than her. I've seen that happen before." Taehee shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm fine with it. But send someone with her too. It's too dangerous to be alone." Hongkyu glanced at Taehee. "Don't worry. One of the Chinese agents will accompany her in the plane later. It's been well planned. She'll be fine. The agent may look weak but this boy is very scary if you've seen him in action." Taehee shoved a picture to Hongkyu.
"That sounds interesting. Hah, but this boy really looks weak to me. He's pretty like a girl." Hongkyu chuckled. "I'd thought you'd say that. He did disguise as a girl once and it was a big success. The case in 2006. This boy is 23 years old." Taehee explained. "23? He looks so young. I thought he was 19 like my daughter." Hongkyu widened his eyes. "Indeed, he's been trained for more than 10 years and very experienced which is useful in this case."
"As you read, the case was supposed to be closed in 2009 but the victim insisted us to continue. She said she saw the criminal somewhere in China and called us back. But if we succeed this one, the reward is big. I chose Haemin because she's needed in China. Min Zhou heard about her and he immediately called me. He said their team is in need of a female agent. A strong one." Taehee sat down on her office chair and started buffering her nails.
"That's good news. It means she's improving. Well, I'll have to go now. If she asks about me, tell her I'm on a big case in Japan. Thanks for the information." Hongkyu stood up to his feet and gave a small smile to Taehee before leaving. "You're welcome." Taehee smiled back.
After Hongkyu left, she reached for the telephone and talked to someone in Chinese.
"When are you picking her up?" she said.
"Soon." We'll inform you later. Be sure to make the girl look foreign. Dye her hair or something." The person on the other line said.
"Okay. Girl in blonde hair. Got that?"
"Got it." After hearing the reply, Taehee hung up and headed to Haemin's room.
She knocked the door but there was no reply. She knocked again; the door was opened by Haemin herself. "Oh, did I wake you?" Taehee raised her brows seeing Haemin groggily rubbing her eyes. Haemin nodded and Taehee smiled softly. "Sorry. I had to tell you something. Come with me." She took Haemin's wrist and they went to the 3rd floor where the disguise process is done.
"Why are we here?" Haemin frowned as Taehee sat her down on a chair in front of a mirror in a room that looked like a hair salon. "I have a mission for you." Taehee grinned. "What mission? Style my hair?" Haemin looked at her through the mirror. "Nope." But in this mission, you need a new image. We'll need to colour your hair." Taehee placed a towel around her shoulders and dragged a tray full of hair equipments beside her.
"Seriously?" Haemin frowned weirdly. "Yes, dear. I told your father about this." Taehee shrugged. "Where is he?" Haemin sat still. "Up for a big case in Japan. You'll be heading to China tomorrow." Said Taehee while she started to dye her hair, choosing the right blonde colour for her. "I think your hair should be pinkish blonde." Taehee twitched her lips, starting the dyeing process. "I'm going to China? Tomorrow?" Haemin blurted. "Yes." Taehee nodded.
The next morning was a cold and quiet one for Haemin. She left a note to her roommates and got ready to leave for China as Taehee told her to. She stared at herself in the mirror, brushing her now dyed hair. It wasn't as bad as she thought. She likes her hair. Taehee gave her some dye packed in a bottle conditioner in case her roots shows up later and she'll have to dye it again. She didn't know until when she had to keep up this 'foreign' image.
"Haemin? Are you done yet?" she heard Taehee calling her from the door. "Yes, I am!" she took her bag pack and dashed to Taehee. "Your teammate is waiting outside. He'll be with you from now on, you know that right?" Taehee patted her shoulder and Haemin smiled, nodding to her.
"I know. You told everything already. It's going to be a hard mission." Haemin shrugged her shoulders. "Good. Now go. Can't make your partner wait. Bye." Taehee smiled. "Good bye." Haemin bowed before leaving Winter Blaze.
When she stepped out of the building, a good-looking boy was waiting outside. He stood there, hands in his pocket and he kept playing his leg. When he turned to face her, Haemin thought that the Secret Service makes implausible thoughts become plausible. The boy really looked so gentle and cute. There was a manly side of him but his face was pretty as a girl. Like a pretty boy. Somehow, his pretty face made her feel a bit intimidated but she shrugged the thoughts off and walked closer to him.
"Are you Lee Haemin?" he asked, his voice soft but manly. Haemin nodded and bowed at him as he bowed back. "I'm Luhan, your partner. We should go now. We need to get to the airport before 9." He gave a small smile, shaking hands with her. His Korean skills were unexpectedly good. "Okay." Haemin nodded and lead her into a black van where two other Chinese were waiting.
Haemin sat in the middle seat with the two boy sitting at the back and Luhan sat next to her. "How old are you?" he asked, grabbing something in his bag. "I'm 19 years old." Haemin blinked, staring at him. "Oh, so young. I'm 23." He chuckled. "23?" Haemin widened her eyes. "What?" Luhan raised his brows. "I-I thought you were at my age.." Haemin stammered. "Oh, that. Most people thought I was younger too. But seriously, I'm 23 years old." He smiled. Haemin nodded slowly and averted her eyes around in the car.
"Oh, I almost forgot, this is our teammates, Henry and Kris." He motioned to the other two boys who sat behind them. Haemin turned to face and they smiled "Hi." They both chorused. "I'm Henry." Said a pale looking boy and the other boy said he was Kris. "You all can speak Korean?" Haemin asked in Chinese. "Oh? You can speak Chinese. Yes, we all can speak Korean." Henry chuckled. "I learned Chinese three years ago." Haemin shrugged.
"That's good then. It'll come in useful next time." Kris smiled. They were friendly and nice. But Haemin is expecting them in action. She was curious to see Chinese skills. Their style is different than the Korean agents. Most of them use the Kung Fu fighting style. While Koreans use Hapkido and Taekwondo. "Which class are you?" Luhan looked at her, his thick eyelashes could be seen clearly from the side view. "The first class." Haemin shrugged. "Wow. I thought first class were only for boys." Luhan raised his brows, glancing at Kris and Henry. "I'm an exception. Well, you're right because so far, I'm the only girl in first class. How about you guys?"
"We're all first class." Henry smiled. "You're mastered in?" Kris blinked. "Freestyle killing." Said Haemin, calmly tying her hair into a bun. "Wow." Kris exclaimed. "Hey, your hair colour is like mine. But I'm more blonde." Luhan chuckled. "Hm, my section leader said this colour fits me more." Haemin shrugged. "How tall are you?" Henry asked.
" 168 cm." Said Haemin. "Oh, I'm 170 something." Henry pouted. "I'm 186, the last time I checked." Kris shrugged. "I'm 178, maybe." Luhan mumbled. "Wait, you're Henry, Kris and Luhan." Haemin paused "How come only Luhan use his Chinese name?" she asked.
"My Chinese name is Liu Xiu Huan. Kris's is Wu Yi Fan." Henry shrugged. "We're both from Canada. So it's easier to call by our English name. Only use real names when we're not doing our mission. You should find a name for undercover." He added. "Me? What would my name be?" Haemin frowned.
"Forget it. We can think of one later. It's not hard to find one. Anyway, I was about to tell you something. Chinese use the regulations of Ji Zuan. Every Secret Service agents know who Ji Zuan is. You know that, right?" Luhan turned to Haemin. Haemin nodded and leaned back "Yes. I know. Ji Zuan regulations mean fighting with no weapons and weapons such as bombs, grenades and canons are only allowed in critical situations with verification. Pistols and guns that are stolen from the enemies are allowed." She stated.
"Good. How come you know so much about it?" Luhan smiled. "I started at a young age and most of my teammates are Chinese. We share information to each other." She said.
"But do you know Kung Fu?" Kris spoke out. "I do. I learnt mixed martial arts." She nodded. "You're awesome." Henry smirked. "Thanks." Haemin muttered.
