Once I make it to Jihoon's door, I don't even have a chance to knock on it—it suddenly opens and Jihoon drags me in. He slams it harshly.

"About time," he says. "What took you so long?"

"I'm sorry. I was helpi—"

"Forget it." He pulls out a chair and motions for me to sit in it. "Just take a seat."

I do as he says and look around at my new surroundings.

There's only one word for Jihoon's office: messy. There is a red desk that has three monitors, and multiple shelves are scattered all over the place that contain books, loose pieces of paper, stereos, control panels, and mini televisions. A messy bed sits in the corner and, and there is a large pile of dirty clothes right at the foot of it. The place also reeks of sweat, food, and deodorant.

"You're going to be helping me with hacking," Jihoon says, turning on the monitors. "It's nothing too difficult. Just turning off the alarms, checking to make sure that no one else is in the building, disabling traps, that kind of thing."

"Traps? That seems a bit..." I struggle to find the right word. "Overdone?"

He smirks. "You'd be damned how dangerous spy work is. Sometimes there's situations that could mean the difference between life and death. That's where the hackers come in. We try to do everything we can to prevent or help those situations."

The monitors come to life to reveal the inside of a building. One shows an underground parking lot, another is split into four boxes to show different hallways, and the other reveals an office with nothing except two filing cabinets.

"This is where the mission is happening," Jihoon explains. "The GSIC wants us to retrieve some important files."

"Seems simple enough," I say.

Jihoon chuckles and shakes his head. "No. It's really not. The building that the Offense Unit is headed to is covered with traps and alarms. It's up to the two of us to disable them. Here, let's get started on doing that."

I slide my chair over and peer over his shoulder. A black box has appeared in the corner of one of the monitors.

"Hackers use hundreds of different programs to get the job done. The one we're using today is easy compared to the other programs, but it can do just as much damage if used right. I was able to hack into this security system using some algorithms and log keystrokes. So now it's easy part."

He reaches over to the shelf to grab a piece of paper.

"I'm starting you off easy," he says. "This here is a sheet of commands. After hacking and getting into the systems, you can use commands and codes to basically do anything you want. We'll be using this sheet for today. All you have to do is just input a command into the black box on the screen, and it'll be done."

Jihoon's quick fingers type one of the codes into the black box. "There. I just disabled any and all traps in the building. Now you try disabling the alarms."

He points to a command on the sheet that reads: disablealarms.all

I type it into the black box and hit enter. Jihoon smiles and pats me on the back.

"See? Not so difficult. There's another thing you need to have as well."

He gives me a piece of paper with the code names of each of Seventeen's members.

As I'm reading through the names, Jihoon types a few more commands into the box. He then points at the screen and exclaims, "Look! They're there."

Seventeen's sleek car pulls up onto the monitor that's focused on the parking garage.

"Just in time." Jihoon mutters as they park and emerge from the car.

My mouth drops open in awe. They look professional, intimidating, and nothing like the boys I've spent the last week with. The four of them pull out guns as they sneak up towards an entrance, open the door slightly to see if anyone was waiting for them, and disappear inside once it's clear.

Another moment goes by until they show up on screen again, but in one of the hallways this time.

I sigh quietly, slightly bored as they slowly wander through the hallways. Even Jihoon is becoming impatient. He pulls up a radar onto the screen.

"There's nobody in the building with them," Jihoon mumbles to himself, "so it'll be safe for them to move faster."

Reaching underneath the desk, he pulls out a walkie-talkie and says, "Base to S.Coups."

Sungcheol motions for his team to stop as he takes out a walkie-talkie from a pocket inside of his jacket.

"Go ahead," he responds.

"There's nobody in the building with you, so feel free to pick up the pace. Good God, you guys are slower than a slug high on Valium. Over."

They thankfully pick up the pace. Once they make it to the end of the hallway, Wonwoo carefully opens one of two doors adjacent from each other and ushers the others inside. They finally made it into the office.

Hansol rushes towards one filing cabinet while Sungcheol goes for the other. Mingyu and Wonwoo keep guard at the door.

Jihoon's phone starts to chime. He ignores it at first, but when it keeps chiming, he tears his eyes away from the screen to open his phone and read the messages.

"Fuck!" he suddenly shouts, standing up and kicking his chair away. "Fuck!"

"What?" I ask, startled by his outburst.

Something on his phone has upset him, and it has done so terribly. A threatening scowl paints his face while his hands tremble. In fact, his whole body is shaking. He spews out a string of colorful curses.

"I need...I need to step out for a second," is the first comprehensible thing he says after some time.

My eyes widen. "Step out? But Jihoon, the mission!"

Jihoon glances towards the monitors, then to me, then back to his phone. He bends down on his knees and puts a hand on my shoulder. His dark eyes stare intensely into mine as if he is trying to discover what twisted secrets I hide in my soul.

"Angel," he says, "I need you to handle the mission from here."

"Are you serious?" I ask.

"You'll be fine. Those commands are all you need to know to last for a couple of minutes without me."

"Minutes? Jihoon, I don't think that this is a good idea. What if something happe—?"

He stands up, cutting me off. "Listen. If there is something you can't handle, I'll be in the main area. Just give me a shout and I'll come."

I turn back towards the monitors and keep my fingers poised on the keyboard. The air feels cooler without Jihoon beside me.

Nothing has happened yet; they're still going through the filing cabinets.

Okay, I think to myself, maybe they've got this under control. Jihoon did whatever he did and they should be safe.

I believe that they have it under control until Mingyu takes a step backwards. His foot triggers a hidden pressure plate and deafening alarms start to ring. In the moment of sheer panic I feel, Jihoon's words ring out in my mind.

Sometimes there's situations that could mean the difference between life and death.

Dozens of red dots suddenly appear on the radar.

"What the fuck?" I breathe.

Life and death.

I don't know how to deal with this. There's no command to stop an incoming army.

"Jihoon!" I call.

Life and death.

There's no answer as they move closer towards the Offence Unit, who is very clearly starting to panic.

Life and death.

"Jihoon!" I scream. "Jihoon, for fuck's sake! Get in here!"

No answer.

Life and death.

I guess their lives are in my hands now.