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ohmygirlexchange2017-08-14 11:58 am
omgexchangemod) wrote in ohmygirlexchange2017-08-14 11:58 am
Entry tags:
[Jiho/Yooa] It's Time To Save The World (for eternallysongstruck)
Title: It's Time To Save The World
Written for: eternallysongstruck
Rating: PG-13 (higher pg-13 for sexual arousal)
Characters/Pairings: Hyojung, Yooa, Jiho, Binnie. Yooa/Jiho.
Warnings (if applicable): -
Word-Count: 9k
Summary: Sometimes, you have to face the past to find your future.
Author's Note: you said hacker!Jiho and unique team, and I immediately thought of Agents of Shield and Skye ;; this takes place years after the battle of New York in the Avengers movie and the heroes are just vaguely mentioned. I didn't include important details in case you weren't familiar with the au or dislike it :3
Hope you enjoy reading, it was a joy to write.
Thank you to mod for their helpful notes. I apologize for any grammar and spelling mistakes.
In all her years of collecting information and goodwill hacking for the sole purpose of sharing what was supposed to be shared, Jiho had never foreseen herself standing right in the middle of what could be the most dangerous place in the city, with an adorable-slash-hot Shield agent pressed against her -- her scent was a nice mixture of fading shampoo and sweat, and her breath was brushing over Jiho's cheek in a way that made Jiho's head keep spinning.
"Don't move," agent Yoo whispered, almost just a breath, her voice tensed and too close to Jiho's ear. Hyojung's voice came through the earpiece almost too loudly. "What-what happened?! Are you okay?"
Jiho wasn't planning on moving. Hell, she wouldn't even open her mouth to answer or joke because it felt like anything she would do would mean unintentionally pressing down on on agent Yoo's thigh, and maybe moving her own thigh said agent was currently straddling. Also unintentionally.
Jiho held agen--Shiah strongly, steadying her as best as she could so they wouldn't catch the sensors' attention. She tried her best to calm her heart at the same time, staring at the ceiling through the darkness. Her best started wavering before plenty of seconds could pass, the sweet scent and dizziness and welcomed closeness, they all were unmatchable. And her previous annoyance at Shiah? all forgotten and burned by the heat travelling through her body.
This is not the time, Jiho reminded herself, they're in a secret mission related to supernatural things and that should be scary. But no, all that Jiho was feeling were flutters exploding in the pit of her stomach and pulsing warmth heading toward where it shouldn't at such a moment.
Shiah muttered again, making Jiho close her eyes. "Don't move." Her hands clutched at Jiho's shoulders and her frame was evidently tensed. Jiho could feel her trying to hold her weight off her thigh, her own thigh away from Jiho's body, and even though they were a distance apart from Shield's new headquarters, Jiho could sense how freaked out Hyojung was.
Waiting for the damn signal to bypass the security systems had never felt so long.
The books shelf's edge hurt Jiho's hips and back, but she stood her ground, concentrating on anything but how close Shiah was, but how her warmth wrapped around her and how much she wanted to stay in its grasp.
Her neck was starting to hurt, but it was sort of her fault. This whole moment. She hadn't believed that a technology advanced enough to teleport them in an instant was this overwhelming. Or real.
,
It all started when Jiho reached the building she remembered from her teens, Hyojung's workplace. Her mother's old workplace -- but maybe it started from the first time Jiho hacked her way through virtual walls and virtual blocks to uncover all and any secret out there, or maybe it started from the moment Gods descended to Earth, and fought the battle of their time with monsters from a different world, side by side with a friendly, green beast and mighty superheroes. And normal humans, who were shielded by their normal weapons and their normal armors. All known by their bravery.
And maybe it started long before that, when her mother first told her fictional stories about worlds and magical beings, about awesome adventures that her work always sent her into.
But none of the past mattered right now because the building had a yellow tape surrounding it. DON'T CROSS. Which might have been for a good reason for the place was quiet, empty, and in a suspicious mess that didn't completely scare Jiho off.
Now it's true that Jiho had never seen or been inside the building before, but she was sure it shouldn't look like this.
It unnerved her, yes, but before she could guess what had happened here, there was a gun pointed at the back of her head. Jiho recognized the tick. Then there was a voice filling the eerie calm with a demand. "Turn around slowly. Hands in the air."
The girl with the gun, tall and black-haired according the reflection on the glass-half of the barrier separating a desk from another, probably didn't know that Jiho's mother was the strongest woman Jiho had ever known, and that she taught Jiho how to handle such a situation with ease. Or with the least amount of damage possible.
Jiho raised her hands, and moved as if to obey the order, but with a swift slap from her hand and an expert twist, the gun was dropped to the floor littered with papers and broken shreds of everything breakable.
Jiho didn't like fighting, but she made the effort to keep herself safe and intact as the stranger blocked each and every fist she threw until it was her turn to attack.
Jiho joined the gun on the floor - faster than she had anticipated - with a thud, a groan, and maybe a surrender. But that's only because she spotted the familiar drawing on the girl's wrist. "Ouch! Ow! Calm down, alright?! I came in peace. And unarmed."
The agent was on top of her before Jiho could get up, or blink, a knee digging into her groin, and a scary knife on her throat. "Who are you?! What are you doing here?!" she asked. Another demand, firm and angry.
Jiho knew she had to answer if she wanted the pain on her thigh to go away, but the reflection on the glass hadn't prepared her for the fierce look in the agent's eyes, for her strength. There were a cut on her lip and an awful bruise on her jaw, which weren't Jiho's doing, but then Jiho's attention was pulled away by the tattoo she hadn't seen in years. Two circles attached to each other but never crossing carved on the agent's wrist.
A promise of infinity, but not quite the purpose. Her mother had told her once.
"Hyojung unnie. I need..." Jiho finally answered. And despite the ache in her elbows, she got lost in the black orbs watching her attentively, in the nice scent lingering for her to breathe in. "I need to show her something I've found." She looked away, suddenly aware of the heat that had been rushing through her veins. "You know, dangerous things," Jiho spoke with a lighter tone in hopes to cover up her blush. "Like, Shield-should-know kind of thi-- ow, ow!"
The agent pressed her knee harder now, interrupting Jiho mid-sentence.
"Who-are-you?" She repeated, prompting Jiho's stubbornness.
"I'm not answering until I see Hyojung unnie," Jiho replied, her glare unwavering, then added agent. to affirm her position and that she knew.
The agent looked furious, but before she got the chance to act on that anger, before Jiho became completely enchanted by those eyes searching for something in hers, they were no longer alone.
"Shiah, wait!"
Jiho wasn't sure if it was relief or nervousness that took over her upon hearing Hyojung's familiar voice, but when Hyojung finally appeared in her view - a short-haired girl on her tail. Trying to stop her, it seemed - shocked and Jiho's name slipping past her lips in a questioning whisper, wounded in her left arm and as young as the last time Jiho had seen her, years ago, Jiho thought that one: she should have told her grandparents she would be late for dinner. And two: she's still mad at Shield even after all these years since her mother fell in battle.
,,
"Jiho lost her balance, we're fine." Shiah finally managed to answer one panicked Hyojung. "Can we move yet?" she asked, but then her tone turned somewhat softer. Nicer. "Can you hold on?"
She could if she wasn't aroused by all of her. "No. You are too close." Jiho tried to let Shiah know the closeness was distracting. A lot. "To, like, many places." She was tensed, her muscles aching from the position they were stuck in. She was wondering if Shiah could feel the thundering of her heart or her rising heat, though. Her heat that felt like flames surrounding her entire body.
But then a heartbeat passed before Shiah answered. "Well, it is your fault. I told you to stay still and get ready." Stubborn and probably unprofessional.
"That is not an excuse, you barely gave me a second to actually ge--"
"Stop!" Hyojung cut her off. "Both of you, we don't have time for this." She paused, and Jiho didn't push it. "Okay, sensors are looped in three-two-"
Shiah pulled herself off right after Hyojung uttered one, she pulled Jiho off the books shelf with her, too -- seemingly just in case, and probably a good call because Jiho wasn't thinking about doing that. In fact she was unable to ignore how ticklish her thigh felt.
Jiho cleared her throat. "That was awkward." They were still too close. "And sort of hot." They were still embraced in each other's warmth that it wasn't the time for such a loud thought.
The agent was not looking at her, head lowered and breaths deep, measured, and Jiho just could not look away now that her eyes had gotten used to the darkness of the library. It was cold, too, she realized. The streets' lights were cast upon Shiah, faint and just a faint shade of white, but Jiho noticed something else before she could admire her beauty.
She's affected by their closeness, too?
"Sorry." Jiho whispered, quickly pulling back her hand. She hadn't realized that both of them were still holding each other.
"No, it's fine." Shiah said, and it really felt like it was fine. Great even, as if they hadn't been at each other's throats a few times earlier. Shiah licked her lips and her hands lingered after an attempt to pull them back. And her eyes, they sparkled under the soft light. "Are you okay?" She asked, voice gentle.
Jiho only hummed, that's all she could manage. Held by Shiah's eyes on her.
"Seriously? After all your bickering the whole day?" A voice Jiho had forgotten all about managed to interrupt their moment. They were having a nice moment! Shiah answered her with what was probably an unneeded report. "We're fine, heading for the entrance right now."
Right, Jiho had forgotten all about the Giant's bow. Oh, the powerful, dangerous, and currently in the possession of the bad guys Giant's bow.
,
Shiah did not trust her, and neither did the jet black-haired girl, named Yoobin, because she was rounding the building for any suspicious signs as they spoke. Well, as Hyojung was trying to assure Shiah that Jiho wasn't a threat while Shiah insisted on making sure that Jiho was really the Jiho whom Hyojung knew. Her excuse: it can't be a coincidence that she shows up just days after we've been attacked!
Jiho gathered as much because the two were arguing just a few feet away from her in a failed whispering.
"You know, if you're just angry at me for disarming you so easily, we can completely forget about it," Jiho said loudly from where she had been leaning on a messy desk, with a smile on her face that got her Shiah's sharp gaze.
Shiah looked at Hyojung again, the latter seemed tired but her familiar smile never left her face.
"I can't allow this without fully checking her identity first."
"Shiah, she's Siyeon's daughter. I know her," Hyojung tried again.
"She could be possessed!" Shiah countered, her voice not lacking respect, "or a shape-shifter, or--" Shiah lowered her voice, but it didn't really make a difference. "She could be one of them, unnie. You haven't seen her in years, we can't risk another attack, not after what we just went through." The two stared at each other for a while, and Jiho decided that she didn't want to know what Shiah meant by being possessed. But she would know if she was, right?
"You know I'm right. You'd have done the same if she was someone else," Shiah added, and Hyojung's sigh that followed a moment of quiet was an enough answer.
Jiho didn't know if she should be upset with her old friend or not, but with how she ignored Hyojung for years, Jiho thought that she didn't have the right to be. "Look," she started off, hoping to get this over with. "I'm just here to show you something I've stumbled upon while ha--searching for something. You said I should do that, remember? When strange things happen? Well, this morning they did, and there are dead people already. So please just take this and do your Shield things, and I'll leave," Jiho finished, extending her hand with a little flash drive between her fingers.
"And never visit me again?" Hyojung said, but she was all warm smiles and soft voice when she stood in front of her that Jiho felt bad. Again.
She should have visited, or called. Her mother wouldn't have wanted her to cut off all communications with Hyojung that's for sure.
"It has to be this way, Jiho-yah. I'm sorry." She looked around at the destroyed place, sadness was clear and unmistakable in her eyes. Jiho remembered it. "Don't be mad at Shiah, alright? She is just trying to look after us," she told Jiho, holding her upper arm gently with her intact hand.
Jiho sighed and shook her head, her lips twitching. "Fine. What do you want me to do to prove it's really me? Twenty questions? Or is that below Shield?" She asked, then heard Shiah's huff from where she was observing.
Hyojung's smile widened and somehow that's all it took for Jiho to realize just how much she missed her friend.
"Close," Hyojung answered, "remember how I'm sort of unique and powerful and like the heroes the whole world loves?
"I can't believe you just said that yourself." Jiho covered her face with her curling fingers. It was what her mother used to say about Hyojung, minus the last part. The whole world didn't know about those heroes until Aliens cracked the blue sky. Jiho chuckled upon seeing Hyojung's pout nonetheless. "Yes, yes, I remember. Even though you never showed me anything... super. And not everyone loves Shield and these heroes, by the way. Don't you know there is always someone coming after them?"
"Focus," Hyojung prompted her with a gentle squeeze on her arm. "And don't freak out, okay?"
Jiho watched her -- a little part of her very eager to finally see what her mother talked about a lot. "Why would I freak out?" Her question came out in a breathy whisper as she felt a strange flow capturing her. Her eyes fluttered shut and her heart started to hammer into her ribs, time seemed to have been slowed to a stop, and all that was left was Hyojung in front of her, in her head, everywhere. And it was so heavy and overwhelming that Jiho's knees buckled before she could try to register anything about how weird the place looked.
Jiho never fell to the ground, though. She felt softness and strength against her, familiar warmth washing over her. She heard Hyojung's voice, it was like a gentle breeze that resolved the haze until all of it faded and nothing but the reality remained. Normal reality. Or the closest to one now that humans knew what worlds exist beyond theirs.
Then there were firm, long arms surrounding Jiho's middle and holding her weight off Hyojung.
"I'm okay," Jiho let out before Hyojung could finish the order she was giving to Shiah, who was keeping her on her feet because she was definitely unable to do so herself. "No need for doctors."
Her eyelids felt heavy, but Jiho finally managed to keep her eyes open. Hyojung looked worried, her eyes teary and regretful, so Jiho quickly smiled wide. "See?!" Her mouth felt so numb that Jiho wasn't sure she could stop smiling now, and her head fell to Shiah's shoulders after a second of manoeuvring from the agent's part. Comfortable, Jiho thought right before she realized how close Shiah's lips were to her forehead. Very comfortable. Jiho focused on that, on Shiah's reassuring strength. "Really, I'm fine," she said again, "can I tell you about the scary, burning bow now?" Jiho slurred, and then blackness covered her eyes.
,
"So how long have you been working with Hyojung unnie?" she asked, her voice filling the emptiness of the elevator shaft despite how calm she was trying to be. Their careful steps resounded off the walls with as much chilling noise.
"This is not the time, Jiho, hurry up. We're almost there," Shiah told her instead.
Jiho was hurrying up, or down in this case. And though she didn't fear heights, or scary places (that much), there was something weighing on her heart the more they climbed down the ladder. "We just sneaked into a highly-secret, highly-scary and very dangerous facility to steal a bow that was stolen from you guys. I need distractions."
"Well, technically." Hyojung's voice came through more calmly than earlier, a hint of joy in it despite the whole situation. "My old team and I stole it from Jat, but they were going to use it agai--"
"Unnie, are you seriously telling her a story right now?" Yoobin interrupted, again, and somehow surprising Jiho again because she kept forgetting that she was in the mission with them. The guiding team along with Hyojung. A team made of two, Shield was that badly hurt. "She should be focused on the mission," Yoobin added.
"They're perfectly safe in the shaft, Yoobinie." And when the younger girl replied, Jiho could hear the pout in her voice. "But you always tell us to always stay focused."
Jiho smiled at her tone, really wanting to provoke her, but the coolness of the place shook her composure enough. Instead, she listened to Hyojung's confident voice as she assured Yoobin that Jiho would still be focused on the mission. It felt nice to hear it, even though she didn't know from where did Hyojung get this faith in her.
"We're here." Shiah spoke in a calm voice that made all of them quiet. Jiho paused her descend and looked down, but that proved to be a bad call because she could see the bottom. Laying far, far under them. She shuddered and quickly faced the front, carefully stepping down to the ventilation system's hatch's level after Shiah moved to the side.
Shiah was close again, and for the first time, Jiho actually felt nervous by that. Which, not to her liking, had become so obvious as she attempted to reach for the kind of far access screen but failed.
The next thing Jiho knew was Shiah extending her arm around her middle, giving her the reassurance Jiho didn't realize she needed.
Jiho relaxed, Shiah wouldn't let her fall.
,
Jiho thought she was dreaming about her mother, right before she left her at her grandparents' house and took off to save the world. But Jiho knew better, she hadn't dreamt about her mother in years, it was just Hyojung's sweet presence that reminded her of a wonderful time, past.
Hyojung's calling for her was heavy with worry and regret, Jiho could sense it even before she opened her eyes. And because she didn't want her to feel that way, she did her best to gather her energy and speak. "That was awesome, unnie." She managed as the numbness loosened its clutch on her senses and she felt just how tight Hyojung was hugging her. "Let's not do it again," she added, laughing softly.
She missed her, and Jiho wanted to tell her that as she sat upright -- completely not listening to Hyojung's protests -- she missed her and she's sorry for getting mad at her and for never calling, but pressing matters needed Shield's attention right now. Shield, the one thing Jiho loved dearly at one point and hated fiercely at another.
Jiho sighed. All wars have casualties, she knew, and her mother died defending Earth, she reminded herself. Maybe it was time for Jiho to accept the fact it wasn't Shield's fault, especially when she was here helping them fight more bad guys.
Exhaustion became prominent when Jiho moved, stuck in her muscles and joints, but she noticed that they were no longer at the destroyed building. "Where are we?" she asked, blinking and stretching to push away the drowsiness. She stood, her head spun a little but she managed to stay upright. She smiled wide and swayed her arms to convince Hyojung, who still looked at her with worry, that she was truly fine.
"You're still stubborn, aren't you?" Hyojung sighed, but her face brightened just a tiny bit as she walked over to the huge glass wall. "Our new headquarters. Shiah and Yoobin are trying to figure out a way to retrieve the bow, which I must say, I can't believe you found it so easily, Jiho. We thought it would take us ages before we could find it again."
Jiho joined her. The view wasn't extraordinary or unbelievable, just a few people busy with phones and screens and... that's it.
Jiho couldn't help but to notice, feel, the emptiness in the place.
"Is this going to be another fake computers company?" Jiho asked all of a sudden, her voice came out low, full of lingering crumbs from past emotions. Admiration, amazement, worry, love.
"Not quite. We will operate from here until further developments." There is disappointment in her voice, grief. "This way, we wouldn't be risking the city's safety."
"Change is good," Jiho said, not really knowing if she was trying to cheer Hyojung or herself. She just let the words leave her mouth as she gazed at the new home of Shield.
"I suppose so."
Jiho's eyes caught the sight of a familiar figure. Clad in black, long-sleeved shirt, and black jeans. Shiah stood close to where Yoobin was seated in front of a computer. Her heart started to race, and though it could be the effect of Hyojung's power, Jiho turned away anyhow. She leant on the glass, she didn't know why she did that, why her heart took that pace.
"So. You're an immortal or something?"
Hyojung giggled at her. "No, I'm not an immortal, Jiho."
"Alien?" Jiho tried again as Hyojung leant on the glass as well.
"Nope, I'm pretty much human."
"But with super, scary power?"
"You can say that," Hyojung answered, her laughter lasting just a moment before it faded in the soft noise made by the agents. What remained was the sadness glimmering in her eyes, and words seemingly stuck right on the tip of her tongue.
Strangely, Jiho found herself being not that shocked by the reveal of Hyojung. But then again, she never disbelieved her mother when she vaguely told her about superheroes and things her friends just wouldn't believe so she shouldn't tell any of them. Or anyone.
"Some said it's a curse, others said we were born with it, but no one really knows," Hyojung said eventually, her tone telling of a burden so heavy it echoed off her voice, her sigh, loud and clear. Or so it felt. "There are others, too, but I haven't seen any of them in a long time."
Hyojung smiled, but there were tears in her eyes that Jiho caught a glimpse of before the older girl turned away. Jiho noticed the blood that seeped through the bandages covering her whole arm.
"Does it hurt?" She asked, hoping to take Hyojung's mind off the past. "Your arm?"
"It hurts less now tha--" Hyojung started off, her smile almost right again, but Shiah entered the office then. "Unnie, sorry to interrupt, but we found our way inside the facility," Shiah said, her eyes meeting Jiho's briefly. "But..."
"But what?" Hyojung was alerted instantly.
Shiah looked at her again, and Jiho didn't want to see anything but those beautiful eyes. She really ought to get a grip! a voice in her head told her. Jiho tried to hold on to it, but it was hushed by all the rushing feelings she was having for Shiah.
"Jiho won't like this," Shiah replied, and through the haze, Jiho thought about how she hadn't liked any of this right from the moment she decided to tell Hyojung about what she found during her search to know where the university's budget was going to. But that thought was fleeting, and it was wrong, she liked seeing Hyojung again. And despite it all, meeting Shiah.
,
The more they ventured into the facility's ventilation system, the more anxious Jiho became. Antsy and in need to get back home and forget all about this. All about Shield, again.
The quiet filled with hums was eerie, nerve-wracking, loud. And the fact that Shiah was right behind her, her hands ghosting just inches away from her ankles, made it harder to remain calm. But crushing on someone so strong, so attractive in such circumstances might not be the best idea, of course, so Jiho made the effort to focus. The effort Hyojung seemed to be expecting from her.
Jiho slowed her crawling at the last turn of their destination, turning off the tiny light on her chest. She peeked through the hatch from a safe distance and as expected, the hallway was far from empty. Or silent. The bad guys, whose name Jiho forgot, were busy. With the bow, with whatever else they had in their hands, and no one knew about them.
Almost no one. She returned to where Shiah was preparing the last set of the sleeping gas.
Jiho could hear distant voices, and could see a few people passing by. Some masked and some not, some clad in white and protective suits and some wearing a simple shirt and trousers. "I can't believe these are the ones who attacked you and ruined your place." Jiho whispered, then a thought flashed in her mind. "I can't believe I'm here. Doing this." And how it feels less strange as the minutes pass. Less unexpected.
"You're doing great, Jiho," Hyojung assured her.
"No, I'm not," Jiho told her in a quiet voice, careful that the breeze wouldn't carry it to the bad guys. Shiah spoke then, drawing her attention to her. "They weren't the only ones who attacked us, that's why they succeeded, and you'll be fine. Trust me." She was focused on setting up the tiny device, but her voice remained steady and sure.
"Hearing that coming from someone who didn't trust me is very strange."
"Can you blame me? We were hit really badly, and then you show up out of nowhere just days after that..." Shiah didn't sound regretful. Annoyed? Maybe.
"And then you fight like that." She finished with a quiet sigh, wrinkles showing on her forehead.
"Like what?"
Shiah didn't answer until she was done with the device and she looked at her. "Like a Shield agent."
Jiho frowned. "Is that supposed to be a good thing? Cool?" Jiho didn't intend to sound bitter, but she did and due to the soft light on Shiah's strap, she noticed that Shiah was searching her eyes. For what? Jiho didn't know.
"Protecting the world--the worlds, humans and the other beings, is a good thing. And cool to some, I guess" Shiah finally answered, adjusting the device toward the hatch. "Releasing the gas now," she reported.
"Is that why you joined Shield?" Jiho heard herself asking. She knew why she didn't join when Hyojung offered her a place.
Shiah turned to her as the device - and the two others they have placed in their way there - hissed. There was a look in her eyes, not of anger or annoyance. She was contemplating whether to answer or not, Jiho guessed. "No, I wanted to repay Hyojung unnie." She said eventually, and Jiho got the feeling that Shiah didn't share that information with everyone.
,
"You must be joking." Jiho told Shiah, then turned to Hyojung. "She must be joking!"
"Do you really think now is a good time for humor?" Yoobin counters. Unamused, and swaying the chair she was sitting on.
"I don't know, I don't know you all!" She was freaking out for no reason. Just because Shiah wanted to include her in their plan to retrieve the bow, it didn't mean she should do it. Or would do it. The few agents around them remained focused on their phone calls and quick typing on keyboards and resting their heads on their desks, and that unnerved Jiho even more. "And how could you even ask me that? You guys are Shield, you should be protecting people, not putting them in danger."
"That's what we're trying to do! Do you know how many people would die if they knew how to use the Giant's bow?"
Jiho's brows furrowed. "It was pretty small when I saw it this morning."
Shiah huffed in frustration, folding her arms. "Giant's bow, it belonged to a tribe guarding the Gia--"
Jiho shook her head. "I don't care what it is! I just happened to find out about it, and now you know where it is. So leave me out of this, and I'm actually leaving right now."
"Then why did you come to us in the first place?! Hm?" Shiah demanded before Jiho could make a step. "You could have sent the data in any way to tip us off about the bow, or gone to the police. You know they're more than willing to believe in these things now."
Jiho did her best to keep her voice low, but empty of frustration and anger? That just wouldn't work. "How would I know if you worked with the police or not? You are the superpowers police!"
"What?" Shiah asked in what seemed like genuine confusion.
"Look, if you can just point at the exit, I'll be on my way." She finished, looking around the hall. There were many hallways and doors to go through, and then she remembered. "How did I even get here?!"
"Jiho, calm down. I won't put you in danger, you know that," Hyojung finally spoke, seeming to have finished considering their plan.
"We don't have anyone experienced with hacking right now, unnie, all of our remaining agents are still busy following the other leads. We can't hack it from here, and the data Jiho had brought doesn't have the visual confirmation of the facility for me to get there without having to go through doors! How am I supposed to get inside?"
"Hacking isn't that hard," Jiho said, more of an annoying comment out of habit rather than a helpful piece of information.
"Fighting bad guys isn't, too."
Jiho held her gaze, both of their stubbornness showing evidently in their postures. "These aren't just bad guys! They have an evil bow that could kill us!"
"That's why we need to get it back from them!"
Hyojung groaned. "Stop fighting." She started to massage her temple. "We need to focus on the bow right now. Yoobin, have they figured it out yet?"
"I'm not picking up any abnormal levels of energy surrounding the library, but the facility's protective walls might cover up any change."
Shiah turned to her then, as if to affirm their need for her participation in this mission with that thin line of her lips and that determined gaze of her eyes. "We need you in this, Jiho."
Jiho was about to repeat her refusal, and maybe actually walking away this time to find the exist herself. But then Shiah continued. "I will keep you safe if that's what you're worried about."
She seemed sincere was Jiho's immediate thought. "I promise," she added, sounding confident enough that it took Jiho a moment to not be swayed by the nice assurance. "You're just saying that to convince me to join!"
Shiah attempted to say something, but then hurt flashed in her eyes. She looked away. "I don't need to lie."
Jiho tried to find the lie in that, but all she found was an angry Shiah, and herself fazed. And Hyojung and Yoobin watching them with interest. And worry. She wasn't lying. Jiho didn't want to care about why she wasn't, she huffed and sat on the first empty chair her eyes spotted. "I'm still not going with you," she said, and okay, maybe she sounded childish, but that's only because she couldn't help them. She wasn't a Shield agent, she didn't like supernatural stuff any more.
Jiho was looking away, she noticed the sun rays filling the place with warmth and normalcy, and heard Hyojung asking the two agents to give them a minute.
Her voice was soft, and from the corner of her eyes, Jiho saw the two agents obey silently and leave the hall. She saw Hyojung nearing her, and she turned to the other side even more, refusing to meet her eyes as she sat on the desk.
The quiet was more friendly now, had more resemblance to the old times when she would spend some time with her mother and Hyojung while they watched a movie or went out for dinner. It was less dangerous back then, there weren't aliens and monsters and higher beings. Just mysteries and stories and tales about wonders and heroes that only few knew about.
"Superpowers police?" Hyojung commented, teased her, reminding Jiho of what she said to Shiah. She took a glance at her friend, but looked away when she saw the happy smile on her face. "I haven't heard that name in years."
"That makes the two of us."
The agents still in the hall didn't mind them, and Jiho couldn't help but to wonder if this was really all that's left of Shield.
"She meant it, you know. She will keep you safe." Hyojung told her after sighing.
"You can read minds, too?"
"Sort of, but that's not how I know Shiah. I trust her with my life, and yours, so I know you won't be in danger with her beside you," Hyojung answered. "But fear isn't what makes you don't want to help, is it?"
It wasn't, but Jiho didn't want to confirm that. Not that it would make a difference because Hyojung knew. "You can still be angry at Shield, at me, but still help when you know you can, Jiho-yah."
"I was never angry at you." Jiho looked at her then, remembering the time Hyojung came bearing the news of her mother falling in the battle. She lowered her gaze at that, unable to see Hyojung's tender eyes. "At least, I tried not to be angry at you. I know it wasn't your fault that she died, it was just that..." Jiho added, but it was Hyojung who finished for her when the words failed her.
"She was gone."
Jiho nodded.
"Jiho, look at me."
She didn't want to, but this was her friend. Or used to be, Jiho didn't really know if Hyojung still considered her as such, but she still did. Sort of. So Jiho eventually did lift her eyes, not trying to push off the sadness that had settled in her heart.
Warmth was what she got from Hyojung's soft smile, from her voice when she spoke. "There was a time when all you wanted was to be like your mother, to be the hero she was even without superpowers or fancy weapons. Even without knowing Shield or if the stories Siyeon told your were actually real." Jiho was about to interrupt her when Hyojung reminded her that she had been into her head not long ago. "Now that time might have passed, I know, but this is your chance anyway."
Then there was a blush in Hyojung's cheeks. "And we really could use your help, Jiho-yah." She stood after caressing Jiho's head. "But if you really want nothing to do with this, know that I would never be mad or disappointed at yo--"
"Fine." Jiho stood as well, sudden and startling Hyojung amidst her gushing reassurance. "If you insist."
Hyojung wasn't insisting, but Jiho didn't want to show, nor admit that a little part of her still wanted to be the hero her mother would have been proud of.
,
Shiah was mad at her or something. And while Yoobin gave her her gear, a normal one-piece suit, black and of a fabric that Jiho couldn't match a name to, Jiho tried her best to ignore Shiah's obvious avoidance.
"--u awake through anything that could make you faint." Jiho focused on Yoobin's words a little late because suddenly there was a sharp sting in her neck. She winced, her hand darting to press on the burning spot. "Hey! You could have given me a little warni--"
"I did," Yoobin answered, indifferent. "And this," she continued, stressing her words and raising her hand to show Jiho the blue, glowing liquid inside the next shot, "would prevent any sides effects, fatal wounds, or death that P-13 could cause. And this--" She showed her a silvery, metallic bracelet that looked expensive. "Is the P-13. Don't take it off."
She was explaining it as if Jiho was five, but Jiho acted like the mature one and asked what was P-13 when it closed around her wrist. But before Yoobin could answer, Hyojung approached her with a gun.
A normal looking gun.
"You're good to go," she told her with a bright smile. Proud.
Jiho looked at the gun, confused."That's it?" She took another look at the preparation room. It was empty of all the luxury items Jiho had expected to see. There were huge boxes and sad-looking, empty cases. "No special iron suits or super powerful, flying hammers?" She frowned. She only had the suit, which was a little tight, by the way, a tiny flashlight, and a gun. "What am I supposed to do with this when there is a magical bow aimed at me, unnie?!"
"We're a bit low on resources right now." Hyojung replied with a sigh, looking around her. "But the suit will block most kinds of damage that you might get, and the bow doesn't make anyone invincible, Jiho, you'll be able to fight them back easily," she added, a little cheerfully, a little hopeful.
"But it makes them... something?" Jiho asked just to make sure.
"Just a little scary." Hyojung answered with a dismissing motion from her hand. And okay, that was already worrying, but Shiah stepped into her personal space right as Yoobin finished her work on the earpiece. "Get ready, teleporting could make you dizzy."
"I must be already dizzy because did you say teleporting?"
"How do you think we got here? And have you not been listening to the plan?"
Yoobin answered for her. "We didn't get to that part yet." Then gave the two of them a pair of gloves, one each. "Hold the bow with this."
An Oh was all Shiah said, blushing but not letting her seriousness falter. "Well, there is no time now." Shiah said, her hands reaching to hold Jiho's wrists.
"Stay close to Shiah, Jiho. I know you both will succeed," Hyojung assured her, "and make it back."
Shiah held her firmly, yet it felt like a gentle touch, a lending of strength that all Jiho felt at that moment was courage. So she focused on that, on Shiah being close again, on her scent that had become familiar. She focused on her own heartbeats, too, on her breathing and the thrill in her mother's voice whenever she told her about the evil ones she defeated. -- Jiho focused on the exaggerations, too. Her mother couldn't tell her the realistic versions, of course. But then those exaggerations turned out to be real. Kind of. So her mother was telling her the actual version.
"Stay still so you don't fall, it could get really shaky," Shiah told her, bringing her back from the remembrance. Her eyes were lowered and her features were relaxed.
A tremble burst within Jiho, weak but growing in strength. It started from her heart, but soon was at the tips of her fingers. Jiho felt it all but didn't let it scare her for she was enamoured by the confidence Shiah was filling the space between them with. By her eyes when she finally looked at her.
Jiho completely forgot to follow the instructions as the tremble consumed her.
,
When Jiho saw the bow for the first time, it was killing the person who touched it. It had thrown them across the parking lot, which led the leader of the group to yell orders at the others to secure it properly inside the case.
But now as Jiho stood beside Shiah in the lab where everyone was supposed to be knocked out, the bow did no harm to the person holding it. One of the scientists, from the look of her clothes, and the bags under her eyes and the messy hair, angry and evil just from the look in her blackened eyes. Literally blackened, as if the white and the irises had been swallowed by the blackness of her pupils.
The scientist adjusted the bow and aligned it in their direction, with no arrows in her possession. As it appeared at first.
"That doesn't look good," Jiho let out, the words almost getting stuck in her throat and almost being buried within the loud throbbing of her heart.
The scientist pulled the string, a phantom of an arrow forming in a mist of blue, but Jiho didn't get to see what happened next for suddenly there was a firm hold around her wrist and then she was back at Shield's new headquarters.
Jiho lost her balance as a fleeting heaviness clouded her head again, but this time she actually fell because Shiah was nowhere next to her and Hyojung was a bit late in her attempt to catch her.
"Wha--" Jiho tried, her bum hurt and her head kept spinning, but Hyojung was by her side, checking for injuries.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
There were a couple of agents beside Yoobin watching the screen attentively and speaking with themselves. "Shiah brought you back. Jiho, are you hurt?" Hyojung spoke fast, worried but not terrified of the fact that Shiah was there alone. Her hands were a little cold, but Jiho figured cold wasn't why they were trembling.
"Why did she do that?!" Jiho managed, an unexpected rush of anger searing through her. Shiah was there alone. With the freaky scientist?! "I thought she wanted my help," Jiho told Hyojung, but didn't wait for an answer as she quickly started fumbling with the bracelet. "How does this work? I need to go back! How could she act like that? Does she not care about her life, that dummy agent?"
Why didn't she let me stay with her?
The thought was passing, but its effect remained, speaking of the past long enough for Jiho to be lost of words, for Jiho to stare at the silvery bracelet, which she had absolutely no idea how it worked, and realize that she wanted to help Shiah. To help her save the world.
"Jiho," Hyojung spoke in a quiet voice, gentle, caressing her head. "What's wrong?"
"I just-- I just ne--"
All these years, Jiho had thought it was rage and grief that swelled in her heart, but the thing was, she just hadn't allowed herself to accept the fact that she couldn't save her mother at a time when all she dreamed of was saving the whole world alongside her mother.
Tears were pooling in Jiho's eyes when a sudden step near her followed by a deep huff sounded in the calm hall. She quickly wiped her eyes and stood as the agents' faces beamed with relief. Hyojung's gaze remained on her for a second, but she demanded no explanation to what just happened.
Jiho avoided meeting her eyes nonetheless, and excused herself once she heard how bright Shiah's voice was as she complained about the fight the evil scientist had put up, and she noticed the little drops of blood on Shiah's cheek and chin, and the burning blue of the bow in her gloved hand was quietly fading.
The mission was a success, Jiho wished she didn't care about that. Jiho wished she didn't notice Shiah's gaze following her, or hear the flicker in her voice as she spoke.
,
Jiho found the exit, or the front door, after a moment of wandering. She had meant to find herself a quiet place. The preparation room or a restroom, but she had forgotten the way to the first, and she noticed the glass doors before the sign of a restroom.
Jiho didn't leave. There were numbers of reasons why, like the bracelet she didn't know how to take off, or the fact that she definitely would need a ride because walking back to the city would take her all night and might break her feet.
Shield were the worst at hiding in plain sight, Jiho decided. She could literally see that pretty, huge building a few blocks away from their old headquarters-slash-fake company from here.
Jiho sighed deeply. The rush was still flowing within her, the thrill, and the content of knowing she prevented something awful from happening, of knowing she was the protector just now. And all of that simply explained the love her mother had for her job, the joy brightening her face when she came back home after finally catching the evil ones, the unmatched relief and happiness echoing off her voice.
They all made sense, and they all were things Jiho wanted to believe would dissolve soon, but she knew better. She may not have known Shield by its name before the battle, but she had always known she wanted to be part of it.
Hyojung joined her silently after a while, Jiho's backpack in her hands.
Jiho had completely forgotten all about it, and that she should call her grandparents.
"You guys choose the worst possible places for your headquarters," she told Hyojung as she sat, "we're literally sitting the open."
Hyojung smiled, her arms folding on her knees. "But it is beautiful, isn't it?" She asked, and her voice was just adding to the quiet of the night. To the soothing breeze and whispering for trees. "Don't worry, we'll be fine this time."
"Please be fine." Jiho said, letting the comfortable calm follow her words, and when that calm got interrupted by Hyojung's voice, Jiho didn't mind it.
"What happened, Jiho?"
"Nothing," Jiho answered casually, trying to fool her friend, but Hyojung told her the one thing she never said before.
"Don't shut me out again, Jiho."
The hurt in Hyojung's voice as her smile faltered was unmistakable. Understandable. It tugged at Jiho's heart and it drew the tears to gather in her eyes again, but Jiho blinked them away, and strengthened her composure because she had done enough crying already. And maybe she had done enough escaping from the fact that she could do more for the world her mother died protecting. "The mission reminded me of her. She never told me anything big about her missions and Shield, but everything still reminded me of her since the moment I entered the company."
"Is that why you stayed?"
Hyojung was soft in the way she talked to her.
"I don't know," Jiho replied honestly. "Not really," she tried again. "I guess I just needed to stay."
Jiho wiped the stubborn tears with the palm of her hand, and when Hyojung reached an arm around her shoulders, tender and welcoming, Jiho was more than ready to bask in her warmth.
"It took me a long time to accept that she was gone, too," Hyojung whispered.
"Years long?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry," Jiho said as Hyojung rested her head on her shoulders. "I'm here now. For you, and... am I too late?" she added hesitantly.
"You aren't. I'm an immortal, remember? And Shield is sort of immortal, too." Hyojung assured her, but Jiho's brows furrowed and she almost let Hyojung fall to the ground as she turned to see her.
"No, you aren't. And immortals are not that cool, by the way."
"Not even immortals with superpowers?"
Jiho attempted to say no, and when she did say it, she did not sound very convincing. But it made Hyojung laugh, and Jiho missed her friend so much.
Of course, her yearning did not last when Hyojung told her This is probably too early, and unofficial yet, but... welcome to Shield, agent Kim! Her face was beaming with pride and her shoulders straightened up, the fear finally kicked in. She would be protecting the world from the things far more powerful than most humans, than her, and she wanted to do a damn good job at it.
,
,
,
Bonus
Jiho's first official field mission as an official agent of Shield was a simple one. Taking Hyojung shopping. For weapons. Or reinforcements, like Hyojung called it. And though it hadn't sounded like a boring mission, it ended up being just like that because Hyojung asked her to stay in the car and watch the premises for anything suspicious. Anything that didn't fit in within the scene of a busy intersection at eight in the morning.
Jiho huffed, again. This wasn't what she had in mind for Shield's missions, but then again, a couple of weeks ago she hadn't had Shield in her mind at all. So she waited, and watched carefully like Hyojung asked her to.
"No matter where you are, always stay sharp. You never know what you might be missing even when it's right in front of you," Hyojung had told her before she got out.
Jiho was pretty sure she was just trying to scare her because literally this was a normal bookstore that Hyojung entered -- a bookstore coincidentally owned by former agent of Shield, located in a normal intersection with normal passersby. Well, mostly normal passersby, but Jiho had already pointed them out for Yoobin to check and it's been minutes since more showed up.
In frustration, Jiho sighed and closed her eyes, leaning back on the headrest. Which maybe she shouldn't have done because a familiar voice sounded right near her and it wasn't Yoobin's voice coming through the earpiece.
"Getting bored already?" Shiah asked from the backseat, startling Jiho, who almost hurt her neck in the process of turning.
Oh, Jiho shouldn't be thinking about how beautiful Shiah was right now for numerous reasons: she was currently in a mission and she needed to stay focused. And two... two was that Shiah was barely a few steps away from looking like a mess with her smoke-smudged face and clothes, with her ruffled hair.
"Is this your style or something? Shocking people?"
There were certainly many other reasons for Jiho to not feel heat rushing to her cheeks or fluttering butterflies settling in the pit of her stomach at such a moment, but they made no difference anyway because Shiah was smiling. Actually smiling.
"Something," she answered, too occupied in cleansing her face with a wet tissue. And once she was done with that, she suddenly started taking off her jacket and bulletproof vest. The shoes were next, and though Shiah's mere presence kept her heart pacing, Jiho found it bearable. And the ache in her sides building up from the way she was sitting just to look at Shiah was also bearable.
"What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were in a mission."
"It's done. Why weren't you monitoring the premises?" Shiah asked, her eyes darting up to glance outside the shaded windows.
"I was."
"No, you weren't."
"And you know that how? Were you watching me?" Jiho tried to joke, knowing fully well Shiah must have caught her resting her eyes when just arrived. She noticed some rips in Shiah's clothes, and a few cuts on her hands as she held the hem of her top to take it off.
Jiho's eyes widened and she quickly turned to face the front, closing her mouth and focusing on the people crossing the streets and sitting on the coffee shop just a couple of stores away. Their voices were loud, mixing together to form merely a background noise, not enough for Jiho to ignore her own loud thoughts.
"I am your trainer, I'm supposed to know when you're distracted."
"I thought Hyojung unnie was my trainer, and I wasn't distracted," Jiho replied, wrapping the fingers of her left hand around the steering wheel in a tight, hopefully distracting grip. Her voice sounded calmer than just a few seconds ago, but barely void of the tremble of her heart.
The reflection in the rear mirror captured her attention while she tried to look anywhere else, and she did her best to look anywhere else once she saw the contrast between Shiah's black bra and the soft skin of her chest, not entirely empty of cuts and bruises -- some seemed to have been healed and fading, others not quite.
That contrast created a lump that almost got stuck in her throat, but her efforts to look away finally paid off, for a moment, before they crumbled when Shiah spoke casually. "Hyojung unnie is our boss, I'm your trainer."
Jiho saw the expanse of Shiah's thighs then, and that's when the warmth travelling within her turned into a blazing fire that Jiho could swear had never burned her this easily before.
Jiho focused on her whitening fingers then, on her heart she was barely succeeding in slowing down, but she also felt Shiah nearing right behind her, her scent quickly lingering in Jiho's mind yet again.
"And you're distracted," Shiah finished, quiet and unconcerned as Jiho willed everything within her spiraling into tingling pleasure and weakening desire to calm down. "Thankfully, your test was over, or else you would have failed it, Jiho. Your very first test as an agent."
Test, of course. She should have known, but that thought was fading into the one telling Jiho that Shiah sounded like having a smile on her face. And she was right. After she managed to lift her gaze, a soft, small smile was tugging at Shiah's lips as she wore new clothes.
"Never thought stripping was a test technique in Shield," she commented, and though she had meant to sound angry, annoyance was all she managed to let out.
"It isn't, I'm just in a hurry to join Hyojung unnie," Shiah told her, and when their eyes meet through the rear mirror she added. "Don't be mad, Jiho. You did spot all the agents stationed in the premises after all, but you can't rest yet. The actual mission starts now, so stay alert."
"You know, I liked you better when you had the grumpy agent look," Jiho told her, sighing.
Shiah chuckled. A lovely sound that made Jiho's stomach twist in warmth and fulfilling sensations despite her attempt to stay angry. "That's okay, I still like you." A silky voice that drew Jiho to look at the mirror again, to see Shiah almost done with her pants. To notice the blush in her cheeks, bright not affecting her firmness.
I still like you. Jiho's nervousness and enchanted heart and stubborn desire soared with that, but before they could make her stutter something awkward or let her shock or happiness show, Shiah looked at her again through the mirror once she finished wearing her jacket, and reached her hand to squeeze Jiho's shoulder. "Welcome to Shield, agent Kim," she said softly. And with that, with a voice that lacked any hate or anger, with sweet delight that lingered in Shiah's eyes, in her smile, she left the car.
Jiho groaned, letting her head fall to the steering wheel. "I hate her!"
"Um, I don't think you actually hate her," Yoobin said.
"I don't! But I still hate her."
Silence lingered for a moment before Yoobin's voice came again. Almost comforting. "Do you want to hear how my first test went?"
"Yes."
Written for: eternallysongstruck
Rating: PG-13 (higher pg-13 for sexual arousal)
Characters/Pairings: Hyojung, Yooa, Jiho, Binnie. Yooa/Jiho.
Warnings (if applicable): -
Word-Count: 9k
Summary: Sometimes, you have to face the past to find your future.
Author's Note: you said hacker!Jiho and unique team, and I immediately thought of Agents of Shield and Skye ;; this takes place years after the battle of New York in the Avengers movie and the heroes are just vaguely mentioned. I didn't include important details in case you weren't familiar with the au or dislike it :3
Hope you enjoy reading, it was a joy to write.
Thank you to mod for their helpful notes. I apologize for any grammar and spelling mistakes.
In all her years of collecting information and goodwill hacking for the sole purpose of sharing what was supposed to be shared, Jiho had never foreseen herself standing right in the middle of what could be the most dangerous place in the city, with an adorable-slash-hot Shield agent pressed against her -- her scent was a nice mixture of fading shampoo and sweat, and her breath was brushing over Jiho's cheek in a way that made Jiho's head keep spinning.
"Don't move," agent Yoo whispered, almost just a breath, her voice tensed and too close to Jiho's ear. Hyojung's voice came through the earpiece almost too loudly. "What-what happened?! Are you okay?"
Jiho wasn't planning on moving. Hell, she wouldn't even open her mouth to answer or joke because it felt like anything she would do would mean unintentionally pressing down on on agent Yoo's thigh, and maybe moving her own thigh said agent was currently straddling. Also unintentionally.
Jiho held agen--Shiah strongly, steadying her as best as she could so they wouldn't catch the sensors' attention. She tried her best to calm her heart at the same time, staring at the ceiling through the darkness. Her best started wavering before plenty of seconds could pass, the sweet scent and dizziness and welcomed closeness, they all were unmatchable. And her previous annoyance at Shiah? all forgotten and burned by the heat travelling through her body.
This is not the time, Jiho reminded herself, they're in a secret mission related to supernatural things and that should be scary. But no, all that Jiho was feeling were flutters exploding in the pit of her stomach and pulsing warmth heading toward where it shouldn't at such a moment.
Shiah muttered again, making Jiho close her eyes. "Don't move." Her hands clutched at Jiho's shoulders and her frame was evidently tensed. Jiho could feel her trying to hold her weight off her thigh, her own thigh away from Jiho's body, and even though they were a distance apart from Shield's new headquarters, Jiho could sense how freaked out Hyojung was.
Waiting for the damn signal to bypass the security systems had never felt so long.
The books shelf's edge hurt Jiho's hips and back, but she stood her ground, concentrating on anything but how close Shiah was, but how her warmth wrapped around her and how much she wanted to stay in its grasp.
Her neck was starting to hurt, but it was sort of her fault. This whole moment. She hadn't believed that a technology advanced enough to teleport them in an instant was this overwhelming. Or real.
,
It all started when Jiho reached the building she remembered from her teens, Hyojung's workplace. Her mother's old workplace -- but maybe it started from the first time Jiho hacked her way through virtual walls and virtual blocks to uncover all and any secret out there, or maybe it started from the moment Gods descended to Earth, and fought the battle of their time with monsters from a different world, side by side with a friendly, green beast and mighty superheroes. And normal humans, who were shielded by their normal weapons and their normal armors. All known by their bravery.
And maybe it started long before that, when her mother first told her fictional stories about worlds and magical beings, about awesome adventures that her work always sent her into.
But none of the past mattered right now because the building had a yellow tape surrounding it. DON'T CROSS. Which might have been for a good reason for the place was quiet, empty, and in a suspicious mess that didn't completely scare Jiho off.
Now it's true that Jiho had never seen or been inside the building before, but she was sure it shouldn't look like this.
It unnerved her, yes, but before she could guess what had happened here, there was a gun pointed at the back of her head. Jiho recognized the tick. Then there was a voice filling the eerie calm with a demand. "Turn around slowly. Hands in the air."
The girl with the gun, tall and black-haired according the reflection on the glass-half of the barrier separating a desk from another, probably didn't know that Jiho's mother was the strongest woman Jiho had ever known, and that she taught Jiho how to handle such a situation with ease. Or with the least amount of damage possible.
Jiho raised her hands, and moved as if to obey the order, but with a swift slap from her hand and an expert twist, the gun was dropped to the floor littered with papers and broken shreds of everything breakable.
Jiho didn't like fighting, but she made the effort to keep herself safe and intact as the stranger blocked each and every fist she threw until it was her turn to attack.
Jiho joined the gun on the floor - faster than she had anticipated - with a thud, a groan, and maybe a surrender. But that's only because she spotted the familiar drawing on the girl's wrist. "Ouch! Ow! Calm down, alright?! I came in peace. And unarmed."
The agent was on top of her before Jiho could get up, or blink, a knee digging into her groin, and a scary knife on her throat. "Who are you?! What are you doing here?!" she asked. Another demand, firm and angry.
Jiho knew she had to answer if she wanted the pain on her thigh to go away, but the reflection on the glass hadn't prepared her for the fierce look in the agent's eyes, for her strength. There were a cut on her lip and an awful bruise on her jaw, which weren't Jiho's doing, but then Jiho's attention was pulled away by the tattoo she hadn't seen in years. Two circles attached to each other but never crossing carved on the agent's wrist.
A promise of infinity, but not quite the purpose. Her mother had told her once.
"Hyojung unnie. I need..." Jiho finally answered. And despite the ache in her elbows, she got lost in the black orbs watching her attentively, in the nice scent lingering for her to breathe in. "I need to show her something I've found." She looked away, suddenly aware of the heat that had been rushing through her veins. "You know, dangerous things," Jiho spoke with a lighter tone in hopes to cover up her blush. "Like, Shield-should-know kind of thi-- ow, ow!"
The agent pressed her knee harder now, interrupting Jiho mid-sentence.
"Who-are-you?" She repeated, prompting Jiho's stubbornness.
"I'm not answering until I see Hyojung unnie," Jiho replied, her glare unwavering, then added agent. to affirm her position and that she knew.
The agent looked furious, but before she got the chance to act on that anger, before Jiho became completely enchanted by those eyes searching for something in hers, they were no longer alone.
"Shiah, wait!"
Jiho wasn't sure if it was relief or nervousness that took over her upon hearing Hyojung's familiar voice, but when Hyojung finally appeared in her view - a short-haired girl on her tail. Trying to stop her, it seemed - shocked and Jiho's name slipping past her lips in a questioning whisper, wounded in her left arm and as young as the last time Jiho had seen her, years ago, Jiho thought that one: she should have told her grandparents she would be late for dinner. And two: she's still mad at Shield even after all these years since her mother fell in battle.
,,
"Jiho lost her balance, we're fine." Shiah finally managed to answer one panicked Hyojung. "Can we move yet?" she asked, but then her tone turned somewhat softer. Nicer. "Can you hold on?"
She could if she wasn't aroused by all of her. "No. You are too close." Jiho tried to let Shiah know the closeness was distracting. A lot. "To, like, many places." She was tensed, her muscles aching from the position they were stuck in. She was wondering if Shiah could feel the thundering of her heart or her rising heat, though. Her heat that felt like flames surrounding her entire body.
But then a heartbeat passed before Shiah answered. "Well, it is your fault. I told you to stay still and get ready." Stubborn and probably unprofessional.
"That is not an excuse, you barely gave me a second to actually ge--"
"Stop!" Hyojung cut her off. "Both of you, we don't have time for this." She paused, and Jiho didn't push it. "Okay, sensors are looped in three-two-"
Shiah pulled herself off right after Hyojung uttered one, she pulled Jiho off the books shelf with her, too -- seemingly just in case, and probably a good call because Jiho wasn't thinking about doing that. In fact she was unable to ignore how ticklish her thigh felt.
Jiho cleared her throat. "That was awkward." They were still too close. "And sort of hot." They were still embraced in each other's warmth that it wasn't the time for such a loud thought.
The agent was not looking at her, head lowered and breaths deep, measured, and Jiho just could not look away now that her eyes had gotten used to the darkness of the library. It was cold, too, she realized. The streets' lights were cast upon Shiah, faint and just a faint shade of white, but Jiho noticed something else before she could admire her beauty.
She's affected by their closeness, too?
"Sorry." Jiho whispered, quickly pulling back her hand. She hadn't realized that both of them were still holding each other.
"No, it's fine." Shiah said, and it really felt like it was fine. Great even, as if they hadn't been at each other's throats a few times earlier. Shiah licked her lips and her hands lingered after an attempt to pull them back. And her eyes, they sparkled under the soft light. "Are you okay?" She asked, voice gentle.
Jiho only hummed, that's all she could manage. Held by Shiah's eyes on her.
"Seriously? After all your bickering the whole day?" A voice Jiho had forgotten all about managed to interrupt their moment. They were having a nice moment! Shiah answered her with what was probably an unneeded report. "We're fine, heading for the entrance right now."
Right, Jiho had forgotten all about the Giant's bow. Oh, the powerful, dangerous, and currently in the possession of the bad guys Giant's bow.
,
Shiah did not trust her, and neither did the jet black-haired girl, named Yoobin, because she was rounding the building for any suspicious signs as they spoke. Well, as Hyojung was trying to assure Shiah that Jiho wasn't a threat while Shiah insisted on making sure that Jiho was really the Jiho whom Hyojung knew. Her excuse: it can't be a coincidence that she shows up just days after we've been attacked!
Jiho gathered as much because the two were arguing just a few feet away from her in a failed whispering.
"You know, if you're just angry at me for disarming you so easily, we can completely forget about it," Jiho said loudly from where she had been leaning on a messy desk, with a smile on her face that got her Shiah's sharp gaze.
Shiah looked at Hyojung again, the latter seemed tired but her familiar smile never left her face.
"I can't allow this without fully checking her identity first."
"Shiah, she's Siyeon's daughter. I know her," Hyojung tried again.
"She could be possessed!" Shiah countered, her voice not lacking respect, "or a shape-shifter, or--" Shiah lowered her voice, but it didn't really make a difference. "She could be one of them, unnie. You haven't seen her in years, we can't risk another attack, not after what we just went through." The two stared at each other for a while, and Jiho decided that she didn't want to know what Shiah meant by being possessed. But she would know if she was, right?
"You know I'm right. You'd have done the same if she was someone else," Shiah added, and Hyojung's sigh that followed a moment of quiet was an enough answer.
Jiho didn't know if she should be upset with her old friend or not, but with how she ignored Hyojung for years, Jiho thought that she didn't have the right to be. "Look," she started off, hoping to get this over with. "I'm just here to show you something I've stumbled upon while ha--searching for something. You said I should do that, remember? When strange things happen? Well, this morning they did, and there are dead people already. So please just take this and do your Shield things, and I'll leave," Jiho finished, extending her hand with a little flash drive between her fingers.
"And never visit me again?" Hyojung said, but she was all warm smiles and soft voice when she stood in front of her that Jiho felt bad. Again.
She should have visited, or called. Her mother wouldn't have wanted her to cut off all communications with Hyojung that's for sure.
"It has to be this way, Jiho-yah. I'm sorry." She looked around at the destroyed place, sadness was clear and unmistakable in her eyes. Jiho remembered it. "Don't be mad at Shiah, alright? She is just trying to look after us," she told Jiho, holding her upper arm gently with her intact hand.
Jiho sighed and shook her head, her lips twitching. "Fine. What do you want me to do to prove it's really me? Twenty questions? Or is that below Shield?" She asked, then heard Shiah's huff from where she was observing.
Hyojung's smile widened and somehow that's all it took for Jiho to realize just how much she missed her friend.
"Close," Hyojung answered, "remember how I'm sort of unique and powerful and like the heroes the whole world loves?
"I can't believe you just said that yourself." Jiho covered her face with her curling fingers. It was what her mother used to say about Hyojung, minus the last part. The whole world didn't know about those heroes until Aliens cracked the blue sky. Jiho chuckled upon seeing Hyojung's pout nonetheless. "Yes, yes, I remember. Even though you never showed me anything... super. And not everyone loves Shield and these heroes, by the way. Don't you know there is always someone coming after them?"
"Focus," Hyojung prompted her with a gentle squeeze on her arm. "And don't freak out, okay?"
Jiho watched her -- a little part of her very eager to finally see what her mother talked about a lot. "Why would I freak out?" Her question came out in a breathy whisper as she felt a strange flow capturing her. Her eyes fluttered shut and her heart started to hammer into her ribs, time seemed to have been slowed to a stop, and all that was left was Hyojung in front of her, in her head, everywhere. And it was so heavy and overwhelming that Jiho's knees buckled before she could try to register anything about how weird the place looked.
Jiho never fell to the ground, though. She felt softness and strength against her, familiar warmth washing over her. She heard Hyojung's voice, it was like a gentle breeze that resolved the haze until all of it faded and nothing but the reality remained. Normal reality. Or the closest to one now that humans knew what worlds exist beyond theirs.
Then there were firm, long arms surrounding Jiho's middle and holding her weight off Hyojung.
"I'm okay," Jiho let out before Hyojung could finish the order she was giving to Shiah, who was keeping her on her feet because she was definitely unable to do so herself. "No need for doctors."
Her eyelids felt heavy, but Jiho finally managed to keep her eyes open. Hyojung looked worried, her eyes teary and regretful, so Jiho quickly smiled wide. "See?!" Her mouth felt so numb that Jiho wasn't sure she could stop smiling now, and her head fell to Shiah's shoulders after a second of manoeuvring from the agent's part. Comfortable, Jiho thought right before she realized how close Shiah's lips were to her forehead. Very comfortable. Jiho focused on that, on Shiah's reassuring strength. "Really, I'm fine," she said again, "can I tell you about the scary, burning bow now?" Jiho slurred, and then blackness covered her eyes.
,
"So how long have you been working with Hyojung unnie?" she asked, her voice filling the emptiness of the elevator shaft despite how calm she was trying to be. Their careful steps resounded off the walls with as much chilling noise.
"This is not the time, Jiho, hurry up. We're almost there," Shiah told her instead.
Jiho was hurrying up, or down in this case. And though she didn't fear heights, or scary places (that much), there was something weighing on her heart the more they climbed down the ladder. "We just sneaked into a highly-secret, highly-scary and very dangerous facility to steal a bow that was stolen from you guys. I need distractions."
"Well, technically." Hyojung's voice came through more calmly than earlier, a hint of joy in it despite the whole situation. "My old team and I stole it from Jat, but they were going to use it agai--"
"Unnie, are you seriously telling her a story right now?" Yoobin interrupted, again, and somehow surprising Jiho again because she kept forgetting that she was in the mission with them. The guiding team along with Hyojung. A team made of two, Shield was that badly hurt. "She should be focused on the mission," Yoobin added.
"They're perfectly safe in the shaft, Yoobinie." And when the younger girl replied, Jiho could hear the pout in her voice. "But you always tell us to always stay focused."
Jiho smiled at her tone, really wanting to provoke her, but the coolness of the place shook her composure enough. Instead, she listened to Hyojung's confident voice as she assured Yoobin that Jiho would still be focused on the mission. It felt nice to hear it, even though she didn't know from where did Hyojung get this faith in her.
"We're here." Shiah spoke in a calm voice that made all of them quiet. Jiho paused her descend and looked down, but that proved to be a bad call because she could see the bottom. Laying far, far under them. She shuddered and quickly faced the front, carefully stepping down to the ventilation system's hatch's level after Shiah moved to the side.
Shiah was close again, and for the first time, Jiho actually felt nervous by that. Which, not to her liking, had become so obvious as she attempted to reach for the kind of far access screen but failed.
The next thing Jiho knew was Shiah extending her arm around her middle, giving her the reassurance Jiho didn't realize she needed.
Jiho relaxed, Shiah wouldn't let her fall.
,
Jiho thought she was dreaming about her mother, right before she left her at her grandparents' house and took off to save the world. But Jiho knew better, she hadn't dreamt about her mother in years, it was just Hyojung's sweet presence that reminded her of a wonderful time, past.
Hyojung's calling for her was heavy with worry and regret, Jiho could sense it even before she opened her eyes. And because she didn't want her to feel that way, she did her best to gather her energy and speak. "That was awesome, unnie." She managed as the numbness loosened its clutch on her senses and she felt just how tight Hyojung was hugging her. "Let's not do it again," she added, laughing softly.
She missed her, and Jiho wanted to tell her that as she sat upright -- completely not listening to Hyojung's protests -- she missed her and she's sorry for getting mad at her and for never calling, but pressing matters needed Shield's attention right now. Shield, the one thing Jiho loved dearly at one point and hated fiercely at another.
Jiho sighed. All wars have casualties, she knew, and her mother died defending Earth, she reminded herself. Maybe it was time for Jiho to accept the fact it wasn't Shield's fault, especially when she was here helping them fight more bad guys.
Exhaustion became prominent when Jiho moved, stuck in her muscles and joints, but she noticed that they were no longer at the destroyed building. "Where are we?" she asked, blinking and stretching to push away the drowsiness. She stood, her head spun a little but she managed to stay upright. She smiled wide and swayed her arms to convince Hyojung, who still looked at her with worry, that she was truly fine.
"You're still stubborn, aren't you?" Hyojung sighed, but her face brightened just a tiny bit as she walked over to the huge glass wall. "Our new headquarters. Shiah and Yoobin are trying to figure out a way to retrieve the bow, which I must say, I can't believe you found it so easily, Jiho. We thought it would take us ages before we could find it again."
Jiho joined her. The view wasn't extraordinary or unbelievable, just a few people busy with phones and screens and... that's it.
Jiho couldn't help but to notice, feel, the emptiness in the place.
"Is this going to be another fake computers company?" Jiho asked all of a sudden, her voice came out low, full of lingering crumbs from past emotions. Admiration, amazement, worry, love.
"Not quite. We will operate from here until further developments." There is disappointment in her voice, grief. "This way, we wouldn't be risking the city's safety."
"Change is good," Jiho said, not really knowing if she was trying to cheer Hyojung or herself. She just let the words leave her mouth as she gazed at the new home of Shield.
"I suppose so."
Jiho's eyes caught the sight of a familiar figure. Clad in black, long-sleeved shirt, and black jeans. Shiah stood close to where Yoobin was seated in front of a computer. Her heart started to race, and though it could be the effect of Hyojung's power, Jiho turned away anyhow. She leant on the glass, she didn't know why she did that, why her heart took that pace.
"So. You're an immortal or something?"
Hyojung giggled at her. "No, I'm not an immortal, Jiho."
"Alien?" Jiho tried again as Hyojung leant on the glass as well.
"Nope, I'm pretty much human."
"But with super, scary power?"
"You can say that," Hyojung answered, her laughter lasting just a moment before it faded in the soft noise made by the agents. What remained was the sadness glimmering in her eyes, and words seemingly stuck right on the tip of her tongue.
Strangely, Jiho found herself being not that shocked by the reveal of Hyojung. But then again, she never disbelieved her mother when she vaguely told her about superheroes and things her friends just wouldn't believe so she shouldn't tell any of them. Or anyone.
"Some said it's a curse, others said we were born with it, but no one really knows," Hyojung said eventually, her tone telling of a burden so heavy it echoed off her voice, her sigh, loud and clear. Or so it felt. "There are others, too, but I haven't seen any of them in a long time."
Hyojung smiled, but there were tears in her eyes that Jiho caught a glimpse of before the older girl turned away. Jiho noticed the blood that seeped through the bandages covering her whole arm.
"Does it hurt?" She asked, hoping to take Hyojung's mind off the past. "Your arm?"
"It hurts less now tha--" Hyojung started off, her smile almost right again, but Shiah entered the office then. "Unnie, sorry to interrupt, but we found our way inside the facility," Shiah said, her eyes meeting Jiho's briefly. "But..."
"But what?" Hyojung was alerted instantly.
Shiah looked at her again, and Jiho didn't want to see anything but those beautiful eyes. She really ought to get a grip! a voice in her head told her. Jiho tried to hold on to it, but it was hushed by all the rushing feelings she was having for Shiah.
"Jiho won't like this," Shiah replied, and through the haze, Jiho thought about how she hadn't liked any of this right from the moment she decided to tell Hyojung about what she found during her search to know where the university's budget was going to. But that thought was fleeting, and it was wrong, she liked seeing Hyojung again. And despite it all, meeting Shiah.
,
The more they ventured into the facility's ventilation system, the more anxious Jiho became. Antsy and in need to get back home and forget all about this. All about Shield, again.
The quiet filled with hums was eerie, nerve-wracking, loud. And the fact that Shiah was right behind her, her hands ghosting just inches away from her ankles, made it harder to remain calm. But crushing on someone so strong, so attractive in such circumstances might not be the best idea, of course, so Jiho made the effort to focus. The effort Hyojung seemed to be expecting from her.
Jiho slowed her crawling at the last turn of their destination, turning off the tiny light on her chest. She peeked through the hatch from a safe distance and as expected, the hallway was far from empty. Or silent. The bad guys, whose name Jiho forgot, were busy. With the bow, with whatever else they had in their hands, and no one knew about them.
Almost no one. She returned to where Shiah was preparing the last set of the sleeping gas.
Jiho could hear distant voices, and could see a few people passing by. Some masked and some not, some clad in white and protective suits and some wearing a simple shirt and trousers. "I can't believe these are the ones who attacked you and ruined your place." Jiho whispered, then a thought flashed in her mind. "I can't believe I'm here. Doing this." And how it feels less strange as the minutes pass. Less unexpected.
"You're doing great, Jiho," Hyojung assured her.
"No, I'm not," Jiho told her in a quiet voice, careful that the breeze wouldn't carry it to the bad guys. Shiah spoke then, drawing her attention to her. "They weren't the only ones who attacked us, that's why they succeeded, and you'll be fine. Trust me." She was focused on setting up the tiny device, but her voice remained steady and sure.
"Hearing that coming from someone who didn't trust me is very strange."
"Can you blame me? We were hit really badly, and then you show up out of nowhere just days after that..." Shiah didn't sound regretful. Annoyed? Maybe.
"And then you fight like that." She finished with a quiet sigh, wrinkles showing on her forehead.
"Like what?"
Shiah didn't answer until she was done with the device and she looked at her. "Like a Shield agent."
Jiho frowned. "Is that supposed to be a good thing? Cool?" Jiho didn't intend to sound bitter, but she did and due to the soft light on Shiah's strap, she noticed that Shiah was searching her eyes. For what? Jiho didn't know.
"Protecting the world--the worlds, humans and the other beings, is a good thing. And cool to some, I guess" Shiah finally answered, adjusting the device toward the hatch. "Releasing the gas now," she reported.
"Is that why you joined Shield?" Jiho heard herself asking. She knew why she didn't join when Hyojung offered her a place.
Shiah turned to her as the device - and the two others they have placed in their way there - hissed. There was a look in her eyes, not of anger or annoyance. She was contemplating whether to answer or not, Jiho guessed. "No, I wanted to repay Hyojung unnie." She said eventually, and Jiho got the feeling that Shiah didn't share that information with everyone.
,
"You must be joking." Jiho told Shiah, then turned to Hyojung. "She must be joking!"
"Do you really think now is a good time for humor?" Yoobin counters. Unamused, and swaying the chair she was sitting on.
"I don't know, I don't know you all!" She was freaking out for no reason. Just because Shiah wanted to include her in their plan to retrieve the bow, it didn't mean she should do it. Or would do it. The few agents around them remained focused on their phone calls and quick typing on keyboards and resting their heads on their desks, and that unnerved Jiho even more. "And how could you even ask me that? You guys are Shield, you should be protecting people, not putting them in danger."
"That's what we're trying to do! Do you know how many people would die if they knew how to use the Giant's bow?"
Jiho's brows furrowed. "It was pretty small when I saw it this morning."
Shiah huffed in frustration, folding her arms. "Giant's bow, it belonged to a tribe guarding the Gia--"
Jiho shook her head. "I don't care what it is! I just happened to find out about it, and now you know where it is. So leave me out of this, and I'm actually leaving right now."
"Then why did you come to us in the first place?! Hm?" Shiah demanded before Jiho could make a step. "You could have sent the data in any way to tip us off about the bow, or gone to the police. You know they're more than willing to believe in these things now."
Jiho did her best to keep her voice low, but empty of frustration and anger? That just wouldn't work. "How would I know if you worked with the police or not? You are the superpowers police!"
"What?" Shiah asked in what seemed like genuine confusion.
"Look, if you can just point at the exit, I'll be on my way." She finished, looking around the hall. There were many hallways and doors to go through, and then she remembered. "How did I even get here?!"
"Jiho, calm down. I won't put you in danger, you know that," Hyojung finally spoke, seeming to have finished considering their plan.
"We don't have anyone experienced with hacking right now, unnie, all of our remaining agents are still busy following the other leads. We can't hack it from here, and the data Jiho had brought doesn't have the visual confirmation of the facility for me to get there without having to go through doors! How am I supposed to get inside?"
"Hacking isn't that hard," Jiho said, more of an annoying comment out of habit rather than a helpful piece of information.
"Fighting bad guys isn't, too."
Jiho held her gaze, both of their stubbornness showing evidently in their postures. "These aren't just bad guys! They have an evil bow that could kill us!"
"That's why we need to get it back from them!"
Hyojung groaned. "Stop fighting." She started to massage her temple. "We need to focus on the bow right now. Yoobin, have they figured it out yet?"
"I'm not picking up any abnormal levels of energy surrounding the library, but the facility's protective walls might cover up any change."
Shiah turned to her then, as if to affirm their need for her participation in this mission with that thin line of her lips and that determined gaze of her eyes. "We need you in this, Jiho."
Jiho was about to repeat her refusal, and maybe actually walking away this time to find the exist herself. But then Shiah continued. "I will keep you safe if that's what you're worried about."
She seemed sincere was Jiho's immediate thought. "I promise," she added, sounding confident enough that it took Jiho a moment to not be swayed by the nice assurance. "You're just saying that to convince me to join!"
Shiah attempted to say something, but then hurt flashed in her eyes. She looked away. "I don't need to lie."
Jiho tried to find the lie in that, but all she found was an angry Shiah, and herself fazed. And Hyojung and Yoobin watching them with interest. And worry. She wasn't lying. Jiho didn't want to care about why she wasn't, she huffed and sat on the first empty chair her eyes spotted. "I'm still not going with you," she said, and okay, maybe she sounded childish, but that's only because she couldn't help them. She wasn't a Shield agent, she didn't like supernatural stuff any more.
Jiho was looking away, she noticed the sun rays filling the place with warmth and normalcy, and heard Hyojung asking the two agents to give them a minute.
Her voice was soft, and from the corner of her eyes, Jiho saw the two agents obey silently and leave the hall. She saw Hyojung nearing her, and she turned to the other side even more, refusing to meet her eyes as she sat on the desk.
The quiet was more friendly now, had more resemblance to the old times when she would spend some time with her mother and Hyojung while they watched a movie or went out for dinner. It was less dangerous back then, there weren't aliens and monsters and higher beings. Just mysteries and stories and tales about wonders and heroes that only few knew about.
"Superpowers police?" Hyojung commented, teased her, reminding Jiho of what she said to Shiah. She took a glance at her friend, but looked away when she saw the happy smile on her face. "I haven't heard that name in years."
"That makes the two of us."
The agents still in the hall didn't mind them, and Jiho couldn't help but to wonder if this was really all that's left of Shield.
"She meant it, you know. She will keep you safe." Hyojung told her after sighing.
"You can read minds, too?"
"Sort of, but that's not how I know Shiah. I trust her with my life, and yours, so I know you won't be in danger with her beside you," Hyojung answered. "But fear isn't what makes you don't want to help, is it?"
It wasn't, but Jiho didn't want to confirm that. Not that it would make a difference because Hyojung knew. "You can still be angry at Shield, at me, but still help when you know you can, Jiho-yah."
"I was never angry at you." Jiho looked at her then, remembering the time Hyojung came bearing the news of her mother falling in the battle. She lowered her gaze at that, unable to see Hyojung's tender eyes. "At least, I tried not to be angry at you. I know it wasn't your fault that she died, it was just that..." Jiho added, but it was Hyojung who finished for her when the words failed her.
"She was gone."
Jiho nodded.
"Jiho, look at me."
She didn't want to, but this was her friend. Or used to be, Jiho didn't really know if Hyojung still considered her as such, but she still did. Sort of. So Jiho eventually did lift her eyes, not trying to push off the sadness that had settled in her heart.
Warmth was what she got from Hyojung's soft smile, from her voice when she spoke. "There was a time when all you wanted was to be like your mother, to be the hero she was even without superpowers or fancy weapons. Even without knowing Shield or if the stories Siyeon told your were actually real." Jiho was about to interrupt her when Hyojung reminded her that she had been into her head not long ago. "Now that time might have passed, I know, but this is your chance anyway."
Then there was a blush in Hyojung's cheeks. "And we really could use your help, Jiho-yah." She stood after caressing Jiho's head. "But if you really want nothing to do with this, know that I would never be mad or disappointed at yo--"
"Fine." Jiho stood as well, sudden and startling Hyojung amidst her gushing reassurance. "If you insist."
Hyojung wasn't insisting, but Jiho didn't want to show, nor admit that a little part of her still wanted to be the hero her mother would have been proud of.
,
Shiah was mad at her or something. And while Yoobin gave her her gear, a normal one-piece suit, black and of a fabric that Jiho couldn't match a name to, Jiho tried her best to ignore Shiah's obvious avoidance.
"--u awake through anything that could make you faint." Jiho focused on Yoobin's words a little late because suddenly there was a sharp sting in her neck. She winced, her hand darting to press on the burning spot. "Hey! You could have given me a little warni--"
"I did," Yoobin answered, indifferent. "And this," she continued, stressing her words and raising her hand to show Jiho the blue, glowing liquid inside the next shot, "would prevent any sides effects, fatal wounds, or death that P-13 could cause. And this--" She showed her a silvery, metallic bracelet that looked expensive. "Is the P-13. Don't take it off."
She was explaining it as if Jiho was five, but Jiho acted like the mature one and asked what was P-13 when it closed around her wrist. But before Yoobin could answer, Hyojung approached her with a gun.
A normal looking gun.
"You're good to go," she told her with a bright smile. Proud.
Jiho looked at the gun, confused."That's it?" She took another look at the preparation room. It was empty of all the luxury items Jiho had expected to see. There were huge boxes and sad-looking, empty cases. "No special iron suits or super powerful, flying hammers?" She frowned. She only had the suit, which was a little tight, by the way, a tiny flashlight, and a gun. "What am I supposed to do with this when there is a magical bow aimed at me, unnie?!"
"We're a bit low on resources right now." Hyojung replied with a sigh, looking around her. "But the suit will block most kinds of damage that you might get, and the bow doesn't make anyone invincible, Jiho, you'll be able to fight them back easily," she added, a little cheerfully, a little hopeful.
"But it makes them... something?" Jiho asked just to make sure.
"Just a little scary." Hyojung answered with a dismissing motion from her hand. And okay, that was already worrying, but Shiah stepped into her personal space right as Yoobin finished her work on the earpiece. "Get ready, teleporting could make you dizzy."
"I must be already dizzy because did you say teleporting?"
"How do you think we got here? And have you not been listening to the plan?"
Yoobin answered for her. "We didn't get to that part yet." Then gave the two of them a pair of gloves, one each. "Hold the bow with this."
An Oh was all Shiah said, blushing but not letting her seriousness falter. "Well, there is no time now." Shiah said, her hands reaching to hold Jiho's wrists.
"Stay close to Shiah, Jiho. I know you both will succeed," Hyojung assured her, "and make it back."
Shiah held her firmly, yet it felt like a gentle touch, a lending of strength that all Jiho felt at that moment was courage. So she focused on that, on Shiah being close again, on her scent that had become familiar. She focused on her own heartbeats, too, on her breathing and the thrill in her mother's voice whenever she told her about the evil ones she defeated. -- Jiho focused on the exaggerations, too. Her mother couldn't tell her the realistic versions, of course. But then those exaggerations turned out to be real. Kind of. So her mother was telling her the actual version.
"Stay still so you don't fall, it could get really shaky," Shiah told her, bringing her back from the remembrance. Her eyes were lowered and her features were relaxed.
A tremble burst within Jiho, weak but growing in strength. It started from her heart, but soon was at the tips of her fingers. Jiho felt it all but didn't let it scare her for she was enamoured by the confidence Shiah was filling the space between them with. By her eyes when she finally looked at her.
Jiho completely forgot to follow the instructions as the tremble consumed her.
,
When Jiho saw the bow for the first time, it was killing the person who touched it. It had thrown them across the parking lot, which led the leader of the group to yell orders at the others to secure it properly inside the case.
But now as Jiho stood beside Shiah in the lab where everyone was supposed to be knocked out, the bow did no harm to the person holding it. One of the scientists, from the look of her clothes, and the bags under her eyes and the messy hair, angry and evil just from the look in her blackened eyes. Literally blackened, as if the white and the irises had been swallowed by the blackness of her pupils.
The scientist adjusted the bow and aligned it in their direction, with no arrows in her possession. As it appeared at first.
"That doesn't look good," Jiho let out, the words almost getting stuck in her throat and almost being buried within the loud throbbing of her heart.
The scientist pulled the string, a phantom of an arrow forming in a mist of blue, but Jiho didn't get to see what happened next for suddenly there was a firm hold around her wrist and then she was back at Shield's new headquarters.
Jiho lost her balance as a fleeting heaviness clouded her head again, but this time she actually fell because Shiah was nowhere next to her and Hyojung was a bit late in her attempt to catch her.
"Wha--" Jiho tried, her bum hurt and her head kept spinning, but Hyojung was by her side, checking for injuries.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
There were a couple of agents beside Yoobin watching the screen attentively and speaking with themselves. "Shiah brought you back. Jiho, are you hurt?" Hyojung spoke fast, worried but not terrified of the fact that Shiah was there alone. Her hands were a little cold, but Jiho figured cold wasn't why they were trembling.
"Why did she do that?!" Jiho managed, an unexpected rush of anger searing through her. Shiah was there alone. With the freaky scientist?! "I thought she wanted my help," Jiho told Hyojung, but didn't wait for an answer as she quickly started fumbling with the bracelet. "How does this work? I need to go back! How could she act like that? Does she not care about her life, that dummy agent?"
Why didn't she let me stay with her?
The thought was passing, but its effect remained, speaking of the past long enough for Jiho to be lost of words, for Jiho to stare at the silvery bracelet, which she had absolutely no idea how it worked, and realize that she wanted to help Shiah. To help her save the world.
"Jiho," Hyojung spoke in a quiet voice, gentle, caressing her head. "What's wrong?"
"I just-- I just ne--"
All these years, Jiho had thought it was rage and grief that swelled in her heart, but the thing was, she just hadn't allowed herself to accept the fact that she couldn't save her mother at a time when all she dreamed of was saving the whole world alongside her mother.
Tears were pooling in Jiho's eyes when a sudden step near her followed by a deep huff sounded in the calm hall. She quickly wiped her eyes and stood as the agents' faces beamed with relief. Hyojung's gaze remained on her for a second, but she demanded no explanation to what just happened.
Jiho avoided meeting her eyes nonetheless, and excused herself once she heard how bright Shiah's voice was as she complained about the fight the evil scientist had put up, and she noticed the little drops of blood on Shiah's cheek and chin, and the burning blue of the bow in her gloved hand was quietly fading.
The mission was a success, Jiho wished she didn't care about that. Jiho wished she didn't notice Shiah's gaze following her, or hear the flicker in her voice as she spoke.
,
Jiho found the exit, or the front door, after a moment of wandering. She had meant to find herself a quiet place. The preparation room or a restroom, but she had forgotten the way to the first, and she noticed the glass doors before the sign of a restroom.
Jiho didn't leave. There were numbers of reasons why, like the bracelet she didn't know how to take off, or the fact that she definitely would need a ride because walking back to the city would take her all night and might break her feet.
Shield were the worst at hiding in plain sight, Jiho decided. She could literally see that pretty, huge building a few blocks away from their old headquarters-slash-fake company from here.
Jiho sighed deeply. The rush was still flowing within her, the thrill, and the content of knowing she prevented something awful from happening, of knowing she was the protector just now. And all of that simply explained the love her mother had for her job, the joy brightening her face when she came back home after finally catching the evil ones, the unmatched relief and happiness echoing off her voice.
They all made sense, and they all were things Jiho wanted to believe would dissolve soon, but she knew better. She may not have known Shield by its name before the battle, but she had always known she wanted to be part of it.
Hyojung joined her silently after a while, Jiho's backpack in her hands.
Jiho had completely forgotten all about it, and that she should call her grandparents.
"You guys choose the worst possible places for your headquarters," she told Hyojung as she sat, "we're literally sitting the open."
Hyojung smiled, her arms folding on her knees. "But it is beautiful, isn't it?" She asked, and her voice was just adding to the quiet of the night. To the soothing breeze and whispering for trees. "Don't worry, we'll be fine this time."
"Please be fine." Jiho said, letting the comfortable calm follow her words, and when that calm got interrupted by Hyojung's voice, Jiho didn't mind it.
"What happened, Jiho?"
"Nothing," Jiho answered casually, trying to fool her friend, but Hyojung told her the one thing she never said before.
"Don't shut me out again, Jiho."
The hurt in Hyojung's voice as her smile faltered was unmistakable. Understandable. It tugged at Jiho's heart and it drew the tears to gather in her eyes again, but Jiho blinked them away, and strengthened her composure because she had done enough crying already. And maybe she had done enough escaping from the fact that she could do more for the world her mother died protecting. "The mission reminded me of her. She never told me anything big about her missions and Shield, but everything still reminded me of her since the moment I entered the company."
"Is that why you stayed?"
Hyojung was soft in the way she talked to her.
"I don't know," Jiho replied honestly. "Not really," she tried again. "I guess I just needed to stay."
Jiho wiped the stubborn tears with the palm of her hand, and when Hyojung reached an arm around her shoulders, tender and welcoming, Jiho was more than ready to bask in her warmth.
"It took me a long time to accept that she was gone, too," Hyojung whispered.
"Years long?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry," Jiho said as Hyojung rested her head on her shoulders. "I'm here now. For you, and... am I too late?" she added hesitantly.
"You aren't. I'm an immortal, remember? And Shield is sort of immortal, too." Hyojung assured her, but Jiho's brows furrowed and she almost let Hyojung fall to the ground as she turned to see her.
"No, you aren't. And immortals are not that cool, by the way."
"Not even immortals with superpowers?"
Jiho attempted to say no, and when she did say it, she did not sound very convincing. But it made Hyojung laugh, and Jiho missed her friend so much.
Of course, her yearning did not last when Hyojung told her This is probably too early, and unofficial yet, but... welcome to Shield, agent Kim! Her face was beaming with pride and her shoulders straightened up, the fear finally kicked in. She would be protecting the world from the things far more powerful than most humans, than her, and she wanted to do a damn good job at it.
,
,
,
Bonus
Jiho's first official field mission as an official agent of Shield was a simple one. Taking Hyojung shopping. For weapons. Or reinforcements, like Hyojung called it. And though it hadn't sounded like a boring mission, it ended up being just like that because Hyojung asked her to stay in the car and watch the premises for anything suspicious. Anything that didn't fit in within the scene of a busy intersection at eight in the morning.
Jiho huffed, again. This wasn't what she had in mind for Shield's missions, but then again, a couple of weeks ago she hadn't had Shield in her mind at all. So she waited, and watched carefully like Hyojung asked her to.
"No matter where you are, always stay sharp. You never know what you might be missing even when it's right in front of you," Hyojung had told her before she got out.
Jiho was pretty sure she was just trying to scare her because literally this was a normal bookstore that Hyojung entered -- a bookstore coincidentally owned by former agent of Shield, located in a normal intersection with normal passersby. Well, mostly normal passersby, but Jiho had already pointed them out for Yoobin to check and it's been minutes since more showed up.
In frustration, Jiho sighed and closed her eyes, leaning back on the headrest. Which maybe she shouldn't have done because a familiar voice sounded right near her and it wasn't Yoobin's voice coming through the earpiece.
"Getting bored already?" Shiah asked from the backseat, startling Jiho, who almost hurt her neck in the process of turning.
Oh, Jiho shouldn't be thinking about how beautiful Shiah was right now for numerous reasons: she was currently in a mission and she needed to stay focused. And two... two was that Shiah was barely a few steps away from looking like a mess with her smoke-smudged face and clothes, with her ruffled hair.
"Is this your style or something? Shocking people?"
There were certainly many other reasons for Jiho to not feel heat rushing to her cheeks or fluttering butterflies settling in the pit of her stomach at such a moment, but they made no difference anyway because Shiah was smiling. Actually smiling.
"Something," she answered, too occupied in cleansing her face with a wet tissue. And once she was done with that, she suddenly started taking off her jacket and bulletproof vest. The shoes were next, and though Shiah's mere presence kept her heart pacing, Jiho found it bearable. And the ache in her sides building up from the way she was sitting just to look at Shiah was also bearable.
"What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were in a mission."
"It's done. Why weren't you monitoring the premises?" Shiah asked, her eyes darting up to glance outside the shaded windows.
"I was."
"No, you weren't."
"And you know that how? Were you watching me?" Jiho tried to joke, knowing fully well Shiah must have caught her resting her eyes when just arrived. She noticed some rips in Shiah's clothes, and a few cuts on her hands as she held the hem of her top to take it off.
Jiho's eyes widened and she quickly turned to face the front, closing her mouth and focusing on the people crossing the streets and sitting on the coffee shop just a couple of stores away. Their voices were loud, mixing together to form merely a background noise, not enough for Jiho to ignore her own loud thoughts.
"I am your trainer, I'm supposed to know when you're distracted."
"I thought Hyojung unnie was my trainer, and I wasn't distracted," Jiho replied, wrapping the fingers of her left hand around the steering wheel in a tight, hopefully distracting grip. Her voice sounded calmer than just a few seconds ago, but barely void of the tremble of her heart.
The reflection in the rear mirror captured her attention while she tried to look anywhere else, and she did her best to look anywhere else once she saw the contrast between Shiah's black bra and the soft skin of her chest, not entirely empty of cuts and bruises -- some seemed to have been healed and fading, others not quite.
That contrast created a lump that almost got stuck in her throat, but her efforts to look away finally paid off, for a moment, before they crumbled when Shiah spoke casually. "Hyojung unnie is our boss, I'm your trainer."
Jiho saw the expanse of Shiah's thighs then, and that's when the warmth travelling within her turned into a blazing fire that Jiho could swear had never burned her this easily before.
Jiho focused on her whitening fingers then, on her heart she was barely succeeding in slowing down, but she also felt Shiah nearing right behind her, her scent quickly lingering in Jiho's mind yet again.
"And you're distracted," Shiah finished, quiet and unconcerned as Jiho willed everything within her spiraling into tingling pleasure and weakening desire to calm down. "Thankfully, your test was over, or else you would have failed it, Jiho. Your very first test as an agent."
Test, of course. She should have known, but that thought was fading into the one telling Jiho that Shiah sounded like having a smile on her face. And she was right. After she managed to lift her gaze, a soft, small smile was tugging at Shiah's lips as she wore new clothes.
"Never thought stripping was a test technique in Shield," she commented, and though she had meant to sound angry, annoyance was all she managed to let out.
"It isn't, I'm just in a hurry to join Hyojung unnie," Shiah told her, and when their eyes meet through the rear mirror she added. "Don't be mad, Jiho. You did spot all the agents stationed in the premises after all, but you can't rest yet. The actual mission starts now, so stay alert."
"You know, I liked you better when you had the grumpy agent look," Jiho told her, sighing.
Shiah chuckled. A lovely sound that made Jiho's stomach twist in warmth and fulfilling sensations despite her attempt to stay angry. "That's okay, I still like you." A silky voice that drew Jiho to look at the mirror again, to see Shiah almost done with her pants. To notice the blush in her cheeks, bright not affecting her firmness.
I still like you. Jiho's nervousness and enchanted heart and stubborn desire soared with that, but before they could make her stutter something awkward or let her shock or happiness show, Shiah looked at her again through the mirror once she finished wearing her jacket, and reached her hand to squeeze Jiho's shoulder. "Welcome to Shield, agent Kim," she said softly. And with that, with a voice that lacked any hate or anger, with sweet delight that lingered in Shiah's eyes, in her smile, she left the car.
Jiho groaned, letting her head fall to the steering wheel. "I hate her!"
"Um, I don't think you actually hate her," Yoobin said.
"I don't! But I still hate her."
Silence lingered for a moment before Yoobin's voice came again. Almost comforting. "Do you want to hear how my first test went?"
"Yes."
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(Anonymous) 2017-08-14 07:56 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
(Anonymous) 2017-08-14 11:57 pm (UTC)(link)i'm not familiar with agents of shield but you did a wonderful job of describing the world! it's really nice to see the detail in the action scenes.
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(Anonymous) 2017-08-16 06:17 am (UTC)(link)i don’t know how much of the show you incorporated with regards to world building, or how much was invented vs borrowed, but i think regardless of the origin (if it’s your own brain i congratulate you) you presented it very well. i didn’t feel like i was missing some info (having not watched the show) but i’m also certain that someone who has scene the show would be glad you avoided a giant exposition dump of stuff they already knew. borrowing a setting from a different fandom is really difficult imo so i just want to stress what a good job you did on that part. i was really feelin it
the whole bit about her continuing for the same world her mom died protecting, how shield reminded her of her mom, it killed me. actually this line killed me the most ommg:
All these years, Jiho had thought it was rage and grief that swelled in her heart, but the thing was, she just hadn't allowed herself to accept the fact that she couldn't save her mother at a time when all she dreamed of was saving the whole world alongside her mother.
like how..cud u..do this..to my heart..
the tension with yooa was really well done but as another commenter said, i really enjoyed the variety of relationships in here — especially with hyojung, actually, it was really sweet. in a break from tradition jiho’s banter was with yooa instead of binnie which made for a fun change haha
also i can’t believe you wrote a bonus end scene while i was struggling to finish my own fic omg (and it was really cool seeing a different tone in the same universe). the ending was so good lmao and as much as id love to hear the story its so funny you ended it there
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