❦ ɪɴғᴇʀɴᴏ ;; 【ᴀᴛᴇᴇᴢ】

•20•

Sophie's pov:

I looked at Yunho whose face was lit with a bright smile. They all were smiling like idiots as I finally walked towards Hongjoong's desk and took the small box in my hands which he was holding so firmly.

It wasn't gift-wrapped but it had a lid with a cute golden ribbon tied on it. It was way lighter than I thought and the brownish cover had shimmering golden glitter all over it which made it look prettier after taking a closer look.

"Should I open it right now?" I asked Hongjoong who instantly nodded. Without further ado, I lifted the lid of the box and peeped inside.

A very familiar-looking object was lying inside the box. A small smile crept on my face too as I gently kept down the box back on the desk after taking out the metal object.

The switchblade.

It was beautiful and delicate, just as I remembered Yunho's. The similar, cold metal. The handle was bright golden, an elegant phoenix rising from ashes carefully carved on it. The same blood-red ruby as the phoenix's eye.

I turned over the blade as I remembered something more about it. A satisfactory smile appeared on my face once again as I read the words engraved on the sharp metal object.

Sophie Gardener
6/7/01

It was mine. My own switchblade.

It was my first weapon and my first firm approval that I was officially a part of their family. Even though they had said it many times, even though my name and full information were in their file, I never believed it. I always felt like I was not really a part of their family.

But not anymore. It's official.

Without realizing it, the overwhelming feeling made me shed a tear.
"Sophie? You don't like it? Is it the design? I have new design ideas so should we make new ones for everyone?" Hongjoong noticed me crying as he was the closest and sitting right in front of me.

I shook my head violently and let out a small laugh after seeing him get so worked up over such a thing.

"It is beautiful. I am just....very happy." I answered, finally controlling my stupid tears. He let out a sigh of relief as soon as I said that.

"So dramatic. What's there to cry in this?" I heard Yeosang who was standing a few feet away, right behind my back. I could practically see his smug smile even though I was not facing him.

"Come one Yeo, you don't have to ruin every single moment." San said while walking towards me. I was shocked when he literally snatched the blade from my hand.

"Hey guys! Look at this! It's not fair!? Her phoenix is more handsome than ours!!" He waved my blade in the air as everyone gathered around him to have a look.

After two seconds, Seonghwa parted from the small crowd, one of his hands resting on his tiny waist and the other running through his hair.

"San! It's literally the same man. Maybe, you should try polishing yours from time to time and it would look a bit better." He spoke, getting everyone's attention.

Jongho and Wooyoung were quick to join Seonghwa and started laughing at San who looked flustered. "B-But..."

"It is the same design San. It's just that yours looks like a bronze one because you probably never cleaned it." Yunho took out his switchblade from his pocket and placed it next to mine.

"They are so childish sometimes." Honjooong said quietly as he saw the chaos that was happening right in front of him.

"They are my hyungs but I have to agree." Mingi said as he was standing beside Hongjoong, a smile on his face.

For some reason, my smile disappeared as soon my eyes fell on Mingi. I watched him for a while and I could be wrong, but every time he was smiling...it felt like a fake one.

Something was definitely going on with him.

"By the way, how is the training going?" Mingi asked suddenly as he turned to Yeosang. "You can now teach her to use the switchblade too." He continued.

I looked at San who was looking at me too, the same sheepish expression plastered on both of our faces.

"He asked you guys something." Hongjoong arched a bro as none of us replied.

"Well...we didn't start it yet but now that she has a weapon, I think we will start from next week." Wooyoung answered, nervously brushing his hand through his silky hair, avoiding Hongjoong's gaze. He was scary when it came to work and duties and Hongjoong definitely was looking upset right now.

"We didn't hold an emergency meeting last week just for you guys to slack off. And you should be the one pestering them to teach you Sophie. Or maybe, you just don't want to learn....?" He said sharply, the frown on his face getting even more visible.

"I...am sorry. I want to!!" I quickly responded. "We will start from tomorrow hyung. Come on, we were just trying to work out schedules among ourselves." Yunho finally spoke, flashing Hongjoong his regular puppy smile which no one can resist falling for.

Hongjoong sighed, nodding in response. "Just be quick about it since we don't know when will be our next mission and when will be her first. She needs to be prepared." He concluded as Yeosang replied with a firm "Yes."

A weird feeling got caught up in my chest when I realized I will soon be taking part in something illegal. I pushed away the thought and decided to go straight to my room after we were dismissed.