The Assassin | Dreamcatcher

Chapter 1

Siyeon slides the classroom door open and smiles apologetically at the teacher, who is mid-sentence.

He stops with a frown as all eyes of the students turn to her.

She's late...again.

"Ah, Miss Lee." The teacher turns to her. "Have you signed in?"

"Yes." She nods and bows low. "I apologise for being late."

"Hmm, yes." He accepts with straight lips, looking at her over the top of his round glasses. "Don't let it happen again." He returns to teaching the lesson as she walks down the first row of desks to the back, where her empty desks sits.

She's already been late countless times, but she is glad her teacher is so mellow about it.

Siyeon sits and hears snickers pass around the classroom. Her habit of running late is always a joke that's funny.

A stack of sticky notes collides with her desktop. The writing on the top sheet says 'Late again Lol'.

She turns her head and grins at the slim girl next to her, winking jokingly.

Below her friend's handwriting, she scrawls a reply 'Did I miss much???' and lobs it back, with an eye on the teacher.

The girl shakes her head, pauses, then nods with a scrunch of her face. She then writes something else on the sticky note before passing it back.

'I can teach you :)'

Siyeon nods again and tunes back into the teacher for the rest of the lesson.

***

"What's your excuse this time?" Her friend Yoohyeon grins cheekily as she walks out onto the school roof ahead of Siyeon.

They sit down together, close to the edge and Siyeon takes a pack of cigarettes from her blazer pocket.

"My excuse?" Siyeon snorts as she sticks an unlit cigarette in her mouth while she fumbles for her lighter. "My phone ran out of battery so my alarm didn't go off."

"C'mon, you can't even tell me the real reason you're late, uh...95% of the time?" She playfully hits Siyeon in the arm as Siyeon hugs her waist affectionately.

"I'm not joking!" Siyeon protests, only half-serious. She lights the cigarette with a flick of the lighter and takes a slow puff before saying any more. "My phone was literally drained last night and I forgot to plug it in."

Yoohyeon returns her hug and takes a cigarette and the lighter from Siyeon for herself. "I've never known such a cool girl to be so affectionate."

"I like hugs and you do too. Perfect combo for friends." She smiles.

"So...how did your phone get so drained?"

"Uh, well..."

***

With a sharp beep, the door clanks open and Siyeon enters, already wincing at the unavoidable sound.

Her hands feel for the strap diagonally across her chest, attached to the case on her back.

The roof is her destination, so she walks freely through the corridors and stairwells of the office building, knowing that the CCTV has already been taken care of for her.

She flexes her hands in their leather gloves and twists the handle of the roof door open. Stepping out into the night's darkness.

Her eyes peer across the roof as she walks to the edge, spying her target a few floors below in the building. She can see the back of his head through the slatted blinds of what must be his office. She takes out her phone to take an image and sends it to her team member. The battery level is already at 20%. Secret apps really drain the battery.