spies; a seventeen au

5

The bells twinkled as the doors of the cafe opened. Jihoon stepped inside, welcoming a quiet and warm atmosphere with the sunlight streaming through the windows and the waft of coffee beans snaking through the air. Only a few customers sat at the tables, either discussing quietly with their accompaniment or typing away on a laptop, perhaps even reading a book.

"Hey Jihoon!"

The boy turned towards the call of his name to find Seungcheol waving at him at a booth by the window with Junhui and Yuta. He slid into the seat next to Seungcheol who pushed a cup of coffee towards him, and he gladly took it, taking a sip of it. He set the cup down, the cream somehow keeping the heart that Seungcheol had drawn for him, before asking the group, "What's the mission?"

Junhui laughed, his mouth full of the cookies that were placed at the center of the table. "Already straight to the point."

"As expected of Mr. Don't Fuck With Me," Yuta teased, and Jihoon resisted from reaching over the table and smacking him upside on the head.

"Guys, settle down," Seungcheol suggested, placing his hand on Jihoon's arm. "This is still a somewhat professional meeting."

He turned over to his left towards the window, taking a stack of files off of the chair and plopping them on the table for everyone to see. The pile had one note stuck to the top file that simply read, "For Team Seventeen. Thank me later," signed by someone by the name of Jeon Wonwoo.

Junhui took the note, sticking it under his nose to read it. "Who's Wonwoo?"

Yuta stared at the Chinese boy in disbelief. "The archives' librarian? You guys don't know him?"

"I don't!" Junhui exclaimed as he triumphantly shook the sticky note off of his face, and Jihoon had to admit, he too had no idea who this Jeon Wonwoo was.

"He's the one giving you guys all of the information on your missions and targets," Yuta explained. He paused to take a cookie off of the plate and dip it into his glass of milk, taking a bite, before continuing. "He does it for every mission, and he does a hell of a good job of it."

Seungcheol nodded as he gestured towards the files. "Even here, you can see Wonwoo compiled plenty of information. Anything that might be useful to us."

Jihoon took the top file in his hand. He opened the folder, and as it flipped over to reveal the first paper, his eyes immediately read their target's name: Yin.

"Yin?"

"Means hidden in Chinese," Junhui answered.

Jihoon scoffed. "How creative."

He scanned through the papers. The first file had basic information about Yin, a gang of self-proclaimed "Robin Hoods" who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Before, the small group only stole from criminals, people who took and plundered themselves, so it was clear that it was revenge. But as stories go, revenge can take one a long way. As the group grew, so did the acts. More money and possessions were stolen. More targets were victimized, and their criteria for a criminal lowered. Eventually, these Robin Hoods were taking from almost every wealthy citizen in Seoul especially if they owned large businesses. The bigger the business, the easier to steal without being caught.

The second file discussed information about the leader and some of its members, but that didn't matter to Jihoon, at least not at the moment. The next files specified more about some of their larger schemes and scandals: how they broke in, how they secured their loot, how they escaped, etcetera. Yet again, those weren't important. The last file only contained a single sheet of paper giving them their mission: investigate and neutralize the gang, Yin.