After parting ways with Secretary Kim and retrieving her stolen bike, Linda decided to take a quiet route home. The sun had dipped below the skyline, casting long golden streaks across the city, as shadows grew bolder with the darkening sky. The alleyways near the park were silent, except for the rustle of leaves and the rhythmic hum of streetlights flickering to life. The evening had grown quieter as Linda coasted down the narrow road leading toward the river bend.
But then… something shifted.
A faint scuffle behind her. Too soft for a passing jogger. Too deliberate for a random pedestrian.
Linda's instincts prickled. She kept her gaze forward but allowed her senses to stretch behind her like invisible threads.
Was someone following her?
The sound of footsteps — a little too carefully placed — echoed behind her again.
She didn't speed up. She didn't glance back. Instead, she slowed her pedaling slightly, then coasted gently to a stop beside a parked truck.
Casually, she swung one leg over and stepped down from her bike, lowering herself to crouch beside the frame. She bent her head and reached toward her shoe — pretending to adjust her laces.
Silence.
Then a slight intake of breath — too close.
She quickly shot a glance under the truck's undercarriage. A pair of legs froze mid-step.
Got you.
Linda straightened slowly, brushing off her hands.
"You've got five seconds to step out," she called without turning around, her tone cool. "Or I scream."
A pause.
Then a soft sigh.
Jae Min rounded the corner sheepishly, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his hoodie. "Okay, okay… calm down. It's just me."
"Jae-min!. " She exclaimed as she recognized the voice.
"Girl... you're way too sharp," he said with a crooked grin, walking toward her slowly.
Linda stood up and spun on her heel to face him, arms folded. "Were you planning to follow me all the way home, or just until I caught you?"
Jae Min shrugged, his eyes calm and unreadable. "Caught me? No way. I was just… coincidentally walking the same route."
She narrowed her eyes. "Coincidentally hiding behind garbage bins?"
He gave a small laugh. "Okay, maybe I was… mildly invested in your safety."
She raised a brow. "You've been acting weird ever since Sofia's apartment."
"Define weird," he said, flashing a grin. "Is it weird to care about where a friend goes after dark?"
"You were watching me like a hawk."
"I prefer the term... protective observer."
She stared at him.
He rubbed the back of his neck, dropping his gaze for a moment. When he looked back up, his expression had changed—subtle shift, soft enough to blur the line between teasing and something else.
"You know," he murmured, "it's kind of hard not to notice you."
Linda blinked, slightly taken aback. "…What?"
Jae Min quickly added, "I mean, not like that. Just—you're different. People notice."
There was a pause. The way he said it was casual enough, but something in his tone — just beneath the surface — suggested more. Or maybe he wanted her to think that.
Linda frowned, her mind catching the change in his body language: open, loose, casually confident, yet carefully staged.
"Are you trying to confuse me?" she asked bluntly.
Jae Min gave a half-smile. "Is it working?"
Linda scoffed and shook her head, "Don't flatter yourself."
"Would it help if I said I was just bored?"
"Jae Min," she warned.
"Alright, alright." He raised his hands in surrender. "No more shadowing you. I just got... curious. That's all."
She glanced at him. "Next time you want to hang out, try using words like a normal person."
He smirked. "And miss all this drama? Never."
Linda gave him a glance and then said.
"But seriously—stop acting shady. Or I'll really start asking questions."
"Deal," he said smoothly. "As long as you don't start answering mine."
She smiled and then climbed her bike again and rode off after saying a brief good bye. Jae min smiled and exhaled before adjusted the small device in his ear. He was about to turn when some movement him made him freeze.
Two men stood in the shadows too close to him. They wore dark windbreakers and had the quiet, calculated stance of trained watchers. Jae Min recognized them instantly and slowly turn with an annoyed expression.
" What are you guys doing here?!." he muttered under his breath.
One of the men stepped forward. "Just making sure you're doing your job. Orders from the boss."
"I told him not to send anyone to follow me." Jae Min's voice was low but sharp.
"Yeah? He doesn't care."
Jae Min didn't respond. Instead, he walked past them, heading toward the main road. With each step, his hands curled tighter into fists. He walked for a mile through the quiet streets, his hood pulled low. Night had fully fallen now, and the city's neon lights flickered across his path.
Then his phone rang.
The screen showed a number he knew too well.
He hesitated, jaw clenched. Then he answered.
The voice on the other end was calm but cold.
"Have you noticed anything?"
Jae Min replied plainly, "No."
There was a pause. Then the voice grew sharper.
"Don't lie to me. You just left her side and you're telling me you didn't notice anything?"
Jae Min's grip tightened. "Are you watching me?!"
"I told you not to!" he shouted before catching himself. He looked around. A few pedestrians glanced his way, then quickly moved on.
The man on the other end didn't raise his voice, but his tone turned ice-cold. "Who's the boss here, you ungrateful brat?"
Silence. Then the voice mellowed again, in a way that was almost more unsettling.
"If you say you didn't notice anything, fine. I believe you. But don't forget… You're my best agent. I'm counting on you."
Jae Min closed his eyes, breathing heavily.
"And also…" the man continued. "I am watching you.... Xin Ling"
The line went dead.
Jae Min—no, Xin Ling—stared at the phone for several seconds, stunned. No one had called her real name in weeks. Not since the mission began.
A name like that—a name tied to a past filled with blood, discipline, and secrets—cut through her like glass. A name that her that she was indeed a girl!.
"Xin Ling," she whispered.
She clenched her jaw and threw her hand out in frustration. The phone almost flew from her grasp, but she caught it just in time. She shoved it into her hoodie pocket and continued walking, her steps faster now, more angry.
She was growing increasingly fulstrated with this. The watching. The manipulation. The shadow she could never shake. She've never felt tired of a mission before. She was always her boss' favorite girl ever since he had picked her from the streets and trained her to be his best agent. He had sent her on different missions where she'd disguise to be different personalities.
She'd infiltrated gangs before. Posed as a dealer. An heiress. A pickpocket. Even a waitress in a karaoke club for three weeks straight. But this mission…this one was different.
She was undercover in a high school and also she was to be a boy!.
And her target wasn't a fellow kingpin that her master needed to get rid off or a person that once worked for her master that knew his secrets and needed to be eliminated.
It was a girl. Though, tough and fearless, she was still a young adult girl.
And so far, Linda had shown no signs of being anything but a normal—though incredibly self-assured—student. Yet, something about her wasn't adding up. The way those street thugs had gone from mocking to kneeling at her feet after the strange man arrived. That wasn't normal.
Something was off.
Xin Ling knew it__ that she was growing fond of her new friends.
And it seemed her boss had seen it too.
After a long walk, she suddenly stopped and decided to hail a taxi home.
She waved her hand as a bright yellow cab screeched to a halt. She opened the door and slid into the back seat. She gave the driver her address and the taxi lurched forward, merging into the city's pulsating rhythm as the neon lights blurred into a kaleidoscope of color outside the window.