I Take Thee, As My Fakely Wedded Wife
It had been hours since he put it on but the ring still weighed heavily on his finger, and he couldn't stop twisting it around either.
Kim Yeol have been a trained NIS special agent for a few years now but this was his first undercover mission. Usually, this kind of mission would fall on Ha Joon and Soo Ah's hands: fancy gala, crisp suit, expensive champagne, so when their boss assigned him to the task, he was surprised. "Me?" he asked, not hiding his surprise. "We're dealing with chemical weapons, Yeol-ah. You're the only one who knows how to handle it," his boss answered. He's the resident computer geek/science nerd in his team, and he was usually stationed in the headquarter, monitoring everything while the rest of his team is out on the field. So it does make sense that their boss would want him, an agent with PhDs in Biology, Engineering, and Chemistry (and Philosophy because he thought it was fun but no one has to know) to be the one to be on the field. Their criminal that they are dealing with was heard to be interested in selling biological weapon, and tonight's gala of South Korea's most prominent families and businesses is where his biggest deal is going to take place. Given the circumstances, it was impossible for him to argue against his boss's plan. He was up for the challenge - it goes against the DNA of Kim Yeol to back down - and he had briefed himself and the team (like the thorough man that he is) about their plan to be able to handle any unexpected moves thrown at them, but what he didn't expect was what he saw a few hours ago at the NIS headquarter.
"Yah, Kim Yeol. Are you drooling?" Kang Yeon Doo, his partner for the assignment, teased him as she sauntered over, a wide grin on her face that contrasted with the classy and elegant look so she was sporting. She was in a little black dress that hugged her curves and her hair was in a loose curl on her back, while her lips were coloured bright red. It was almost impossible not to drool, especially when he was accustomed to the Kang Yeon Doo who wear whatever is most comfortable to jump and run around. The woman in front of him was someone else altogether.
"Here's the rings," Ha Joon, a member of their team who wore an uncharacteristic smirk on his face, handed them a velvet box containing two very expensive-looking ring. "Is this real?" Yeon Doo asked, examining the sizeable diamond sitting atop the smaller ring. "Of course. Harry Winston," Soo Ah, another one of their team members, chimed in as she strapped herself with her earpiece and weapons. Those two will be coming along to the gala as back up. "I don't know who that is," Yeon Doo responded nonchalantly, earning a chuckle from Ha Joon and Kim Yeol when Soo Ah groaned. "Hey, I'm not into the finer things life like you," she defended herself. Kim Yeol shook his head and reached out to slip the ring into her finger. "Oooh.. Kim Yeol, so experienced. Have you done this to lots of girls before?" she teased him as she stalked over to grab their earpieces. "You know it," he nodded cheekily, accepting the gear she was handing him. 'Yeah right. Girls. More like textbooks and the lab,' he scoffed softly in his head.
An hour later, they were at the gala as Lee Jung Woo and Lee So Ra, a young couple who had started a rising tech company in Indonesia. They immediately began chatting with other attendees of the gala. Well, it was more of him schmoozing everyone with his tech talk and her on his side, smiling and nodding at appropriate moments even though he knew that she was bored out of her mind. This is not Kang Yeon Doo's scene.
"Nice job, Kim Yeol. I didn't realise that our app is giving free education to the people in Papua New Guinea," she whispered to his ear. He laughed and planted a kiss on her forehead. He felt her stiffened for a few beats before leaning into his embrace.
This was certainly an aspect of this operation that he's beginning to enjoy. Having worked together for two years, he couldn't deny his attraction towards her. She was everything he wasn't - bright, ridiculously optimistic, and carries her heart on her sleeves. Ha Joon and Soo Ah must've sensed his hesitation at acting like a married like a couple with a girl he was actually crushing on, so they started making commands for them to act like a couple ("What kind of married couple act still around each other like that? You've watched tons of romcoms, Kang Yeon Doo. Act like you're in love with him," Soo Ah barked. "I only watched romcoms because you force me to watch it with you!" Yeon Doo bit back, slipping her as around Yeol's torso.).
Kim Yeol excused himself from a conversation with a Russian businessman to grab a drink at the bar, wanting an opportunity to survey the room from a different angle. So far, nothing seemed out of place. The gala was a hum of music and conversations. Everywhere he turned, he saw well-dressed influential men and women chatting and drinking. He was beginning to think that tonight may not go down the way he expected when his eyes landed on one Kang Yeon Doo. She was in an animated conversation with an older couple. Even though, her hair wasn't up in the usual ponytail, he could almost see it bounce as she laughed wholeheartedly at something the couple said. Whoever said that Kang Yeon Doo lacks grace and charm has obviously never spent anytime with her because to him, it was all that she is. Her awkward demeanor as she grabbed a flute of champagne from the waiter made her even more likeable in his eyes. She doesn't belong in this crowd and he was worried that she'd have a terrible time, but he was wrong. Without him by her side to handle all the conversing, she blossome - charming everyone in her own way. She embraced the fact that she felt out of place. It was probably why so many people have struck up conversations with her in the time that he's left her alone. He knew he should be returning to her side but he was enjoying the view too much - of Kang Yeon Doo making this all-too-fancy gala her own. She was magnetising.
"May I steal my wife for a quick dance?" Yeol cut in the middle of whatever conversation Yeon Doo was having with a couple. They nodded knowingly and after they exchanged a few more pleasantries, he led her down the dance floor. "Spot anything?" he whispered, eyes scanning the room as they danced slowly to the music. "Nothing. Are you sure the deal is taking place tonight?" she looked up, smiling wide. It was impossible for him not to smile back, so he did, pulling her closer by the waist in the process. "My intel is solid," he answered when he caught a flicker of a man looking around before exiting the room. "He just left the room," he said under his breath as he twirled her around, "Door. Your three o'clock," he continued before she could ask. They walked towards the door, arms all over each other, giggling and laughing. The security personnel guarding the door eyed them suspiciously when they were a few steps away from the door. So Yeon Doo reached up and pulled Kim Yeol down for a searing kiss, her arms around his neck. She could feel his surprise before he played along, wrapping his arms around her waist and tilting his head for a deeper kiss. Yeon Doo's never one for public display of affection like this - she finds it uncomfortable and too much. But she could see that their plan was working when the guard smirked and looked away. She took the opportunity to push Yeol towards the door and out of it, the door closing shut behind them and leaving them in an eerily quiet hallway. The silence pulled them apart and they caught their breath, stilling their wildly beating heart as they look away from one another. “Nice job guys," they heard Hyo Sik's voice in their ear, "It was getting lonely out here," he referred to their headquarter. The sadness in his voice made them chuckle, breaking the awkwardness in the air.
They snap back to attention and they started running ever so silently down the hall. The faint sound of the festivities became more and more mute as they turn away from the hall. The quietness was suspicious and the two kept a careful watch until they spotted two security personnel standing in front of a door. They entered a nearby room and quickly spoke to Ha Joon and Soo Ah about what they suspected. "It's going down. East wing, 3rd door from the entrance," Yeol reported. "Soo Ah and I are going to from the entrance," Ha Joon responded quickly. "Yah yah... the bathroom in the room you're at is next to the bathroom of their room. You can go through air vent," Hyo Sik informed them.
The two immediately climbed up the vent, crawling on all fours as quietly as possible. "Why do dresses exist," Yeon Doo grumbled. Yeol chuckled, grateful that his attire was at least more suitable for this task than hers. After Hyo Sik informed them that they were at the right bathroom, they jumped down without a noise and soon after, Soo Ah and Ha Joon burst in, helping them take down the armed men guarding the dealers and stopping the exchange from taking place. Three hours later, they found themselves saying goodbye to one another as they walk out of the NIS headquarter, relieved for their mission’s success.
Yeol and Yeon Doo walked side by side towards the garage. He looked at her, still in her dress, walking barefoot with her stiletto in hand. She looked significantly more disheveled than she did the beginning of the evening, but just as mesmerising and beautiful in his eyes.
“You did good tonight,” he said.
She gasped in disbelief, “I did good? Isn’t it ‘I did well’?”
Yeol couldn’t help but to smile, “Oh? That’s right.”
“Oooh.. Kim Yeol. Did you hit yourself in the head? Since when am I better at grammar than you?” she teased.
He chuckled, “I guess so. What should we do? I must’ve really banged my head against something.”
“Go to sleep, Yeol-ah,” she said after she laughed and shook her head, opening the door to her car.
“Goodnight, Mrs. Lee So Ra.”
“Goodnight, Mr. Lee Jung Woo.”
AN: Having such a strong YeolYeon and overall Sassy Go Go withdrawal. This is something a little different than the usual fluff that I write. Hopefully you like the change. I might write a bit more about them in this super spy/NIS agents universe if you guys like it. Let me know! :D
