Kings

The sound of gunfire rang through the dark corridors. Eunhyuk evaded each bullet with ease, he smirked at the man who’d fired at him. The man desperately tried to shoot him once more but he found that there he’d run out of bullets.

“Are you quite done?” Eunhyuk said, grinning almost cruelly at the frightened man.

Eunhyuk started walking towards the man, leisurely taking his time. The man tried to run desperately for the exit but as he was doing so, a sharp pain shot up from his leg. He tripped. Looking at his leg he found a knife lodged on it.

The man shook from terror, a shriek escaped his lips when he found that Eunhyuk was nowhere in sight. He tried once more to escape, crawling on his knees. Tears of horror fell from his eyes, and mucus dripped from his nose. He looked so pitiful in his despair.

He was relieved when he was almost at the door and for one fleeting moment, he thought that with Eunhyuk nowhere in sight he was free but as he reached out his hand to the door, his hand was sliced cleanly off. Looking up, the man found Eunhyuk standing before him holding a bloody sword.

“PLEASE! PLEASE! HAVE MERCY! LET ME GO!” The man cried out desperately. Eunhyuk frowned and tilted his head to the side thoughtfully.

“Hmm… Let me think…” Seconds ticked by slowly and it appeared as if Eunhyuk was seriously considering to let the man go.

“No.” And in one swift move, Eunhyuk’s sword cut through the head of the man in half.
Eunhyuk flicked his sword to remove the blood that had stained it.

The shrill tone of his phone ringing broke through the silence, taking it out of his pocket he answered the call and was greeted by Bom’s voice.

“Status Report?”

“Target has been eliminated.” Eunhyuk said smugly.

“Ooh, sounds like you had fun with this one Hyukkie.” Said Bom teasingly. She knew that Eunhyuk must’ve had fun with his target.

“Shut up noona.” Grumbled Eunhyuk.

“Tsk, tsk, so testy Hyukkie.”

“Whatever.”

“Hmph. Spoilsport… Anyway, you better get back as soon as possible. You have a new mission.”

“What!? But I just finished one.”

“Sorry Hyukkie, but this one’s top priority. Prez said so himself.”

“Ugh, fine. Fine.”

“Bye bye.” With that Bom hung up. Grumbling to himself, Eunhyuk left the area.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

It was curious, the way his life changed so suddenly since he decided to take up GD’s offer. Money became nothing more but rapidly increasing numbers on his bank account. It was as if he’d never had any problem with it in the first place. The lives of his family improved drastically but it came with a hefty price.

For their sake and for their safety, he was forgotten. All traces of him, be it photos or memories or documents were altered and erased. Through the use of Kim Hyuna’s abilities, he, like all YG agents were erased from existence. The only proof that they existed lies within the archives of YG’s Administrative Research department. The potential that GD had seen in him shone through. From the rigorous training regimen he and all other trainees had gone through, Eunhyuk breezed past all of it with ease. The only thing they’d had a problem with was determining his own ability, his own Arcana.

Arcana was the word that they used to refer to the unique abilities that people possessed. He’d been taught all about the history and necessity of the Arcana. The Arcana serves as the link between the planet and its chosen few. It could be viewed as a magnificent gift but also an enormous burden to those chosen to wield it.

Eunhyuk found his Arcana during one of CL’s accidents. It was on a seemingly normal day of training that he became a fully pledged agent and found his Arcana.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Two years ago.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Eunhyuk wiped the sweat on his face with a towel, he’d just finished his morning exercise and was cooling down. The training room was still filled with other trainees still doing theirs, there were some like him who’d already finished. They waved at him, exchanging pleasantries with him. He smiled pleasantly at them when a hand grasped his shoulder. Startled he quickly turned around and found himself face to face with Taeyang.

“Eunhyuk-ah! How’ve you been?” asked Taeyang grinning at him.

“Ah, it’s just you…” Eunhyuk said.

“Hey! Don’t be like that, Eunhyuk-ah. Just a few months ago you were so jittery around us and now you act all cool like that.” Taeyang laughed.

Eunhyuk just smirked at him in return. Taeyang chuckled at him, only a few months had passed and he already considered Eunhyuk as a good friend even though in the company’s eyes he was still just a trainee. It was probably due to the fact that they shared the same interests and could relate to each other since they also shared the same circumstances in joining the company.

“Ne, Eunhyuk, come with me. Let’s head up to the 16th floor. I’m sure the others would like to see you again.” Taeyang said, throwing an arm over Eunhyuk’s shoulder and started leading him to the door.

“Chhakama, chhakama! I can’t go with you I still have training!” exclaimed Eunhyuk trying to escape ‘Taeyang.

“Don’t worry about it. You can train with us instead.”

“What?! No way! I wouldn’t stand a chance against you guys!”

“Haha, Don’t worry we’ll take it easy on you!”

“But, but…” Taeyang ignored the rest of Eunhyuk’s protests and soon they found themselves on the 16th floor in front of the YG agents’ private training rooms. Taeyang opened the door and lead Eunhyuk inside.

The training room was nothing compared to the trainees training room. It was just so… huge. The room had its very own lounge and bar area on the east side while on the west side was four glass doors, with glass panel windows. Those were the allotted training areas approximately 15.5m X 10m each area.

His eyes roamed his surroundings. By the bar, Se7en and Hyuna were chatting amicably. On the lounge area was where GD, Top, Dara and Minzy were sitting. Seungri and Daesung were both using two of the training areas. CL and Bom were nowhere in sight though.

“Taeyang! Eunhyuk, over here!” GD waved them over from his seat.

Taeyang waved back at GD and headed to where they were. Eunhyuk followed behind Taeyang, glancing around he saw that Se7en and Hyuna both paused to stare at him. It made him nervous.

Once they reached where GD and the others were sitting, Taeyang plopped himself down on one of the seats while Eunhyuk stood awkwardly there, not really knowing what to do or where to sit. Noticing his dilemma, GD patted the empty seat next to him. Without any choice, he took his seat.

“Eunhyuk-ah, we heard you were doing quite well with training.” Minzy said to him, a pleasant smile adorning her face. Eunhyuk nodded at her words.

“He’s not just doing well Minzy! He’s been breezing through it!” GD exclaimed, looking quite proud about it. Eunhyuk flushed at GD’s compliments.

“I told you guys, he was talented!” added GD smugly.

Minzy laughed. “Yeah, yeah, we get it G.” Beside her, Dara smiled.

“So aside from training what have you been up to Eunhyuk-ah?”

“Ah.. I haven’t really been doing anything else aside from training…”

“Eh? Weyo? Don’t you get bored with that stuff?”

“Yes, but there’s really not much I can do since I’m still a trainee…”

“But you’re not a trainee anymore.”

“Huh?”

“I said, you’re not a trainee anymore. Coz you’re here now…” Minzy looked at Eunhyuk’s face intently. His expression was of genuine puzzlement.

“Don’t you know what being up here means?” Dara asked.

“N-no… I just… Taeyang just brought me here.” Minzy looked at Taeyang, her brow furrowed in annoyance.

“So you mean to tell us that Taeyang just hauled you here without explaining anything to you?” Minzy said surprised. Turning to Taeyang she yelled at him.

“Yah! Taeyang pabo! Why didn’t you tell him anything?!”

“Hehe, I forgot?” Said Taeyang, shrugging his shoulders.

“Pabo!”

“What are you guys talking about?” Eunhyuk asked, feeling quite lost.

GD turned to him and smirked. “It seems that Taeyang conveniently forgot to tell you the reason why you’re here today. So, I’ll tell you myself.”

“Congratulations Eunhyuk-ssi! You’re now an official agent.”

“But how? I haven’t finished the training and I don’t even know what my ability is yet. How could I possibly be an agent?”

“Don’t worry, no one really has to finish the whole training period. The higher ups just do that for formality. And in the case about you not knowing you’re ability yet, it’s not a problem. You’re going to find out about it today once Bom and CL get here.” GD said patting his shoulder.
Eunhyuk gulped. He had a feeling that something was up but he had no way of knowing what it was they were planning.

Minutes passed by slowly and Eunhyuk had already begun to get nervous. The sound of the door opening made Eunhyuk hold his breath and his stomach dropped when he turned to look. There they were. Bom and CL both walked in. CL looked at where they were and smiled when her eyes met Eunhyuk’s.

Internally, Eunhyuk wanted nothing more but to run out of that door. He’d never actually been up against any of the agents but he’d heard about CL before. She like GD, Se7en and Hyuna was one of the special agents. Every trainee had heard about how CL destroyed one of the training rooms after a nasty encounter against SM’s Tiffany. None of the trainees knew what happened during that encounter but the only thing they knew was that CL was not someone you should mess with.

“Eunhyuk-ssi, you’re here already. That’s good. We can proceed now.” Said CL, she beckoned him to come with her. Stiffly, Eunhyuk stood and followed her. She chose the fourth training room and went to the center of the room. Eunhyuk entered the training room and found that there was a weapon’s rack on the corner.

“Go ahead, Eunhyuk-ssi. You can pick whatever weapon you want. I’d heard that you’re quite good with swords, so I’d like to assess your skill.” CL’s voice echoed through, Eunhyuk felt his heart beating wildly against his chest. They haven’t even started but Eunhyuk was already panicking.

He approached the weapons rack and started going through the swords, he tried a number of them before choosing a Katana in the end. By chance, he glanced at the glass wall and found that the others were standing there. Waiting and watching. Taeyang and GD gestured encouragingly at him, while the others nodded at him solemnly. He smiled at them nervously.
Cautiously he approached the center. He unsheathed the sword and took his stance. CL smiled at him, she raised her right hand in front of her after a second a small ball of energy materialized in her hand.

“Let’s begin Eunhyuk-ssi”

She threw the ball of energy right at him, he deflected it with the sword but he felt the impact of a fist hitting his face and was thrown back to the wall. Groaning in pain as he pulled himself back to his feet he barely had the time to dodge CL’s kick.

He darted to the left and tried to put as much distance away from her. Once he was far enough, he took the moment to compose himself. CL stood from where she’d tried to kick him earlier, she was giving him some time to recover. He tightened his grip on the hilt of the sword and charged at her. Eunhyuk attacked her with a powerful slash but his attack was blocked by a barrier. From around the barrier, CL conjured up several energy balls and one by one they went after Eunhyuk. Eunhyuk slashed against the spheres causing them to disperse. CL frowned in displeasure, once more she conjured up more energy spheres and fired them at Eunyuk. While Eunhyuk was busy dispersing the spheres CL tried to deal him with another physical blow, but Eunhyuk was ready for her this time. He ducked under her punch and aimed a low kick at her legs. CL lost her balance and fell to the floor but she immediately stood right back up and charged at Eunhyuk, she threw punches and kicks but all her attacks were being blocked and parried.

“Woah, I think CL noona’s getting worked up.” Daesung commented as he watched the fight. The others murmured their agreement.

“Of course she is. CL underestimated Eunhyuk from the start. It’s something she shouldn’t have done, right G?” Top said, eyes never leaving the scene of the fight.

“Yeah, Eunhyuk can easily and almost unconsciously adapt to anyone’s fighting style. It’s one of the first few things I noticed when we first recruited him.”

“So that means that Eunhyuk has a lot of potential.” Commented Dara.

“Yes. And considering the fact that he hasn’t even unlocked his Arcana is quite fascinating.” Se7en said with a smirk.

“I wonder if Eunhyuk can unlock his Arcana today…”Minzy wondered out loud.
“Well, at the rate of how the fight is going and how CL’s close to losing her temper, I’m sure that Eunhyuk will have to unlock that Arcana of his if he wants to survive.” Hyuna said as she took a sip from her drink.

“CL’s not going to lose control Hyuna.” GD said a little bit irritated.

“How sure are you? Look closely GD, doesn’t this remind you of her last accident?” Hyuna said with a sly smirk playing on her lips.

“I’d hate to see fresh blood being spilt, especially someone’s that has a lot of potential. If no one manages to step in at the right moment, he’s going to end up dead.” Hyuna downed the rest of her drink and walked away from the group and she put her glass down on the counter of the bar and walked out of the room.

“Fucking Bitch.” GD cursed under his breath. He never got along well with Hyuna. She was always just so haughty and it irked him greatly, that and the fact that she wasn’t even an official YG agent but an independent agent who gets to enjoy the privilege of a YG agent only because she’s good friends with their superior agent Psy.

Turning his attention back to the fight, GD watched the fight more closely. Even if he hated Hyuna, she made a valid point. If CL loses control, he’d have to step in or else they were going to lose a valuable new asset.

Sweat trickled down the side of CL’s face. She’d been going practically all out on Eunhyuk and it frustrated her greatly. How in the world could this little trainee be able to keep up with her? Is this the potential that GD was blabbering about? Damn it! She wasn’t going to lose face in front of everyone because of this little boy!

CL conjured up more energy spheres and upped her attack speed but still Eunhyuk was somehow able to meet her attacks head on. Without noticing, CL was already reaching her limit. She was pushing herself far too much and because of this the strength and number of her energy spheres were already increasing beyond the allowable range for her to fight.
Eunhyuk was breathing heavily, he was already past the point of exhaustion but he couldn’t stop now. Not until one of them won or collapsed. His body was already suffering from the numerous blows he’d received from CL, his muscles were screaming for a break. He could feel his grip on the sword was already loosening, at any moment he could collapse from fatigue. He really shouldn't have gone up here.

Eunhyuk felt a distinct shift in the air, he watched perplexed as CL was being engulfed in the energy of her spheres. It felt dangerous. From beyond the glass wall, he could hear the commotion.

“Get out!”

“Eunhyuk, get out of there!!”

“Move!!”

“Open the door now!”

“Why the fuck won’t this door open!”

“Eunhyuk!!!!”

He could hear their frantic screams, he couldn’t move. His body was refusing to. Was this how he was going to die? He hadn’t even done anything useful yet. How the fuck was he going to help his family if he died right there.

Seeing the blinding white light start to engulf the space, white noise riddled his senses.

He closed his eyes.

He didn’t want to die.

He couldn’t.

Not yet.

No.

He refused to die.

Faintly, he felt pressure build up from within himself.

Just as he was about to be devoured by the burst of CL’s burning energy, he felt something break free from within.

Opening his eyes, he was amazed to find himself surrounded by a swirling silver barrier. CL’s attack hadn’t been able to damage him.

She’d burned out. CL fell to the ground unconscious.

The swirling silver barrier was slowly dispersing, Eunhyuk watched in awe as he realized that the silver barrier was actually made by the weapons he’d browsed through before. When the barrier fully dispersed it felt as though the burst of energy he’d felt earlier leave him. He fell on his knees. The fatigue had already caught up to him.

Clenching his teeth in pain, Eunhyuk struggled to pull himself back on his feet. He staggered to where CL lay, and on his knees he checked her over. He breathed in relief, she was alive.
He felt someone’s hand rest on his shoulder, Eunhyuk turned and found GD looking at him. His expression was quite solemn. Glancing to the glass wall, he found that it had been destroyed. From the looks of it, it was destroyed from the outside.

Top, Bom, Dara and Minzy were tending to CL. Taeyang and Daesung helped him up and brought him to the lounge. Top carried CL and laid her down on the couch. Dara used her healing ability on CL, she healed up the bruises and cuts CL got from the fight. Once Dara was done, she tended Eunhyuk’s injuries.

GD was still standing in the destroyed training room. The weapons were no longer in the weapon’s rack, in fact they weren’t even anywhere in sight.

Everyone had seen it.

When the door couldn’t be opened, everyone thought for sure that Eunhyuk was a goner but then…

The shift. It was unlike anything he’d ever felt before.

He’d felt the power of releasing Arcanas numerous times before but none felt the way Eunhyuk’s did. It was incomparable. Not even his own Arcana felt that way, and he was considered one of the most powerful Arcana users. He’d have to look into this.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Present day.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Eunhyuk walked through the corridors of the YG headquarters. He headed to the elevator and pressed the highest floor. Damn it! He was tired already, he didn’t want to dive into a new mission right after finish one. This mission better be worth the hassle.

The chime of the elevator indicated that he’d arrived. He exited the elevator and continued on, he stopped in front of the massive double doors of the President’s office.

Taking a moment to compose himself, Eunhyuk sighed.

He opened the door and entered.

He found the President, GD, CL, Psy, Se7en and Hyuna inside. It was weird, he thought that from what Bom had said earlier that it was only him meeting the President.

“Ah, Eunhyuk-ssi! You’re here. We can proceed now.” The President beckoned him to come closer.

He went over to stand in front of the desk of the president. He bowed to show respect and briefly exchanged greetings with the others.

“You must be wondering what’s going on Eunhyuk-ssi.” The President began.
Eunhyuk nodded.

“Well, this is in regards to the new mission being assigned to you. You see, this mission is quite critical and frankly there is no room for failure in this mission.” Said the President gravely.
Eunhyuk stayed silent.

“As you know, we have been dedicating all of our efforts to stop the spread of the STRAIN Drug. Of course we’ve managed to destroy a number of distributors and dealers over the course of two years but I fear that our efforts are still not enough. We believe that SM is related to the spread of the STRAIN drug but their motives are not yet clear.”

“This is where you come in, Eunhyuk. Hyuna has relayed to us information about SM’s peculiar interest in Seoul National University, it has been noted that several well-known SM agents have begun going to Seoul National University. We need someone to keep a close eye on SM’s actions and what it is that they’re interested in.” CL continued. Her expression was serious. It reminded him of the training incident two years ago.

“The person we will have to send in has to be one of our unrecognizable agents. Your stealth skills and anonymity makes you the prime agent to take on this mission. You will need to assume a low profile in order to find out what SM’s after and if possible you must get to whatever it is before SM.”

CL sighed. This was a hard mission but they had no choice. Every other agent that could handle this mission was under the radar of SM and none of them could afford to lose an opportunity like this since the stakes was too high to simply give up on.

“The SM agents that you’ll have to watch out for are: Jung Jessica, Shim Changmin and Chung Yunho. They are quite formidable agents so you best be on your guard Eunhyuk-ssi.” Warned Hyuna.

“Jessica possesses the Arcana of Poison while Shim Changmin has the Arcana of Illusions and Chung Yunho has the Territory Arcana. All of their Arcanas are dangerous Eunhyuk-ssi and the fatality rate is quite high but knowing this will you agree to take this mission?”
Eunhyuk contemplated it, he knew that he didn’t really have much of a choice but he wasn’t nervous about the fact that he might die… Somehow, he knew that he needed to take this mission in order to find the missing pieces. When he unlocked his Arcana he’d begun to feel as though there was something missing and it looked like this was his chance to find whatever it was.

Breathing in deeply, he stared at the President directly. Resolve shone through.

“I accept.” And those words sealed his fate.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Terms:

Arcana - refers to the special ability/power of a 'chosen' person.

STRAIN Drug - The drug that enables none 'chosen' people to possess an Arcana. There is a price though, acquiring an Arcana through the drug causes the user to be inflicted with the Stigma.

Stigma - The disease contracted from the use of the Arcana gained from the STRAIN Drug.
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Notes