~𝟮~

"Agent Noyes, come on in."

Agent Bang smiled brightly, dimples showing, as he stepped aside for me to enter. I walked past him, and the interior of the house immediately caught my eye. It didn't seem like something eight men would appreciate. It was beautiful. As I admired the decor, Agent Bang closed the door behind me and reached to take my bag from me. His fingers brushed lightly against mine, startling me. I flinched away and grabbed my bag with both hands, looking at him like he would pounce at any moment. Surprise flitted over his face at my actions, but he quickly smiled it off. He walked slightly further into the room, my body following on its own accord.

"I'm glad you made it okay. How was the trip?"

"It wasn't too bad. It's really beautiful here."

"Yeah, it really is. Well, as you can see, the boys are busy who knows where, so I thought I could show you your room and then take you on a little tour, if you want?"

"That sounds nice."

He smiled as he led me to the staircase. I followed, admiring the pictures on the walls. From what I could tell, the team had been together for a while; some of the pictures only having seven members, others only having three. The smiling faces made me feel slightly more at ease. Agent Bang kept leading the way until we reached the first door on the second floor. He opened the door, and I went inside, almost dropping my bag as I walked in. It was huge, and yet made me feel so at home. It had its own bathroom attached, with a double bed in the centre of the room. I turned back to see him leaning on the door frame.

"Is this all for me?" I asked sheepishly.

"Yes. Your room is the only one, besides mine that has an en-suite bathroom. And luckily, you don't have to share like the rest of us."

"So, you guys share?"

"Yeah. We are paired up. My room is the door directly to the left of yours. If you need anything and you can't find me, 99% of the time I'll be in there."

"Thanks Agent Bang."

"Chris is fine, or Chan. Whichever you prefer. Now come on. I have more I want to show you on our tour."

I giggled at him as I walked out, following to the end of the hall. He opened a door, revealing what looked like-

"Our operations room. If we get a mission, an alarm will sound through the house. We will all gather here, and our commander will brief us, then we go down into the weapons room directly below this, but don't worry. I'll explain that later."

He closed the door again and kept going. He showed me the bathroom the rest of the boys shared, the kitchen and the indoor training area.

"Do you have any questions?"

"Nope, I think I'll manage."

"Great. Now, if you want, you can go get settled and start unpacking while I round up the boys. I just want to give you a heads up. Some of them might come off a bit strong, but that's only because they like meeting new people. If you feel uncomfortable or they try to hug you and you don't want to, just tell them. They know some people aren't as touchy, so it won't hurt their feelings."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Chan. I really feel welcome."

"It's no problem. You are going to be staying with us for a while, so you might as well get comfortable."

He smiled at me before I turned to go unpack.

(Third person, Chan's perspective)

Chan quickly went back to the training room where he had seen three team members before. They were coming out as he got there.

"Was that the new girl you were showing around just now, Hyung?" Hyunjin asked, brushing his hair off his forehead.

"Yes, and I was wondering if you guys know where the others are? I want to introduce her to you all."

Lee Know thought for a moment before answering, "I think Jeongin and Felix are in one of the rooms playing video games. And Seungmin said something about wanting to read for a while. Can we help you look, Hyung?"

"No, it should be fine. I just have Han to find then. You guys can go get dressed and get comfortable so long."

They nodded at him before he turned to find the rest. Like predicted, Felix and Jeongin were playing video games in the latter's room, poor Seungmin having to migrate to get some peace and quiet. They quickly made themselves presentable and rushed downstairs.

"One left," Chan thought to himself. Ironically enough, Han came out of his room just as Chan thought that.

"Oh, Channie Hyung. Were you looking for me?"

"Actually yes. I wanted to introduce the new girl to you all."

They went downstairs and Chan gave them all a long lecture about making the new girl feel welcome and behaving. Just as he finished, all their gazes moved past him and up the staircase.

(First person, Ava's perspective)

"Woah, you really weren't joking when you said there are eight of you," I said, feeling all eight pairs of eyes on me.

"Boys, this is Agent Noyes," Chan introduced.

"Just Ava is fine."

I smiled at the boys before me, trying to look as innocent as possible. When my eyes connected with one of their gazes, the male smiled at me, getting up and reaching out his hand for me to shake.

"I'm Felix," he said, his deep voice not fitting with his face, surprising me a little. I hesitated slightly before shaking his hand.

"I thought you said they were going to be touchy," I whispered to Chan.

"He lectured us before you came down," another boy said, getting up as well.

"The name's Hyunjin," the black-haired boy said, offering his hand like Felix did a moment ago. I shook it. The boys seemed to warm up to me after that, all standing up one by one and giving me a handshake. There was one that really intimidated me, even though he didn't seem to try to do so. He was built and had dark hair hanging over his equally dark eyes. I hesitated before shaking his hand. Chan must have noticed because he went to stand behind the guy, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"This is Changbin. He might seem intimidating, but he's a real softie."

"Hyung, you're embarrassing me," he said, looking at the floor as his cheeks turned a rosy pink, making me laugh.

After the introductions were over, I sat down with the boys to get to know them while Chan left to make dinner.

"So how long have you guys been a team?"

"The eight of us have been together for two years," Lee Know said. "Chan, Changbin and I started out together about two years before that. The year after, Hyunjin, Felix, Han and Seungmin joined us and the year after that Jeongin joined."

"If I may ask, how old are you all?"

"Well, Hyunjin, Seungmin, Han and I are all twenty-one now. Jeongin is twenty. Lee Know Hyung is twenty-three, right? Changbin Hyung is twenty-two and Channie Hyung is twenty-four. May we ask how old you are?" Felix replied, his voice slightly unsure as he asked the last question.

"I'm twenty. I have been doing this since I turned sixteen."

"Why did you start so early?" Jeongin asked, earning him a glare from the two oldest males in the room.

"They just recruited me that early, but I only started doing missions when I turned eighteen."

"Okay, if you guys are ready, we can eat," I heard Chan say, apron still tied around his waist. I followed the boys to the table, slightly unsure of where to be at that moment.

"I set you a place between me and Changbin, if that's alright with you, Ava?"

I sighed inwardly with relief at him taking charge of the situation, not wanting to look as nervous and unsure as I felt. I took my seat, the smells wafting through the air reminding me of how hungry I was. My tummy gave an audible rumble and I quickly looked away in embarrassment.

"Sounds like Ava's hungry," Han said, giggling slightly. It made me giggle too. It was strange to me how quickly the boys had grown comfortable with me. It almost felt like I could relax, but that thought was destroyed as soon as it surfaced. I could not relax, because if I did, my memories would come swarming back, and they couldn't find out who I really was underneath.