When Shadows Work In the Light
1
The first day still felt… illegal.
Walking through the front gate.
Badges waiting for them.
Real ones.
No fake names. No coded entries. No shadows.
Anya
An officer handed out access cards.
Anya read hers and grinned. “Special Operations Intelligence. Sounds fancy.”
Suga
Suga checked his. “I miss being mysterious already.”
JM
JM squinted. “Cyber Surveillance Lead. I approve.”
WWH
WWH passed his to RM. “Read mine.”
RM
RM smiled. “Field Strategy and Recon.”
JK took his quietly.
V hadn’t.
JK nudged the card toward him.
V
V read:
Name: Kim Taehyung
Designation: Intelligence Operations Specialist
A large operations room.
Screens. Maps. Live feeds.
Their room.
Given. Not stolen.
Anya
Anya spun once. “I love this already.”
Suga
Suga dropped into a chair. “Feels weird not hacking from a van.”
JM
JM rolled beside him. “Upgrade, grandpa.”
A senior officer entered with a file.
“There’s an update to your unit structure.”
Everyone looked up.
He continued,
“Officer JK and his entire CID unit will be permanently attached to this division.”
“You’ve worked together in the field. You’ll continue to do so—officially.”
yn
Yn smiled at Jhope quietly.
Suga
Suga whispered, “So we’re roommates now?”
JM
JM nodded. “I call the window desk.”
JK looked at V.
V’s expression softened.
Anya
Anya raised her hand. “Sir, one suggestion.”
He gestured for her to speak.
Anya
“My special force unit already handles high-risk covert missions. Merge them here. One command. One strike force.”
A pause.
“You’re willing to give up independent command?” he asked.
Anya
She shrugged. “I’m willing to make this stronger.”
The officer nodded. “Approved. Your unit reports here this week.”
Anya
Anya clapped once. “Perfect.”
The lights dimmed slightly.
A world map appeared.
Red dots across three countries.
“This is your first assignment as an official intelligence strike unit.”
Anya
Anya leaned forward. “Already?”
The officer nodded.
“An international cyber-arms dealer. Supplies weapons, spyware, surveillance tech to criminal networks globally.”
JM
JM’s fingers were already flying. “Name?”
The screen changed.
Codename: ORACLE
Suga
Suga muttered, “I hate dramatic criminals.”
The officer continued,
“He knows about Hale’s arrest. He knows about this team.”
Silence fell.
Because someone from Hale’s inner circle escaped before the port incident.”
That ghost from before.
Alive.
Watching.
The map zoomed into their city.
A blinking dot.
Anya
Anya whispered, “He came here?”
The officer nodded.
“He wants to see the team that destroyed Hale.”
V stood near the glass wall, looking at the city.
Open. Bright.
JK
JK walked to him. “You okay?”
V
V nodded slowly. “I don’t know how to exist like this yet.”
JK
JK smiled. “You’ll learn.”
V
V glanced at him. “Stay while I do?”
Suga and JM already planning.
WWH and RM studying the map.
Jhope and Yn sitting close,
focused.
Anya watching everyone with a satisfied smile.
CID.
Raven’s team.
Special forces.
One unit.
The officer ended the briefing with calm authority:
“He’s not hiding.”
A pause.
“He’s hunting.”
V glanced at JK.
JK glanced back.
And for the first time in this new life—
They realized something.
They weren’t stepping into the light to rest.
They were stepping into it
because the next war
was already waiting for them.
2
Morning in the new unit didn’t feel calm.
It felt… observed.
Like the walls had eyes they hadn’t installed yet.
JM
JM was the first to notice.
He tilted his screen toward Suga. “We have a problem.”
Suga
Suga rolled his chair closer.
“Define problem. Small? Medium? Apocalyptic?”
JM
JM zoomed into a data trail.
“Someone accessed our external network at 03:12 AM.”
Suga
Suga frowned. “That’s impossible. We’re air-gapped.”
JK
JM nodded once. “Exactly.”
Anya
Across the room, Anya was upside down on a chair, legs over the backrest. “Tell me it’s interesting at least.”
JM
JM replied, “Whoever it is didn’t steal data.”
Suga
Suga’s eyes narrowed. “Then what?”
JM
JM’s voice dropped.
“He looked.”
Silence.
V and JK entered together, coffee in hand.
They stopped when they saw everyone’s faces.
JM
JM turned the monitor.
A single line blinked on the screen.
HELLO, RAVEN.
V
V didn’t react outwardly.
But his jaw tightened.
Anya
Anya slowly got off the chair. “Oh, I don’t like him already.”
WWH
WWH leaned in. “Trace?”
JM
JM shook his head. “Clean. Too clean. This is professional. Military-grade masking.”
Suga
Suga added, “Or someone who trained with it.”
V
All eyes went to V.
He said quietly, “Oracle.”
JK
JK nodded. “He’s announcing himself.”
Anya
Anya cracked her knuckles. “Good. I hate hide and seek.”
A dim room.
Screens everywhere.
City lights outside the glass.
A man watched their live building feed—not through CCTV, but through traffic cameras miles away.
He smiled faintly.
“They work well together,” he murmured.
He tapped a key.
On his screen appeared:
JK — CID
V — Former Raven
Anya — Special Force
He whispered,
“Let’s see how strong the family is.”
Anya
Anya paced. “He didn’t break in. He showed us he could.”
JM
JM nodded. “Psychological move.”
Suga
Suga added, “He wants us alert. Paranoid.”
V
V finally spoke.
“He’s studying how we react.”
JK
JK looked at him. “Then we don’t react.”
V
V met his eyes. “We prepare.”
JM
JM suddenly pointed at Anya. “By the way, your brothers still don’t know you broke three ribs last month on a mission, right?”
Anya
Anya froze. “You promised you wouldn’t say that!”
V
V’s head snapped toward her. “You WHAT?”
Anya
She raised both hands. “In my defense, they deserved it.”
Suga
Suga leaned back. “I love this family drama during national threats.”
A courier entered with a small sealed envelope.
“No sender. Dropped at the gate.”
JK opened it.
Inside: a photograph.
Taken this morning.
Of all of them entering the building.
From a rooftop angle.
Anya
Anya’s tone went flat. “He’s close.”
V
V’s eyes darkened. “Too close.”
On the back of the photo, written neatly:
You look better in the light. Let’s see how long you survive in it. — O
Later, near the glass wall again.
JK stood with arms crossed.
V joined him.
JK
JK: “He’s playing games.”
V
V: “He wants us uneasy.”
JK
JK glanced at him. “Are you?”
V
V added softly, “Because I’m not alone this time.”
JK
JK’s fingers brushed his
Behind screens, behind shadows, behind distance—
Oracle watched them like a chessboard.
And he had just made
his first move.
3
Morning briefings were supposed to be serious.
Anya walked in late.
With a bandage on her knuckle.
V
V noticed first. “What happened?”
Anya
Door,” she said confidently.
WWH
WWH deadpanned, “Did the door attack back?”
JM
JM zoomed in from across the table. “That’s a punch bruise.”
Suga
Suga pointed. “She definitely punched a person-shaped door.”
JK
JK stood, walked over, and held her wrist gently.
“Sit.”
Anya
She blinked. “I’m fine—”
JK
That wasn’t a request,” JK said softly.
The room went quiet.
He cleaned the cut with ridiculous care.
Anya
Anya made a face. “You’re worse than my brothers.”
JK
JK didn’t look up. “I am your brother.”
V and WWH exchanged a glance they didn’t comment on.
JK
JK finished taping the knuckle. “Next time, call backup. You’re not proving anything to anyone.”
Anya
Anya nodded like a scolded kid.
JM
JM whispered to Suga, “She’s being domesticated.”
Suga
Suga whispered back, “JK unlocked big-brother mode.”
They huddled around JM’s screen.
yn
Yn brought coffee for everyone.
jhope
Jhope handed Anya a chocolate bar “for recovery.”😁
Anya
She grinned. “I like this job.”
RM
RM added quietly, “You like the people.”
Takeout boxes. Shoes everywhere. Laughter louder than the TV.
Anya sat cross-legged on the floor between V and JK.
V absentmindedly fixed her messy hair.
JK pushed a cushion behind her back.
She looked left. Looked right.
Anya
“I’m never moving out.”😆
JK
“Approved,” JK said at the same time.
They all laughed.
Domestic. Soft. Safe.
Something none of them were used to.
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