4 Just My Luck

[Music Recommendation: "Waste It On Me" by BTS & Steve Aoki - instrumental-only version by Paintamelody]

'Mother used to tell me that there are times when we must remain calm and times when we should just punch someone in the face. And I think this was the best time to punch someone in the face. I don't even care if it damages his pretty face. Can I just—ugh. No, Kim Ye-Ji. Calm down. Don't fall for his childish tricks. You've experienced worse provocation than this.'

Raising one of my eyebrows, I haughtily smirked back at him and replied.

"Not for long. Enjoy your momentary success."

He looked surprised to hear my words. Then, he chuckled for whatever reason he had. I didn't understand what was so amusing about what I said. Maybe he thought that I couldn't possibly defeat him? How cheeky of him if that's the case. Well, whatever. It didn't matter what he thought of me. I'm more of a person who lets my actions justify my words. So yeah, enjoy it while it lasts, Agent Helios.

***

A few weeks have passed since then. As early as the next day after the festival, I already took a couple of missions and succeeded. In Mythos, agents had the free will to choose missions they wanted to take from the "Mission Board" shared across the company and through our smartwatches and phones. The rank of missions we could take depends on our rank as an agent. If we wanted to do a mission above our rank, we first needed to pass a qualification test. If we passed it, only then were we allowed to take them. And if we succeeded, only then would our agent rank rise.

As a kind gesture from Captain Hermes, whom I have bugged so much these past few weeks, he allowed me to view Agent Helios' current stats so I could keep watch of my competitor. I wasn't sure if Captain Hermes was fooling around with me, or it's just really that… Agent Helios hadn't taken any missions? No matter how much I checked his stats on my watch, it's still showing zero on everything. That only meant he hadn't taken any mission.

There were lots of areas an agent could be assessed and lots of parameters, but most were done during and after taking a mission. The main categories of assessment were, first of all, the success rate of the mission, then the quality of the work done, timeframe or how fast we finished the mission, and satisfaction of the client who ordered the mission.

Points would be given in each category and sub-categories, tallied up, then shared with the superiors and the agent. Specifications on how or why the points were given the way they were given could only be accessed by Captain levels and above, so I couldn't ask for the reason as to why I only ended up in second place. My unit's captain, Captain Poseidon, was supposed to be the one sharing that info with me, but unfortunately, he's on a mission in another country and hasn't come back. Anyway, at least I'm currently in the lead by lots of points against Agent Helios. Three weeks' amount of work would be hard to catch up to.

On my way back from the Firearms Department—I checked out for any new guns or tools I could use—I felt my brooch, Fae, vibrate over my neck.

"Agent Selene, you have been summoned by Assistant Chief Athena to her office. Please report as soon as possible."

"Assistant Chief Athena? Did she give any details for the summon?"

"Details: Classified. No further information can be shared right now."

"Got it. Send a message that I'm on my way."

"Message sending… Message sent."

Hmm… I wonder why I was called to her office. The three chiefs were the only people agents like us rarely worked with. They were all at a very high level from us, so we mostly worked with our Captains and Officers. Maybe, she would give me feedback on my performance instead of Captain Poseidon since he would be away for a while? But other captains could do that for me. Or… did I somehow break the law or protocol? I'm sure I didn't, or else Fae would be telling me that to my face. That's weird.

As thoughts wandered around my mind, I went on my way towards Assistant Chief Athena's office. With my luck, I even bumped into Agent Helios on the elevator. I was about to press the button for the top floor when he suddenly appeared. Feeling a bit naughty, I pressed the close button instead, but he was quick on the uptake and swiftly came inside. He even had the audacity to stand near me. He should know that I don't like him, right? In fact, he was the one who started being rude to me during the awarding ceremony.

"Good morning, Agent Selene."

He greeted me with his arrogant voice again. Was that his usual tone? Or was he just deliberately annoying me?

Trying to act professional, I greeted him back.

"Good morning."

"I see you're heading to the top floor as well. Did Assistant Chief Athena summon you?"

As well? Did he mean that "he" was summoned, too? Now, what's going on here?

"Details are classified," I replied.

After all, agents weren't supposed to share information with each other regarding reasons for a summon or specific details of their missions. For all I know, he could be working as a double agent given his fast rise to the top, or he could simply be prying for information.

"Ha-ha," he chuckled. "So you work by the book, huh? How boring."

Ugh. He could call me whatever he wanted. I'm not falling for that. As if he didn't work by the book. We have protocols we must follow in every mission. If he failed to follow one of them, that's already a demerit of points. How in the world did he end up in Top 1 if he didn't—

It was then that I noticed it—a pin of the "sun" on his left lapel, together with a bunch of other badges. My eyes fell on the elevator door that reflected his image.

"Oh, is this the first time you saw it?" he asked, probably noticing me staring at the reflection of his pin. "Guess you weren't that observant, huh?"

A sun? That only meant that he had already completed an S-rank mission! No wonder I didn't win this year! How in the—he's just around my age, how could he succeed on an S-rank mission? I never attempted taking one since, just by looking at the description from the mission board, it was already one hell of a mission, but… he did it? When? How? Was it a group effort? Did he just luck out by surviving?

"That's why, don't take it to heart—losing to me, I mean," he continued. "It's normal for me to gain tons of points. Even if I do just one S-rank mission for an entire year, I will still have more points than someone who did 20 to 30 A-rank missions."

Unable to say anything, I kept my mouth shut. That's really annoying. Competing with him was impossible in the first place. I could only hope he gets promoted or retire early, suffer an incurable injury, or gets killed on a mission if I ever want to be Top 1. Haaah.

Agent Helios tilted his head and bent over to me. Drawing his face close, he stared into my eyes, trying to read my expression or maybe just wanting to mock me all the more. Then, he patted my head while smiling arrogantly.

"Aww, don't be sad. You'll get there someday. Maybe when you're twice older than you are right now. Just keep eating good food so you can grow, okay?"

Pissed off, I slapped his hand away from me, still trying to maintain my cold facade.

"Don't touch me."

Ding!

The elevator door opened. As soon as it did, I walked fast outside and went straight to Assistant Chief Athena's office, leaving him behind. He could rot there for all I care. He should work as a persecutor or investigator since he's so good at provoking people. My years of training my patience went down the drain.

It shouldn't be that irritating, but his smug face was so annoying. That, plus I hate lucky people. He was born as a man, so, of course, he would have a boost in physical abilities, then he's apparently good at everything since he's Top 1, and now, he even completed an S-rank mission! Tsk! Whatever. His luck could only get him so far. I can defeat him. I just need to work even harder from now on.

Trying to get my patience back, I breathed in deeply a couple of times in front of the door to the office. Then, I knocked on the metal door. The camera outside scanned me, and the lock opened afterward, letting me proceed inside.

"Agent Selene answering a summon," I said as I saluted Assistant Chief Athena who was on the other end of the room, sitting on her chair.

Assistant Chief Athena had mid-length black hair extending to her shoulders and dark brown eyes. She still looked youthful and beautiful for her age, with little to no fine lines on her face. But what's more awesome than her face was her remarkable intelligence and stratagem.

"Come in and be seated while we wait for another," she replied, gesturing her hands towards the empty chairs in front of her desk.

Another? Ugh. Don't tell me that he really was summoned here as well?

And just like my worst nightmares that I never wished to come but still come… he arrived. The sound of the lock clicking and the door swinging open signified his arrival.

"Agent Helios answering a summon," he said and saluted.

F*ck. It's really him. And there's only one reason why two or more agents would be gathered in a chief or captain's office…

"Good morning, agents. Thank you for coming immediately," Assistant Chief Athena started. "Seeing the situation, you would most likely have an idea of what's to happen already."

Tsk! I knew it.

"The both of you have been chosen to work together and go undercover to infiltrate the biggest, most dangerous, and longest-running syndicate there is—Kraken."

Alas, the words I never wanted to hear.