("11001") (1/1)

The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself. The room had to have been fifteen feet by twenty, two lights hanging overhead and one metal table in the center. Seung sat on one end of that table, and a stranger on the other. No, Agent Wu didn't lead her in here to interrogate her himself. He passed her onto another person, who said hello like they were old friends and took her along.The air conditioning was a bit chilly, but it was much better than the air outside. Her bright yellow pajamas would serve as an interesting apparel for her future mug shot. The man in front of her held a folder calmly in his hands, leaning back in his chair and casually looking through the files. He reminded her slightly of a dinosaur, and had a certain curve to his lips. He clears his throat and sets the folder down, open, and crosses his arms. He places all four legs of the chair down and sets his elbows on the metal table."Hello, Miss Kim. How's your day been?" He politely asks, folding his hands together. Seung stares at him, head tilted downwards."Em dnatsrednu t'now uoy esle ro, sdrawkcab siht gniyalp no nalp uoy epoh I." She mumbles, hands shifting in her handcuffs. The agent smiles and leans backwards again."Ah, so you do speak like that in real life. I apologize for not responding exactly the way you might want to; your words aren't written down this time." He excuses himself and his eyes fall on the files, looking over something briefly."Tahw?""Let's start with first impressions, shall we? My name is Kim Jongdae, and I work for the agency. I have a husband named Minseok who also works here, and we've spoken before. You just don't know it." He explains. Seung blinks and raises her head."Em gurd elpoep uoy did?" Seung asks, her voice making him know she was verging on angry."I'm not sure what you said, so I'll continue. My job here, other than being an agent and getting cases and fun stuff like that, is working with undercover agents, or, in this case, being one." He continues, waiting expectantly for her to understand.Seung's face doesn't show that she quite caught on. Jongdae sighs and rolls his eyes, leaning further back in his chair again."Let me rephrase. You never did tell me why this Christmas was different than the rest." He comments, crossing his arms again, "I'm very curious."Seung furrows her brows and keeps eye contact, thinking to herself. What was he...? Her eyes open wider and she jerks back in her seat, pointing her hands at him."Chen?! You son of a-""Ah, she speaks! I was wondering when you would catch on." He laughs. Seung stands up and reaches forward, but the second pair of manacles hold her to the edge of the table and she sits back down, gaze deadly and focused on the traitor in front of her."You've lied to me the entire time. I limitedly trusted you." She growls."I'm sorry, sunshine, but it was my duty. Don't worry, you never brought up anything that could help us find you - smart alec." He replies, clearing his throat and turning his gaze on the folder in front of him."Baka" Seung whispers to herself and lowers her hands onto her lap, looking away from Jongdae."And trilingual. We'll have to put down that you know Japanese as well." He comments, then points to her clothes, "By the way, what are you wearing?"Seung looks up and locks her burning glare on him, which makes him puts his hands up in surrender and pick her folder up, flipping through it once more. Seung sighs and rubs her palms together, looking down again."It was all I had."Chen nods and reads something in the files, closing it again and looking over the top of the Manila folder, eyes soft."As you know, you're not here for a friendly - or not-so-friendly - get together. We have business." He states. Seung holds up her cuffed hands."How many years? I'm willing to take them all. I don't have a lawyer; I don't need one, and I'm prepared to accept all consequences." She replies in strict monotone. It was a rehearsed statement on the ride there. After Agent Wu unceremoniously found her under a street light and handcuffed her, not believing her open request to be taken away without a fight, she came up with her words for this very moment while staring out at the world around her. The cat-eyed agent who chased her the first time rode in the passenger seat, eyeing her through the rearview mirror in his pajamas. She was silent the entire ride, though, trying to throw everything behind her. She had red eyes when they found her, and it wasn't from the cold.If they were any more informal, she would have expected them to go through a drive through and get milkshakes for their deluxe sleepover. Unfortunately, she was bound in metal, and Agent Wu still flashed his badge when she first saw him in the cold. It was anything but regular."Hold up. You're placing words in my mouth. I never said anything about time in the slammer." Agent Kim cuts her off, placing the top of her file under his chin and looking at her. He wasn't a regular agent, either, she thinks. He was just as informal as the meeting with the others."But I've done illegal things. I know I'm going to prison. You're going to send me to prison." She insists."Do you want to go to prison? Actually, no. Don't answer that. Let me tell you your choices." He replies, setting the folder down once more."What else is there?" Seung asks, looking confused, but not curious. Jongdae holds his hands on either side of him."Well, you confessed and turned yourself in eventually, which is a good thing, but that doesn't free you. Harmless hacking is one to two years. Spreading viruses could possibly be fifty, if it's bad. A good guess of what you've done may be twenty five years or so. The thing is, you didn't do much harm, but you accessed a lot of stuff you shouldn't have. That makes it hard to tell what's going to happen to you." He explains, keeping his hands up."So...?""So, one one hand, you