My two hot Neighbors

Chapter 9: Tigers, Traitors, and Traps

Alarms screeched in my house like the wails of a dying siren, bouncing off the walls in a chorus of dread. Jungkook and I sprinted toward the hallway as the motion detectors lit up. My fingers moved swiftly over the biometric scanner, unlocking the weapons vault hidden behind a bookshelf labeled “Classic Fairytales.”

Ironic, considering nothing about my life had ever been a fairytale.

I handed Jungkook a compact but powerful taser-gun as I clipped two blades to my thigh holsters. He raised an eyebrow at the golden phoenix insignia etched onto the side of my weapons.

“Phoenix, huh? Subtle.”

I smirked. “Let’s just say I like making an impression.”

We moved like synchronized shadows, clearing the back hallway. Suddenly, a soft thud came from the kitchen. I signaled Jungkook to cover me as I edged toward the door with silent precision.

A tall figure in black stood there, examining a photo of me and Sehun on the fridge. I didn’t hesitate. One swift move, and I had the blade at his throat.

"One wrong move and I—"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Agent Prettyface." The figure turned slowly, hands up in surrender.

It was Taehyung.

I froze. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I followed Jungkook.” He glanced at the taser-gun in Jungkook’s hand. “Good thing I did. What’s this—some neighborhood cosplay?”

“You followed me?” Jungkook glared at him. “Since when?”

“Since you started acting like some wannabe secret agent,” Taehyung muttered, then turned to me. “But clearly, it’s not just him.”

I lowered my blade slightly but didn’t let go of it. “You shouldn’t be here, Taehyung. You don’t know what you’ve stepped into.”

“I think I do.” He reached into his hoodie pocket and tossed a black USB drive onto the table. “Found this bug in my locker after you installed those little toys yesterday.”

My eyes narrowed. “That wasn’t mine.”

Jungkook stepped forward. “It’s an Alpha-class signal interceptor. Only used by Dark Rose’s operatives.”

I cursed under my breath. “So they’re already inside the university.”

Taehyung crossed his arms. “Someone want to explain who they are before I throw both of you out and call the police?”

I stared at him, debating whether to tell the truth. But I could see it—Taehyung wasn’t just a pretty face with soft hair and flirty eyes. He had the mind of a strategist and the eyes of someone who’d been trained to watch the world quietly.

Maybe he didn’t know it yet, but he was already part of this.

“Dark Rose is an underground organization that targets elite agents and infiltrates national security systems. They’re after me because I’m Phoenix—the youngest agent to ever dismantle their Southeast Asia cell.”

“And now,” Jungkook added, “they’re moving in on Seoul.”

Taehyung blinked, and for the first time since I’d met him, he looked completely stunned.

“So you're telling me that both of my neighbors are basically walking, talking action movies—and I’ve been living next to a pair of secrets?”

I gave him a soft, apologetic smile. “Welcome to the real world, Tae.”

He sank into a chair, running a hand through his hair. “Well, damn. That explains why my mom said you give off ‘dangerously attractive’ energy.”

---

By midnight, we were in full mission mode.

I uploaded the footage from the hallway cameras and scanned it frame by frame. “There. Pause. Zoom in.”

Jungkook leaned forward. A masked figure hovered outside the side door, watching the house before vanishing seconds later. “That’s not one of ours.”

“They were testing the system,” I muttered. “Next time, they’ll come prepared.”

Taehyung sat across from me, chewing on a licorice stick. “So what’s the plan?”

I leaned back, my voice calm but sharp. “We don’t wait. We go to them.”

Jungkook raised an eyebrow. “You’re proposing a counter-attack?”

“No. I’m proposing infiltration.” I tossed a folder onto the table. Inside were photos of students and professors, including Soobin.

Taehyung’s brows shot up. “Wait—Soobin?”

“I don’t think he’s Dark Rose. But someone close to him is.” I pointed at the class group list. “All of our schedules were changed last minute. Who approved those changes?”

Taehyung replied, “Student Council President, Park Mirae. She’s Soobin’s cousin.”

Jungkook’s eyes darkened. “She’s the one who gave us that Phoenix assignment too.”

“Exactly,” I said. “Someone wants to see what we know. Maybe even test if I’ll slip up.”

Taehyung looked thoughtful. “What if we feed them fake intel?”

Jungkook grinned. “Now that’s an idea.”

We worked until 3 a.m. creating a fake dossier on Phoenix’s weaknesses—complete with surveillance photos, fake injury reports, and a list of locations she might be hiding. Our goal? To bait the mole into taking the file and making a move.

By the end, we were exhausted, but I couldn’t help smiling as I looked at the two boys beside me—my hot neighbors, now my co-agents in a dangerous game of shadows.

“Team name?” Taehyung asked, stretching.

Jungkook scoffed. “We’re not five.”

“I vote for Operation Firetrap,” I said, standing.

Taehyung smirked. “Firetrap it is.”

Just then, my wristband buzzed again.

Incoming Transmission: Level 9 Clearance Required.

I entered the password, and Brit’s face appeared on the hologram, her eyes frantic.

> “Ellanora… you need to get out. Now. I just found out something. The mole isn’t a student. It’s a faculty member.”

> “Who?”

> “It’s—” Her voice cut off.

The screen went black.

“Brit?” I whispered.

Taehyung looked at me. “What happened?”

I turned slowly. My fingers trembled just a little as I whispered the one word that sent chills down all our spines.

“Professor Soobin.”

End of Chapter 9

> In Chapter 10: Secrets unravel and trust is tested as Ellanora, Jungkook, and Taehyung break into Soobin’s office to find out what he’s hiding. But someone else is already waiting for them in the shadows. And the game just turned deadly.