In 1986, during Operation El Dorado Canyon, Korean Navy aviator Lieutenant Jimin "Maverick" Park and his Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) Lieutenant Taehyung "Goose" Kim, stationed in the Indian Ocean aboard the KSS Enterprise, are flying an F-14A Tomcat. While intercepting two enemy MiG-2s, Maverick's missile targets one, while the other enemy targets Maverick's wingman, Bill "Puma" Cortell. Maverick drives it off, but Puma is so shaken that Maverick is forced to disobey orders and fly it back to the carrier. Puma gives up his wings, citing his newborn child, whom he has never seen. Maverick and Goose are sent in place of Puma by USS Namjoon "Sting" Kim to TOPGUN, the Naval Fighter Weapons School at Naval Air Station Miramar.

The day before TOPGUN's launch, Maverick, with the help of Goose, unsuccessfully attempts to approach a woman at a bar. The next day, he learns that she is you, an astrophysicist and civilian TOPGUN instructor. You later become interested in Maverick after learning of his inverted maneuver with a MiG-28, which contradicts Korean intelligence on his performance.