#ateez fan fiction | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

yessa-vie · 27 days

Text

03 || HEART STRING OF GOLD || OT8! ATEEZ.

FOX || HEART STRING OF GOLD || OT8! ATEEZ.

→ PARING. OT8 (wooyoung & seonghwa focus) x fem!reader.

→ GENDER. heavy angst (!!!). enemies to lovers. soulmate au (sort of). ateez lore au.

→ WC. 31,810 (i apologize, but i promised i tried to keep it short).

→ RATING. R (mdni!).

→ IMPORTANT. heavy angst (i'm sorry). mentions of death. sugegstive. sex talk. implied sex as a coping mechanism. manipulation (by the reader). possessiveness (mostly one sided). insecurities. flashbacks (sort of). violence. fighting. blood. choking. death threats. torture (knife use, cold water, whip, salted water, weights and hanging from the wrists). forced proximity (kinda?). wooyoung is a little shit (and i love him). explosions. fire. gunwound.

→ NETWORKS. @cromernet @pirateeznet @atzhouse @newworldnet

⇦ || hsog || taglist || masterlist || ⇨

Your mind was still processing what had been said by your superiors.

In all truth, it should come as no surprise, considering how you joined the Black Pirates' Search & Capture Team. Videos of the supervised interactions between you and Angel circulated freely within the Command Center and Guardian's Island. The videos combined with the way you managed to get Angel to spill some information in the presence of your superiors, already made you join the squad. The events of your last encounter with them a month and a half ago helped you get to the position you were in, the way you handled the ambush, how you, Chan and Jeongin handled both the fight and what was apprehended after the revolt was controlled, which they managed to discover thanks to the fact that you and the other two agreed on the idea of looking at the points that had been discovered as possible cells of the Black Pirates, made all eyes turn to you.

Despite that, no one knew about the warehouse, you and Minho had made a promise to each other to keep it a secret, especially after the perimeter investigation when you found out what had happened. Mentally thanking the smoke caused by the explosion of the vehicle that managed to hide them both as they fled the scene. Fortunately, the fire was far enough away to not reach the warehouses, but elaborate enough to cause the smoke caused by the explosion to occupy virtually all of the warehouse space.

“Finally,” one of the last slides appeared in front of everyone, two cars parked in a spot not too far from where the warehouses would be located, the date on the satellite photo capturing your attention, but you had, fortunately, managed to disguise it, “two stolen cars were found in a location near the warehouses the same night we left the location.”

“Why wasn’t this revealed to us before?”

Park Jinyoung was one of the most eager generals in capturing the Black Pirates, making him also one of the most annoying to be around when something was discovered, hence the reason for all the irritable sighs you were able to catch after that line, including of Eden by your side.

“We were investigating the perimeter, trying to discover both the path taken by the cars and check those inside them.”

"And?"

Even though Jinyoung was considerably irritating, everyone remained silent, waiting for what Namjoom would say regarding that information. Your eyes met Jungkook's which were already on you, a movement that was not ignored by Eden who discreetly touched the pen to your leg, making you both look forward while Namjoom nodded, changing the slide.

Ten people got out of their cars and entered another location, looking from above it looked like another warehouse, but far enough away from the previous ones that it was necessary to use cars. Photos of tire tracks that were connected with the warehouse. They had fled in a car, the explosion had been planned, they would never let you catch them. Serpent had already told you, this was a test, they wanted to know how capable you were, how sagacious you were, what you would be able to risk to meet them.

Nausea washed over you as the latest events started to make sense. The power they had, the knowledge, not just over the government, but over you. The fact that Angel arranged for you to find the writing, for you to go meet Serpent at the warehouse, to meet them.

“Someone from the Black Pirates used the location that night, we got satellite photos of a person entering the warehouse at around eight,” another photo was seen and you found yourself from above, you swallow hard watching the photo, so there was a way to see it, even in the dark, “just before the explosion, we were able to define the silhouette of another person approaching, but we were unable to get details of what happened after it thanks to the smoke, apart from the tire tracks of the two stolen cars.”

“Do we have anything on these two people who entered the place?”

Yang Hyunsuk's voice made you stare at Namjoom with your lips in a thin line, trying to control the trembling of your body. They had been seen, there was a way to see – even in the dark – any movement made outside the warehouses, but they hadn't captured anything, no movement of people, so how had they managed to go unnoticed? It was then that you cursed at yourself, sawing your fists on the table, they used the Cromer. Hatred rose in you for not realizing until that moment, how only tire tracks were seen, how no people or footprints could be found beyond the warehouses.

“Unfortunately no, General,” everyone cursed quietly and you sighed, lowering your head, but Eden noticed the difference in your sigh, it wasn’t one of irritation, “we can only say that the explosion was not planned, considering that not long after the last person ran to warehouse six, but we have no notification of anyone leaving, leading us to believe that everyone left when the smoke was high enough to cover the path they were traveling.”

For a moment you thanked Mars and the others, beating yourself up for being so stupid and irresponsible. You getting caught was one thing, Minho being dragged along with you because of your idiocy was another thing entirely. Only then did you notice Eden's eyes fixed on you, analyzing you, making you just nod before going back to focusing on the slides. Two cars indicated that the others were there too, that they probably heard your argument with Mars, Logan, Serpent, and Angel. A small smile of satisfaction threatened to take shape on your face that you hid by faking a cough.

“Any images of the place where they stopped and the ten people got out?”

“Negative, sir,” Namjoom went to the next slide and a video from one of the BTS members’ bodycam played, showing the place completely empty, no signs of recent use. “Not even fingerprints were found, nor were we able to find out how exactly they left without leaving a trace.”

Because they used the Cromer.

“Cromer,” the voice came from Eden drawing all attention to him, including yours, his eyebrows slightly arched when his eyes fell on you briefly, “we already know that they use it in events like these, we never knew how these events happened, but I think we can believe that they are using the Cromer whenever they can, to stay under the radar.”

Everyone nodded and you just stared at your hands in your lap, fingers playing with each other. If they were using Cromer whenever they could, why risk discovery in that empty space? What was special about it? Your eyes focused on the images still shown on the slide. It was a warehouse, several things scattered in the corners, but they seemed untouched. Another long-forgotten spot in Strickland, so what was so important about it?

The subject was quickly changed to the revolts that were taking place on the limits of Strickland, as they had considerably increased since the problem that you, your team and the XKRS encountered when you were going to investigate the possible Black Pirates cell that was located at the school that you, Chan and Jeongin insisted on being investigated, getting some important data and capturing some other members before more could be found.

Fortunately, Eden was responsible for defining which teams would be part of the contingency plan for the revolts spread across the country. Your mind is still processing the last details, trying to connect the dots, the importance of the last, remote warehouse, the reason it was used. It was clear that it was abandoned, several pieces of furniture could be seen scattered around, it was a long-forgotten place of rubble.

“Gather your team and the XKRS and meet me in my office in thirty minutes.”

Was all Eden said after the end of the meeting, making a frown appear on your face, receiving only a smart look from Eden as he walked through the corridors with a folder under his arm. What the hell could he want with both teams? It was true that you were the only team completely made up of people without blockers, but the XKRS were a newly formed team and were not selected for the Black Pirates Search & Capture Team which, now, was the only thing your team was allowed to do, considering the success of recent operations.

“Tough day?”

The only reaction you had was a slight shiver on the back of your neck. You already expected Jungkook to find you after the session, you just didn't expect him to be so close considering the location you were in. Fingers firmly on your arm indicating for you to follow him, stopping in the middle of an empty room. His eyes met yours, confused and tired, making you sigh as he continued to watch you curiously and worriedly.

“I’m fine Kookie, just a lot going on,” you sat down at one of the tables in the place, sighing and running your hands over your face, the sound of Jungkook’s boots on the floor being the only indication that he was getting closer. “You, Chan, Mingyu and Moonbin’s team with that damn promise you made to my brother is annoying sometimes, you know?”

Both laughter filled the space when Jungkook intertwined their fingers. His eyes analyzing every detail of your tired face. A simple kiss being placed on your cheek made your entire body want to burn, but only a small heat could be found within you, but no movement was made, and he didn't move away much after the kiss, his eyes roaming your face, you could see some confusion in them. When Jungkook's hand went to his face, you pulled away.

"What happened?"

“Nothing happened,” in a way, it wasn't a lie, nothing had happened. The truth is that you always felt something for your brother's friends, you weren't blind, they were extremely beautiful, nice and polite, but they never looked at you as anything other than a younger sister, at least not until you were abandoned by your eight friends that occupied your mind. “I’m just tired, Kookie, no big deal.”

“Chan said you were more airy than usual, more in your head,” you closed your eyes, already knowing what was coming next, “you do remember the last time this happened.”

Yes, you remembered it clearly, because it was when your brother died and your best friends and the first men you loved romantically abandoned you. It was also the same time you started getting involved with your team, expanding this for your brother's friends, starting with Chan and ending with Jungkook. When you did everything to feel something, even if it was momentary.

“If that were to happen, we wouldn't be talking right now, but probably on top of this table,” your voice was sharp, earning a doubtful look in your direction. “Why exactly did you bring me here, Kookie?”

“That’s you in the satellite photos taken that night, isn’t it?” His eyes never left yours, but your silence was enough for him to sigh, taking a step to get between your legs. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that could be?”

“I saw a clue and I wanted to follow that clue, what’s wrong with that?”

Jungkook opened his mouth a few times before sighing, closing his eyes.

“Who is the second person? Was it anyone there?” You finally put your head down, you wouldn't tell about Minho, no matter how much you trusted the man in front of you, if this got out, you deserved all the blame, no one else. “(y/n)?”

“There was no one,” your eyes still didn't look up, your fingers gently caressing Junkook's hand, noticing his muscles soften, “the other person went there to meet me at my request, but I'm not going to tell you who it was.”

“You know I can find out, right?”

“Leave it alone Kookie, for me,” your voice was a plea, your eyes then met his. The truth is, they've all always had a soft spot for you, which was only made worse when you started sleeping with them, when you convinced them to sleep with you. When Jungkook's eyes dropped to your lips you knew he would do whatever you asked, so you moistened them before pulling your hands back, placing his hands on your hips while yours went to his shoulders. “Please, Kookie, what do I need to do to get you to leave this alone?”

Your fingers played with his hair, foreheads touching lightly. His eyes finding your lips whenever they could and you knew what he wanted, even though you didn't want it and he felt it, that's why he still hadn't done what he wanted so badly. Your head moved forward, both breaths mixing, your lips passing delicately across his, feeling his fingers dig into your hip, thanking it for the clothes or else the crescent moon marks of his nails would be present on your skin.

Please, Kookie, was all you wanted to say in that simple act, a sincere request before a small touch of mouths and his arms finally wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer to the edge of the table, your legs wrapping around his as your fingers messed around his hair. His tongue invaded yours allowing a small moan to come out. Jungkook was one of your favorite kisses, but something was wrong. Only your body reacted normally, the electric current was no longer present, the heat was different, it wasn't all over the body, just on one point, your heart no longer palpitated.

Jungkook was right, something had happened, that thing was currently ten, but two of the ten seemed to affect you more than the others. Angel and Serpent. Anyone who asks, you would lie, but the truth is that none of them left your mind for long. The way they acted in the warehouse was set in stone in your mind. Mars and the others still had considerable space, but your mind couldn't help but allow itself to wander and recall the moments shared with the two ATEEZ members.

Remembering how Angel's touch was always discreet but firm, his skin warm against yours, the grip firm but delicate, his concern for your injury, but at no point did he change the way he treated you because of that injury, the way how his hand always seemed to find your knee and wrist always could, especially when you were alone, how his eyes always looked for you in the crowd, always tortuous, but when they found you it seemed like a calm could be seen.

Angel was your biggest puzzle and you wanted to figure out every single piece.

Then came Serpent, grip as strong as Angel's, features as if they had been sculpted with the greatest of care, but his eyes were predatory, he drank in you every time his eyes met yours, the smirk always present just like the damn tongue. Something in you said that he would be one of the best kisses you could receive in your life, the paths that his tongue could follow while his firm hands explored your body -

“Are you fucking serious?” Jeongin's voice brought you back to reality, to the fact that you were with Jungkook, but with full awareness that the heat radiating through your body wasn't because of what you were both doing. Although the kiss was cut off, Jungkook's hands didn't leave your body, neither making any move until Jeongin entered the room, closing the door behind him. “Eden is paging us, he said to find you, couldn’t that wait?”

Your eyes fell on the space between your body and Jungkook, aware of his hands on your thigh and lower back. With a simple exchange of glances, he nodded, moving away from you, hands on your waist as you got down from the table, Jeongin's eyes were almost cynical when they fell on you, but you could see a small glint of jealousy and a smirk appeared in your lips, noticing how your third in command's eyes fell on them, probably swollen and red.

“We were just sorting something out, don't worry Innie,” your hand found Jeongin's cheek making him finally take his eyes off Jungkook who was fixing his pants, again you could see the sparkle in Jeongin's eyes and you smiled at that. “Hey, everything is fine, okay? Let's go, yeah?"

Jeongin looked one last time at Jungkook who was already approaching you, feeling his hand on your lower back and his voice low in your ear, but not enough for Jeongin not to hear.

“Be more careful next time.”

A simple kiss was placed on your temple before he left the room, leaving you and Jeongin alone. His eyes darting to the table you were at before falling back on you.

“Why were you here?”

“Jeongin, c’mon, we were really just talking, but it just escalated, that’s all,” your hand dropped from his face making him march over to the table you were at with Jungkook a short time ago, sitting on the edge of the table, legs spread wide, curious eyes on you. “Innie, what happened?”

“What did he mean by ‘be more careful next time’?” You sighed, walking towards him, positioning yourself between his legs, your fingers touching his knees lightly, but you saw his gaze fall on that spot. “If someone catches you with him -”

“If someone catches me with one of you it’s going to be a lot worse and you know it,” your voice was quick but not rude, just presenting the fact that you all already knew. Jeongin's fingers found yours, intertwining them before bringing your hand to his mouth, lips touching your knuckles lightly, eyes fixed on you. “Innie, please.”

“Don't look anywhere else,” was the only thing he said before pulling you close, his right arm wrapping around your waist while his left hand still held yours before bringing it to his shoulder, making his left hand find your right side before wrapping his arms around your waist, holding you in place. “We don’t like to share.”

You could feel your whole body burn from the way Jeongin was looking at you, holding you. Your hands found the back of his head, playing with his hair just in time to cut it while a smirk grew on your lips.

“I thought we agreed, no strings attached.”

“It wouldn’t be the first rule we broke,” the smirk that appeared on Jeongin’s lips made you lightly pull his hair, eliciting a groan from him, before hungry, predatory eyes appeared, but not predatory enough, not like the ones of Serpent, but you decided to bury that observation far away in your mind. “Eden is waiting for us.”

“Chan?” You connected Jeongin's comm point, since communication points were prohibited in team meetings, the third leader's small wave made you move even closer to Jeongin's face, feeling his fingers tighten around your waist even more. “I need you to find XKRS and the rest of our team, then meet me and Jeongin on Eden's office floor,” another pause, your lips brushing against Jeongin's, a subtle nod was enough, “if anyone asks, make up an excuse.”

No one waited for Chan's response, so Jeongin finally found your lips before moving away from the table, continuing the kiss before holding you and placing you on the table just like you were previously. Unlike the kiss with Jungkook, Jeongin still had a certain effect on you, probably because he was the first one for whom you allowed yourself to feel something similar to what you felt for the eight after your fifteenth birthday, or perhaps, it was because he was your first.

“Is that all you found?”

Yeji's eyes scanned the documents Eden had made available to them one last time. Chan was still looking at the aerial photograph of the site. Jeongin explained some situations to Minjae, the rest of the XKRS boys watching everything from afar, some taking notes, others with their eyes attentive.

“That we managed to recover, yes,” the older man sighed before refocusing on the aerial map that Chan was analyzing, your eyes following every movement of the man you considered your teacher, knowing something was wrong, “but I called you here because I believe that the inspection was not done properly, probably because none of you,” eyes fell on Chan who lowered his head, his mouth in a thin line, “were allowed to enter, supervising only from the area considered safe.”

“Not even after?”

Your question made all eyes direct to you. That day, both you and Ryujin were escorted back to the Command Center to report on the situation that had taken shape, leaving both Chan and Jeongin in charge of the situation, but you already knew that some superiors wouldn't like the idea of either of them being in charge of an operation like that, not when it was discovered in the middle of everything, that everyone was close to one of the Black Pirates' active cells.

“They said we had already done enough and that the fact that some of us were injured could make us easy targets and they couldn’t take any chances.”

You could feel the venom dripping from Chan's speech, accompanied by a scoff, repeated by some of his team members, making you understand the urgency of getting you out of the place, as you would ignore that order, but your team wouldn't, as they knew that this would result in direct consequences for you, something they agreed never to do, even if you had given them permission to do whatever they thought was right.

“It wouldn’t make much of a difference, (y/n),” Eden’s voice was quick, as he understood both sides, he had participated in the punishment you had suffered years before due to your team acting against direct orders when you weren’t present, even if you had said it was for them to do it, being correct in your position. “There wasn’t much to do, but I believe there is now,” Eden’s eyes met yours, all 22 eyes in the room watching him walk back and forth pointing to the board with the satellite photos, “it looks like they are promoting movements to return to the site in small quantities so as not to attract attention.”

“Did Jungkook take the photos?” From your peripheral vision, you noticed Jeongin change his posture when he heard the name come out of your mouth, you held back a laugh, receiving a small nod from Eden. “Were you able to define when they happened?”

“Sporadic schedules, varied groups, there is no consistency in activities.”

Seungmin read the report, looking quickly between you and Eden, noticing the silent conversation that was happening, everyone silently waiting for what would be said.

“How sure are you that they will authorize it?”

“I have my contacts,” Eden smiled smartly after answering your question, earning a sigh when your eyes found the school surrounded by a black circle. “I'm still organizing the proposal, but as soon as the council accepts it, and they will,” your doubtful eyes met Eden's who just continued with that gleam of someone who knew more than they would say, “my nomination will be made, probably accepted not more than two business days later.”

“How are you going to get them to be part of it?”

Your head indicated the XKRS who remained quiet, just listening carefully.

“Technically this isn’t direct interaction with the Black Pirates and you need someone who knows the area to help you when you enter the school.”

“We are ready,” Minjae's voice broke the silence that fell in the room after Eden's speech, who knew that you were afraid to add another team, especially a newly formed team that had no connection with what you all already knew. Everyone's eyes fell on the leader of the XKRS who looked at you with determination, “we are ready, let us prove it, we are capable of helping.”

“It’s not that I think you’re incapable Minjae, it’s just…”

Your voice stopped for a moment, mouth creating a thin line, holding it in so that your eyes wouldn't meet Minho's, the reminder that other people could get hurt because of your problem with the Black Pirates. The idea of anyone present suffering the consequences of what could happen makes you stop for a moment, controlling you, your actions and thoughts.

“We don't know how many people are there,” Chan began to speak, your eyes met his and he gave a weak smile in your direction before focusing on Minjae, “we don't know about the situation of the surrounding buildings, much less the current situation of the school , things could get ugly, both for us and for you.”

“We can propose an inspection of one of the buildings as a stakeout before we investigate the perimeter and you enter the school, this way we reduce the chances of ambushes like last time, right?”

Hyunwoo commented, exchanging glances with everyone, finding a small smile on your lips before exchanging glances with Eden and Yeji who were already getting up to face the photos.

“How long do we have between you finalizing the proposal, it being accepted, you nominating us and the mission happening?”

You could see the gears turning in Yeji's head as she walked towards the board with the pictures, Eden smiled pointing at the calendar and turning the page before pointing to the number ten. One month. You would have a month to get everything working perfectly.

“Yeji and Hyunwoo work together on this part, Chaeryeong, Changbin, Felix, Yechan, Yujun, Seeun and Junghoon work together so that we have everything we might need, I want you to cover all the possibilities,” everyone nodded with each direction you made, feeling Eden's eyes on you, despite the XKRS being slightly wary of completely following your orders, a simple look at Eden and they knew he was in agreement, “Hunter, Seungmin, Jinsik, Jisung Sumin and Minho, I need you to check who participated in the inspection operation, select who will participate in this one that we will do before we enter and watch all the videos relating to that day, both the interviews with those who participated and those who were captured.”

“Minjae and Junmin, I need you to talk to Chan and Jeongin about combining both ways of acting, take the Shadows along, everyone needs to be aware of how each other does things,” everyone nodded, watching Eden point to you, “you stay, I need to talk to you.”

With that simple phrase, everyone quickly left Eden's room, the atmosphere becoming considerably more tense. The few times Eden called you to talk alone, were times when he would ask you to do something that would be considered irresponsible and even illegal in the council's view, but both knew it was necessary and that you had the ability to do it. But now, the tension went beyond that, as your mind remembered the way Eden watched you during the meeting earlier.

“Can they know?”

“Only if you need any of them during the mission,” you nodded and approached the table furthest from Eden, it was one of the few interactive tables, only a select number of people had them, your team was one of them. “There is a more hidden part of the school, it is in the parking lot, I need you to go there and check the place for me.”

“Why didn’t anyone investigate last time?”

“They investigated,” he said simply, opening a password-protected file. As soon as the digits were placed, the folder was opened and several photos were presented to you, making you swallow hard as your eyes went over the amount of fallen bodies, “most of the rebels were in the parking lot burning files while the people inside the school diverted attention and the room they were using was sealed.”

“Who took care of this?”

“Kai went there alone while everyone was leaving and took these photos for me,” you nodded touching some of the photos to expand them, Eden’s eyes focused on you, “we managed to capture an informant, Kai, Moonbin and JK took care of him, making us understand some of the data we found.”

“What exactly do you want me to do, Eden?”

Eyes still fixed on you, he pressed a key and three photos appeared, three different locations, but only one thing in common, making your breath hitch, your head spinning. You would recognize that drawing anywhere. Your blood boiled at the idea that it was being used, after everything that happened, you didn't expect them to actually use that drawing to communicate in some way, or maybe it was just because they knew you would find them. An ironic way to get your attention.

A drawing of a blue bird adorned those three photos like a beacon, your eyes unable to see anything other than the outline of the bird's drawing, a small branch being held in its beak. Your mouth formed a thin line that you tried to hide when you noticed Eden moving next to you. Despite knowing that your brother was also a protégé of Eden, knowing that the mission he was doing when he was killed was organized and supervised by Eden, the probability of him knowing the meaning of that drawing was almost impossible, only a certain number of people knew, one of them dead and the other eight wanted by the State.

“It’s not the first time this drawing has been found in an active cell of the Black Pirates,” you couldn’t control your shock, your bulging eyes meeting Eden’s curious ones, making you curse in your mind, before noticing another page being opened and another password being entered, “I need you to find out what this bird means.”

“Isn’t it easier to get one of them to talk?”

“None of those we captured could say,” the lines were simple, but something in Eden’s gaze said that wasn’t everything he wanted to say, making you hold your gaze on his. “Your brother was a good drawer,” despite your features remaining neutral, your body completely stiffened, “I remember he had a nickname for you, but he never explained to me why, but I never pressed him either, but he said the drawing he was doing was for you. He carried it to remember you.”

“What are you suggesting, Eden?”

“I had seen this drawing before your brother disappeared, in the last video call we made, this drawing was on the bedroom wall, along with the nickname he had for you,” the photos of the bunker came back to your mind, but no drawing like that came to mind. “The drawing wasn't there when we went to find out why he wasn't responding anymore, the drawing wasn't found with his body either, which makes me wonder -”

“What could the Black Pirates do with a drawing of a bird, Eden?”

“I think it’s a signal to indicate that they should leave the place they are in.”

Eden's eyes were focused on your reaction, making you close your eyes to control your breathing, staring at the photos he was showing, knowing that it would make sense to think that way. The drawing seemed to mock you in every photo.

“Maybe so, but if you already have a theory -”

“You don’t think the theory is right,” you threatened to say something, but Eden moved away from the table and faced you head on, “I like to think I know you well enough, so please...”

You sighed thinking about how to tell the truth without saying that you knew the leaders of the Black Pirates.

“I think it’s some kind of message, but it may not necessarily be to let them know to leave, but rather something else.”

“So you need to find out what this is,” with that you nodded and started to walk away before receiving a paper from Eden, the code to access the files handed to you, “be careful where you open this file.”

“Yes, sir,” your mind was still processing what was happening, the way Eden was looking at you said he knew something. “Will you allow me access to my brother’s last video?”

Eden lowered his head, pursing his lips, which was enough of an answer, making you nod and head out of the room.

“Most of your brother's files were destroyed,” you stopped instantly, but didn't dare turn around, your vision already blurred, “the little I got is in a file shared by him to save important things, but he never gave me the password. To access what I have, enter the sequence of the investigation file and when it comes up to enter a code, enter your brother's name, one of the files is the data I have, the other is the things your brother kept, but I don’t have the password.”

That was an apology, you knew that, even though you didn't know why he was apologizing, maybe because of the way he looked at you, with suspicion perhaps? But he wasn't wrong in thinking that way, you were betraying everything you believed in by not saying that you knew the leaders, by having protected not only the eight of them, but also Angel.

“Thank you, Eden.”

“Not for this, (y/n).”

To anyone looking from the outside, the scene looked like a fighting ring, except for the mat at the feet of the sixteen men who were fighting and screaming. Left Eye was the only spectator of what the sixteen were doing, a small smile on his wrinkled face, unable to deny that he was happy to see them act like the boys they were for the first time in a long time, even though he knew it was all a competition and Wooyoung only needed to win once.

All the ATEEZ boys could now distinguish between each of the people present. Wooyoung gave a small smirk watching Howl's movements, losing track of the training number they had been doing for over a month so he was prepared for you. Not that Seonghwa wasn't, but everyone admitted that he should have expected the kick you delivered to his midriff after he blocked your first kick.

Considering that none of the sixteen had many things to do, a small competition was created, even curiously encouraged and partially organized by Nightingale so that Wooyoung and the others could be able to fight against you. Hence Howl was who Wooyoung fought, because it was the one that most resembled your fighting style, light, fast and precise, interestingly, not very different from San's style, perhaps another joke of fate as they learned to play along.

The challenge consisted of a single task. If Wooyoung managed to defeat Howl, ATEEZ would have their own office in the bunker. As the Mirrors had been cleaning the place over the past few weeks, everyone knew that they supported the idea that Wooyoung could beat Howl, that he could beat you, if necessary.

In a quick movement, Wooyoung managed to dodge a punch thrown by Howl, receiving shouts of enthusiasm and provocations, making the two in the center of the circle laugh before Wooyoung ducked and tried to trip Howl, who managed to dodge and move away, avoiding a Wooyoung's punch. With an amused smile, the Mirror beckoned him with its fingers to come closer.

That was the end of the training, so they were all sweaty and exhausted, but that didn't stop any of them from doing that 'extra training' that had become almost routine in the last two weeks, always changing who was fighting who, except for Wooyoung and Howl until the first managed to win.

Wooyoung felt the cut on his eyebrow, present from training with Lucky earlier, burn thanks to the sweat that dripped from his forehead, his eyes observing Howl as a whole, already managing to identify some of the movements that could come from the Mirror. He approached with cautious steps, eyes scanning all of Howl's features, resting briefly on his wrists and feet, the smirk always present, at least until he felt like he was losing it, which wasn't happening yet.

Howl threw a quick punch, making Wooyoung duck, moving away to avoid the knee that was already aimed at his face, turning quickly, extending one of his arms to hit the back of Howl's head, who also easily blocked the action, raising his eyebrows to Wooyoung shook his head with a convinced smile before turning on its own axis again, throwing punches and kicks, barely giving Howl enough time to react, until the Mirror turned to the side, bringing a smile to Wooyoung's face. He threw a kick that hit Howl's side, causing him to stagger, giving Wooyoung enough time to spin and throw a high kick to Howl's face, catching the Mirror's temple before turning again, wrapping him in an armbar, pulling Howl towards him until the two were falling back on the mat, Wooyoung's legs immobilizing Howl as best he could.

Which, fortunately, was successful when Howl raised one of his hands while the other lightly slapped Wooyoung's arm, making everyone scream in celebration, going to join the two on the mat who were already hugging each other with a smile, proud of what had just happened. Yunho and Iyaah quickly caught Wooyoung lifting him, while Uno and Mingi did the same with Howl, who exchanged another happy hi5 with Wooyoung while Mars followed Hongjoong out of the improvised training space in the bunker.

“Only we will have access to the office?” Hongjoong asked one last time, receiving a smile and wave from Mars as they headed to the place that would be ATEEZ's office. “Will we have access to everything you have?”

“Yes, Hongjoong,” Mars commented, laughing, looking at the youngest who had an excited sparkle in his eyes, “you will also have a direct connection with Nightingale, so you will have messages only directed to you.”

“Like the messages referring to her?” Mars nodded, a glimpse of sadness passing through his eyes, making Hongjoong look away out of respect, something he found himself doing constantly since the night Seonghwa and Yeosang accompanied the Mirrors to meet you at the warehouse. “How would you feel if you had to interact with her again?”

Their eyes met and Mars just pursed his lips, closing his eyes.

“It doesn't matter, if you guys need us to be in the same space as her, we'll do it,” from the corner of his eye Mars noticed Hongjoong try to orchestrate a few words before stopping and turning to the ATEEZ leader with a sad smile. “This is bigger than her, this is something only you can do, the most we can do is help you reach our ultimate goal, even if it comes at a cost to us, a cost we chose to pay a long time ago.”

“Even so, we cannot ask that -”

“Joong,” the youngest stopped when he heard the nickname, making a smile appear on Mars' lips, “we'll do whatever needs to be done, she's made her feelings for us clear, and we're all okay with that -”

“Are you guys okay with the girl you love hating you?”

The others quickly joined the conversation that the two leaders of each group were having, hovering around the two with curious and worried looks. Mars was calm, but Hongjoong had that look of curiosity and concern, making the others automatically worry, even though they didn't see anger on the ATEEZ captain's face.

“If she hates us, you will be able to do what needs to be done better than if we are insignificant to her,” Mars' eyes fell on Yeosang and Seonghwa who were swallowing hard, “after all, isn't that what you wanted? That she could differentiate each one of us?”

“Do you think it’s a bad strategy?”

Mars shook his head no to Jongho's question.

“When she sees us, she acts with emotion, making her hate us even more, but with you, she acts with reason, even if she has a little emotion behind her behavior.”

“Does that mean you’re going to tell us about what really happened between you?”

Yunho's question made all the Mirrors sigh, exchanging glances, nodding slightly with each glance they met with Mars.

“When you become familiar with the files we will talk about all the details, but we want you to analyze everything with a clear head, drawing your own conclusions, see her for who she is now and know the best way to act, because despite her still be a memory of everything we’ve experienced, she’s not our (y/n) anymore, she hasn’t been for a while.”

“And you still love her, even after everything?”

All the Mirrors smiled at San's question, nodding weakly.

“We love her soul, even though it is now protected by stone walls, mostly built by us, but there is still something of the girl we knew, who wanted to explore the world, who smiled listening to the noise of the forest, who ran to the lake, played with the animals and always had a smile on her face, she looked at everything with an enchanted look and we will fight so that this (y/n) can emerge again without guilt, even if she hates us in the process, we just want to see that (y/n) one last time.”

Howl and San were definitely the romantics of the group, that was clear, hell, they all realized how similar they all were, their personalities weren't that different if they were honest, but ATEEZ had more scars, thicker skin, that was the difference, that was what would make the plan work. Hongjoong's eyes fell on each of the fifteen men and friends who were in that circle, a small idea appearing in his mind.

“How do you think she would react to having all of you in one space?” Everyone's eyes fell on him, curious to understand what he meant with that question. “Think about the answer while we check the office, I will test the direct connection with Nightingale in the meantime.”

Hongjoong winked at the Mirrors before calling the other ATEEZ boys towards the open door not far from them. Shinwoo and Lucky approach Mars with an amused smile on their lips. Wooyeon was the first to break the silence, letting out a small laugh, pointing to the door that Mingi had just closed.

“He’ll definitely make an impression on them,” all the other seven nodded, “fuck how I wish I could see her face when she meets Hongjoong!”

“Do you think Nightingale tells us anything about their vision of Hongjoong?”

Logan asked curiously, crossing his arms in front of him and joining Wooyeon's side, who was also looking at Mars curiously.

“None of our Nightingales will do that, at least not openly.”

“But it’s worth a try, right?”

Iyaah asked with a mischievous smile being joined by the others, even Shinwoo joined the plan, the six of them focusing on Mars and Lucky who sighed. Lucky being the first to speak.

“I’ll get the drink, you take care of Nightingale while we create scenarios of how she will react to each of them.”

While the Mirrors turned their backs to the room that had the door completely closed, ATEEZ decided to explore the place, observing if there were any plugs, or anything that indicated that they would not be alone in that space, but after a thorough search, nothing was found, making them scatter around the place, Hongjoong sitting in the swivel armchair he had pulled in front of the mahogany table. The other seven watched him curiously.

“We need her team's files, both teams,” Mingi and Yunho nodded, already starting to look for the physical file while Yeosang and Jongho worked on the interactive table, connecting it to the network, “we need the recent videos of the interactions, since you say she changes behavior depending on who she’s talking, we need to understand how it all works, how it’s triggered.”

“At least the initial idea is working as expected,” Hongjoong's eyes fell on Seonghwa who was looking for something in his pockets until he took them out in a sequence of numbers and letters placing them on Hongjoong's desk, bringing a frown to the other’s face before continuing, “we need to find out about this file too, Mars locked it in a drawer in his office, but I think we have access to the digital, even if minimal.”

“What do you think it is?”

"Honestly?" Seonghwa's eyes fell on San with the question, even though he knew that everyone was waiting for the answer with ragged breaths. “I think it involves her and her brother who apparently no one wants to talk about.”

“Except her,” Yeosang commented, seeing the light from the screen shine in front of him, Jongho quickly entering the data that the Mirrors had passed to them not long ago. “We need to focus on the brother, I think he is the key.”

“I thought he died?”

Seonghwa nodded, making Hongjoong continue to look at him with a look of doubt.

“The brother is a sensitive topic for her and them, we need to figure out the connection.”

“It seems like her anger is also directly linked to the way they treat the idea of her brother,” Yeosang completed Seonghwa’s train of thought, watching the gears turn in Hongjoong’s head. “Whenever she can, the topic of her brother is brought up, whether it’s when she was with me on Guardian’s Island or in the warehouse with Seonghwa, Mars and Logan.”

“We also need to understand about the necklace.”

Seonghwa comments quickly, everyone gathering around him, but he ignores it, watching Yeosang's eyes scan the older man's face looking for the answer, nodding when he seems to finally understand, heading towards the interactive table looking for the warehouse file.

“What necklace?”

Wooyoung's question hung in the air as Seonghwa joined Yeosang watching the warehouse's night camera, pausing the four cameras at the exact moment you pull the drawstring out of your blouse. Your features were pained, almost desperate, while Logan and Mars' were pained, longing and slightly shocked. If your words were considered at that moment it was clear that none of the Mirrors expected you to still carry the 'gift' that you put on display for anyone who wanted to see, venom and pain pouring from your lips.

“They gave it to her before they disappeared after her fifteenth birthday.”

Yeosang clarified by zooming in on the four camera images. Hongjoong's eyes scanning every detail of the frames, fixated more on your expressions, he could feel the hatred. His fingers were quick to capture each frame it followed, finally finding one in which your eyes fell on Yeosang and Seonghwa, the hatred softening, but determination hardening, almost like a wall being erected.

Mars was right. As long as they managed to make your feelings speak louder than reason, they would have a chance, they needed to use the hatred you had for the Mirrors in their favor, to get closer to the final goal. The captain could not take his eyes off the image of yourself in each frame that was shown. He had to admit, you were attractive, your posture exuded a call for a challenge that Hongjoong wanted to defeat.

The screen was quickly turned off and replaced with the image of a blue bird, making all eight of them hold their breath, eyes falling on Hongjoong who had his lips in a thin line as the gears of his mind could clearly be seen working as he squeezed so that Nightingale's message was opened.

“Hello, captain, I hope you are already adapting. We had news that a mission is being created so that in almost a month, the school will be invaded again by the Government. I need you to plan two different plans, one in case (y/n)'s team is selected and the other, for the case another team is chosen. As a warning, I need to inform you that Yang's team is a strong competitor for the choice to be in his favor, but we are creating enough situations for the Council to understand that there is the possibility of your presence, authorizing (y/n)’s team in participating, promoting the meeting with Wooyoung. Left Eye will leave something he needs to deliver to her, I don't care how they do it. The piece is important to get into her mind, when I have more information I will get in touch.”

With that, Hongjoong was sure of two things: they needed to be able to separate you and your team; then he needed to be in the same space as you, understand your feelings, which he couldn't do despite Seonghwa and Yeosang's attempts. And he knew exactly how to do all these things when his eyes met the frozen image on the interactive screen.

One week.

A week in, and your mind didn't think about anything other than the interaction with Eden.

He knew about your nickname, about the drawing, about what it meant, even if he didn't understand the nickname. As if that wasn't enough, fate seemed to laugh at you when your team was selected to guard Guardian's Island for a week, the exact week that Eden would send the request to revisit the school. Fortunately, something good could end up coming from this, as you would not only have access to Guardian's Island data, but also access to your and your brother's old room, being able to open the folders that Eden had indicated to you days ago.

The surprise on everyone's faces when you informed them that you were going to the part of the dorms that was designated for your parents, was enough to know that you would have to be careful, as you say. Not only had Eden built an entire apartment in her head with the lines about the drawing, but he had also done the same by wanting to talk to you alone, neither of you letting anyone know what the conversation had been about or why you had left considerably upset from Eden's office.

You noticed Chan and Jeongin's eyes following you with considerable concern, being the two who knew the most what that place meant to you, including your brother's influence and how you refused to stay in that space when he himself stopped using it. The truth is that you just took advantage of the fact that your brother left the island because of what he was doing, as well as the chance for you to live at Prestige Academy thanks to the level you were in Class 5. Mostly, you wanted to forget about everything that could remind you about the eight guys who had started to break your heart back then, leaving everything of them behind in that room, knowing that your parents – at the very least – respected your and your brother's individual space.

The place wasn't much different from years before, but the parents' reaction when you entered with the code allowing entry was enough to make you rethink what you were about to do. They had actually taken out the blockers. The smile and red eyes of both when they saw you was enough to confirm it, but you could still see the madness in their eyes, the madness that you had started to see in Jungkook before you convinced him to stop using the blockers.

Their arms wrapped around you, but only despair took over, despair and anger. That should have happened when your brother died, you needed them at that time, but instead they used the blockers, not only blocking both of their emotions, but also any kind of interaction with you, still having the capacity to say that it was better to use blockers, but you had made a promise to your brother before he went undercover, a promise you refused to break. The only one you refused to break.

The words that came out of your parents’ mouth never being processed by your mind, just wanting to finally create space between you. Your father's eyes were the first ones you saw, the glow of madness not as present as in your mother's, but you chose not to think too much about why. On the other hand, your mother refused to let go of you, hands always on your arm or back, guiding you around the house as if you didn't know the place that was still intact even five years later.

“You must be hungry -”

“My team and I ate earlier,” their eyes met yours and you felt the need to explain, “before the shift change, me, Chan and Jeongin always sit down to talk about how it's going to go, including who's going to being responsible for the watch of that shift, so we took the opportunity to eat something.”

“You could have told us; we could have brought you and your friends something to eat.”

“No need,” your words were quick as you tried to control your voice, your parents had never worried about your friends before, nor about you until that moment. “My team and I have our routine and we already know what we need, Yongbok and Changbin organized the food, there’s no need to worry.”

It was only after your response that your father noticed how you were behaving, a shadow of sadness took over his face, while you held back from showing satisfaction and slight irritation with everything. Your mother, on the other hand, just seemed to be happy to have you there, not leaving her side at any time.

“When we found out you were staying here, we bought some things,” the quick movement of your mother moving some things in the kitchen made you look at your father who lowered his head before joining his wife in the kitchen, “I hope you still like -”

“She’s tired, darling,” your father’s hand rested on your mother’s shoulders making her stop instantly, eyes falling on you, softening enough to make you want to vomit. Now they were worrying about you?. “Let’s let her rest, let’s go to the room, we have a meeting tomorrow.”

“Yes, of course,” the weak voice hid a cry for help from her husband, almost as if asking him to help bring you back. “It’s your house, (y/n), please make yourself comfortable.”

At no point did your face show any emotion as your parents headed towards the room. When the click of the door was finally heard, your eyes found the things your parents had bought on the kitchen counter, eyes closing as you sighed trying to keep everything under control. When your eyes opened again, finding the food you and your brother ate before everything happened, a lump formed in your throat, your eyes began to burn, leaving your vision blurred before you left everything behind, heading to where your room would be.

As soon as the door opened, it was like you went back to five years ago. The room exactly as you had left it, it was as if every corner brought back to you the memories buried deep in your mind, in your heart. Every corner you looked, it was as if the nine of them materialized in front of you and you could see them all helping to organize your room the way you always wanted.

You could see Howl, Wooyeon and Logan placing fairy lights around the bed while Iyaah and Uno placed them on the walls and ceiling. Mars and his brother organizing the photos you took, spreading them across the walls, just like organizing the desk exactly how you wanted, the photos and little reminders of their size always present.

Shinwoo organizing the gift they had given you, the record player along with some vinyl records, positioned perfectly in the corner along with the guitar he had given you, after teaching you how to play, the keyboard leaning against the wall, the image of Shinwoo with the guitar, Lucky on the keyboard and everyone around singing and laughing came like a longing and painful slap. It was then that your eyes fell on the separated clothes in the corner.

The denim jacket Lucky had painted seemed to scream for you to pick it up and wear it again. The jumpers and hoodies on all of them just below the jacket didn't help on the matter, if you rummaged through the small pile of clothes, you'd certainly find the boys' sweatshirts and sweatpants too. Before you could focus on it any longer, your eyes found the drawing that had been haunting you for a week. The bird drawing your brother had done all those years ago hung on the bulletin board, surrounded by polaroid photos of you with each of the nine who had your whole heart.

Quick steps guided you to the bedroom's bathroom, making you close the door behind you before turning on the tap and splashing water on your face and the back of your neck. Your face was red and already wet from tears that you didn't even realize had fallen as you took in everything that was present in the room. It was then that your eyes looked up at your own reflection in the mirror. Eyes red and swollen, your lower lip between your teeth trying to stop the tremor that always came when everything got too much, before tears started to fall again, your legs gave out and your back met the cold tiles of the bathroom before her body slid down to the floor.

You didn't care who heard it, even if you knew that only your parents would hear it – if they really wanted to – considering that the place you were in was soundproof, so no one would know what was going on. Then you screamed as you cried holding your own body. The memories of everything that had happened in that room invading your mind, the memories of the last time everyone was there making you dig your nails into your arm trying to get you back to reality.

You cursed Eden for showing you the drawing.

Cursed your brother for dying.

Cursed the eight for abandoning you after promising to stay with you.

Cursed Angel and Serpent for coming into your life.

Cursed your parents for abandoning you after all.

Cursed your team for always supporting you regardless.

Cursed yourself for still feeling those feelings for the eight of them.

And you cursed one last time as Angel and Serpent appeared in your mind.

You didn't know how long you stood still on the bathroom floor, but it was long enough for your entire body to shiver from the cold, even though your face was still hot and wet, finally deciding to turn on the shower and let the warm water fall on you, clearing any and all memories that had arisen at that time. Even though you knew the guilt would never be completely washed away.

Guilt not only about your relationship with your team and the others who didn't have blockers, but mainly guilt about Mars, Lucky, Uno, Logan, Howl, Iyaah, Wooyeon and Shinwoo. Guilt for not being able to hate them as much as you hated yourself for what you felt for them, for what they felt for you.

The glass and gold pendant was caressed by your wet fingers, the drops from the shower decorating the eight pieces of glass. Howl and Serpent's words echoing in your mind. They loved you, but they still abandoned you. Howl's writing along with Mars' speech when he visited your apartment months ago made you close your eyes tightly.

The noise of the shower taking you to the noise of the waterfall that you and the others always went to, when visiting the other dimension. If you really tried, you could smell the air with the smells of the forest around you, you could feel the grass under your feet, you could hear the laughter of each of your nine boys. You could feel Shinwoo carrying you to where the others were, you could see most of the shirtless boys entering the lake and throwing water at each other.

You could see Wooyeon and your brother hiding in the corner while you pretended not to know that they got a cake to celebrate your fifteenth birthday. Shinwoo stopped on the side with you in his arms, holding the boy's neck as if your life depended on it. If he threw you, he would go with. Uno quickly removed your shoes, placing them with the other shoes before Shinwoo placed you on the floor, taking off his own shirt and shoes, following the path Uno had taken previously. Lucky quickly by your side with his hand behind you, the other boys already in the lake watch you curiously.

There had been enough time for you to have become aware of your body and theirs, of how their skin felt, of the suggestions they played next to your ear bringing shivers down your spine. That would be the first time you were conscious of it all, and in just your bathing suit in front of them. The wet earth being what made you most focused on everything that was happening, trying to ignore the presence of all eight boys that occupied your mind recently, the fact that they were shirtless not helping your process of maintaining some sanity in their presence.

Mars was the first to break you out of your trance, his fingers cold from the lake water finding your elbow, making you startle and elicit a small laugh from all the boys, Shinwoo and Uno quickly joining the others in the lake. Mars and Lucky's eyes asked if everything was okay and you just nodded before taking a few steps back, arms wrapping around your waist as you heard the laughter of the boys behind you. The thoughts about how they would feel about your body made you even more aware and stopped you from taking off the shorts and blouse you had stolen from your brother.

Memories of talking about you getting involved with any of his friends coming back to mind. Even though you knew he talked more about people at Prestige Academy, all the other eight were also his friends, which meant you shouldn't feel the things you felt about them. But, in all honesty, your mind and heart don't care about this detail, not even when your brother appeared at your side, taking off his own shirt and putting it on with his shoes down in line.

With a simple kiss on the top of your head and a '*we're waiting for you at the lake*', he turned away and you could hear the splash as his body came in contact with the water. Hands grabbing the hem of your blouse, aware of the girls you had seen in this dimension and in your own, how they looked at the boys, how they looked at those girls, the way you wanted them to look at you.

"Is everything okay?" Wooyeon was quickly beside your, worried eyes found the arms wrapped around your waist, fingers tightening on your shirt. “Are you in pain?” When you just kept your head down, Wooyeon cursed under his breath looking at the group of friends. “He said you wouldn’t be –”

He cut off his own speech and you found yourself laughing at the memory, even though your face burned at the time when you saw what he wanted to say, quickly shaking your hands and head high, making Wooyeon sigh, his fingers quickly finding your arms, his eyes soft and slightly worried.

“It's been a while since we've been to the lake, that's all,” your fingers quickly removed the shorts, your brother's loose shirt doesn't make much of a difference considering it covered half of your thighs, but you see Wooyeon's eyes finding your legs before he looked away with a shy smile, making your face burn even more. “It’s been a while since… well, we haven’t…”

“You can come in with your shirt on if you want,” your heart ached as you remembered that memory, how sweet Wooyeon was, the way his eyes fell on your body and went up to your eyes, making you curse for how naive you were, for not having noticed how his gaze was on you. “It’s okay if you don’t want to take your shirt off, today is your day, you can do whatever you want and the last thing we want is to make you uncomfortable.”

A tear joined the water drops from the shower, a sad smile on your lips at the memory.

“You could never make me uncomfortable Yeonie,” your voice was weak, shy, as it always was when you were with them, your heart feeling like it would come out of your mouth at any moment. The giggle that came out of Wooyeon's mouth took you by surprise before he stopped behind you, making you highly aware of the small distance when you felt the warm air of his breath against your ear. "What...?"

“Do you trust us?”

“Completely,” and back then you really trusted them blindly. Your heart clenched in your chest as your hand tightened on the pendant and your face lowered to meet your knees, the water from the shower hitting directly on your neck and back, squeezing the pendant tighter as you remembered Wooyeon placing it around your neck. "What -"

“Our gift to you,” your hands rested on his shoulder after closing the necklace at the back of your neck, his fingers brushing lightly against your skin, making the area burn and the butterflies in your stomach wake up, “do you know what it means?”

You didn't dare turn back, knowing he was closer than he had ever been, and you didn't trust your own body's reactions at that moment. The eyes and fingers quickly passing over the pendant. A gold thread wrapped around eight broken but mended pieces of glass, the thread forming the design of a heart while the eight pieces of glass met in the middle, meeting another dot of gold, a delicate heart design in gold.

“It’s pretty, but...,” Wooyeon’s fingers found yours on the pendant and your breathing stopped for a minute, “Wooyeon, you guys don’t -”

“The outer heart of gold is your brother, for he arranged everything for us to meet, the eight pieces of glass are each of us, for your brother also held us together before you arrived and brought us together completely, so that you are the heart in the middle, at the center of the pendant, connecting everything within you, because you were the missing piece, you are our heart, (y/n).”

Your fingers rested on the middle heart, your eyes still closed, the water from the shower running along with the last tears you allowed to fall for Wooyeon and the others. Finally remembering how Wooyeon kissed your cheek after that speech, how he carried you towards the lake, how each of the boys took care of you, how your brother's shirt wrapped around your body until you finally decided to take it off, feeling the eight of their hands on your waist and back, trying to ignore the effect it had on you, trying not to think too much about all the times they pulled you close, holding you against their body, how their lips burned into your skin every time they found some place that day – cheek, shoulder, temple, top of the head, hand, wrist, it didn't matter the place, it always burned.

It was the vibration of your cell phone that made you wake up to reality. How many times it had vibrated, you couldn't say, but considering the state of your skin, you had spent a considerable amount of time in the shower. Quickly washing your hair, you let your phone ring a few more times, three to be specific – one from Chan, one from Jeongin and one from Minho. When you finally got out of the shower, your cell phone rang a fourth time – which you managed to see who the call was from –, finding Jisung's name on the screen, sighing, you answered it and put it on speaker.

“I was taking a shower, did something happen?”

Silence quickly took over the other line before everyone started talking at once, making a smile appear on your lips.

“Do you have any idea how long you’ve been in the bathroom?”

Seungmin's voice made you stop for a minute checking the time on your phone, your silence being enough for them to know that you had no idea.

"Did something happen?"

“How do you know how long I’ve been in the bathroom?”

You can hear Yeji, Ryujin and Chaeryeong laughing, making you sigh, slightly irritated, but not at all surprised, ignoring Chan's question again before opening the door, wrapping your body in a towel, your eyes passing through every corner of the room before finding the hidden camera near the shelf next to the guitar and keyboard, giving it the middle finger, your team's laughter making you laugh along before going back to get your phone.

“We just wanted to know how you were doing.”

Yongbok's voice was worried, and you just pursed your lips looking at your reflection in the mirror, knowing that from that angle, they couldn't see you, giving you one last moment of calm.

“I'm fine, but if I find out that you boys hacked the cameras here without telling me, again, so you could spy on me, I'll make sure you never have heirs.”

“Why do you think it was our idea?”

Changbin exclaimed almost painfully at your realization, making you sigh before picking up your cell phone and returning to the room, eyes focused on the camera in front of you.

“Because none of the girls would do that, they know that when I need time it also involves being fully alone!”

“Is that why you always ask them to come with you to keep watch?”

You allowed yourself to laugh, noticing the sadness in Jisung's voice.

“You are very desperate when I don't respond, they know how to act more with their heads, don't take it personally,” some complaints were heard before light slaps made you laugh on the other end of the line. “Minho, stop watching me, I’m fine, but I need some time alone.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Don’t worry, the list is almost zero, so there aren’t many things I can do.”

Before you could hear anything else, the call ended and you made sure to remove the camera, hiding it among the pile of plushies that Howl, Wooyeon, Shinwoo, Iyaah and Uno had gotten for you years before. Did they already love you from that time? The memories played around appearing in your mind, today you could say that the answer was probably correct, they always loved you, even before everything happened, so why had they done everything they did? Why abandon you? Why kill your brother?

Your brother's file.

You quickly searched on some clothes, eyes going to the pile of clothes in the corner, their pile of clothes. Maybe you allowed yourself while you were there, that last moment to happen, as you were already digging the hole again. They were back, they were already fucking with your mind, why not surrender once and for all and wear their clothes? A pair of sweatpants – according to the size, they were from Iyaah or Uno – and a hoodie – they were gray and with the words: UNALLOYED, making you smile knowing that they were from Howl.

You quickly grabbed your computer, opening it and connecting to Strickland's system. Your data quickly placed so you could access the files made available by Eden. The school’s blueprint could be seen, but also another one with drawings within the blueprint that you believed had been made by Kai and Niki, after reading some of the notes that Eden made about the day, writing down in your mind from talking to both of them before entering the school, noticing that there were areas that were not in the original plan making you curse under your breath.

The photos of the event were considerable, both of the bodies as of the walls painted red with some bullet holes. So many people dead on both sides. Your heart sank, knowing that this was one of the reasons you didn't want to stay in Class 5, because these moments hit you, they made you question things you shouldn't, hell, they even made you agree with the things the Black Pirates stood for, even though you knew it was wrong.

Your eyes went through the list of names that they had managed to identify from the Black Pirates, but what surprised you was the number of unidentified people, some with justification, but most didn't have any, making you pay even more attention to the photos and feel the bile in your mouth. How bad had that encounter been and what could be so important that the members would protect at all costs?

When you arrived at the last file, your fingers went quickly to the paper that Eden had given you, the password being typed quickly as you memorized it before burning it and throwing it in the metal trash in the room that still had some ashes from five years ago. Your parents had never touched the room, was it because they didn't care enough, or completely the opposite? But you didn't see any signs of dust, they probably just cleaned it superficially, but never for long enough. It was then that a noise came and your eyes quickly fell to a corner in the room, one hand closing the computer while the other went under the pillow, realizing that they hadn't really touched your room, when your fingers found the dagger, but you laughed to yourself when you noticed the vacuum cleaner running inside your room, explaining the lack of dust.

Your eyes finally returned to the computer screen, several extra files being found, but you chose to focus on the videos, quickly opening the first one, finding the image of Niki, Minhyuk and, consequently, Kai who had the bodycam. You could see each of the rooms, the aftermath of the events, the fallen bodies, red bathing the walls and floor, papers scattered, places torn apart, you could only imagine the work that had gone into collecting all the evidence, identifying the people lying in the ground, your heart squeezed for those who could not be recognized.

Regardless, you organized a cursory plan for your team, also considering the best locations for Minjae's team to stay and oversee the space for you guys. Fortunately, most of the places Eden had required your attention were on the same floor, but you needed to go down three floors to get to the room he had said was sealed, making a note to talk to Jihyo, Changbin, Chaeryeong and Yujun, knowing that all help was welcome.

It was almost midnight when you finally finished the outline of the plan, leaving it in a protected folder on your computer, remembering what Eden had said about what happened to your brother, about the secret file he had. Your eyes fell on the camera you had lowered, knowing it had been placed by your brother and being thankful that it didn't take up the entire room, especially not the part where Mars and the others were appearing.

With a sigh, you opened the network search, checking if the VPN was still on and restarting it just in case before sighing, fingers nimbly placing the sequence of numbers and letters you knew so well: 8B92QMO. You saw the screen open blank, a few quick clicks and the part to enter a password was released, opening the folder that Eden had commented on. Your eyes were already burning looking at the dates, knowing that it would soon be three years since your brother's death.

Your trembling fingers guided the cursor to the last date that was the last video he had shared, clicking softly, the image of your brother opening on the screen and a sob leaving your throat, one of your hands quickly going to your mouth trying to stifle the sound. His hair was disheveled, he had some dark circles under his eyes, but nothing too serious, his hair was longer than usual, his skin was also more tanned due to his undercover work. Despite everything, what really caught your attention was the damn drawing that Eden had commented on.

Like a beacon, your eyes quickly found the drawing of the bird hanging on the note board behind your brother, along with a photo of you and him on his graduation day from Prestige Academy. The lump in your throat increased, making you close your eyes and take a deep breath, calming your nerves, adjusting your headphones before opening your eyes finding the image of your brother looking down, you could see the tiredness, deciding that later you would going through all the files that Eden had gotten, hoping to find something new, something that explained why.

“Update on the case,” your breath caught when you heard your brother's voice after everything that had happened, his eyes meeting yours on the computer screen, “I still haven't been able to know exactly where everything will happen, but I believe I managed to make contact for the first time after…,” his voice trailed off followed by a sigh, “well…, it doesn’t matter, but I need to do this, I need to do this for her.” Your heart tightened in your chest, tears began to fall from your eyes. “She deserves answers, I just hope I get them and -” then the speech was cut off by a noise and your brother took out his cell phone, the glow hitting his face before a small smile appeared on his lips making you smile along with him, after a few moments and text exchanges later, his eyes found the camera again, “tomorrow, (y/n). If you watch this video, I'll get some answers for you tomorrow, okay? Wait for me, I’ll be home soon.”

Then the video was cut.

Along with that, a muffled scream from you broke the silence of your room.

He was doing all this for you.

They were doing all that for you.

All you wanted was the nine with you and not this fucked up situation you found yourself in.

Wiping away some of the tears, you quickly moved the cursor through the folders that Eden owned, but unfortunately, the only new thing was your brother's videos. As expected, sporadic and with little indication of what was happening, just routine videos to show that everything was still fine, no safe words were used, his eyes showed no fear, everything seemed fine, so what the hell happened that you disappeared and turned up dead a month later?, that was all that was going through your head with every video you saw.

Then the last file appeared, also password protected.

The file that Eden said belonged to your brother, that only he had access to.

Both you and Eden knew the password could be anything and you wished he had passed on the passwords he had tried. With a sigh, your fingers were quick trying to somehow find the possible password for that folder, but the only information that was offered was the number of files and the date of the last modification, curiously, it was the date following his last video.

Once again opening all the files that Eden had made available, ending with the last video posted, eyes and ears looking for any clue that your brother could give about the folder's password.

I need to do this for her.

She deserves answers.

You knew your brother well enough to know that him saying those words and then saying your name meant something, but you didn't know how many attempts Eden had made, you also knew your brother well enough to know that when the limit was reached, all files would be automatically deleted from the archive.

Your eyes scanned the video looking for any hint as to what the password could be. He had to have placed it somewhere so you could identify it. That video was for you. There was a reason he did it. The drawing caught your attention again, the conversation with Eden coming back to you and you cursed under your breath at how stupid you were being. His voice could be heard next to you mocking how clueless you had been about it all.

With a sigh and a plea, your fingers typed in the only password you could think of. Fingers trembling searching for each key, it was almost as if you were typing, each keystroke a silent prayer that you were right. Erasing the password twice and entering a third, paying attention to each key, you closed your eyes one last time, a silent request followed by a sigh.

Eleven letters.

One word.

One meaning.

Lots of memories.

The dots representing each of the typed letters.

Your eyes rested again on the image of the drawing his brother had made that was in his room. A silent plea that you were right.

Tremblingly, your index finger found the enter key, closing your eyes at the same second, waiting for any noise that would indicate an error or a file destruction sequence, but nothing came, making you open your eyes, finding all the files exposed in front of you. A simple image of your brother was present, probably a video taken right after the one he had sent to Eden. The outfit was the same, the position was the same, everything was the same, even your brother's small smile.

You had done it.

Unfortunately, you couldn't do anything until you watched the video that was displayed for you, making you sigh and calm down. Knowing that this was probably the real last video of your brother before his death. Again you braced yourself for the video, even though you knew it would probably be in vain, considering what he had done to contain those files.

“Of all the people who could find these files, I hope it's you on the other side of the screen, (y/n),” the mischievous smile was present, it was almost as if you could talk to him, as if nothing had happened so many years ago. “I know a lot has happened and I believe if this video reached you, something happened to me and I'm sorry for that.” The space button was quickly pressed and you found yourself sobbing as you held your face in your hands, tears falling onto your hot face. Everyone knew how complicated working undercover was, but no one ever expected death to happen, at least not in the way it happened. The space key was pressed again and your brother's voice flooded your ears. “I need you to know that I love you, to promise me again that you will never use the blockers and to know who to trust,” a sigh and you noticed him shifting in the chair, his back straight. “There are monsters under the bed, yes, but never forget that the real monsters can be on your side helping you kill the so-called ‘monsters hiding under the bed’, okay?”

His gaze had become hard and you stopped the video again. Something had happened after the video he had shared with Eden, something involving the messages exchanged.

"What do you want to tell me? What really happened?"

Your eyes scanned the video frame again, everything was exactly the same as before, the only difference was your brother's posture, all this after the messages he had received. What the hell had happened the next day? Sighing, you pressed play again, hearing your brother's sigh on the other side.

“If the worst happens, know that I won't be upset if you get hold of my video games, but be careful with my computer, be careful with the pages you open, the last thing we need is a virus getting in there,” you they both laughed, but the raising of eyebrows had been different, his laugh had been different, there was something on his computer, but how did he gain access to the computer while undercover? “Mom and Dad’s house has more things than mine, just be careful, many things there are valuable and I spent a lot of money!” His spine became more erect, your eyes falling on the clock. Almost two in the morning, your parents must have already been in their twentieth sleep. “One more thing, I love you (y/n), nothing in the world will change that. Be aware, not everything is as it seems, there are wolves in sheep's clothing in every flock. I love you, my nightingale.”

As soon as the video was finished, you spent a while just observing the image of your brother, his weak but affectionate smile; his eyes tired, but with a sparkle in them. How you wished you could have him close one last time, hug your brother, hear his laugh, train with him... All you wanted was your brother back. The cursor went through all the files, you already knew you wouldn't sleep, but unfortunately, you couldn't find much beyond what Eden already knew, except some encoded files that you would need time, knowing you couldn't ask any of the people who were with you, that was something you needed to do alone.

Your eyes fell back to the computer, cursing under your breath thinking about how long you had until the sun started to rise and your parents woke up. With light and quick steps, you left your room and entered your brother's. Releasing the breath you were holding, your eyes turned to the room, untouched just like yours. You froze in place for a moment, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath, still finding your brother's scent in the room, it was faint but it was there. Your whole body shook before you opened your eyes, finding the bed, your brother's words coming back to you, just like your eyes falling on your desktop computer.

Before you could think much, your feet were already guiding you to the bed, knees and cheek finding the floor while one hand lifted the duvet, looking for anything under the bed, cursing under your breath when you couldn't find anything, eyes finding the desktop computer. Taking care not to make any noise, you moved the swivel chair away, pressing all the necessary buttons to turn on the computer, your leg shaking nervously as your mind went over every piece of information you had gathered.

That had all reignited the fire that burned inside you.

Maybe now you would finally have answers.

Unlike what you expected, you were met by a black screen with blue bold letters, a rectangle waiting for a password to be entered and you sighed, re-entering the password that you hoped was correct. The letters shining with each key pressed.

NIGHTINGALE.

Then the entire computer went black before a string of words appeared, such as various file names and registrations, recognizing some as those of your team and your brother's friends. They all had the date of last access, making your mouth form an 'o' when looking at the names of the last accesses, but not necessarily for the reason you would expect. The scare didn't come from the fact that the names of your team and your brother's friends were some of the last to be viewed, but rather the fact of when they were viewed.

Most importantly, the fact that your own file had been opened five minutes ago.

Your breathing stopped for a moment watching the computer screen. The well-known names were displayed on the computer's black screen, the dates of interaction were recent, but then everything stopped when a new name appeared at the top, your brother's file had just been opened. Your hand quickly found the mouse, the cursor heading to the well-known name, but which had been deleted from Strickland's files.

"What the hell is happening?"

Your voice was weak, less than a whisper, almost a breath when the click on your brother's name made the entire screen fill with data. There was information from when he was at Prestige Academy, when you were just a child who didn't know anything about life. Various and various files were present on the screen, some you knew, others you never saw anything about in your entire training period or after your graduation.

C2REKL3 – your brother's first mission after he graduated at sixteen. The boys had stayed with you throughout the period, as the fear of the possibility of losing your brother consumed you completely.

GBQJ9DU – the first mission he participated in when he was still fifteen, you still remembered how he, Chan, Mingyu and Jungkook were stressed about what was going to happen, even though you knew that BTB would be there to protect them if necessary.

7KC93ZZ – his first mission (still supervised) after being selected for the ASTRO team, not long after the success of the GBQJ9DU mission, which was the first time he had needed to kill someone. Until today you could see the emptiness on his face and how much he took himself whenever he could, trying to get rid of the invisible blood that stained his hand.

FI2U9KY – your first mission with him when you were thirteen.

ZVYQ8H7 – his last mission with ASTRO before Eden's recruitment so he could carry out the undercover work that would cause him to lose his life in the badlands of Strickland.

On the other hand, your fingers quickly searched for your cellphone to write down some of the sequences: 0JIL63EJ, XWET73T, NAXZMG0, KN3JA0J... How many missions had your brother been part of that you had never imagined? Finally, your eyes focused on the last mission he participated in (but not the last folder that had been changed). Seven months. He had been undercover for seven months, which explains his tan and long hair. Your fingers quickly went to the first file shown, your blood running cold with every word you read from the document.

He had been selected to check the movements of a possible opposition group that seemed to already be causing problems even after having been there for a short time. According to the reports, they were a group of eight people, there were no records of them at Strickland, they were complete ghosts, with considerable knowledge of how the system worked. It didn't take much for you to know that your brother had been chosen to study and capture Mars and the others, you knew he had picked it up on that easily too.

A video appeared in front of you, the first video of the mission, making you hold back your tears, the image exactly as you remembered it. The video was merely introductory, explaining who he was, his role in the team and the ultimate objective, some information about what had happened. You could hear and see other trusted people in the video, Eden was considerably specific in who and which groups participated in the missions he commanded, especially those that required stealth.

The next video was accompanied by a report. Maddox. That was the first word that appeared in the document followed by numbers and coordinates, the last word you could see in the document was a simple: CONTACT. Then the entire screen went black and you cursed under your breath before a blue glow appeared on the screen. A simple 'hello', the user written was Maddox, but you had never met a Maddox and, curiously, the conversation had only started after you opened the file that had that name as the first word.

MADDOX: (y/n), I know you are there, please respond.

Your fingers were still on the keyboard, the tips lightly touching the keys. It couldn't be, he wouldn't do that to you.

MADDOX: Eunwoo is dead, this is Maddox, now answer. NIGHTINGALE: how do you know my name? MADDOX: you really thought it would be this easy to enter your brother’s things and no one would know? NIGHTINGALE: who are you? MADDOX: Maddox. NIGHTINGALE: no shit, now answer the question. MADDOX: let’s say I’m the Lee Minho to your brother, but better.

A scoff left your lips as your back met the back of the swivel chair. You needed to find out who Maddox was and what he wanted.

MADDOX: your brother gave me access and control over his data, who do you think created all of this and made sure his registration was not canceled?

With that your back quickly became straight, your eyes determined and angry.

MADDOX: I knew this would get your attention. NIGHTINGALE: what do you want from me? MADDOX: I can help you if you want. NIGHTINGALE: why is that my name? MADDOX: should we use your real name when involving high treason documents? Your breathing stopped for a minute. MADDOX: I can help you get justice for your brother. MADDOX: I can tell you who wanted him dead, but I still don't know who was successful. NIGHTINGALE: The Black Pirates killed my brother. MADDOX: he said you were smarter and thought for yourself, shame. NIGHTINGALE: he was after them, how come they weren't the ones who killed him? MADDOX: If they really wanted to, even you would be dead, child.

So he was older, but how much older?

MADDOX: you two have the same face when you're thinking. NIGHTINGALE: since when have you been watching me? MADDOX: since you entered that password in Eden's data.

Your entire body froze.

Maddox had access to Strickland's system, but whose side was he on?

MADDOX: I have to admit that I thought I would have to watch you look for the password, but you surprised me by not taking long to find it, both then and now. MADDOX: Maybe the rumors about you are real. NIGHTINGALE: and what could these rumors be? MADDOX: too many for the little time we have. NIGHTINGALE: So how do you expect to contact me after this? MADDOX: If you had looked more meticulously under your brother's bed, you would have found the flash drive that gives you access to everything you were so focused on discovering.

You quickly got up, bending down again, turning on the light on your cell phone, going through the entire underside without finding anything, grunting quietly and rolling your eyes before finding a small reflection in the wooden part of the bed. The light quickly directed there, a flash drive was taped to the wood of the bed, reaching out to pick it up trying to make as little noise as possible, knowing that it was close to the time for your parents to wake up.

Your eyes fell to the computer screen, Maddox had sent a few more messages, so you quickly headed to the chair, flash drive carefully in hand.

MADDOX: Eunwoo made several requests to me before everything happened, I know a lot more things than most superiors. MADDOX: I know you don't have much to believe in me, but I believe that when you see all the data we have in the system, maybe you will use your big brain and help get justice for your brother. MADDOX: by the end of the week a brand new computer will be in your room at Strickland, use this computer to communicate with me and open the files, if you don't do so, using your computer or importing the files with the programs created by Minho in the new one, I'm going to do something about it and you don't want to know what I can do. MADDOX: Your brother risked everything and more, you don't have to trust me, but at least do this for him, so that what he fought for was not in vain. NIGHTINGALE: you talk too much for someone who hides behind a computer. MADDOX: you're not far away, little bird. MADDOX: you're considerably more intimidating in person than on a computer screen.

Your eyes widened, but before you could type anything Maddox had beaten you to it.

MADDOX: yes, Eunwoo recruited me, saw potential in me, Eden too and yes, we have already met in person. MADDOX: I was part of the team that was undercover with him, but my work was more at the base and at the Command Center, which was where I was when the place was invaded. MADDOX: don't do anything stupid, we all have skeletons in our closet and yours isn't the emptiest one. NIGHTINGALE: I wonder what my brother would do knowing you're threatening me. MADDOX: unlike him, my reason for protecting you is nothing more than strategic, it is to him that I swore loyalty, not to you. MADDOX: if anyone on your team knows, know that there are advantages to having access to the Strickland Security Network, little bird.

You let out a small scoff, but the smirk on your lips gave you away. You had liked Maddox, you could understand why your brother had taken him close.

MADDOX: your parents will wake up in an hour and a half, I suggest you get some sleep and wait for the computer to use the flash drive, unless you want your own to self-destruct. NIGHTINGALE: I want the new computer tomorrow. MADDOX: earn it then.

The screen went completely black, you couldn't connect with Maddox in any way, until the screen turned on again, your brother's computer screen from the last time you shared that house was present. You wouldn't be able to contact Maddox, whoever he was. His words replayed in your mind. Mars and the others had abandoned you to organize the Black Pirates. Your brother was assigned to handle the situation they were trying to create. But as Maddox noted, they had several chances to cause your death if they really wanted it. Serpent also made it clear that one of the reasons – if not the only reason – that they hadn't completed the revolution was because of you, because they were in love with you, because they had already destroyed so much of what you loved and believed they couldn't finish the only thing they knew you held on to with all your might.

You were already waiting for that to happen.

Your entire team was already waiting, you knew that some members of your team had also passed on the information to the XKRS, so it was no surprise to anyone when punches were heard at the door of the room designated for you and your team. The eyes of the XKRS boys fell on you with concern, those of your team on the other hand, were determined. They had been waiting to have a talk with Yang ever since you told Hyunjin what had happened for your stitches to open.

Jeongin was the first to move towards the door, being stopped when you raised your hand before sighing and heading towards the repeated knocks and Yang's screams demanding to speak to you. When Eden said that the team that would be responsible for the second sweep of the school would be published that day, you wanted to make it clear that you would be in your office, as you knew that Yang would come after you, this time you were prepared for whatever he wanted. would do.

Maddox had also made it clear that he would arrange for your team to be selected and that he would help you with the door sealed in the school parking lot. You would need to use a communication point with him, which made you put Chan and Minho in charge of communicating with the XKRS. The justification was simple, Chan hadn't yet worked directly with other teams below you and Minho could help Sunmin with any issue he might need with the network, as you needed all the eyes possible to complete the mission effectively.

The punches on the door became more constant, Yang's muffled voice also became more present. With a simple look back, your team understood that they should stay quiet and let Yang be dealt with, even if all the eleven wanted at that moment was to annihilate the oldest. You made a point of making noise by pulling on the handle – which you knew wouldn't open, as you all always locked the door – and then, unlocking the door before sighing and opening it a small crack, just enough for Yang to see your face.

In a quick movement, he pushed the door away, his other hand finding your neck and you allowed it, holding back your laughter as you felt him pinning you against the wall, just like before, just as you expected him to do. In your peripheral vision, you could see the XKRS mobilizing to head towards you, only for your team to deny the advance and place their index finger against their lips. This was supposed to be resolved between you and Yang and just you two.

You allowed yourself to smile when you realized that he was so upset that he didn't notice the presence of the others in the room, his eyes angry and fixed on you. The fingers pressing against your neck enough to make you struggle slightly, he pressed you against the wall again, his free hand finding your left, pinning it firmly against the wall. Your right hand going for Yang's forearm, applying enough pressure to make him imagine the situation was repeating itself.

“I told you to stay the fuck away,” his face getting closer to yours, his fingers squeezing your neck, cutting off the air making you open your mouth, creating half moons on the skin of Yang's forearm, “you have so much desire to be the same as that grub of a brother, that you want to end up like him?”

Air finally returned to your lungs as he released his neck, holding both hands on top of your head, his other hand at the top of your thigh already anticipating a possible knee to his side. Your eyes met his with arched eyebrows.

“It feels like someone has been studying,” the air was inviting and painful in your throat, but you did your best to maintain your posture, you had been through worse, “does this mean that the great Yang is afraid of me?”

The cynical laugh that left your lips brought a slight grimace to Yang's face that squeezed your hips and wrists. Giving him a small smile, you leaned your head against the wall.

“You really want to end up like your brother, don’t you? Who knows, maybe something won't happen in the next mission, hun? We’ve already lost a lot of agents in the field, one more won’t be a problem, right?” Your face hardened, the memories of the data you had access to thanks to Maddox still fresh in your mind, could Yang be one of those possibly responsible? Considering the hatred he possessed for your brother, being driven by you after bringing Jeongin to your team, it was to be expected. “A bullet to the skull, the skin devoured by animals, passing for nothing more than a piece of meat thrown in the middle of the desert -”

Before any of the others could do anything, you threw your head forward, your forehead meeting Yang's nose and making him stumble back, giving you enough space to untangle yourself from him and the wall, grabbing his dominant arm, forcing it behind his back before pressing him with his chest against the wall, pulling his arm up listening to his complaint, the blood that came from the nose staining Yang's mouth and chin, consequently, also staining the wall that you had pressed it.

“You just threatened another government official, you know the consequences that brings, don’t you?”

“It’s your word against mine, princess,” God how you hated that nickname, especially when said like that. “You may be who you are, but I spent time creating my reputation.”

“I should have spent more time in strategy classes.”

Quickly, you pulled Yang's body, so that his chest was now against one of the nearby tables, trying to hold him as best as possible, trying to remember what Changbin had been through to you so many times. Only when he turned his face meeting Jeongin and Chan's gaze did he stop fidgeting, you could see he had realized how screwed he was.

“You dumb bitch, I'm gonna fucking kill you.”

“Oh, you still won’t shut up?”

In a quick movement, Yang managed to free himself from you, just as you expected and wrapped his arm around your neck, trapping you in a headlock, making everyone move towards you before you hissed a ‘no’, making everyone stop, but you could see both Changbin and Yongbok moving around the corners, Chan, Jeongin, Hyunjin, Ryujin and Minjae taking slow steps towards you. Yang's ragged breathing could be heard in your ear, but you made no mention of it.

“Are you really going to keep betraying your family for pussy?” Everyone knew that the words were directed at Jeongin, who seemed unaffected. Yang continued taking a few steps back, your eyes meeting Yongbok and Changbin's who were just waiting for your signal. “As if all your brother’s friends weren’t enough, you also have to fuck your team and my brother?”

“Are you mad because I’m fucking them all, or because I’m not fucking you?”

Yang's arm tightened around your neck making you gasp, everyone else becoming highly alert, but only the XKRS reacted more openly to what was happening. Yongbok and Changbin were still far away, making you think of something to help distract Yang as they got closer.

“A whore's word doesn't mean anything, you should know that,” his lips pressed against your ear and you had to hold yourself back from moving away, “or do you think no one ever knew what you and my brother were doing back home? Or at the Prestige Academy?”

“It’s not like it was a crime what we were doing.”

“But the feelings you have for each other is.”

“So is the feeling you feel right now,” he paused for a moment and you found yourself smiling, “and that’s why you’re not as good as you believe yourself to be, Yang.”

Your elbow quickly met his side while your heel met his toes, causing him to move away enough for another elbow to find his diaphragm followed by a headbutt to Yang's – already broken – nose. Yongbok quickly pushed Changbin and Yang out of your way, Changbin pinning Yang against the wall, Yongbok being your support as you recovered, one of your hands finding your neck which was quickly inspected by him.

Jeongin quickly getting between you and his older brother, still being pressed by Changbin, Chan quickly joins in to hold Yang if necessary. The younger Yang's eyes fell on you for a minute, more specifically on the mark on your neck, making him purse his lips before focusing again on Yang who was watching everything, still slightly aghast at what you had done. You could see the gears in Jeongin’s mind working.

“I think you spent enough time free for what you did,” there were very few times when you felt afraid of Jeongin or any of your team, but hearing the icy voice of your third-in-command made your entire body shiver, remembering one of the reasons you chose him as your other right hand in command, the reason why many were afraid of him. If Yang could be cruel, Jeongin could be the incarnation of Satan if he needed to. “Take him to the room.”

Changbin and Chan didn't even look their way before punching Yang unconscious, dragging his body to the room in question. Initially created for moments when someone was frustrated, angry or simply wanted to speak out loud without the fear of someone overhearing. As your team grew, there were times when it was necessary for some mechanisms to be used, even by you and Jisung – no matter how much you were against such mechanisms. This means that the soundproofing room could also become a torture room on specific occasions, even if rarely used for that purpose.

“Innie,” the nickname seemed to soften Jeongin’s gaze before falling back on you in concern, a small pain forming in your chest. He would torture his own brother for you, what situation had you all gotten yourself into? “Innie, there’s no need -”

“He threatened you,” the words were simple, harsh and had consequences that you knew went beyond a mere settling a score for what Yang had done to you months ago, “we have the recordings of everything, what he did has consequences and you know that -”

“You don’t have to be the one to do it.”

The dimples appeared, making your heart weight heavier on your chest.

Yang was right, in the end. You loved them and they loved you.

Even though deep down, you knew it wasn't the same love you once felt for Mars and the others, that you believed you would never feel again, because in the end, the higher-ups were right, Henry Jo was right, the Sciensalvar were right, Z was right. Feelings were the worst evil that could exist and the universe seemed to prove this to you with each event.

“You are my boss, my leader, my friend, my -” he stopped for a moment and you found yourself holding the air you breathed, Yongbok's fingers on your back serving as a way to keep you centered in the midst of what was happening. Jeongin's sigh was enough to make you release the breath you were holding before his eyes met yours, stopping momentarily on your neck. “He is my brother, if anyone, other than you, has the right to do something, it is me.”

“How will this affect your family?”

“You and the others have been my family for a while now,” the smile was weak but truthful, you knew he believed every one of those words and the tightness in your chest seemed to ease a little at that, but only a little. “Go over the plan with the XKRS boys, we’ll be waiting in the room.”

It was only then that you realized you had been left alone in the office with the XKRS boys. Their worried eyes on you as they watched Yongbok make sure you were okay enough for him to follow behind the others, which he did once you gave a slight nod. Your mind was a mess, not only with what had just happened, but also considering the information you had seen in your brother and Maddox's files.

With a sigh, a mental note came up to check Yang's name and registration in the records. You always knew there was more to the whole situation between the two of you, you knew it went beyond your relationship with Jeongin. Your fingers found the bridge of your nose before you sighed one last time and met the curious and worried eyes of the new Strickland unit.

“You have three seconds to put on a poker face, otherwise you will be demoted to insider work for a month,” all ten straightened their posture, faces becoming closed, but you could still tell by the look what was going on. “ You also need to work on your eyes, but this is better than expected.”

“Erm,” you didn’t look up, preferring to re expose the photos and blueprints of the school and nearby buildings, but you had noticed the exchange of looks between the ten, “if you need some time, we -”

Everyone was cut off by the muffled scream that came out of the room, shocks ran through your body as you swallowed hard and closed your eyes trying to focus on the plan, instead of imagining what everyone was doing in the room. The XKRS's eyes quickly fell in the direction of the scream and you held back a laugh, as you saw yourself in those boys in front of you, remembering what it was like when the others removed the blockers, how you and Chan helped the others adapt, until Jeongin arrives and takes care of this issue.

“Chan has already requested three helicopters to take us to school,” despite the shouting, your voice didn't change its tone, making the other ten begin to understand how things worked. Even though they had some missions, some things only really happened after graduation. “I’ll leave the organization of the buildings to you,” your eyes and pointed fingers found Minjae and Junmin who nodded, making you hand over the blueprint photos of the buildings to them. “After we enter, Minho will try to connect with the network, which will give you an inside look and you will be able to help us when we need it.”

“Are we going to have a communication point with all of you?”

You denied Hyunwoo's question, approaching the table that you had organized in relation to the school locations, both those that had the most deaths, those that had the most information, and those that had both. Everything is divided by area and floor. A smirk formed on your lips when you noticed how none of the boys in front of you squirmed because of the photos.

“Only Chan and Minho will communicate with you, Chan needs more training helping teams below ours and, as we don't know what will happen, I'm going to start putting him and Jeongin in charge of this issue on certain missions,” the others nodded carefully, as they knew that that piece of information was important, that if they did well, they would possibly be called to work on missions related to the Black Pirates again. “Minho knows practically everything about all existing systems so he will be able to help Sunmin with whatever is needed, I also need Seeun to have a direct connection, photographic memory can help us more than the cameras itselves.”

"What is the problem?"

You smiled brightly at Jinsik's question, knowing that Jisung had spent enough time with the youngest and explained the little details that would help him see beyond the words. Honestly, you just hoped that what Eden had asked you to do wouldn't affect your performance as much as you believed it might, not as much as your brother's drawing already had in some ways.

“There is only one part that does not have a camera and is not present in the blueprint,” your fingers indicated a point below everything, making all ten eyes become confused for a moment, “that is the parking lot, but it does not have cameras and the space is not the same as what is specified here.”

You let out a small sigh when you noticed the eyes of the ten in the photos and files of the place. As soon as you headed directly to the parking lot after passing the three rooms that Eden had indicated had the drawing, you knew they would talk to Chan and Minho.

“What can we do to help?”

“Making my team complete this mission smoothly,” before anyone could say anything, you placed a paper on top of where the parking lot would be, “none of them are supposed to go to the parking lot, in case something happens, I want them out of that building, I don’t care if I’m still there, understood?”

"But -"

“The question is of ‘yes or no’ nature,” your voice was hard, you knew there was something in that room that could change the situation for better or worse and you were okay with whatever came, but that was your choice. There was a reason it was sealed, a reason so many died in the parking lot, and you would do anything to make sure your team didn't suffer from whatever came from that room specifically. “The priority is my team, if you have to lie, I want you all to lie, I don’t care, I deal with everything if necessary afterwards, but they are the priority, understand?”

All ten were silent for a moment, your eyes met Minjae's and you knew he understood what you wanted to say, perhaps better than anyone present. He knew you wouldn't say why you alone had to go to the parking lot or why it was relevant, but he knew you had a plan and if they did anything to hurt that plan, you would finish them off without having to lay a finger on any of them.

"Yes ma'am."

Despite the small fright and confusion that appeared in the eyes of others, they quickly followed what Minjae had said. A simple wave was all you made available to them before pointing to the board behind you with all the information they could need. Your feet went to the room the others were in, Yang's screams and curses could be heard, even if muffled.

“If you want,” your feet took root on the floor, not needing to look back to know that you had all the ten complete attention, “you can leave the office, I can ask Minho to share the necessary files with you, you don't need to be here in case it’s still too early.”

Silence once again took over the room, murmurs began to appear little by little. Everyone knew that you wouldn't go towards the room where the muffled screams were coming out, not until you heard back from them. They didn't know, probably neither did your team, but your mind kept replaying the information gathered over the last few days, what had just happened only helping your mind create scenarios of what could have happened.

"We’ll stay."

A sigh left your mouth before your feet walked back towards the room where your team had taken Yang. As soon as the door opened, a scream came out of Yang's mouth and you knew the other ten behind you were startled, but you were on a mission, you would have your answer, even if you only analyzed it later.

The door closed with a click making Yang's eyes find your figure. Jeongin was crouched not far from his older brother, Chan and Changbin on each side of the chair, Chaeryeong was holding one of the electrical cable connections, Yang already had the copper crown on his head. You could see each of your team with injured knuckles, Jeongin, Chan, Hyunjin, Ryujin, Yeji, Changbin and Yongbok's were the most injured ones.

Blood dripped from some of the cuts that were already present on Yang's face, his nose even more crooked than when you had seen it previously. The restraints on the wrists and ankles already red. With a simple shake of your head you caused the copper crown to be removed from Yang's head, the two points that connected the electricity to his temples also being removed. A small sigh of relief was heard from him, but when dark laughter from all of your team members were heard, fear flashed across Yang's face.

Despite being known for being a great interrogator, which you were, and knowing that you preferred methods that didn't involve torture, few knew how well you could torture someone. You didn't do it very often, but when you did, everyone broke down under your hand. Maybe you should thank your brother’s death for that, because you wanted answers and you were willing to go to the ends of the earth to get them.

“The situation is simple, Yang,” your steps were calculated, everyone had opened a corridor for you to find him, the smell of blood was already strong, “you just need to tell the truth and you can walk out of here.”

“You can’t do this to me,” despite the attempt, you managed to see the tremor in his words, making you smile cynically, “I’m an officer just like you, this can’t happen.”

“But weren’t you the one who threatened to kill me a short while ago?”

You walked away swinging your hands up, having Changbin and Chan release Yang's wrists while Yongbok and Hyunjin released his ankles. Yeji handed you one of the daggers that were hanging on one of the walls, making you turn the handle, the tip of your index finger finding the tip of the dagger. Yang's eyes widened slightly at that, he had heard about your torture sessions then.

“Wrists or ankles?”

"Wrists," your response was simple, your voice soft, unbothered, which made only terror run across Yang's face, "take off his shirt."

“His record has already been changed,” Minho’s voice caught your attention, even though your eyes remained on Yang, Changbin ripping off his shirt, leaving his torso exposed to you, “two weeks away due to injury during an unsuccessful mission.”

“You guys can't do this -”

“You couldn't threaten me either, but you did it anyway,” the threat wasn't the problem for you, everyone there knew, except Yang who tried to justify it, but you silenced him by touching the tip of the knife to the exact spot where his jugular pulse was. “Do you really think this is happening because of a simple threat?” You laughed, lowering the knife to Yang's left collarbone, the tip entering his skin as you brought it down towards his sternum, you could hear the grunts as he tried to squirm away from it. “For someone who claims to be so excellent, your brain is very underdeveloped to analyze the situation.”

“You want me to beg, is that it?!”

“No,” the knife found the sternum and ended the contact of the metal with the hot skin of the older man who sighed, “I want you to say if you gave my brother a chance.”

"What you -"

A quick and deep enough cut was made on Yang's right side, in the same location and size as yours that he had opened the stitches months ago. The scream echoed through your head and you ignored it, watching Yang's expression.

“Let's say I discovered something interesting in the report on the invasion of my brother's bunker,” you noticed everyone looking at you curiously, some eyes falling on Minho who seemed equally lost, but no one dared to say a word, “some passwords were used to enter the location, but interestingly, the person to whom that password belongs was on a mission, there is evidence of this person carrying out the mission at the time of the invasion.”

The silence was heavy and everyone saw how Yang went into a slight panic as your words were processed in his head. Some still exchanged confused looks. What you were indicating was a plot to get another officer killed, tantamount to high treason.

"I do not know what you're talking about."

“So there won’t be any problem telling me where you were when my brother disappeared, right?”

“Eunwoo disappeared, no one knows what happened until he turns up dead in the desert.”

“Are any of you comfortable enough to grab the belt?” Everyone knew what that meant, you noticed Yang's fingers wrapped around the iron chain, your eyes meeting Jisung who watched everything curiously. “Ji, can you go further up, please?”

“How much on the feet?”

No one dared question you, everyone knew how much you hated torture, that it was always your last choice. If your allegations are right, which everyone also knew you wouldn't make without having considered all the possibilities, Yang had committed the worst of crimes within their area. That's why when Jisung agreed without much reservation, Yang knew he was fucked. His eyes met Jeongin's in pleading, only receiving a cold look in response.

“Fifty,” the answer came from Jeongin who positioned himself behind you, his fingers finding your lower back, a silent answer to the question you were asking all of them with that request, if they were on your side and that you wouldn’t be hurt or hold grudges if someone decided to turn their back on the situation, “let's increase 10kg every five minutes and move up the chain when the weights are lower to the ground.”

“Jeongin,” Yang’s voice was a plea, “I’m your brother -”

“My brother is Chan, Minho, Changbin, Hyunjin, Jisung, Yongbok and Seungmin, you are not my brother.”

“Are you going to leave this -”

The sound of the belt was heard, just like the sound of the buckle meeting Yang's exposed skin, Chan and Changbin were behind him, taking turns so that neither of them got tired. Chaeryeong and Ryujin threw salt water at Yang, making a scream reverberate throughout the room, but no one dared to move. Hyunjin and Seungmin tied the weights to Yang's ankles. Minho's computer keyboard was clicking every second, you already knew what he was looking for.

“Where were you the day my brother disappeared?”

“You fucking lunatic bitch, are you -”

Five times the buckle found Yang's skin, but only on the fifth did he release some kind of reaction, making you raise your eyebrows in acceptance of the challenge.

“We know you weren't alone,” the tip of the dagger went through every area of Yang's abdomen and you laughed, seeing the muscle contract, digging the tip even deeper into the skin, leaving a red line wherever it passed, “if you say the names, I’ll go easier on you.”

“Go to hell, you fucking slu-”

Your knife stuck in Yang's thigh at the same moment the buckle found the already red skin again. You and him knew the knife was close to the bone but hadn't caught the artery, but he wasn't completely free to do as he pleased. The growl that left his mouth was more from the knife than from the five times the buckle met his back.

“You have two weeks off, there are too many things I can still do with you to justify those two weeks, are you sure you want me to do them all?”

It was then that Yang saw, finally saw, Strickland's weapon.

And you smiled as you saw terror meet their eyes, for in that moment, you were the monster they had created.

Your eyes passed one last time over the notes of the stakeouts that took place on site. Your intuition told you there was something you weren't seeing, but no matter how much you analyzed it, something still didn't seem to add up. Your fingers quickly found the files from the day of the school invasion that were with Jeongin and Chan, your eyes trying to find what was making you uncomfortable about everything. Something was out of place, you just couldn't visualize what.

“Sunmin just confirmed the scan from the latest scanner,” Minho’s voice made you look up from the pages, his fingers quick against the keyboard before turning the screen to you, Jeongin and Chan. His eyes quickly met yours, followed by the other two, making you sigh. “What do you want to do, boss?”

One of your gloved hands found your face, resting your chin in your hand, eyes observing the images that Sunmin made available to you. There were many more people than expected. That place had seen a lot of death, but there was only so much that could be prevented.

“Tranquilizers,” your hands quickly went to the second gun that was hanging on your body reaching the amount you had, “since most of them are at the top, we need to get through there without being noticed or everything will go down the drain.”

“How do you want to organize the descent?”

Chan's eyes searched yours waiting for orders, Jeongin's fingers checking the other three weapons before handing them to Minho, Chan and taking the last one. Your eyes quickly passed through the thermal vision of the school building, you needed to contain your tranquilizer darts for when you arrived in the parking lot.

Despite wanting to be first, you cursed under your breath knowing you should be last.

“Chan goes first, I go last, I don't care who is in the middle,” a small sigh before the pilot's voice indicated that they were already above the school and the descent would begin. “Let's all stay on the emergency stairs, let's follow the sequence of whoever comes down.”

“Ryujin and Jeongin will bring up the rear with you.”

Chan commented quickly before the pilot allowed the exit and you were the first to get out of the helicopter, pulling the mask from your clothes to your face, the protective glasses being quickly pulled down. The place was as deserted as it had been when you and the others had been there weeks ago. Boots thumped against the concrete of the roof and you quickly ran to the door that connected the building to the roof, noticing Jeongin right behind you.

You pulled the door open revealing the freed up space, much to the delight of your team. Quickly each of the twelve members of SKZY entered the building, Chan and Minho exchanging glances checking the communication point with XKRS before heading downstairs. Jeongin and Ryujin's eyes met yours before they followed behind everyone. If everything went well, you would find out what Eden wanted and you would get out of there without much trouble.

Small noises could be heard with each step that your team took deeper and deeper into the school. Quickly the first floor had been cleared for your team to check, your steps leading to the first room Eden had shown you, one of the separate rooms used by the school's vice principal. Most of the notes that had previously been torn out had been replaced, the television playing the video of the warehouse that made you meet Serpent weeks ago.

The drawing of the blue bird screamed just like the first time you saw it in the photo that Eden had given you, the difference was that now it was in front of you. Your fingers passed over the blue line of the drawing and your heart sank for a moment before you sighed and focused on the papers pinned to the bulletin board, searching for any kind of new information, but nothing but the same seemed present.

With a low curse, your hands rested on the table, the image on the television capturing your attention momentarily. Despite everything Maddox had shown you, something still told you that Mars and the others were involved in some way with what had happened to your brother, maybe not with the bunker raid, but something had happened between the raid and your brother's body turning up in the desert, something you felt only the eight of them could answer.

With a sigh you looked away, your hand balling into fists before your eyes focused on one of the papers that were laid out on the table. ‘Hourly update: stable. Requirement: list present in the dark room - hand it over to one of the ATEEZ’. Your fingers quickly grabbed the sheet, placing it between the pockets of your clothes, the static in your ear indicating it was time to move to the next floor.

More and more bodies fell around you, some with tranquilizer darts, others clearly using force to knock them out. Your mind returned to the words on the paper in your pocket, the dark room could only be the place that had been sealed when the invasion happened weeks ago. A moment of calm passed through your body, knowing that the probability of self-destruction of the place would decrease considerably, because if something needed to be removed, it meant that it was only present in that place.

Another important detail was the possible presence of ATEEZ on site. Angel and Serpent's faces appearing on your mind quickly, you felt anxious at the thought of meeting them again. The last thing you needed was to find them together with your team, even though you remembered Angel's behavior back at Guardian's Island, you couldn't contain the thoughts of someone discovering your relationship with them.

“(y/n) we need you up front,” the tension in Changbin’s voice made you freeze for a moment, four floors still had to be overcome for you to reach your goal. Everyone made room for you to find Changbin in one of the curves that gave access to the floor below. He and Chan signaled to each other, a silent conversation about how to proceed, until they nodded beyond the curve of the wall, “how do you want to proceed with the plan?”

The whisper was almost inaudible at your point of communication and you mentally cursed when you noticed the number of rebels that were between that floor and the one below, you couldn't use up all the darts, not yet. The largest quantity was three floors down, you needed the darts for the library floor. Your eyes went over the weapons in the hands of the rebels, only a few had them, but you could see hidden knives, as well as some pistols.

You needed to attract some to be able to move forward. Your eyes met Yeji's, calling her and pointing to the same place Changbin had pointed out. You could see the gears of her mind turning as you headed to meet Chaeryeong, rummaging through the bag the girl was carrying. A light bomb and a gas bomb, that would have to be enough to deal with those who weren't attracted to whatever Yeji was planning.

You, Chaeryeong, Yongbok, Yeji, Minho and Changbin headed to one of the nearby rooms, the blueprint of the space being opened up on one of the tables. Your eyes and ears just watched as your team organized the best method to move forward. Yongbok and Changbin would try to get close enough to contain those who haven’t caught the bait, Minho confirmed the number with the XKRS, such as their presence being mostly on the stairs. The only thing missing was the distraction to reduce the number of people they would have to pass.

Despite everyone thinking in different ways, you knew it needed to be something considerable to make them leave their posts, something that only Mars and the others would use, something that you knew that if it was seen, it would not be questioned at any time by the rebels in the stairs, but would draw enough attention to make them leave their posts.

Drones.

With quick steps, you went searching through the rooms before signaling what the others should look for. Drones were one of Logan's passions, he was also present a few weeks ago, guiding you to where Howl was in one of the buildings to the east. It was a long shot, but you didn't have much to go beyond that, at least it would give you enough time to get through the stairs.

Jisung quickly found a drone and its controller, handing them to Chaeryeong who handed the drone to Minho while she fiddled with the controller. The drone had a camera, which could help them further. While Minho, Chaeryeong and Yeji worked on how to proceed with the drone, you, Yongbok and Changbin went to a further part.

“We need to consider that at least one of them has a communicator, be it a cellphone or a walkie-talkie,” your voice was low enough to make them both approach you, “Yongbok is more agile, I need you to arrive as quickly as possible to beyond the stairs and catch anyone who tries to escape, in the meantime,” your eyes turned to Changbin, “I need you to do your best to keep the others unconscious, but use the darts as little as possible, we need them for the library floor.”

“How can we get close to them? As much as the drone helps, it can only do so much,” your backpack was pulled forward, the gas and light grenade being handed to the two, Changbin carefully taking it in his hands with a smile. “Regular gas?”

“We don't have a mask, we can't risk it,” your smile was a mirror of his, Yongbok's eyes fell to the corridor they would just pass. “I know we agreed on no deaths until we get to the library, but don’t hesitate.”

The simple wave was enough for you to hand over one of the daggers that was attached to your vest, small enough to go unnoticed, sharp enough to cause damage.

“Is there a reason why you shouldn’t be at the front?”

Even though you expected it, that wasn't the moment you imagined happening.

“We need to get to the library, there is something we need to find and I believe it is there, but I also need Chan and Jeongin to be more present in the events, in the decision-making, not just them but the entire team.”

“Do you think what happened to Yang will have repercussions?”

Until that moment, that hypothesis had not even crossed your mind. Despite all the evidence you and your team gathered, you, Jeongin and Chan knew how influential Yang could be, despite being weak compared to others, the few allies he had were strong enough to pull the council to disapprove of your actions and attitudes, however justified they may be.

Your silence was enough of an answer for the two who nodded, making you grateful for that without having to invent a half-truth to justify the choices that were being made that day. When Chaeryeong's voice appeared at everyone's communication point, you sighed in relief, the sooner you finished that mission, the sooner things could be resolved.

As expected, you stayed behind, Chan taking Jeongin's place since his tranquilizer darts had run out. You could see the smoke, hear the grunts and quick footsteps against the wood, you also heard a body hit the ground hard and you just prayed that Yongbok was okay.

As soon as your team passed the stairs, you found Yongbok, Jeongin and Hyunjin holding the rebel, your third in command holding the walkie-talkie while Yongbok pinned the rebel in front of him who, even with a gun to his head, seemed to just stop fidgeting as Jeongin handed the walkie-talkie to you. Your fingers quickly moved to find any frequency that was being used.

“Helicopter spotted three minutes ago, everyone stay away from the windows.”

Despite trying to appear calm, the tension in your body upon hearing the unknown voice seemed to increase as you knew that five helicopters would pass by the place as you had planned, which could also indicate that they knew that you had entered the school.

“Movement spotted in building 3, request for inspection team.”

“Await further information while we verify the order.”

A sigh seemed to come out of everyone around you, knowing that they possibly hadn't been found yet, but an even bigger sigh seemed to come out of you considering you hadn't identified anyone's voice in any of the sentences said. Maybe the ATEEZ boys wouldn't be in school, maybe not even your boys are.

With a simple wave, Yongbok made the rebel unconscious, letting his body fall delicately to the ground, the walkie-talkie going to your vest as you indicated them to follow, Changbin still leading everyone, you following only when you heard his voice in your point of communication. Your feet were quick to the second room you knew the drawing was in.

For a moment, your feet took root, observing the place in front of you. Blocks of soundproofing material, instruments scattered around the place, an old but apparently comfortable sofa, vinyl records and radios with CDs were arranged on the walls, but only when your eyes came across a blue bird graffiti in one of the spots that the soundproofing material was non-existent, that your feet began to walk into the room.

Fingers gently touching the keyboard, the guitar neck, the drums, the electric guitar, even vinyl records. That damn room just reminded you of Lucky's room in their dimension. Finally, your fingers found the blue paint on the wall, your fingertips passing over the entire line of the drawing before turning them towards you, why were you sad that the paint didn't stain your fingers? With a simple shake of your head, you turned your back to the drawing, only to find a sheet of music open on one of the farthest keyboards, the bird drawing was also present.

The score was not complete, but the lyrics that accompanied it were, along with the respective letters of the respective guitar notes for the song to be sung and played. Star 1117. The small drawing of the bird being seen next to the title, the lyrics a mix of Lucky and Iyaah. Your eyes burning with each word read of what was written. If they weren't there at that moment, they had been at the school for the last few weeks, they had been in that specific room, creating another song that you would never hear.

“We need to move forward, there is no one on the stairs.”

Quickly, the letter had the same ending as the paper you had found in the first room. Quick steps against the wood made you find most of the team gathering at the beginning of the stairs, Yongbok and Chan being the last to join before everyone nodded, following the drone that Chaeryeong was using, Minho's eyes focusing on the screen of the tablet, eyes focused on the movements of his hands.

Just one more floor and you would be at the library, the last mandatory stop until you could head to the parking lot. Your body was shaking, not only from the stress of the situation, but also from what you could find in the other two places considering what you had found in the other two rooms.

Fortunately, the next floor was relatively empty, but still, you had to use three darts when you noticed movement occurring near one of the rooms, while the walkie-talkie screeched with interference, but nothing had been said, and was quickly ignored, making your team breathe for a moment before getting together to evaluate the best route to take to get to the library and having few deaths considering that half had already used all the tranquilizer darts.

“Request for inspection of building 3, are you listening?”

Everyone stopped breathing for a moment, completely forgetting that one of the unconscious people could have been the one who made the request. Chan quickly making everyone move as silence formed. Chaeryeong quickly connected with the drone, everyone's eyes on the tablet that showed the images of the staircase that connected to the library floor, the murmurs could be heard, confirming the number of people.

“We believe that five people will be more than enough for the inspection.”

The drone stopped at the same moment the voice was heard, causing Chaeryeong to bring the device back to them. Your ears were focused on the walkie-talkie as you pointed to Minho's tablet, which he quickly handed over to your side, Chan and Yeji moving away to go over the rest of the plan.

You needed to find out which building was categorized as three.

“Checking candidates, please wait for the next information.”

“Movement was also spotted in building eight.”

“Leaders have already been contacted, please wait. Let’s check the cameras in the meantime.”

With a simple exchange of glances, Minho walked away, contacting Sunmin through the communication point while you went towards Chan and Yeji, making all eyes fall on you.

“We need to go now,” that wasn't a request, much less a suggestion, it was an order and everyone nodded. “I'll go ahead with Ryujin, based on the number of people we managed to find out, it'll be every man for himself, we'll meet at the designated building, be careful.”

Despite saying this looking at Chan and Yeji, you had connected your communication point, not only with your team, but also with Maddox. The interference and keyboard noise on your left spot being the only indication that he had heard you. When you get to the parking lot you wouldn't have much time to open the sealed door, you knew that Maddox's distance wouldn't help either, but there wasn't much you could do, not without being discovered by both the rebels and your team.

“Have the XKRS been warned yet?”

A simple nod was enough for Jisung as a respond as he placed himself right behind you, as he was one of those who had darts still available. Seungmin quickly found himself next to him, determined eyes with an amused smile on his lips made you smile in response.

"Everyone ready?" You knew your entire team and Maddox were listening, you needed to tell him what was going to happen so he would be ready when you reached the parking lot. “The library is large enough for us to have visibility of the targets, but it also has several corridors that lead to separate rooms. Be careful. We will meet at the designated building, keep each other informed of your positions and when you leave the school.”

“Good luck.”

Was all Maddox said before you disconnected the communication point with him, being able to hear the others on the team confirming. Even though Ryujin was your shadow, your feet were the first to find the stairs that would take you all to the library. Your boots firmly on the concrete, you can hear the sound of the rest of your team's feet following behind you. Your breathing was controlled, even though you could hear the blood pulsing in your ear.

With each step you took towards the door that led to the stairs, the more you could hear the movement of people, noticing that they were reconstructing the place, the information. With a simple signal, you noticed everyone on your team stopping, a few more steps were taken by you, helping with the visibility of the location.

You would never be able to enter that place without being seen. As soon as you entered you would be spot on, it was necessary to change the strategy, only starting everything after you were already among everyone and, unlike the upper floors, most had weapons, which in itself was a sign that things would not be well received. You needed another plan.

Your fingers quickly removed your goggles, ignoring your team's protests, shutting them up with a simple look. With a simple nod, Jeongin, Yeji and Chan were by your side going through the same process as you and quickly understanding your point, imitating some of your movements, Chan and Jeongin going further and also pulling the sleeves of their clothes to their elbows, Yeji untied her hair, pulling the mask down, but stopping you before your movements could happen. Her voice was low enough that only the four of you could discern what was being said.

“They don't know who we are, but you're the face of the team, if they know you're here...”

With a nod you agreed with Yeji's concern, indicating with your head for everyone to also do what they were doing, the only change you had made was removing your glasses. As the three went towards the others helping with small adjustments, your eyes once again faced the visible space of the library, some rebels also had masks, making it not at all strange if you entered the place.

“Let's go in separately, I'll go first, but we can't communicate,” everyone nodded, even though they didn't completely agree with the idea of leaving you alone in a space where they knew you were a person of interest to the leaders of the movement, “we need position ourselves in various locations so that we can pass through this space and escape unharmed, but if we are discovered, we need to know somehow.”

“This is the last point of important information that can be collected, after that it is mostly resting places for the rebels, including surveillance through the documents that Eden gave us.”

“With that,” Jeongin continued Yeji’s speech, “take what you can get, any possible piece of information could be important.”

“And try not to get caught until the last possible minute,” everyone nodded at Chan's speech, who turned his gaze to you, softening considerably as his hands cupped your face, your foreheads touching for a minute making you both close your eyes. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“You know I can’t promise anything.”

“At least promise you’ll come back in one piece.”

A weak nod and Chan released your face, making your eyes meet everyone else's before your feet guided you past the staircase door, a long sigh leaving your mouth, ending only when you found yourself surrounded by people and light. The eyes finding the main source of natural light. Even though the sun was partially covered by the accumulation of clouds that enveloped the place, the rays still struggled to pass through them.

Perhaps symbolism about the Black Pirates and Strickland's government.

A small smile appeared beneath the mask, a few people walked past you, some waving their hands or heads, others walking past looking at documents, carrying boxes, or simply talking about something you couldn't discern. It was almost comical how easily you and your team had infiltrated the Black Pirates cell, maybe you could even brag about it to some of the boys if you found them.

Your eyes quickly found a shelf full of books, not just one, but at least three, with two ladders that allowed you to reach the top if necessary. Your heart sank knowing that this would be one of your brother's favorite thing about that entire mission. You could even see him carefully picking up some of those books, not at all surprised when your feet guided you to the base of the bookshelf. Titles written on the spines of books that you knew were banned at Strickland, that you yourself had read or heard about thanks to the boys.

Before your fingers could touch any of the books, you could see a chair next to the window, sheet music open in front of the chair and a violin resting on top of it all. The image of Logan playing the violin came back in full force, of how you had helped him when he had a performance all those years ago, how nervous he was, the fear of making mistakes, the way he had asked you to be present at the performance, because if you were there he would be able to do everything without missing a single chord.

“If you had gotten here sooner, you would have seen him play,” an unknown voice brought you to reality, turning your face and finding a girl smiling openly at you, she was pretty, delicate, the kind of girl you introduce to the family, she shouldn't be in that place. “Logan doesn’t play much, but whenever we’re here, for some reason, he plays the violin for us.”

Logan was here, not just ATEEZ.

With that piece of information you smiled, knowing that the girl in front of you noticed despite the mask.

“Is he still here?” You tried to sound casual, hoping the girl wouldn't notice how hard your heart was beating against your chest. “I need to talk to him about a document we received a request about and -”

"ATTENTION!" Everyone's gaze fell on the base of a staircase that you beat yourself up for not noticing before. An officer stood still, fingers on the trigger of the gun he held against his body. “Movements were detected in buildings three and eight, through the cameras we were able to identify some people who should not have been there. The leaders decided to promote two inspections, members will be contacted by radio -”

Everything seemed to get muffled when you found Logan coming down the stairs, in an avid conversation with another officer. He was playing the violin, he looked fine, so the one who was hurt wasn't him. The sigh you let out was quickly suppressed by yourself, especially when it didn't go unnoticed by the girl next to you.

“He’s beautiful, isn’t he?” Her eyes met yours and a simple nod was enough for the girl to sigh and her eyes fell on Logan again. “How can a man as handsome as this be real?”

You allowed yourself to laugh, being imitated by the girl next to you. You understood her point. Despite everything that happened and your history with Logan, there was no denying that he was handsome, his ethereal beauty always leaving you slightly airy, but what made you stop laughing was the memory of Angel during those two weeks. If she found Logan handsome, Angel managed to be even more intriguing in his beauty and way of carrying himself.

“Lim Nayong?” The shock that ran down your spine made your eyes widen quickly, but no movement was made. His voice could be recognized anywhere, your eyes finding his feet not far from you. “You are Lim Nayong, correct?”

“Y-yes, sir.”

The girl next to you, Nayong, responded quickly, but you could notice her body's reaction to Logan being so close. He was one of the few who could recognize you, you needed to get out of there.

“And who is your friend?” Mother fucker, you cursed him in your mind, before your eyes lifted and met Logan's – no, that wasn't Logan. Your mind thanked Yeji for stopping you from removing the mask, not only because you would be easily recognized, but for the hiss of curses you let out when you noticed Angel's eyes pass over your entire body before returning to your eyes, the well-known smile present along with the shrewd, stormy eyes. “Sorry, but can I pick up Nayong? We need her for a mission, if you don’t mind.”

Your negative shake of the head made Angel smile widely before his eyes fell on Nayong and indicated for her to follow some of the officers who were nearby. Angel's eyes still observed every detail of your face, but you didn't look away, only to find the birthmark covered again with makeup, your fingers itching to tear off that foundation and leave the pink skin exposed for anyone who wanted to see.

He took another step forward, you could feel several eyes on the two of you, including that of your team, wherever they were. Angel's scent intoxicated your lungs and all you wanted most was to be able to push him away, as far away from you as possible. A smirk appeared along with a small guttural 'hm' that made you feel heat throughout your body. Logan wouldn't say you were there, but Angel? Angel was an unknown puzzle in every possible way, you didn't know what to expect from him.

As quickly as he approached, the warmth of his presence receded. You noticed his eyes darting quickly towards the stairs he had recently descended, but subtle enough to appear as if he was just looking for one of the officers, who quickly appeared at his side, interestingly enough, the same officer who had descended the stairs along with him before that scene.

Your eyes followed Angel as people went back to their tasks, but you managed to find the eyes of some of your team members fixed on Angel's silhouette. Whether he noticed was never clear. With a quick glance in Chan's direction, you can see Changbin clenching his fists.

“Chan, 60 degrees to your left,” casually Chan turned around finding Chagbin with his eyes fixed on Angel, being quickly blocked by Chan receiving a simple eye roll before you saw the two bickering before they both headed to the opposite side of where Angel was following. “I need to get into the room he was in, if anything, find a way to let me know.”

A small thank you for no one being near you was said before you walked to the side of the windows. The street space was equally empty, your eyes falling on the buildings you knew the XKRS boys would be in, wishing they weren't the respective buildings three and eight.

“I thought he was going to select you too,” another strange voice appeared next to you, this time it was a man, his eyes fell on you and a small smile was present on his lips. “Although we don’t know what was going on most of the time in their minds, I believe we all thought you would be called.”

"And you are?"

“Yuri,” he said quickly, “Park Yuri, I don’t think we’ve ever met before.”

His outstretched hand was cautiously embraced by yours, but you didn't give him your name.

“I was just transferred to this area, it would be unlikely that he would call me,” was the only thing you offered, your eyes falling back on the buildings. “What are buildings three and eight? The only information they gave me was about the school.”

With quick fingers, Yuri pointed out two buildings, none of them the ones you had agreed with the XKRS, which made you hold back a sigh of relief. A small smile of gratitude formed on your face and you hoped it could be seen in your eyes as well. Not only was it important that your team to be safe after completing the mission, the safety and well-being of the XKRS could be considered even more important, not just for you but for the other members of your team.

“So, what is your current job? If you want, you can -”

“I need to check some documents in Logan's office, one of the leaders requested it, so…” Yuri quickly nodded, moving away from you and indicating the stairs that Logan had just come down, confirming your suspicions. With light and quick steps, you climbed the stairs, the fact that you didn't know exactly when Angel would be back made your heart feel in your throat. “Please let it be empty, please let it be empty.”

As soon as your body turned at the top of the stairs, a drawing met you.

The damn bluebird drawing.

Your hand wrapped around the doorknob, ignoring the bird drawing on the door, breathing a sigh of relief when you noticed the empty room. The click of the door behind you made you pull your mask down, finally able to breathe fresh air as your eyes roamed the entire space of the room. Papers and more papers covered the table, a blank board with a drawing of the space they were in, the school and the buildings around it, arrows and notes.

Your eyes turned to the table, the bold letters and censored parts seemed to scream for your attention. One of the folders that was on top of the others was related to the invasion that you and your team had carried out weeks ago. Again, your eyes found the whiteboard, some dots marked the locations where you, your team and the XKRS stayed during the uprising created by the Black Pirates.

A date was written in the top corner, making you approach the board, each step making your mind work faster. The date was today. The words ‘moving day’ written on the front. They would reactivate that cell, even though they knew it had already been exposed. However, as Angel had seen, your superiors weren't the smartest, considering the work Eden had to go through to simply get them to think about authorizing this second inspection. Perhaps reusing an already known space would be more advantageous than abandoning it completely.

“Hello, princess.”

The click of the door along with the breathing on your neck made you highly alert. Your right arm quickly moved so that your elbow hit the torso of the person, who was faster than you, grabbing your arm and pulling it close to his firm and slim body before pressing you against the wall, allowing you to feel every part of his body against yours, his hand holding your hip after joining your two wrists above your head, his feet spacing yours, allowing him to stand exactly in front of you, just like he had done in the warehouse.

“So you’re here too,” Serpent’s smirk made you laugh derisively. “Did he say I was here?”

“Our mutual friend?”

“Are you now impersonating them?” The question came out almost painfully, as it was an admission that you could differentiate between them, better than even the followers themselves. Serpent's smile confirmed to you that he also captured it that way. “He pretends to be Logan, you pretend to be Mars and how long will this continue?”

“Now princess, I told you that back in the warehouse,” the pressure of Serpent’s fingers wrapping around your wrist as you tried to free yourself from him made you let out an angry growl before throwing your head back, eyes finding your wrists above your head, giving Serpent the chance to bring his face closer to your neck, “we will do whatever it takes to see your government fall,” your face lowered, the distance between you two mere centimeters making you swallow hard, “the fact that just you being able to differentiate us is just an advantage for us.”

“How far do you think your followers are willing to go?”

“How far do you believe your team can go to protect and defend you?”

Silence fell in the room, the answers were clear in each of your eyes. As soon as you felt Serpent's hand leave your hip, you dared to move it, being met with his right hand firmly on your waist, making you move away reflexively, the cut, despite being healed, was still hypersensitive to pressure, the shadow of genuine concern flashed through Serpent's eyes, turning them almost into the boba you and some of the other team members loved to buy it.

Before you could say anything, Serpent's hands went down on your hips, his fingers digging into the material of the clothing, even though the clothing prevented marks from being made, you knew the likelihood of seeing the red marks from his fingers when you took it off the clothes.

“Let go of me,” you said seriously, ignoring how your body burned under Serpent’s presence. “As much as I believe you’re loving the current situation, I imagine some people wouldn’t be so happy with it.”

“Is this about your team, Mars and the others, or yourself?”

Your head went forward at the same moment, but Serpent was quicker to dodge, but gave you enough space to free yourself from the wall, throwing your body forward, making him lose balance. Allowing you to grab your gun and point it at Serpent who looked up, you could see the fright and slight fear in his eyes, something you hadn't seen in Mars or the others.

“I think you’re projecting, right?”

“There are other ways to hear someone praise you other than pointing a gun at them, don’t you think, princess,” just like when Yang had used the nickname days ago, hearing Serpent call you that way made your body burn, but for a reason completely different from Yang's. “Time is passing, moving day is upon us.”

Your eyes fell back to the whiteboard.

The photos and documents scattered around, like the documents you had looked for in all the rooms being the same, the boxes that were carried, like most of them didn't use weapons. They weren't moving into the school, that was just a distraction, that's why you had managed to get in so easily. Serpent pushed your weapon away pushing your body against the wall, his body on your back, one hand being held behind your back while the other was between you and the wall.

“Where are Mars and Logan?”

“A little surprise information for you, princess,” Serpent's free hand brushed your hair off your shoulder, making it easier for his eyes to meet yours, his predatory eyes finding every detail of your face before you felt his breath on your ear, “it's we who are in charge now, get used to seeing us more often.”

When the heat of Serpent's body moved away from you, it was a mixture of relief and irritation, more specifically because of how aware your body and mind were of how perfectly his body fit into yours. He's not Mars, that's what you repeated whenever something like this happened. Those weren't your boys, you didn't know who those men were, regardless of how physically similar they might be, they weren't the same people and your head should start to get used to that idea.

“What is moving day?”

“Exactly what it appears to be,” his eyes turned predatory again, making you notice when his hands found the door handle, opening it with his eyes still fixed on you. “Use your head, princess, the answers are all here, you just need to see them.”

The click of the door behind him made you release a breath you didn't know you were holding.

He had left you alone in that room, meaning that maybe there was nothing important or relevant, or the complete opposite and you were being blind. Your eyes returned to the whiteboard, to the notes made, the arrows being pulled from each point, until you found an 'x' in the part close to the sports court that was behind the school, where the parking lot was.

With a quick movement, you pulled the mask to cover your own face, quick steps followed you all the way to the end of the stairs, your eyes met Jisung and Seungmin's before you continued down the stairs, you needed to get to the parking lot as soon as possible. Whatever 'moving day' meant, it involved the damn sealed room in the parking lot.

Deftly you reached the weapon, checking not only the number of darts you still had, but also the cartridges in your pockets and the hidden knives. The reason for Serpent to inform you about the 'moving day' was still unknown in your mind, but also, everything involving the ATEEZ boys was unknown, probably why you couldn't get them out of your mind. Not being able to see their movements was something that bothered you, especially when they were so physically similar to your boys.

With quick steps you made your way up the stairs, five darts being thrown in the process. Unlike other times, you hid the bodies. Any chance to avoid being discovered and delay the start of whatever ‘moving day’ meant, you would use. Panting by the fast and constant movements, you finally arrived at the top floor that connected to the parking lot. Only two more darts were available and you were grateful when you noticed only two members guarding the door.

Your eyes fell to the stairs above, wishing that both Angel and Serpent would remain silent, focusing again on the two rebels in front of the parking lot door, noticing the shift in weight between the feet of the one closest to the stairs. A dart was thrown at the exact moment his weight was thrown onto his left leg, causing him to fall on top of the other rebel, a smile took over your lips before the last tranquilizer came out of your weapon, making the last of the rebels fall hard on the floor.

Almost immediately, gunshots and screams could be heard from the floors above, making you curse and quicken your step towards the parking lot. You didn't know what the moving day involved, but judging by the talking you could hear at your communication point, your team was already trying to control the situation. The gun cartridge being quickly engaged while you checked the situation, everyone's screams could be heard along with the gunshots, but so far, nothing problematic enough to make you turn your back and head to where everyone was.

With a sigh, you jerked the door open, holding it with your leg as you scanned the room. A single bed was placed in the middle of the deserted parking lot. The friction between your boots and the concrete was the only noise you could hear, the sealed door could be seen from the other side of the parking lot, for the same reason that made you curse every other time: the damn blue bird.

“Took you long enough,” your gun had been taken away from you before you could even react properly, noticing Wooyeon in front of you throwing the gun away, “I was imagining I would never meet you, princess.”

“You’re not Wooyeon,” your speech was harsh, observing the sly man in front of you, his eyes were curious, his movements were fluid, they were both predatory and playful, “but it seems like you all agreed on a damn nickname for me, does it not?"

“Oh, but the news that has been passed on to me is that you don’t mind us calling you princess, princess.”

And honestly, you didn't really care, maybe that was what made you most uneasy with Angel, Serpent and now Wooyeon's copy. His movements were agile, but cautious, his smart eyes seemed to analyze every little detail you allowed yourself to release, but his smirk was always present, if not an open smile with a touch of mischief. He looked like a fox, patient but agile, cute but sly.

“And what should I call you then?”

“Amuse me, princess,” he laughed at your scoff, making you fight a smile that threatened to emerge, but he managed to catch the twitch at the corners of your mouth. “Oh, don’t be shy, we are all friends here, are we not?”

Your eyes fell again on the drawing of the blue bird on the other side of the parking lot, but the raise of eyebrows followed by Fox's smile made you focus on him again. A small lift of the corner of your mouth was allowed by you, receiving another as his tongue appeared between his teeth.

“What’s the big point in you being here then?”

�� “Aren’t you going to share with me the name you’re going to use for me?” Your tongue could bleed as you bit it strongly so as not to react in any way to the pout that Fox was throwing at you. “Okay, you have time to choose, but how about telling me about the others?”

Angel. Serpent. Fox.

Each one invading your mind with the simple existence and momentary exchange of words. Fox was definitely the most different from the others, from ATEEZ, the most similar to what you know Wooyeon – and consequently, your other boys – is like, but with the je ne sais quoi that all ATEEZ members – so far – possessed. His steps were determined, but slightly playful, despite your eyes trying to focus on him, the way his body moved was like a dance, a dangerous dance and you were the prey.

And you hated that feeling whenever you were with one of the ATEEZ.

Fox surrounded you, you could feel his presence and perfume completely intoxicate you, making you close your eyes and a smirk appearing on your mouth as you listened to Fox suggest names for him and the others, with each step and word, you felt him get even closer to you.

“I have a question,” your eyes remained closed, but you could identify that he was somewhere behind you allowing you to open your eyes and find the drawing of your brother in blue in the distance, “what does that damn bluebird mean?”

“And why would I tell you that?”

Despite being prepared for whatever Fox would do, you felt your entire body burn and the hair stand on end, as well as an discomfort in the abdomen area that you refused to consider for a long time. He was much closer than you expected, his breath lightly brushing your ear, his hands close but never close enough to touch you.

“Are you saying that because you don’t know?”

Your face turned as your speech was completed, allowing you to notice how close Fox really was. Fuck!, how they were similar to the others, you cursed as your eyes lingered on his face. The mole just below his eye being the first thing you noticed before your eyes fell on Fox's lips, meeting the mole you had only heard others talk about over the years, the damn mole on his lower lip.

“See something you like, princess?”

Your eyes quickly noticed the light smile on Fox's lips before going up and finding his on yours before going down to your mask, his hand removing it causing his eyes to fall on your lips, making you wet them with your tongue, smiling when you notice his gaze completely on your lips.

“My eyes are up here, do you know?”

“Oh, I know, but I needed to admire the lips I heard so much about,” an electric current passed through your body, burning completely when you felt Fox's hand on your lower back, his face mere millimeters from yours. “I have to say, you really are something else, princess.”

“The drawing,” despite the fear of your voice breaking, you managed to say without moving a muscle away from Fox, a fact noticed by him who returned with a smile on his lips, “tell me about the drawing.”

“I'm afraid you'll have to ask one of the others,” your eyes closed once more to try to ignore the lack of Fox's warmth and presence than actually the idea that you would have to talk to Mars and the others to get the answer, “the only thing we know is that it represents something, or someone," your eyes quickly fell on Fox who, even from afar, you could see the smile growing on his mouth for having captured your attention, "ah!, it looks like you know what the drawing means."

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking, right?” Fox nodded and giggled as he headed for the door that had your brother's drawing on it, the mischievous look returning to his eyes with every step you took getting closer to where he was. “Can you tell me the next one of you I’ll have the pleasure to meet?”

His laugh was genuine when you emphasized the 'pleasure' word, making you hide a smile, thanking him for ignoring your failed attempt to contain the smile that formed on your face.

“And what would be the fun in that, princess?” With that, the door was opened, genuine surprise showing on your face, making Fox smile and approach you, his left hand lightly pressing your lower back indicating that you entered the completely dark room, not a light or indicator of one in sight, his breath in your ear. “That’s why you came, isn’t it?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Call it a peace offering of such.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Time is running out, princess, moving day is upon us.”

Your eyes met his one last time, predatory, analytical.

His hand on your waist, burning the area even though it was covered by your clothes.

“What does ‘moving day’ mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like, except we are rebel revolutionaries just as your government categorizes us,” his lips lightly touched your ear, an electric current ran through your entire body, “we need to move in style, don’t we?”

“You gonna burn down the building or something?”

The smirk returned to Fox's face, the only response you would have. When your movements went to the parking lot door, Fox trapped you between his arm and the dark room door, his face serious, his eyes determined.

“Your team will be safe if they don’t do anything stupid,” a step forward, but you didn’t dare move, your eyes tracking to the weapon that was relatively close at that moment, mind going to the hidden places in your clothing, “That includes you, not doing something stupid, princess.”

With a quick movement, Fox managed to trip you before one of his hands found your waist, pushing you into the room and the door closed shortly afterwards. Curses leaving your mouth freely as you punched and kicked the door, only stopping when you heard a noise on the other side.

“Why the fuck are you doing this? Get me the fuck out!”

“Don't worry, princess, I'm sure you can get yourself out,” the playful tone in Fox's voice made your blood run cold, “you and your team have thirty minutes, check the desk, there's a present there for you.”

As silence reigned both inside the room and outside, you tried to calm your breathing, the dark room quickly lighting up with blue emergency lights. Cautiously, you turned your body, believing you weren't alone in the space, but there was no one but you, there was nothing but photos of you, the team Eden had created with you and the others, photos from the warehouse day of you talking with Jungkook and Moonbin, photos of you entering the warehouse late at night.

Your eyes continued to roam the space, photos of you in the refugee camp, even of the cut you had received there were photos, however, they were not from the middle of the revolt, no, you were in the hospital bed on Guardian's Island, Hyunjin, Minho , Changbin, Chan and Jeongin by your side. The photos were from Angel's first day on the island. Did they have someone inside the complex? Your mind went on and on as you looked at each of the photos meticulously placed on the walls and in lines throughout the room, before landing on some of the papers.

Not only were the profiles of each person in the photos, but also of other people, even the XKRS were present in photos and documents. Your feet dug into the floor as you turned to the table, finding not only a huge drawing of the bird with a branch made by your brother, but a circular metal object exactly in the middle of the drawing. You would recognize those two things anywhere.

Your fingers went to find the bracelet, fingers finding the cold metal before wrapping it around and bringing it close to your face, the words still present, screaming at you: 'be free ♡'. Your fingers follow the outline of the words and the heart. Your own heart clenching momentarily with the memory of the last time that bracelet had been seen by you, the last person who wore it. Your eyes resting one last time on the space around you, on each of the photos, on each of the people you know, the way and place they were taken.

The Black Pirates were much better than you, they were way ahead of all of you.

Your superiors had no chance, if the strategy didn't change, they would never be caught, that damn room confirmed your suspicions. That's why they came back, that's why they were organizing to leave. No one in the government could know how much they knew, but they insisted on showing you more and more, they didn't care if you knew about their plans or not.

“(y/n)?” Ignoring the shock of hearing Maddox's voice in your ear, you composed yourself, automatically placing the bracelet on your wrist, hiding it with your sleeve. “You there? What the fuck is happening at the school?”

“I’m here, what do you mean?”

“The helicopters that just came back said they saw spots of light and the sounds of gunfire, but no one is responding,” It was only then that you noticed how quiet your communication point with your team was. "How are you?"

“I have no communication with them,” the words came out quickly along with the realization that the Black Pirates had managed to interfere with your communication points again, you were alone. “Can you hear me well?”

“It’s not quite ideal, but I can, yes. Where are you? Did you manage to get to the parking lot?”

The sigh that left your mouth made Maddox ask again how you were, your footsteps against the floor was all he could hear until you arrived at the door again. It was locked, sealed again, how did Fox expect you to come out?

“I managed to get into the dark room, but I'm trapped inside. Do you think you can help me get out?”

“What’s in the dark room?”

“I guess I’d better tell you after I get out of here,” a sarcastic sigh left your lips, “unless you’re not as badass as you say you are.”

“Give me a minute child and answer all the questions I have for you.”

A simple smile formed on your face as you could hear Maddox's fingers on the keyboard, worry growing by the second, your team was somewhere in that school, Fox had said you only had thirty minutes, now they should have cut it down to twenty.

“If you can do everything in less than twenty minutes that would be ideal,” his fingers stopped and you sighed. “They are going to destroy the school, I need to get out of here before that happens.”

“Tell me what you see.”

A smile appeared on your face, Maddox was cunning enough to try to circumvent your words and get what he was looking for, but you were the offspring of Strickland, of powerful people in the government, you knew the game of words well, what people wanted, except when the subject was Angel, Serpent and Fox. Shaking your head, your eyes focused on the door and what could be seen around it, your fingers passing along the wall, pushing documents nailed to them, photos falling to the floor, you knew that none of that mattered, you wouldn't be able to leave there with everything or anything at all, maybe you wouldn't even be able to leave that room.

“Maddox, everything that could exist here, I gave you, can you or can’t you get me out of this fucking room?”

“Do you still have that object I gave you?”

Your feet took root in the ground, your hands finding the computer mouse-like object you were meticulously keeping in one of your pockets. Maddox's words came back to you as you questioned him about what that was.

“I thought you said it would do more harm than good if I used it.”

“This might also be the only way you can get through that door before the school blows up in three minutes.”

“How can you be sure?”

Despite it being a simple question, they both knew that it had three hidden questions.

How can you be sure it will work?

How can you be sure I won't die in the process?

How can you be sure that the device will activate properly?

Because this was another detail of the object, if it was activated incorrectly, it could explode not only the person but anyone within a kilometer radius.

“I have trust in both our abilities, do you?”

“What do I have to do?”

You knew you didn't have enough time to question or play any kind of joke. Meticulously, your fingers followed Maddox's instructions, the reaction was almost mechanical as your mind wondered about his life story and how your brother found him. What you had in your hands was a small bomb, a bomb with an extremely high mortality rate for its size.

“Now place it right in between the door and the frame, it has to be precisely in the middle,” you nodded, even though you knew he wouldn't see, barely daring to say or breathe, “now click on the bottom left so the bomb attaches itself to the surface,” at the same instant, a countdown began, Maddox’s voice was fast, you could feel the worry in his voice, “now hide!”

Skillfully, you turned the aluminum table that was in the center of the place, the papers falling to the floor, the only thing present on it being your brother's drawing mere millimeters from your face, almost like a bad joke. A noise was heard and you felt the whole room shake, dust and debris falling on your head. It hadn't worked, Maddox's bomb hadn't worked.

Before you could get up, the entire space in the room was filled with heat and noise forcing you to bend down covering your ears, the table ricocheted and hit you with full force causing you to fall to the floor before another noise began to be heard. Rain and gunshots. Your eyes opened slowly, the photos and papers burned around you, the table was hot against your boots. Maddox's bomb had exploded

With wobbly legs you stood up, the door to the dark room was wide open, a hole where the handle was. Despite the table being hot, you pushed it away with the sole of your boot, looking one last time at the place, at the information that Fox had let you have, for whatever reason.

Your eyes fell one last time on the drawing of the blue bird.

ATEEZ didn't know the reason for using the drawing, Eden said that it had already been seen in other active cells of the Black Pirates, maybe that was the boys' way of saying that they never forgot you? As Howl and Mars had said the times you met them? But there was something different about the drawings you had seen that day with the others from Eden's archives, but one thing was certain, the drawing was a message to you, even if you couldn't read it yet.

With one last breath you ran out of the room, eyes looking for the gun thrown in the same place as before, cursing when you didn't find it, Fox nowhere to be seen. It was then that you noticed the bed, not far in front, your gun rested there, with a paper on top, the handwriting was Fox's, considering it was identical to Wooyeon's.

‘Looking forward to seeing you again, princess, hopefully sooner rather than later.’

The eye rolling was interrupted by the noise of the parking door being forced open, making you find a chain passed through the handles, Fox had done that?, but what was the point? In a quick movement, you put away Fox's note, grabbing your gun just as the door opened enough for an arm and a leg to get through, then a face met you just as a noise was heard from outside, lighting up the parking lot a little – an explosion – allowing you to see another door, responsible for the entry and exit of cars, which you believed would be blocked.

“You really are the most intriguing of all, Fox.” Another noise that made the entire structure shake, followed by a scream from one of the rebels trying to open the door made you curse softly and try to communicate with your team by pressing the communication point. “If someone can hear me, I’m in the parking lot, going towards the court, I repeat going towards the court!”

With quick steps, you finally left the parking lot, the sports court was still burning with the fire from the explosion, but that wasn't what made you stop with your feet planted on the ground. No, a small explosion wouldn't be enough to make your heart stop beating for a second, it wouldn't be able to make your knees weaken, much less it would bring about the tightness in your chest that you were feeling at that moment.

Your fingers wrapped around the gun that was lying next to you, making no move to use it. Even though he was physically Shinwoo, something in the way he carried himself and the look he gave you said he was one of ATEEZ, Shinwoo's copy from another dimension. The eyes were hard, analyzing you as if you had three heads. The fire surrounded him, your eyes quickly falling on the burning basketball not far from the stranger.

When your feet finally started to move, a car approached you. The back door opening, revealing Yongbok waiting for you with worried eyes, Hyunjin in the passenger seat and Minho driving the car. Your eyes followed one last time to the figure in the flames, but he was already turning his back on you and heading through the flames, one last noise being heard from the school and the metal door being opened revealing some of the rebels, weapons drawn in your direction.

Shots rang out and you knew they were coming from the car, causing the rebels to quickly take cover as your feet hit the ground, the rainwater spraying both around you and onto your pants. The exchange of shots began and you felt the bullet in your right arm before it hit the car, another one grazing your thigh, burying itself in the leather of the car.

With a jump you finally got in, but with the jolt of the acceleration, your hip hit the metal part, just like the car door slamming against your leg before Yongbok pulled you inside, Hyunjin pushing the door next to you from outside so that you wouldn't be hit by a bullet again.

"Where are the others?" The words were finally able to come out of your mouth, even if between grunts considering the pain that reverberated through your body with each movement that Yongbok made to wrap the wound on your arm trying to stop the blood pouring from the bullet wound. Blood also stained the leather of the back seat and you cursed the shooter and Hyunjin when he pressed the graze wound – which apparently wasn't that graze after all – with a piece of fabric. When the silence continued, your voice gained an authoritative tone, knowing something was wrong. "What happened?"

“They caught the XKRS members.”

03: fox.

heart string of gold || OT8! ateez || lore au

They had abandoned you, all nine people you cared about most had completely abandoned you. In the end, you were just like your parents and superiors said you would be if you continued to allow feelings to be felt. You then became Strickland's weapon and the Black Pirates, like their leaders, were your ultimate target.

⇦ || hsog || taglist || masterlist || ⇨

taglist: open || @cksanpurpleluv || @lavishloving || @roomsofangel || @ismelllikechlorine247 || @saintriots || @fanoflife || @unlikelysublimekryptonite || @woosmaid || @onedumbho3 || @sousydive || @classic-anna || @the-anarchist-public || @sannwa || @itstheghostofmypast || @bunnliix || @heihaneul || @byeolbeloved ||

↪ if your name is crossed, is bc i couldn't tag you for some reason.

let me know if you want to be added to the taglist ❣

52 notes · View notes

yessa-vie · 3 months

Text

PROLOGUE || HEART STRING OF GOLD || OT8! ATEEZ.

00 || HEART STRING OF GOLD || OT8! ATEEZ.

→ PARING. OT8! ateez x fem!reader.

→ GENDER. angst. tiny bit of fluff. suggesttive. ateez lore au. soulmate au.

→ WC. 10,137.

→ RATING. NC-17, R (mdni!).

→ IMPORTANT. more like a short backstory to start, than an actual beggining of it. dimentional traveling. cursing. angst. slight violence (mentioned and heard by the reader). mature content (indication of sex as a coping mechanism, but no smut). ateez, halateez and reader in the same space, but not really (they get familiarized with the reader, but not the other way around).

⇦ || hsog || masterlist || ⇨

It was time, they all knew it. All of them knew what that choice meant. All of them felt the weight of that choice. Your image entering each of their minds as they exchanged glances before one of them held Cromer in his gloved hands. The image of your face once again took over the minds of those present. What they were doing was for you. Everything was for you.

As soon as the Cromer was rotated, a spacetime vortex was opened. One of those present quickly entered, a last exchange of glances with those who would remain in that world, the secret wish that the Cromer would be protected, that you would be protected. Their work was far from finished, but they also couldn't stay much longer, it was necessary, it wasn't right, but it was necessary.

When the other side of the vortex opened, the Cromer remained in his hand, the sand still falling, he would have enough time to do what he needed to do. The place was old, dusty, full of things, but with enough space to move around and relax, the late day sunlight was already illuminating only part of the warehouse in which he was, his gaze quickly scanning the space before pausing in a figure lying on the sofa.

With a heavy sigh and the Cromer on his left side, the stranger took a few steps towards the sofa, the movement of shadows and the noise of the soles on the concrete disturbed the rest of the man who was sleeping – and who possibly will have some pain in his neck when he wakes up – on the couch.

Hongjoong's eyes widened when he saw the presence in front of him. The stranger was dressed completely in black, coat, mask, hat, shoes, gloves... There wasn't a single piece of clothing that wasn't black, the silver accessories being the only color that could be seen over the black. The stranger then handed the Cromer to Hongjoong who just watched his movements, precise, determined, the stranger's eyes never leaving Hongjoong's figure who remained sheepish on the sofa.

The sand was already running out when the Cromer was placed on the table in front of Hongjoong, when the stranger's hand left the object, it was as if everything disappeared, a lost and confused dream, or at least, that's what Hongjoong would think if he hadn't whether by the object being in front of him, just as the stranger had previously left him. The curious eyes analyzing the object while the hand went towards the cell phone, all his friends wanted to meet at the warehouse.

Hongjoong's smile was a mix of feelings that he couldn't describe. The stranger looked familiar, but he had never seen anyone like that. The object seemed to shine, catching his attention, but it also seemed dangerous in some way. Perhaps the others could help him understand what had happened when they arrived, as he was still trying to understand how that stranger appeared in his dream, but the object he was carrying was in front of him.

This was the fifth call in three days you had received to go to the Command Center. It didn't take much for you to know that the leaders of the Black Pirates would soon act, the problem was knowing when that would happen. You knew them well enough to know some of the tricks up their sleeves, but they knew you just as well to know exactly which ones to throw at which time so you couldn't tell what their next move was.

This chess game was already old, it was almost laughable how well you knew each other despite never having been in the same space, considering they ran away from you like the plague, like they weren't the plague, the gum stuck to your shoe. Hatred and anger were the only feelings you allowed yourself to feel towards the leaders of the Black Pirates, they were the main fuels to make you run after them as if they were oxygen, fueling the fire that burned inside you.

Your superiors seeking answers didn't help with that at all. Even though you knew your feelings were wrong, even though you knew how harmful they could be, you and your superiors shared the anger and hatred towards the group of rebels that had emerged two years ago. They were the group that had been active the longest, promoting chaos and disrupting the Strickland government's plans.

In the last two years, they managed to cause more damage to society than expected, even though they were not actively present, the group's followers – called Black Pirates – did not help at all, maintaining what was defended by their leaders, especially when they disappeared.

No one seemed to know where they were going, but you did. The memories of the place they ran to, whenever it was possible, came back with full force in your mind. The fact that they had the Cromer did nothing to help them get caught, especially considering that whoever was responsible for catching them had no idea that they used the Cromer to appear and disappear at will.

But you couldn't tell this detail to anyone, not just because of the promise you had made to a ghost, but because of the questions that information would lead to. The fact that you and your team were part of Crisis Management helped in your personal crusade against the Black Pirates that only your team knew about, which was already too many people considering who you were.

As soon as you entered the room designated for you and your team, Jeongin and Ryujin appeared on each side, Jisung quickly passing by leaving a cup of coffee on your table, heading in the direction of Chaeryeong, Yeji and Chan. You managed to see one of the desert areas of Strickland, rolling your eyes when Jeongin handed over the order papers, casting a glance at Ryujin when you heard a laugh coming from the girl.

Since you were fifteen, when your world fell into pieces, you decided to focus on other things, until contact with your brother was cut off completely. It was then that you decided to become Strickland's main weapon, so that no one would feel what you were feeling – even if you couldn't express that feeling openly.

Everyone there knew each other from many years under the Strickland government, mainly thanks to the Prestige Academy, which wasn't much of a surprise when you decided to form a team of them all. The first was Chan, the last to accept the request for the team was Jeongin, many tried to take his place, but you denied, the superiors tried to place others among the team, causing several private sessions between you and them, but at no point did you weaken.

The team was that, if someone didn't want to participate, then the team would have one less, but only the names on your list would be there. After one of the last private sessions with the superiors, Jeongin found you with Hyunjin and Ryujin – your two shadows –, both tending to your injuries, but he only accepted the next day, when a task had been separated for everyone and he joined your team, silently and consciously.

You could feel his eyes on you more than anyone else’s. Everyone knew that feelings were prohibited at Strickland, everyone knew how to mask what they felt well, ignoring them most of the time, but sometimes they overflowed, but the twelve of you managed to keep the dam stable even in those moments.

Respect was quickly earned by you with each successful task. You were a unit, no one entered, and no one left. They were more your family than your own. They understood that your anger at the Black Pirates went beyond disturbing the peace, Chan had his training with your brother, the others knew the legend his name carried, the weight it brought to your shoulders along with your family name.

Jeongin spoke a few details with each passing of the paper, the coffee cooling in your hand, the last thing you needed was a burnt tongue. Your eyes went from the sheets delivered by Jeongin, to the images transmitted on Yeji and Chaeryeong's screens. Your eyes fell on Seungmin in a corner with Minho, Chan and Hyunjin.

Jisung and Yongbok were quickly at your side with Changbin, listening to what Jeongin finished telling you, making you sigh and run your hands over your face, your eyes burning from the sleepless night, your back sore from the armchair you managed to nap in for three hours before the call to go to the center.

“Do they know anything concrete or are they going to send us there just to waste time?”

Your irritation made the other five around you laugh, receiving an eye roll in response.

“It seems like one of the Black Pirates members let it slip that the leaders are close to one of the old bases,” Changbin sighed, his hand resting on the gun on his hip as a natural reflex, you sighed, taking the coffee with a few sips, seeing a small smile on Jisung's lips as you moaned in pleasure as you felt the drink go down your throat. “They don’t know which one, but they are sending the main Crisis Management units to the bases.”

“And why the hell are they sending us to the most forgotten and remote base of all? Even more so with our recent achievements... It doesn’t make any sense!”

“They said we should see it as some kind of vacation, as congratulations for everything we’ve done.”

Seungmin's voice made you look in his direction, his voice was loud, reverberating through the room, but he was focused on what Minho was frantically typing on the computer. Yongbok just shook his head at the others reponse.

“And which of the Black Pirates did the report? We have brought so many of them recently, how can we believe their words?”

Jisung always doubted someone's words. He always said that the body was the best way to know the truth, he hated torture sessions, interrogations, private sessions – as your superiors liked to call them. His eyes fell on you, your eyes intent on Minho’s computer.

“The terrain isn’t the best either, thanks to the sandstorms,” Yeji sighed looking at the latest satellite images with the blueprints they had offered. “At least the part we’re staying in appears to be impenetrable, so the sand might not have been able to get in.”

“I have already ordered three cars, they should be released and properly fueled in two or three hours.”

Hyunjin's eyes left the cell phone to fall on Chan and then on you, your eyes fell on the small purple mark on his neck, slightly hidden by his long black hair. You exchanged small smiles before he went back to looking at the computer screen and you went back to focusing on the photos and information that Jeongin and Yongbok spread across your desk.

Your head fell to the side, finding the side of Jeongin's body that didn't move, but his left hand found your head, fingers passing lightly through your disheveled locks, fingertips passing lightly over your face and neck, making you shiver a little, feeling a small laugh come out of Jeongin, before pushing your head against his stomach.

Ryujin sat next to you on the chair, her right arm wrapped around your waist, a simple kiss was placed by her on your shoulder, while her other hand rested on your thigh, fingers making light caresses there. You allowed yourself to smile. That room was a safe place for that, for you.

Since you chose each of the people present in that room, they have undergone changes in their training, the superiors have become more flexible with them, even if they have become more inflexible with you. You had been contaminated by feelings a long time ago, over time, you ended up contaminating your own team, but by consensus, the only moments this would be demonstrated were when you were together and alone, away from the eyes of the world.

Those eleven people healed you in many ways, you were more than grateful for their presence in your life, you would kill and die for them, but for everyone, that was duty, but in truth, you loved each one of those eleven people, but you never allowed yourself to think about it too much, your mind going back to the former nine people you loved unconditionally who abandoned you.

One of them never to return.

Your right hand left the cup of coffee that Jisung had brought, moving towards your chest, your fingers quickly tracing the outline of the pendant that weighed occasionally around your neck, the memories and meaning of that necklace weighing more and more as you remembered of its presence, but you couldn't remove it, even when you should have, your movements never completed the act, needing others to do it for you.

Despite the blouse, it was as if you could feel each of the carefully made cracks in the glass, the eight pieces that came together in the center, surrounded by a thread of gold forming a heart. The nine people came back to you, and you felt your stomach drop. They had brought this into your life, they had taught you to feel, to sing, to dance, to listen to music, to enjoy everything that life has to offer, they had destroyed you and these people would be able to start rebuilding you, as they have been doing for two years now.

"Where are they?"

Your eyes went to Jeongin, Yongbok and Seungmin, the only ones who could know where the Black Pirates were and could be questioned. It was Jeongin who responded, taking some of the sheets back. Ryujin quickly standing next to you.

“The whistleblower is on Level 03,” you nodded, getting up from your chair, your eyes closing for a moment trying to get rid of the burning sensation that was in them. “(y/n), no -”

"What is the number?"

Jeongin exchanged glances with Ryujin and Chan before nodding, leaving first, with you and Ryujin following shortly after. Your group was very well divided, as you idealized and created the group, you were the main leader, Chan was the secondary leader along with Jeongin, unless you needed to be absent, then Chan would take your place. While you were leading everything, Chan handled the external missions while Jeongin handled the internal ones.

There were several reasons for the names you chose to make up the team, but the main one was the way everyone behaved in general, with the exception of Jeongin, as his background was the closest to yours. Both your families were high-ranking, both grew up the same way, when your brother started going on missions alone, Jeongin was your main friend in that place, he understood the internal squeamishness, he understood what being on your team meant, his family created countless reasons for him not to enter, but seeing you – one of the only people he could say he cared about other than his family – all hurt, he went against his family's judgement.

When you three arrived at Level 03, you could already hear the screams of agony, the smell of burning flesh, the smell of blood infiltrating your nostrils with full force as the screams reverberated in your eardrums. You couldn't say you weren't used to it; your features had been neutral since they left your team's room, the blood ran cold through your veins just from the noises that could be heard behind the doors, the prayers that were heard through trembling and desperate voices.

That was when Jeongin stopped in front of a solid iron door, two guards with the lock released, but none stopped him from opening the door, causing screams to meet your body on the other side. A simple exchange of looks and you knew they would block your path, as it was Jeongin's older brother who was taking care of that interrogation, hence his resistance to telling you the location.

Because his family had a grudge against you.

Hatred, if you could say, especially Jeongin's parents, as for his brothers, it was a mix. You knew that the oldest respected you, despite the irritation always present whenever you two meets, the youngest never seemed to have been affected by the family's decision regarding your treatment, so much so that he was one of the few allowed to participate in the training of your team, whether as a listener or hands on.

The screams coming from inside the room stopped, leaving only the murmurs and cries coming from the Black Pirate who was being interrogated. Even though you, Ryujin and Jeongin knew that the two guards wouldn't do anything to hurt you, your hand went to the gun that was in your holster, while the other stayed on your hip, movements that didn't go unnoticed by Ryujin who discreetly left the gun prepared to be used if necessary.

You can discern two different footsteps, mumbling approaching and already preparing to meet Jeongin's older brother's irritable face. Your friend and third in command rolled his eyes when he found you with a mocking smile towards him and his brother, despite always staying by your side, Jeogin wants to maintain as much of a civilized relationship as possible, especially after you and his brother fought when you and the others returned from your first official mission with Jeongin.

"What do you want?"

“The exact words of the Black Pirate who ratted out the leaders.”

The cynical laugh didn't shake the smile that remained present on your face. The older man's eyes fell on Jeongin who kept his eyes fixed on you, making his brother roll his eyes. Your smirk grew a little wider at that.

“You know you need to go through the superiors to get this information, even though you are who you are.”

Despite nodding, your eyes found the red dot inside the room he had left, a smart smile taking over your lips, Jeongin just followed your gaze, the small smile on the third-in-command's lips told you that he had understood and that what you wanted to do was possibly feasible.

“You know as well as I do that this is nothing more than a courtesy,” your steps were small and focused, Jeongin's brother's face became serious, especially when one of the youngest's hands rested on his shoulder, “you know just like I do, that I always get what I want, and I want the fucking whistleblower recording.”

It was the umpteenth time that Hongjoong felt the mattress on his back, San's hand extended soon after, accompanied by a simple: 'sorry, captain'. His brown eyes trailed to the three distant figures observing their physical training. With a small sigh, Hongjoong took San's hand who quickly helped the second oldest to stand up.

“How much longer do they expect us to do this?”

“We’ve only been at this for two hours, Hongjoong.”

The older of the two sighed and noticed San's eyes looking around the space they were in. It definitely wasn't the best despite being a mansion, or at least it had been one a few years ago, before the desert destroyed part of it. Fortunately, that day's training was indoors, the large, hollow windows helping to pass air through the spaces of the abandoned mansion.

Hongjoong's eyes met Yeosang's Mirror, known as Logan, although it was still strange to see such familiar faces linked to people with personalities almost opposite to his and his friends. It was when Yunho's Mirror – Uno – took a step forward that Hongjoong realized that he and San had been standing still for a considerable time, but before anyone could say anything, the wooden doors were thrown open and the Mirror of himself – Lucky – came in slightly out of breath, making everyone's attention falls on him.

“Follow me, everyone,” the voice reverberated, but instead of coming out as controlled as always, it was trembling, in shock, which only made everyone exchange worried looks. "She is here."

That was all it took for everyone who wasn't part of his group of friends to run out the door he left open. All eyes fell on Hongjoong who was following quickly, climbing the steps worn down by the desert sand. It was not easy to capture the attention or destabilize the men who had brought Hongjoong and his friends to that reality, which only made his curiosity increase.

Three cars were coming in the direction they were in, Hongjoong and the others' eyes were panicked for a moment. The cars were still far away, there would be time for them to flee the place, go to the stone ruins that they had to memorize as they headed towards the abandoned mansion, but when none of the men in black made a move, a slight shiver passed down his spine.

“How do you know it’s her?”

Seonghwa and Hongjoong exchanged looks, hands indicating for the younger ones to remain silent. Instead of answering, one of the men in front handed over the binoculars, considering he hadn't moved since before everyone stopped, Hongjoong bet it was Seonghwa's Mirror – Mars.

“Symbol of Strickland headquarters,” his eyes focused on Mingi’s Mirror – Iyaah – looking through the binoculars, mouth slightly open before Seonghwa noticed his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “Nightingale also warned us about it.”

Nightingale.

The name that the ATEEZ boys heard from the moment they arrived at that place. The only four certainties they had from the moment they were brought in and were being trained by the men who looked like their twins were:

1. Nightingale was the main source of information.

2. She, whoever she was, was of extreme importance.

3. Strickland was an extremely corrupt and restricted place.

4. They were being trained to take the place of the men in front of them.

"Who is she?"

Wooyoung's voice was heard, but no one made any attempt to suppress one of the youngest in the group. The men in black just looked at Wooyoung, footsteps tired and fearful, not for their group, not for the three vehicles that were getting closer and closer with each second lost to them, but rather for “her”, someone from the Strickland government, someone who was inside one of the vehicles approaching the abandoned mansion.

“We have a lot to update you on and little time, get everything and meet us at the hidden vehicles, you have five minutes.”

Mars announced, returning to stand next to Lucky, while the other six turned to Hongjoong and the others, passing them nimbly. With a simple shake of the head, everyone else followed the stairs they had previously climbed, spreading out to the places they had used, picking up any object that could help place them in there, as they had been instructed.

Seonghwa stopped for a moment when he heard small arguments, his eyes looking for who exactly was arguing with who, finding Wooyoung, Shinwoo – Jongho's Mirror –, Yeosang and Iyaah. Shinwoo held Wooyoung's black bandana in his hands, Iyaah took Jongho's basketball and took it to another separate corner.

“Just give the fucking bandana back and we can get out of here, how fucking hard is it?”

“The difficulty,” Shinwoo chuckled awkwardly, his eyes meeting Seonghwa’s for a second before turning back to Wooyoung and Yeosang, the latter holding the former to avoid a fight, “is that we need to leave this behind us, just like some other things."

“We never had to leave anything behind, you always said we could never leave anything behind! Why the fuck now?”

Yeosang's voice reverberated through the space they were in and Seonghwa watched Shinwoo's fingers pass through Wooyoung's bandana, a sad smile on his lips.

“This is about her, isn’t it?” The eyes of the three met Seonghwa's, the hard steps towards them, the question making Wooyoung and Yeosang look confused at Shinwoo who squeezed the bandana between his fingers. “That's what changed,” the eyes fell on the bandana before Shinwoo placed it behind his own body, his lips pursed, but the eyes didn't leave Seonghwa's curious ones, “her being here changed the plans, didn't it?”

"Two minutes."

San's Mirror – Howl – appeared taking the bandana from Shinwoo's hand, Seonghwa’s eyes falling on him for a moment, although he didn't seem to worry, but Seonghwa noticed the sad eyes falling on the bandana, just as Shinwoo had done some time before.

“We will explain everything when we reach the ruins, but we need to leave now.”

Wooyoung and Yeosang looked at Seonghwa who nodded, lips pursed, eyes scanning Shinwoo's face for any sign he could give, but nothing came out. He had realized that the ‘Mirrors’ had learned to manipulate their features, during the months they all spent together, Seonghwa, Hongjoong and Yunho had been observing them all, their reactions, how they behaved, which caused their attention to be captured, how and when they were captured.

“Finish getting your things, we don’t have much time.”

Wooyoung and Yeosang nodded, going back to picking up their things before being interrupted. The older man's eyes met Yunho's, the conversation they had a few weeks ago returning to both of their minds. The differences between the two groups became more evident with each passing day. The breaking point getting closer and closer.

Despite the sand and the wear it caused, especially due to sandstorms, the site was in considerable condition, extremely preserved considering the time it was empty between visits organized by the Command Center to the new and old bases. However, like any location suffering State of Siege, the twelve split up to investigate the base as a whole, just to ensure that it had not been affected or was being guarded.

As a leader, to pass through some areas, it was necessary to clear your identification, considering how old and abandoned that base was, security was one of the firsts Strickland's, simple and easily corruptible if you understood security and had the ability to infiltrating the system, which you knew the Black Pirates were capable of, especially their leaders, your mind quickly going to Uno and Logan, the ones you knew were the most capable of such a feat.

With simple signs, you continued deeper and deeper into the abandoned mansion towards the base's Communication Center alone, against Jeongin, Hyunjin and Ryujin's wishes. Thanks to the sand spread around the place, your footsteps could be heard, making your senses heightened, considering any movement, fingers on the trigger of the gun, controlled breathing, you expected everything, some homeless person lost asleep, or even animals, snakes and scorpions being the main companions in those places as your team remembered so fondly, Yongbok and Chaeryeong in particular.

But nothing prepared you for finding a black bandana with thin white designs that adorned the entire fabric, making your feet plant on the floor, the basketball at the foot of the door where the bandana hugged the handle.

The door that led to the Communication Center.

Your ragged breathing didn't help you understand what was happening, it didn't help you hear every possible movement, movement that could mean that someone was there, that they were there.

Your eyes roamed every corner of the corridor you were in, you quickly turned on the gun's flashlight, illuminating the spaces in the hope of seeing one of them hidden, wrapped in black clothes so different from the people they were, but not so different from who they had become, partly being your fault.

You swallowed hard when you noticed that the space was empty, the noise of the soles of your boots in contact with the sand no longer mattered over the buzzing that bothered your ears. As your foot touched the ball, pushing it slightly to the side, your hands let go of the gun hanging at your side, trembling fingers untying the bandana attached to the doorknob. The fabric was not worn as expected, fingers working quickly to unroll the piece looking for a sign, object, something written, anything, but nothing was there.

Your hands went quickly to your face, stopping not long after when you noticed a simple detail. The smell of the bandana. The smell was Wooyeon. No smell lasted that long, no object lasted that long in the desert without some kind of wear and tear, unless it was properly cared for, supervised. A weight took over your chest, the bandana getting tangled between your fingers and hand, the image of the last time you had seen Wooyeon with that bandana coming back with full force in your mind.

The sound of Changbin's voice on your communication point made you return to why you were there, alone, finding objects that reminded you of them. The bandana quickly being tied around your wrist, the flashlight being disconnected from the gun finding your mouth as you worked on clearing it so your team could enter the Communication Center.

“(y/n), any news?”

“Now entering the Communication Center,” your response was quick but breathless, making Chan worry for a moment, “it’s okay, Chan, the door is just stuck.”

Which wasn't a lie at all as your arms pulled the door open, releasing the dark hallway to the Communication Center, the flashlight returning to your hand again. Spider webs can be seen in the corners. So, they didn't go in completely, you cursed your own thoughts as you held the basketball with one arm going to the identification point, putting in your code and registration, releasing the lock making the entire base reverberate with life.

“Coming to you, be careful!”

“Chan, everything is full of cobwebs, I doubt there is anything of real danger here,” you laughed quietly, hearing a small grumble from the other side before an 'ok' from Chan, your feet quick to warn Central that you had arrived. “The quicker we resolve it, the quicker we get back.”

“Since you’re there, you could turn on the air conditioning, wouldn’t you say boss?”

Seungmin's voice reverberated through their communication point, causing a set of laughs to emerge alongside your own.

“It’ll be the first thing I do as soon as I get to the Command Base, Seungie!”

Despite the smile on your lips, the basketball and bandana were still heavy on the left side of your body. Your mind playing tricks on you, memories from before it all happened, the remnants that seemed to say they had been there. As if that wasn't enough, when your feet finally reached the Command Center, you could see a small drone, just like the ones Logan used to use with you, but it was broken, parts were missing, but you knew it was theirs.

Your eyes quickly finding a memory chip underneath the drone. That was something Wooyeon, Logan and Shinwoo loved to do with you, leaving little clues to something bigger, usually all orchestrated by Lucky and Mars, but all the boys had a hand in whatever they had planned. Your mind taking you to the last time that had happened, making you take your hand to your chest, biting your lower lip, even if you weren't feeling the pendant with your protective clothing on, the gold and glass seemed to cool that entire area, your breathing heavy in the throat.

They had entered.

The quick steps that came towards you made you place the ball and the drone inside the backpack that weighed on your back, the chip finding one of your front pockets, the bandana still firmly wrapped around your hand. Your fingers quickly typing in the codes needed to inform Central that you had arrived at the base, as well as the codes needed to fully activate the base.

As soon as part of your team passed through the door, cold air began to be released throughout the base, causing some to celebrate, their weapons already abandoned at their sides as they scattered the remains of their equipment. Minho and Chan quickly went to meet you next to one of the computers.

“What’s the condition?”

“Prehistoric computers, but the base seems to be in order,” you replied to Chan as your eyes swept over the cameras that began to turn on across all the various screens. “Can you check the usage history, Minho?”

“I just need to connect with my laptop, as soon as I connect with the network, we will all have access to everything, if the last visitors have done their work correctly.”

The three of you laughed and your eyes fell on Chan who was observing your features. He and Jeongin were always able to read you easier than the others.

"We can talk?"

“Chan-”

“(y/n), please.”

You sighed, Minho's eyes fell on the two of you before his eyes focused on the laptop screen, his nimble fingers typing the codes necessary for him to have complete access, being able to share this access with everyone else on the team.

“Minho, let me know as soon as everything is ok, I want to take a look at the recordings,” he nodded, his eyes fixed on the screen as lines and lines of code appeared. Your eyes then turned to Chan who was still watching you worriedly. “We need a shower; can you walk me to the room?”

“Jeongin?” Everyone's eyes met the third leader's, cheeks puffing with water. “Let’s pack our things, organize everything so there’s always someone watching, at least until we organize the entire system.” Jeongin nodded, swallowing the water and quickly looking around, counting how many of the team were already at the base. Your eyes fearfully met Chan's who smiled toothlessly at you, hand outstretched towards the rooms. "Let's go?"

“Did you find anything intriguing while searching?”

Was the first question you could form once the two of you left the sharp eyes and ears of your team. The hope that Chan had seen something out of place in the base still emanated from you, because if that wasn't the reason for the conversation, you would probably be caught covering up possible relevant information about Strickland's Public Enemies #1.

“Someone was here before us,” the stiffening of your body was enough for Chan to notice that you already knew that information, but he didn't seem angry. “I found a partially torn sheet in one of the rooms, what made you notice?”

As both stopped walking, your eyes found Chan's outstretched hand, a piece of paper folded between his fingers, taking it and putting it in one of the pockets, then you would think about it, once you are at the comfort of your room.

“Some of the spaces were very clean and I didn't find any animals along the way like we normally do,” that was true, but Chan didn't need to know about the other items you had found, “the sand also had places that were spread out carefully, not by the wind.”

“Traveler or Black Pirate?”

You sighed, fingers going to the bridge of your nose, despite knowing the answer to Chan's question, there were other details you had noticed, details that didn't happen when the Black Pirates were involved.

“Both? I don’t know yet, we need to check the perimeter tomorrow, go beyond the walls.”

“Do you think they managed to get in here?”

Even though the answer was also positive, you shook your head.

“They would need internal data for that,” you paused for a moment, your blood boiling slightly towards both the leaders and your superiors, but you held your features so that Chan wouldn't notice, which, luckily, worked, as he just nodded, “the recordings will also help us with that.”

“When was the last visit to the base?”

You lifted your shoulders, your mind trying to remember the schedule of the units in each area.

"Three months?"

“Then we’ll not lose too many nights of sleep,” you both laughed, and you had finally reached your room, Chan’s room not too far from yours. “I’ll ask one of the boys to make the food.”

“I’ll ask Cherry and Yeji to check the perimeter while Minho works the cameras.”

“Just in case, I’m going to ask the shadows to go get ready, there are things we need from you to make this system work.”

You rolled your eyes, but you knew he was telling the truth. As the base was almost abandoned and the fact that the system was one of the first ones, only unit leaders, superiors and infiltrators were able to grant access for some actions within the base.

“If you convince Yongbok and Minho to cook during the time we’re staying here, I promise I’ll do everything and anything you say!”

Chan laughed, nodding excitedly. Neither of you liked being a leader, that's why you shared spaces. Whenever closed and controlled environments – like bases – were used, Jeongin was the main leader, you only entering when necessary. When you were outdoors, Chan led most of the missions and investigations. The justification for anyone who would listen was to maintain your protection, considering you were leader, but in truth, you hated the position, only shining considerably since you embraced it two years ago, when the unit was created.

“I’ll take care of it now!”

You both laughed, your laughter increasing as you heard Chan order Yongbok and Minho to be the base's cooks, the sound quickly becoming muffled as you closed the door behind you. The room belonged to a unit leader, being one of the most spacious on the base and, despite not having had visitors for a few months, the place was considerably organized, not even dust or cobwebs, it seemed as if the place had been completely sealed, but honestly, when you were tired like now, you could only be grateful for that.

Your gun is quickly placed next to the bed, the backpack weighing you down with each step as your bed gets closer, but just as it is about to meet the floor, the noise of the drone rummaging around inside it reminds you of what had happened. The backpack meets your mattress as you rush to take a shower, needing to cool your head before starting to assemble the pieces the boys had left for you, something they hadn't done in four years. Something you thought they would never do again. At least, not knowing that you weren't responsible for catching them, which made you wonder if they knew about your search for any crumbs given in relation to them these last two years.

The question that was on your mind the most was: what had changed for them to contact you again? The only answer was that they knew you were after them. Had you gotten close enough for them to finally decide to acknowledge your existence again? Were they trying to redeem themselves for what they had done shortly after they emerged? Despite everything, your mind couldn't eliminate the memories of when you were younger, of everything they meant to you, of how significant you were to them, until you weren't anymore.

The towel still hugged your body as you sat in the chair pulling your laptop out of your backpack, the memory chip quickly being removed from the pocket of the vest you were wearing before. Fingers quick to type the code to allow it to be used, the MVP that Minho had installed on your computer being turned on quickly with a simple press of keys. You had one hour. An hour to see what they had done to you. An hour to understand what that meant. A time to get rid of all evidence linking the leaders of the Black Pirates to you.

As soon as the chip was connected to the external reader, a file appeared in front of it. It was a video. Two minutes, maybe a little more. Your fingers quickly went to check how loud the sound was, but as soon as you noticed it was muted, you pressed it three times, just enough to know if something would be said or not, the headphones not too far away in case you needed it.

The first scene was the open space of the mansion, on the ground floor, among the plants that managed to survive the arid climate, possibly thanks to the water pipes of the complex below the mansion, which you were in at that moment. The space quickly opened up and you noticed that the water fountain was on, six people in black were present, the masks and fedoras covering their faces, but you would know who they were anywhere.

Soon Lucky and Mars entered the scene and the eight of them looked at the camera, it seemed like they were looking into your soul, that they were in the room with you, that you were in the fountain with them at that moment. You ignored the way your stomach dropped when the eight of them removed their masks, how it felt like a party had started in your stomach, how you realized that hadn't happened in four years.

The next scene was inside, the covered space that belonged to one of the leaders of the first faction that fought against Strickland, being the main reason why this was one of the first bases. Demonstrating power was something important, you had learned this since you were little, using it today to your benefit and that of your team, even if you hated it.

Although the location remained the same, the scene was slightly changed and you realized it was the view of a drone, possibly the one in your backpack, certainly impossible to recover any files if you knew them well enough, and that you could say with 90% sure yes, you knew them well.

Your eyes quickly found the basketball in Shinwoo's hands, the bandana on Wooyeon's wrist, Lucky's smart eyes. They had programmed that. They knew you would come, but that wasn't the biggest shock, that wasn't all, that wasn’t at all the part that caused you to break and burn with hate and longing.

The last scene caused this.

Howl, Uno and Iyaah were in front of the door where you found the ball and the bandana, but none were there yet, on the other hand, the door was opened and you noticed their concern about not touching any of the cobwebs, wanting to make you think they hadn't been there, which had worked, much to your annoyance. Despite everything, it was when Uno entered the code and registration that made your heart stop for a moment, pausing the video that focused on the green letters with your brother's name.

After what seemed like an eternity, you managed to compose yourself to continue with the video, ignoring the burning in your eyes and how much your body shook with hatred for that simple detail that they wanted to make clear, as if you had forgotten. Your finger was quick to press 'play', causing the video to continue with Iyaah placing the destroyed drone exactly where you had found it. The camera then focused on Howl, who was following the same path you had just taken with Chan, your burning eyes now begging you to blink, the accumulated tears doing little to lubricate your eyes fixed on the screen.

Howl is now standing in front of your room. The numbers entered being your brother's again, but you were already expecting this, but the room was different, pausing the video for a minute, your eyes going from the computer screen to the space that surrounded you. They had cleaned the place, the sheets had been changed, some of the things had been organized, they had made the room for you.

With a sigh, you returned to the video, watching Howl walk towards the books that were to your right. The camera focused on three, one that talked about the History of Strickland, another that talked about Sciensalvar, but Howl's fingers found the one in the middle, which talked about military strategies. His fingers quickly opened the book, but didn't make it past the first page before placing a folded paper inside, placing the book back on the shelf. The camera focused on the exact book before the video ended.

Before you could think much, the MVP timer appeared on your screen, causing you to disconnect everything related to that video, destroying the chip not long after. Your head was still processing everything that had happened, everything you had seen. Eyes quickly finding the book that Howl had pulled out and put away the paper, eyes falling back to the vest you were wearing when you put away the paper that Chan said he had found.

Your fingers quickly found Chan's paper, but just as he said, it was torn, you couldn't fully understand what was written, but you knew who had written it, while Iyaah's handwriting seemed to shine on the paper, almost as if had mocked your face, just another proof that they were there.

“...ns to look at the stars.”

You cursed under your breath, knowing that it didn't make any sense. Knowing Iyaah, was a song lyric he was working on, but ended up not liking enough. The difference is that he always showed you the lyrics before abandoning them, the nostalgic feeling took over you, making you curse loudly and crumple the paper between your fingers before throwing it away.

Your eyes burned and your head hurt, you wanted to cry, you deserved to cry after everything they did, but no tears seemed to be able to come out. The red eyes once again fell on the book that Howl had indicated. Your trembling fingers quickly pulled the book from the shelf, opening the cover causing the folded paper to fall onto the table. You quickly put the book back in place, fingers gripping the paper with trepidation. They had already taken so much from you and here you found yourself, allowing them to take even more.

Despite everything, your fingers opened the paper, a simple sentence in Howl's handwriting could be read and you felt your eyes burn even more, the lump in your throat increase and your stomach drop with each word read.

“We never forgot you, and we never will.”

A knock on your door made you jump up, the paper quickly being hidden beneath your laptop which you quickly closed, but as soon as your steps headed towards the door, you realized that only a towel was covering your body, your hair already partially dry because of the time you had wasted seeing what the boys had left for you.

Your eyes still burned, and you hoped your face was good enough, but you knew it didn't matter because your team knew each other well enough to know when something was wrong. You just hoped they could ignore it all when they saw that you didn't want to talk about it. One more knock and Jisung's voice could be heard, you hugged the towel tighter to your body on instinct before opening the door enough for him to see that it wasn't the best time.

“Ji, I’m so-”

The touch of your lips with his, made you widen your eyes in surprise, but unlike what you imagined, the kiss was quick, only for you to stop talking, you knew, so you remained silent watching your friend at the door, his eyes traveling over your face, body and back to your eyes.

“No need to say anything,” his hands found your waist, his mouth finding the corner of your own, a light push and you two were inside your room, Jisung's foot pushing the door, closing it behind him, who pulled you closer, connecting your mouths again. “I heard you, we all heard you.”

“I’m sorry Ji, but -”

“No need,” he already knew you didn’t want to talk, your body and face only confirmed it for him when the door opened. "Use me."

“Jisung? What?"

“Use,” a kiss on your jaw, “me,” another kiss under your ear that made a small moan leave your mouth and you felt a small smile form on Jisung’s mouth. “I’m yours to do with as you please,” you pulled away meeting his eyes, his hands firmly on your waist, trapping you against his body. “You can use me to make yourself feel better, as long as you get better.”

Your eyes roamed every corner of Jisung's face before your lips found his again, your feet already guiding the two of you to the bed as you tried to make your mind forget everything that had happened since the moment you found Shinwoo's basketball a few hours ago.

It worked until your backpack fell to the ground, the noise of the drone against the ground bringing you back for a moment, your eyes falling on the backpack as Jisung kissed your neck, moving down until he found the pendant that rested between the valley of your still hidden breasts.

Jisung's eyes searched yours, indicating the necklace. Everyone knew that necklace was important to you, but this was a subject that you had never talked about with any of them and you wouldn't, everyone respected your decision, but everyone knew that in moments like that, you always took it off, or rather, asked whoever was with you to take it off, which was what Jisung was doing now, as he kissed every part of your skin, helping your mind not to think about the eight men who occupied your mind for so many years and who had resurfaced a few hours ago.

Although feelings are prohibited, you had already been contaminated by them, you had already contaminated your own team. After all, you all had human needs, so that – just like you were with Jisung – was normal, when someone needed it, someone else helped. At that moment you needed a distraction, Jisung would be that distraction, that's why he said you could use him however you wanted, because that was nothing more than a distraction from the real pain that fell in your chest, just like the butterflies that were reborn in your stomach after that simple message with Howl's handwriting.

All you needed was a distraction.

If there was one thing that Hongjoong and the others realized relatively early on, it was that there was always one more trick up their sleeve with the group that had taken them to that other reality. They also knew that everything was connected to Nightingale, who, it seemed, only had direct contact with the 'Mirrors' and one other person, called Left Eye, one of the first with whom the group had contact when they arrived in that dimension.

Soon, they realized that two things were forbidden to be said, the real names of the ‘Mirrors’ and talking about her. To say that Hongjoong had grown stale with the idea of who she would be was an understatement, but at the same time, knowing that talking about her brought some kind of reaction in the 'Mirrors' made him want to get to know whoever the person was.

When the lights of the bunker in the ruins turned off and the projector turned on, your photo was quickly displayed, making all the boys open their mouths, definitely not expecting you to be who she was, they were expecting someone older, especially with the way the 'Mirrors' reacted whenever you were brought up.

“Her name is (y/n), she is one of the top leaders of Strickland and has had honorable mentions since she was sixteen,” Logan's voice trailed off for a moment, Yunho noticed that everyone else was looking at your photo with certain regret, “known since she was little as the Princess of Strickland, she ended up losing that title since she gained notoriety for herself and her team.”

“Although some still call her that, especially when they want to annoy her.”

The 'Mirrors' exchanged small smiles after Wooyeon's speech – Wooyoung's Mirror –, which didn't go unnoticed by any of the others.

“What is your relationship with her?”

Hongjoong's voice made everyone look at him, sad features returned to their faces.

"We were friends."

"And what happened?" Seonghwa asked with his eyes fixed on Logan who sighed exchanging looks with the others, a silent conversation about who would answer that question. “Did you break her heart, by any chance?”

“You could say so,” Howl said with a weak smile, “we were friends, but we knew what awaited her, we knew what her parents, teachers and superiors did to her and her brother,” everyone exchanged looks and Howl sighed before continuing, eyes following each of those who were seated, eyes and ears attentive for any information. “We decided that we didn’t want that reality for her, not after seeing her smile when she allowed herself to feel it, but we knew it was forbidden, but we couldn’t let her shine to burn out.”

Everyone was silent, but it was Mingi who spoke, his deep voice reverberating through the space.

“And how is the relationship with you and her now?”

“Not the best.”

Hongjoong laughed cynically at Lucky's response, which didn't go unnoticed by the others.

“She wants us dead, that’s our relationship now.”

Everyone stopped at that revelation, Jongho was the first to say something, feeling the tension that had taken over the space.

“All this because you didn’t follow Strickland’s rules?”

“All this because we abandoned her when she needed it most.”

“Everyone listening?” You said over the radio, eyes quickly going to Hyunjin at the wheel who looked at you confused, but you just waited until everyone confirmed to finally speak. “Command Center just reported an emergency meeting, so we had to rush back.”

“Emergency meeting? After sending everyone to all corners of the country?”

Everyone laughed at Changbin's comment, but you just confirmed it by resuming your train of thought.

“If you want to stay, it can just be me, Channie and Innie, it’s no problem.”

“And leave our boss unprotected in an emergency meeting? Have you gone completely crazy?”

It was Yeji's turn to comment on the radio, making you shake your head.

“They’re right (y/n),” it was Minho who said, approaching the passenger seat, “we need to protect our passenger princess at any cost!”

You swung your hand, managing to slap Minho's thigh, making the three guys with you laugh before Yongbok took the lead in the conversation.

“But really, (y/n), if it’s an emergency meeting, there’s going to be a lot of names there, it’s a great opportunity for something to happen.”

“And let's not forget that you are one of the main leaders,” Hyunjin commented, looking at you sideways before focusing back on the road, which made you roll your eyes, but his hand quickly went to your thigh, squeezing it lightly, a small smirk present at all times. “Don’t hate the player, hate the game my love.”

You sighed taking his hand in yours before returning with the radio, knowing everyone was just waiting for your speech.

“The meeting will take place on Guardian’s Island; it looks like they will put all the White Giants after the Black Pirate leaders.”

“Do you think they discovered something?”

Chan's voice was worried, not unlike your own when you had spoken to Eden, one of your superiors, a few hours ago.

“The fact of an emergency meeting already confirms this, but I still don’t understand why they are doing it on Guardian’s Island!”

“Beomgyu told me that the island had been invaded.”

Your heart stopped in your throat for a second, making you thankful that Jisung was in the car with Changbin at that moment.

“Did they manage to steal anything?”

Chaeryeong's voice reverberated through the radio, and you didn't notice how much you squeezed Hyunjin's hand, nor even his glances in your direction.

“I don’t know, but it looks like some heads rolled down the stairs a few days ago.”

“Shall we all go then?”

Your voice was firm, but your whole body was shaking.

Everyone's confirmation didn't do much to calm you down, but Yongbok's hands on your shoulders managed to bring some calm to you. There were a thousand and one reasons for an emergency meeting, there were a thousand and one locations it could take place, but they chose Guardian’s Island, after making all the main Crisis Management units leave the capital.

The fact that they had publicly indicated the use of the White Giants to capture the Black Pirates and their leaders only made your uneasiness increase. Knowing that Guardian’s Island was where the main points of everything that were denied by the government were, brought a symbolism that you didn’t want to think about. It brought back memories you would rather forget.

Despite everything, here you were, stepping onto Guardian’s Island after almost five years of turning your back on that place, preferring to stay at the Prestige Academy or the Command Center. It doesn't matter if you grew up there, it doesn't matter that you knew that island in the palm of your hand, you would give anything to not have to attend this meeting in that place.

Your parents were waiting in front of the entrance gate, their eyes falling on you and your team as your face breathed in the city air after all those days in the desert. Your eyes stopped on your parents for a moment, you knew they were proud. You knew that, since everything happened with your brother, you were the main choice to succeed the position they had, you knew you were the main point of pride, but nothing took away the cost of making that happen, the inability of your parents to do the least for their first golden child.

Since then, your meetings with your parents only occurred at events like those, which only caused the hatred for those events to increase, but fortunately, you knew how to mask enough, lie enough, to make it seem like that indirect torture was at least pleasant.

Thanks to Chan, Ryujin, Hyunjin, and Jeongin, your parents didn't get as much contact with you at the entrance, not even when you sat in your assigned seats. Your eyes roamed the entire room, noticing how many important people were there, which units had been called and the positions they had been placed in, something that also didn't go unnoticed by Jeongin who leaned closer to your ear.

“I heard rumors that they captured one of the leaders and this is a trial.”

Despite the weight in your chest, you sighed before looking around one last time, approaching the boy and covering both sides of your mouth so that no one could understand what was being said.

“This will make whoever it is a martyr, doing this is crazy.”

You both laughed in agreement, but also, it wouldn't be the first time the government did something stupid like that, much less the last. You and your team could hear the murmurs, some caught some of the rumors, what you did more was enjoy what you heard, laugh a little at the absurdity that was shared among those present, until the President of Strickland appeared on the podium, Henry Jo right next to it, as expected.

“Hello, thank you all for coming today and as you know this is an emergency meeting so we will be brief.”

The President exchanged glances with Henry Jo who nodded, taking the former's place on the podium, the microphone undergoing a small adjustment before he cleared his throat.

“As you know, we have many objects in this place, one of them is an extremely powerful and important object,” you couldn't even breathe, already having a good idea of where this conversation was going, “we also discovered the way in which the Black Pirates, their leaders in particular, managed to escape us so many times,” the tension in the air was palpable and you knew exactly what the meeting was about, your nails digging into your palm forming half-moons. “The object stolen and used by them is the Cromer.”

They had found out.

They had discovered that the Cromer was missing.

Did they know who had stolen it?

Did they know when it was stolen?

Your blood ran cold, but you didn't move to look anywhere other than the podium, observing the reaction of Henry Jo and the White Giants who were not far behind, indicating that they only knew the superficial information, making you breathe a little, but the tension never leaving your shoulders.

They knew the leaders used the Cromer.

That changed everything.

00: prologue.

heart string of gold || OT8! ateez || lore au

⇦ || hsog || masterlist || ⇨

network: @cromernet @pirateeznet

taglist: open || @cksanpurpleluv || @lavishloving || @roomsofangel || @ismelllikechlorine247 || @saintriots ||

let me know if you want to be added to the taglist ❣

88 notes · View notes