Chapter Text
Seonghwa didn’t go back to Hongjoong. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to.
The necromancer’s mind was racing as he walked down the familiar cement streets of New York City. His entire life and all of his abilities centred around him being immortal. His immortality was the most vital factor towards his power. If he could die like everyone else, it was much easier for Wooyoung and his friends to get to him.
To be able to kill Seonghwa meant that everything had changed. It meant that Seonghwa had to trust Hongjoong with his life. Whatever he did, for however long Hongjoong lived, Seonghwa would be forced to stay on his good side. He would have to make sure that he never pissed Hongjoong off or made him angry. He would have to kiss his goddamn ass for almost eighty years until Hongjoong died. It meant that Seonghwa was, for once in his entire life, a true captive.
Of course, there was the option to just kill Hongjoong. He could end the young psychokinetic’s life, he could destroy any chance of someone being able to kill him. He could destroy the person he had fallen for and remove love from his life, indefinitely.
Yet every time Seonghwa imagined himself driving a sharp knife through Hongjoong’s heart, sending a black shadow through his skull, his body was filled with panic and terror, freezing his limbs and preventing him from moving. He knew he could never kill Hongjoong. He was too soft, too kind, too… weak.
But love? Especially for someone he had just met? Seonghwa wasn’t sure how he felt towards Hongjoong. The younger was friendly, rational, responsible, understanding, so of course Seonghwa didn’t hold any grudges against him at first. Seonghwa wasn’t one to distance himself from people and stay away purely because he did not know them. He believed in giving people a chance. He had given Hongjoong a chance, and Hongjoong hadn’t disappointed him.
Hongjoong was different from the other agents at SEVEN SEASONS. He was good at heart and he truly had the people’s best interests in mind. So Seonghwa knew that he could trust him. However, there was quite a thick line between trust and love. Seonghwa was sure that he hadn’t crossed that line yet. The thought of it hadn’t even crossed his mind until Soyeon had told him about it.
Then again, love didn’t necessarily have to be romantic. Seonghwa kept a mental list of the few people that he knew he loved, and none of them were romantic relationships. Firstly, he knew he loved Jinhyuk, Wooseok and Hwanhee. They were his closest friends, companions who had been by his side since he was still working in Aurora . He would protect them with his life. But Soyeon had told him that that love wasn’t strong enough to become his fatal flaw. Being around the three of them wouldn’t endanger him, which meant that he wasn’t actually sacrificing anything to be with them.
There was only one other person Seonghwa knew he loved, even though he hated to admit it. That person was none other than his younger brother, Jung Wooyoung.
If he had gone out of his way to find Wooyoung, to try and save him, maybe Wooyoung could have become his fatal flaw. However, he hadn’t done that. Seonghwa had spent the past nine years keeping his distance, hardly even speaking to Wooyoung. He had checked in on him, he had watched over him, but he had been too afraid to actually contact him. He had cut that love out of his life.
Now there was Kim Hongjoong. Seonghwa constantly felt a strong desire to protect the younger boy, to cover his eyes and to shield him from the evil of the world. He would feel incredibly guilty if Hongjoong ever got hurt on this mission. Hongjoong was a good friend, someone that Seonghwa was overprotective of, and someone who Seonghwa would do anything to ensure would survive after this mess was over.
Maybe this would grow into romance, maybe it wouldn’t. Seonghwa couldn’t tell.
The necromancer’s footsteps slowed as he approached the familiar bar where Wooyoung had attacked Hongjoong and Yeosang. Seonghwa had figured that he needed something to take his mind off the morning’s revelations. Besides, he had promised that he and Hongjoong would investigate the bar that day. He would just complete this mission on his own, instead of with the younger psychokinetic.
Seonghwa walked up the door, slitting his finger and spilling blood onto the DNA sensor. The technology was extremely good, but Seonghwa and Wooyoung had extremely similar DNA, being brothers. The sensor wasn’t good enough to tell the difference.
“Password?” The robotic voice sounded and Seonghwa smirked. His younger brother’s lack of creativity amused him greatly.
“Mars,” He answered simply. The door then opened soon after and Seonghwa stepped in.
It was only about one in the morning, but the bar was already empty. Seonghwa figured the whole standoff with Wooyoung, Hongjoong and Yeosang last week must have scared them away. A familiar bartender was busy cleaning the tables and desks, and he raised an eyebrow when Seonghwa walked in.
“Seonghwa.” The bartender called out. “What are you doing here at this time of day?”
Seonghwa smiled. “Good morning, Kogyeol.”
Kogyeol was another agent from Aurora that had joined SEVEN SEASONS after Seonghwa had dissolved the gang. Instead of joining Seonghwa in his missions like Wooseok, Jinhyuk and Hwanhee had done two years ago, however, he had chosen to stay in America and watch over Wooyoung and Jongho. He worked undercover at Wooyoung’s bar and at the CIA, watching over SEVEN SEASONS’ operations to advise Seonghwa on their actions.
“Wooseok contacted me the other day,” The elder boy brought up calmly. “He says the team detected something in the old records for Aurora. Something about new code searching through it. Got any idea what’s going on with that?”
Seonghwa frowned irately, as if a little mosquito was bugging him. “This is the first I’ve heard of it. Did Wooseok terminate it?”
Kogyeol grimaced. “He blocked it, of course, but he said it took a surprisingly long while to do so. It was pretty complex code, nothing like those lowly amateur gang hackers. Looked like some professional’s work, according to him.”
A hacker’s code in some of the most confidential pieces of information Seonghwa had ever kept. He’d thought his time here in America couldn’t get any worse, but this proved him wrong. “Does Wooseok suspect anyone who might be behind it?”
The elder boy shrugged, picking up a washcloth and spinning it on his finger. “He’s investigating some of the higher-up agencies in Nigeria, the top gang’s networks, tech conglomerates and all that. So far he hasn’t found anything.”
“Get him to widen the search,” Seonghwa ordered. “Call in some of our contacts in The Matrix, do whatever it takes to figure out who’s trying to get their hands on that information. We cannot let it get into the wrong hands. We already suffered from it before, I won’t let it happen again.”
“Speaking of the Matrix…” Kogyeol’s voice trailed off hesitantly. Seonghwa stared at him pointedly. “What is it?”
The elder boy scratched the back of his neck worriedly. “Well… I mean, I don’t know if this is important at all, I’m not even sure what’s in there -”
“Kogyeol. Spit it out.”
Kogyeol sighed. “There was an ambush at the Matrix this morning. Wooyoung and San went there for one of their standard operations, to capture this guy who leaked information about some CEO. One of our sources said that Wooyoung transferred a folder labelled ‘Park Seonghwa’ to his gang’s database.”
“What the fuck -” Seonghwa did a double take. “What was a folder with my name on it even doing there?”
Wincing, the elder boy continued on. “It’s probably got something to do with whoever is searching through those Aurora files. It’s likely someone trying to ruin your rep, gather dirt on you and all that.”
Seonghwa rolled his eyes. “The only place where I have a reputation is the underground network and they’re all a thousand times worse than me. Who in the legal industry would want to throw me under the bus?”
Kogyeol fixed him with a glare. “You and I both know the answer to that.”
“I -” The younger boy opened his mouth to protest, but he eventually sighed in agreement. There was pretty mortifying information on Seonghwa out there, kept behind several firewalls and safeguards in SEVEN SEASONS databases. Wooyoung wasn’t the only one who had had a scuffle with SEVEN SEASONS before, although Seonghwa preferred to keep that history hidden. If someone had been able to bypass the safeguards with an ID and access those files in the Matrix, they must have been working for the organisation. “Fine. I’ll keep a closer eye on SEVEN SEASONS, but we barely have any ties to them anymore. I doubt they’d be able to touch us – Jongho is the only agent left whom we’re watching over.”
“Well, there is Kim,” Kogyeol pointed out. “How is he, by the way?” The elder asked as he wiped a beer glass with a white towel. “Does he know that you know where Wooyoung’s headquarters are?”
The edge of Seonghwa’s lips curled into a wry smile. “No, he doesn’t,” He admitted. “There’s a lot of things that Hongjoong doesn’t know.”
Kogyeol raised an eyebrow in surprise. “So he’s Hongjoong now, is he?” The elder boy had a shit-eating grin on his face. “Interesting.”
Seonghwa glared at him. “Shut up,” He muttered darkly, rolling his eyes. “It’s not like that.”
“Is that so?” Kogyeol smirked. “Then why do you seem so guilty about keeping him in the dark?”
The necromancer stilled, the atmosphere turning colder. He hesitated, looking down at his feet and avoiding Kogyeol’s gaze.
The elder seemed to notice that and his teasing smirk fell from his face. He reached over the bar table to put a hand on Seonghwa’s shoulder.
“Hey,” Kogyeol said firmly. “I’ve known you since you were a kid. Your necromancy made you pretty damn terrifying, but in the end you’ve always been one of the kindest, softest people I’ve known. You have the biggest heart out of all of the superheroes out there. The fact that you would give up all your freedom, you would leave the country that you’d finally built an empire in, just to give all of us a normal life, proves that you always act with your heart. The fact that you’re out there working to fight terrorism, working undercover without any of the glory that comes from being a ‘superhero’, proves that you’re a literal angel. And I know that you don’t trust people often, but with the people you trust, you treasure them more than anything in the world. It took you a whole year to trust the members in Aurora . But now you’re here, risking arrest just for this man you met just over a week ago?” Kogyeol smiled at him softly. “If he gained your trust that fast, I think there’s something more to it.”
Seonghwa felt his throat go dry. He tried to choke out a reply, but failed. And yet, Kogyeol wasn’t finished.
“You’re toeing the line with him,” The older man explained calmly. “You won’t tell him anything because you’re afraid of losing him. You know he’s going to leave you the second he finds out. But you’re holding onto every moment that you can have with him before he learns the truth. That doesn’t sound like nothing to me”
“That’s enough, Kogyeol, I don’t need to be reminded of how manipulative I’ve been,” Seonghwa kept a levelheaded demeanour, but his voice wavered with a threatening tone.
“What’s wrong with falling in love with someone?” Kogyeol protested with a confused expression. “You could fall for worse people. Kim doesn’t seem that bad.”
“I’m not in love with him.” Seonghwa answered firmly. “Do not insinuate that I would allow myself to become vulnerable just for some other guy -”
“Love doesn’t make you vulnerable.” The elder boy retorted, frowning at him. “Since when was that the case?”
“Kogyeol, it’s always been the case, don’t be naïve,” Seonghwa replied in a dismissive manner. “I’m not in love with Hongjoong and that’s final. Now we need to get some contacts in the Matrix to track SEVEN SEASONS -”
“No, Seonghwa, you have to face the truth and stop hiding from it.” Kogyeol slammed a beer glass down onto the bar table with a stern expression on his face. “You’ve always thought that trusting people makes you weak, but look at you now. You have an underground intelligence empire . You may have been banned from America but you’ve got allies and informants in every corner of the country. There are hundreds of secret operations all over the world that answer to you. You are able to operate with a team of only four members without a hitch. And this isn’t because people are afraid of your abilities. It’s because people trust you. You’re a friend to them. Don’t you see that your heart has given you more power than ever? Why are you afraid of falling in love?”
Kill him .
Something seemed to erupt inside Seonghwa and a black shadow streaked out of his hand, barrelling into Kogyeol and sending him flying into a wall. The elder cried out in pain as his back was slammed into hard concrete, before crumpling onto the floor.
Seonghwa came back to his senses almost as quickly as he had lost them. He gasped, clutching the edge of the bar table as he looked down at his trembling hands.
There were pools of dark sparkles swimming in his palms, moving erratically and sharply.
And for the first time in a very long while, Seonghwa couldn’t control them.
“What…” Seonghwa’s voice trailed off as he closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm down. He could literally feel the darkness inside of him reaching towards Kogyeol, pushing him towards the boy, encouraging Seonghwa to destroy him.
He knows you too well.
Kill him.
“No,” Seonghwa gasped as he clenched the edge of the bar table tighter. “Stop.”
You’ve become weak, Park Seonghwa.
We will make you a child of the dark.
You will succumb to our strength.
“Stop!” Seonghwa lost his grip on the table and collapsed onto the floor, his legs giving way as he crumpled into a trembling heap. He clawed at the ground, desperately reaching out for something to hold onto.
A vivid memory flashed through his mind. He was suddenly back in the safe house with Hongjoong, playing Mario Kart then watching The Avengers like they had the night before.
The night when Seonghwa had studied every detail of Hongjoong’s face as he slept. The night when Seonghwa had fallen asleep right next to him.
The night when Seonghwa had fallen just a bit more in love.
On the big television screen, Loki was standing on the balcony of Stark Tower, looking out as alien spaceships swarmed from the portal into New York City. Seonghwa cringed at the sight, the scene reminding him all too well of his own mistakes.
Hongjoong was watching intently, captivated by the movie. His mouth hung a little bit open and he was curled up in a ball on the couch, barely moving. He looked devastatingly adorable, and Seonghwa wanted nothing more but to wrap him up in blankets and hide him from the horrible world he had been exposed to.
Seonghwa hadn’t even realised he was staring until Hongjoong turned his head to look up at him. The elder blushed slightly and smiled, trying to play it cool while looking away. He could literally hear Hongjoong’s smirk.
“You know,” Hongjoong said in a calm tone. “You’re just like Loki.”
What?
Seonghwa frowned, his body tensing up. That wasn’t how it had gone. That wasn’t how he remembered this night.
“What do you mean?” Seonghwa asked shakily.
Hongjoong rolled his eyes. “Don’t act stupid. You know what you did.”
Seonghwa slowly edged away from Hongjoong, sitting up straight. “Hongjoong, what -”
“You took everything from me.” The psychokinetic’s eyes burned with a dangerous fire. “You ruined my life. You killed everyone I trusted.”
“That’s not true -”
“Stop lying to me!” Hongjoong screamed. As if on instinct, a sharp shadow materialised in Seonghwa’s hand, and he threw it at Hongjoong without thinking. He realised what he had done a second too late.
“No!” Seonghwa cried, shocked and terrified. It was like something else had been controlling his magic, forcing him to send the shadow against his will.
What had he just done?
The necromancer reached out and placed a hand on the bloodied wound in Hongjoong’s chest. He sobbed as the psychokinetic breathed in and out heavily, gasping for air.
“Hongjoong, I’m so sorry,” Seonghwa wept, his head drooping down as he held the younger’s body closer to him. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened.”
Hongjoong laughed weakly, looking down at Seonghwa with a pained expression on his face.
“You know exactly what you did.”
Seonghwa watched in horror as the blood on his own hands blazed with scorching flames, engulfing Seonghwa’s entire body.
“Seonghwa!” Kogyeol’s voice broke through the illusion, and somewhere in his blurry vision, Seonghwa could see the elder’s figure approaching him. “Seonghwa, talk to me.”
“Get away from me!” Seonghwa yelled, scrambling backwards. “Don’t touch me.”
Kogyeol frowned, looking confused and hurt. “Seonghwa, what are you talking about?”
“My magic,” Seonghwa cried out, cradling his hands near his chest. “I can’t control it. It’s lashing out and I can’t control it.” He curled away from Kogyeol, shaking his head rapidly. “Don’t come near me! I could hurt you!”
The elder man slowed down, pausing a good distance away from Seonghwa. “What do you mean, you can’t control it?”
Seonghwa’s lip trembled as he tried to slow his breathing. “I don’t know. I don’t know why I can’t control it -”
“Did you have a flashback? What happened?” Kogyeol’s voice was gentle and soothing, but it did nothing to help Seonghwa. He didn’t know what it was like. He’d never understand.
Seonghwa shoved his hands over his ears even though he knew it wouldn’t shut out the screaming voices in his head. The shadows screeched for him to destroy Kogyeol, destroy Hongjoong, destroy everything that was a threat to him, go back to Nigeria and pretend none of it ever happened.
“Make it stop,” He sobbed, burying his head into his chest. “Make it go away.”
Kogyeol knelt in front of Seonghwa, keeping his distance but not shying away from him. “Hwa, look at me.” Seonghwa kept his eyes squeezed shut, refusing to look at his older friend. He pulled at his own hair, screaming as the voices of the shadows overwhelmed him.
“Seonghwa, calm down -” A wrangled cry cut Kogyeol off. “Seonghwa, you have to breathe -” A suffocated choke came out in response. “Seonghwa, please look at me!”
Pure darkness exploded from Seonghwa’s chest, lashing out in all directions like a bomb straight out of hell. Suddenly everything was pitch-black and silent, suddenly Seonghwa couldn’t hear anything but the sound of one frightened heartbeat that pounded in his chest. He waited for the worst – the next beat to signal his mortality, to declare the triumph of his fear – yet nothing followed. Suddenly, all was quiet.
“Kogyeol.” Seonghwa whispered weakly, fumbling around in the shadows. “Kogyeol, where are you?”
It can’t be . Seonghwa knew the extent of his power. Controlled, the darkness inside of him could kill a man in seconds. Uncontrolled, Seonghwa had no idea what he was capable of.
His panicked breaths filled the air as he frantically swiped around at the floor, slamming his palms down on cold marble again and again in desperation. Seonghwa’s hands finally landed on a warm mass curled up on the side. He could barely think as he crawled over to check Kogyeol’s pulse, and the only thing going through his mind was a simple plea: Don’t be dead. Don’t be dead. Don’t let me have killed him.
Seonghwa pressed his fingers down on Kogyeol’s wrist and listened for a heartbeat in the cold, silent night.
------
“So here’s what I don’t get,” Hyunsuk sighed as they drove past vast expanses of fields and trees. “The official records say that Seonghwa traded away his access to America in return for many of his gang members getting jobs at SEVEN SEASONS and living ‘normal lives,’ supposedly. But in that video, he traded his access to America to save your life. Which one is it? Which one is the truth?”
Jongho frowned. He hadn’t noticed this inconsistency before. It was uncomfortably odd how SEVEN SEASONS had records of the supposed deal they struck with Seonghwa, as well as tapes of them threatening him out of the country. Someone wasn’t telling the truth, and as much as Jongho wished that video weren’t real, it seemed to be the most reliable evidence they had so far.
“I don’t know, but clearly whatever happened in that video is true,” Jongho mused. “It makes no sense for someone to fake that footage, it only makes Eden look like a monster. Even if it was faked by Wooyoung or Seonghwa, there’s no way that would’ve made it into confidential SEVEN SEASONS databases at the Matrix. So that really happened, which means Seonghwa’s story about striking a deal for his agents isn’t true.”
There was a moment of silence between the two boys as they pondered this realisation. The cold midnight wind howled in the distance as the car sped down the I-95, its engine groaning away into the darkness. Jongho couldn’t help but feel utterly alone, just as he and Hyunsuk were completely isolated on their drive to the city. SEVEN SEASONS had turned against him, Hongjoong was far away, and he wasn’t sure if he could even trust Seonghwa anymore. It was heroic of Seonghwa to save his life, absolutely, but that didn’t change the lies and deceit that adorned Seonghwa’s every move. It didn’t help that Hongjoong was alone with this possibly severely dangerous man, oblivious to it all.
Jongho had wanted to call Hongjoong immediately, but Hyunsuk had crushed their burner phones and tossed them out as soon as the car had started running. “I know it’s not connected to SEVEN SEASONS’ database,” Hyunsuk had explained, “But we have no idea what kind of reach SEVEN SEASONS has over local signals and whatnot. We had better be safe than sorry.” So that was how Jongho now found himself with absolutely no way to contact anyone, in the middle of nowhere on the road to NYC, with only Hyunsuk by his side.
“What about the emmonos ?” Hyunsuk asked out of the blue. “Do you think Seonghwa was there to fight them off? There’s no way it was a ‘coincidence’ that he and the emmonos attack arrived at HQ on the same day.”
Jongho bit his lip uncertainly. “Seonghwa would have been a strong force against the emmonos . He seems to have a habit of just showing up wherever people need his help, maybe he decided to be a hero and stop the emmonos .”
Even as he said it, Jongho already doubted his own theory. Seonghwa had said that he had come to D.C. to destroy SEVEN SEASONS, or at least complete some sinister mission to punish Eden’s supposed ‘betrayal’ with. Was that really a call of heroism? Or perhaps Seonghwa had seen the emmonos attack, and decided to take the opportunity and attack as well. He seemed morally grey enough to hit SEVEN SEASONS when they were already weak.
And what of the other Aurora agents? Were any of them still around? What had really happened to them at SEVEN SEASONS? With so many questions unanswered, Jongho’s head ached in bewilderment.
“Do you think it’s safe to go to Seonghwa?” Jongho blurted. Hyunsuk glanced at him with a worried yet understanding expression, and Jongho knew he was thinking exactly the same thing. The awkward silence dragged on for a few moments longer until Hyunsuk finally decided to reply.
“I don’t trust Seonghwa at all,” Hyunsuk admitted. “He’s clearly hiding a lot of things from us, most of which don’t sound good at all. However, he is the best chance we’ve got to stop Wooyoung.” A few tears welled in Hyunsuk’s eyes and he fidgeted in his seat. Jongho knew that the loss of his five teammates still brought unbearable pain to Hyunsuk, but he worried that Hyunsuk’s desire for vengeance would blind him from rationality. Wooyoung certainly was a villain, but that didn’t stop Seonghwa from being one too. “I do not believe he will betray us to help Wooyoung, and for now, that’s good enough. We can figure out what to do with him later.”
Jongho scoffed. The idea of ‘doing something’ with Seonghwa, as if Hyunsuk, Hongjoong and himself had any power to control literally one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world, was absurd. “By the time we defeat Wooyoung, Seonghwa will surely be long gone.”
The older agent shrugged. “If he leaves and never comes back to the US, then so be it. I’m not here to destroy all evil. I just wish things could return to normal, and I can keep the rest of Treasure safe.” Jongho’s heart dropped at the mention of Treasure , and he knew there was no point arguing with Hyunsuk now.
“I suppose,” Jongho muttered grudgingly, “If Seonghwa really wanted us dead, he would have done it in a heartbeat. At least he’s still around.”
They drove on quietly for a few minutes, contemplating all the revelations that had come to light in the past few hours. It was somewhat fascinating, how your whole life could be turned around in a single moment, when everything you thought you knew gets thrown out the window and replaced with a much more shocking truth. Just the other day, Jongho was a regular SEVEN SEASONS agent, tracking down low-level criminals. Now, he was dealing with two enhanced individuals who could probably tear down the entire world with a snap of their fingers.
“Hyunsuk,” Jongho said out of the blue. “Do you ever regret being a SEVEN SEASONS agent? Do you ever wish you had done something else with your life?”
Hyunsuk chuckled, and Jongho could tell he had already thought about this in quite some depth. “I never really chose to be an agent, did I? I was recruited for the SEVEN SEASONS training scheme, my parents sent me there because they couldn’t financially support me anymore, and I’ve been raised by the organisation.” A wistful expression crossed Hyunsuk’s face, and he smiled bitterly. “It’s all I have ever known, it’s the only family that stuck around for me. I can’t really imagine what my life would be like if not for SEVEN SEASONS – it’s not like I had a lot of alternatives.”
Jongho sighed, partly from exhaustion, and partly from the painful reminder of how many SEVEN SEASONS agents were trapped in this life. “I did have a similar experience,” He replied, “But don’t you ever question how benevolent the organisation is? I’m so tired of all the secrets, the exploitation, the violence – and even if it means starting my career from scratch, I’m willing to take that risk once I’m old enough to do so.”
The older agent nodded in understanding. “Yeah, that’s perfectly fine. I’ve also thought about leaving eventually, once everyone in Treasure is eighteen and old enough to take care of themselves and make their own choices. After all, I’m only twenty-one. I’ve got a lot of life ahead of me, and I certainly won’t be spending all of it cleaning up Eden’s messes for him. I guess it’s just a bit intimidating to walk away, not knowing what the future holds for you.”
A world outside of SEVEN SEASONS. Jongho longed to know what that life would be like. His high school classmates spent their afternoons going to the bowling alley, watching movies and gaming for hours on end. He had lost count of the number of times he had turned down a birthday party invite or even a date to train at SEVEN SEASONS headquarters. His parents were proud of him working for SEVEN SEASONS – they needed money, and he was a particularly gifted, athletic kid who fit the organisation’s roster perfectly. They told him all about how wonderful it was that their son was a ‘superhero’, and how he could become the next Zico or whatnot. Jongho had been through enough life-threatening situations to know that living a normal life was far better than chasing the glory of Block B. Even if it meant stepping away from comfort and familiarity, Jongho would take that risk.
They drove on for a bit longer, taking turns sharing anecdotes of their time at SEVEN SEASONS and, eventually, singing a cappella to Taylor Swift songs (as turning on the radio signal would be too dangerous). It felt nice to be able to relax for just a few moments and enjoy the tranquillity of the night, but Jongho couldn’t find too much solace knowing the arduous path ahead of him. Eventually, they parked the car at a roadside gas station to quickly refill the tank and pick up some food.
The bells hanging on the door to the 7-Eleven jangled as Hyunsuk and Jongho entered the store. Beside rows upon rows of junk food, soft drinks and candy, a girl with dark hair and platinum blonde highlights lazily greeted them from the cashier with a bored expression on her face. Jongho smiled politely at her, but she had already gone back to chewing bubblegum and texting someone on her phone.
“I’ve got more than enough cash, but let’s not splurge on junk food. We can’t afford to start feeling drowsy or sick after the energy wears off,” Hyunsuk murmured to the younger boy, ensuring that the girl didn’t hear them. “Just get the basics. You pick up water, look for some simple crackers, and get an ice pack for your ankle. I’ll find bandages, disinfectant, and hopefully some damn ibuprofen. My head is splitting.”
Jongho nodded and went off in search of his assigned items. He picked out a few packets of saltine crackers to supplement the food he already had in his emergency bag, then headed over to the large refrigerators at the back of the store where several plastic packs of ice were stashed within. He could hear Hyunsuk shuffling around through the shelves, cursing every now and then about his headache.
Something shiny flashed in the reflection of the transparent refrigerator doors, and Jongho frowned, looking into the reflection to see what was going on behind him. While the image was blurry from the condensation on the glass screens, Jongho could make out the girl at the cashier reaching for something in her pocket that glinted in the light. At first, he thought it was simply her phone – but that was already lying on the counter, far from the girl’s reach.
Shit .
Even before he heard the sound of another car rolling up to the driveway, Jongho knew what was happening. He ducked down just in time as a bullet streaked past his head, piercing the refrigerator screen beside him with a swift crack . Glass splintered and shattered behind him as Jongho darted towards Hyunsuk, swerving between shelves to hide from the girl’s vision. By the time he reached the older boy, Hyunsuk had already drawn his pistol and fired it several times in the cashier’s general direction.
“Are you hurt?” Hyunsuk yelled as he and Jongho dove behind a rack of Lays potato chips. Jongho shook his head vehemently and loaded his own gun. He dared to peek around the rack and caught a glimpse of another girl jumping out of her car, running towards the convenience store with her gun raised. He didn’t have much time to look, as the cashier girl fired another round of bullets at him that he narrowly dodged.
“They’re not SEVEN SEASONS,” Hyunsuk hissed, as if he already knew what Jongho was about to ask. He picked up a mini-explosive from his belt and tossed it at the cashier, wincing at the loud bang that ensued. “Their bullets are laced with poison, look at that tile.”
Jongho glanced over to where Hyunsuk was pointing and saw a golden bullet lodged into a beige tile, the tip of it exuding a black goo that was already eating away at the concrete. This wasn’t just tranquillity poison, it was poison to kill, and SEVEN SEASONS didn’t allow the use of such deadly weapons. They shot to incapacitate, not murder someone.
There was the clattering sound of approaching footsteps, and Jongho pulled out a knife just in time to smack the cashier girl away from him. As she stumbled back, she kicked her heeled boot into Jongho’s shin and they both toppled onto the tiled floor, punching and clawing at each other in a desperate attempt not to be stabbed first. Hyunsuk had already focused his sights on the other girl from the car, firing routinely at the entrance to stop her from getting in.
“Who the hell are you?” Jongho screamed as he dodged a vicious swipe from the blonde girl’s knife. “What do you want with us?” She threw a punch at him and he caught her fist, twisting it and flipping her onto the ground. Yet she was ready for that manoeuvre, and she kneed Jongho in the diaphragm before he got a chance to pin her down.
“Shit!” A cry from Hyunsuk told Jongho that he’d been hit. Jongho glanced at him briefly and noticed that a bullet had grazed Hyunsuk’s arm. There only seemed to be a bit of poison that had touched his jacket, but it was already eating through the fabric. Hyunsuk ripped the jacket off as if it were on fire and Jongho kicked it towards the cashier girl, making her cry out as the infected sleeve hit her skin.
But the other girl was already at the entrance, firing away at the two boys. Hyunsuk and Jongho scattered, throwing whatever they could find – chip packets, water bottles, and ‘50% OFF!’ signs – to distract their attacker. As she advanced, Jongho pulled a knife out of his belt and quickly flicked it at the two girls. The car girl dodged it quickly, but the cashier girl was getting dizzy from the poison and wasn’t able to duck in time. The knife lodged itself in her arm and she screamed in pain.
Thankfully, the other girl had enough of a heart to whirl around and run to her injured friend. Hyunsuk and Jongho slowly stepped out from behind the shelves, their guns raised and pointed at their attackers. The car girl, who Jongho could now clearly see had black hair and a long, thin face, held the blonde-highlights girl in her arms, tending quickly to the wound that Jongho’s knife had created.
“Who are you?” Hyunsuk yelled. “Tell us your names now, or we shoot!”
The black-haired girl scowled at him, her catlike eyes narrowing in fury. “If I were you, I’d look up.”
“What?”
Jongho raised his gaze to the doorway to see three more cars drive into the station, filled with people dressed in black and surely fully armed. There had to be at least four people in each of the cars, and Jongho knew that he and Hyunsuk were outnumbered. He rapidly scanned the convenience store for a back exit, but there was only a locked staff door that would take far too long to break down. The people from the cars were already approaching the entrance – it was too late for an escape.
Beside Jongho, Hyunsuk panted in exhaustion, staring warily at the arriving threats. “Fucking hell,” Hyunsuk muttered, turning his gaze to Jongho. “Well, it was nice knowing you, kid.”
“ Put your weapons down NOW! ” The attackers were all wearing black masks and hoods, and they pointed laser guns at Hyunsuk and Jongho as they entered the convenience store. One of them stepped in front to glower at them. “Hands in the air, or we will kill you both in seconds.”
Jongho and Hyunsuk slowly placed their guns on the floor, raising their hands in a surrender position. Jongho could hear his own heart thudding in his chest, and a million thoughts flew through his head. Was this how he was going to die? Were the police going to find his bloody body in the middle of a 7-Eleven that next morning? He hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye to his parents.
“What do you want from us?” Hyunsuk demanded in a calm but firm voice. “We don’t have a lot of money to give you.”
The lead attacker lowered their mask and lifted their hood, revealing a thin, pale face with big almond-shaped eyes and shoulder-length black hair with straight barcode bangs. Jongho recognised her face – she was Kwon Eunbi, a notorious assassin associated with a group called IZ*ONE . SEVEN SEASONS didn’t have much information on her criminal ring, but she had been sighted at the location of several unexplainable murders, and the organisation wanted her dead.
“Wooyoung doesn’t want money from you,” Eunbi cooed in a mocking tone. Jongho and Hyunsuk stared at each other in shock upon hearing that name. If Eunbi and IZ*ONE were working with Wooyoung, then he was much more involved in dangerous, organised crime than they thought. Eunbi gestured towards the cashier girl, whose arm injury was currently being bandaged by a few of the black-masked attackers and the black-haired girl. “He’ll be upset to see that you injured Mia, though. She’s a good fighter.”
“We don’t have anything Wooyoung could possibly want,” Hyunsuk replied, though his voice was shaking. “Neither of us are enhanced. Jongho is sixteen. We don’t know where Kim is. Leave us alone.”
Eunbi’s cruel laugh resounded through the store. “Don’t worry, you won’t need to bring anything to be useful. You are the leverage – as it seems that Seonghwa has a soft spot for that one.” She pointed a sharp fingernail at Jongho and Jongho trembled. If Seonghwa and Hongjoong came for him, they would be outnumbered by Wooyoung and his troops. He could not let Eunbi take them for ransom.
“Alright then, enough chit-chat,” The car girl stood up and nudged Eunbi impatiently. “Let’s go.”
Eunbi rolled her eyes and gestured to a black-masked attacker on her left. “You heard what Sihyeon said. Tie them up.”
The black-masked attacker turned to the leader, their brown eyes glinting with mischief. “Actually, I don’t think so.”
Eunbi glared at them, reaching for the knife in her belt. “Excuse me?”
As if on cue, one of the attackers pulled out a small remote and pressed a button on it. Instantly, most of the gang’s suits lit up with electricity, bright flashes of current zipping through their bodies and knocking them out cold. A smoke bomb went off, there was a rapid, furious scuffle, then the dust cleared to reveal three men standing above a pile of unconscious bodies, yanking their masks off and stowing their guns. The tallest of the three had silver hair and piercing dark-brown eyes, another had light, scruffy brown hair and a sort of rectangular face, and the third was the shortest of them all, with catlike features and a small but clearly agile frame.
“Jesus Christ, those masks are uncomfortable as fuck,” The shortest complained, tossing his mask aside. “How does Journey even fight with those on? I’m out of breath in seconds.”
“Wooseok, not everyone has the money to purchase expensive soft wool masks,” The scruffy-haired man smacked him on the arm lightly, then turned to Jongho and Hyunsuk. “I’m Hwanhee, this ray of sunshine is Wooseok, and that giant –” He pointed to the tall man. “– is Jinhyuk. We work with Seonghwa, we’re here to protect you.”
Jongho’s eyes narrowed and he raised his gun towards them again. “How many days ago did Seonghwa leave Nigeria? Answer correctly, or you all die.”
Wooseok smirked. “This one’s smart,” He said in a patronising tone. “Ten days ago. He left with Kim.”
Jongho and Hyunsuk shared a meaningful look, then Jongho slowly lowered his gun. “How did you know we were in trouble?”
The tallest one – was it Jinhyuk? – coughed uncomfortably and shuffled his feet. “Uh, Seonghwa has been keeping tabs on your location and health for several years now. I don’t know what prompted it, but he wants to keep you safe. We set up some surveillance tech, enhanced by his magic, to track you and alert us of any unusual actions or injuries. We saw you were moving around quite erratically in the convenience store, and Wooseok accessed the security cameras around the place. That’s how we knew where you were, and how we could tell you were in trouble.”
“You came that fast ?” Hyunsuk said incredulously. Hwanhee gestured outside the store, pointing to a faint blinking light in the sky that barely resembled the shape of a plane. “Seonghwa equipped our jet with shadow-travelling abilities. It enables us to move between locations extremely quickly, although it does give you a really shitty stomach ache throughout the trip. It’s pretty dangerous to use, so we try to avoid it when we can. We haven’t shadow-travelled in the past few years – consider it an honour that we took that risk to save your lives.”
“Yes, we easily disguised ourselves as members of Journey with black masks and suits, then followed Eunbi and her lot into the store. Funny that she can’t even recognise who is and isn’t in her team.” Wooseok scoffed. Upon seeing Jongho’s and Hyunsuk’s confused expressions, he explained: “ Journey is the name of a big criminal ring on the East Coast. Wooyoung’s group – they’re called ATZ’99 – are part of the ring. Eunbi leads IZ*ONE , another faction in Journey . Then there’s TXT , NCT DREAM, Everglow… the list goes on and on. Not all of them are part of Wooyoung’s grand plan to destroy SEVEN SEASONS, but he does have a lot of support.”
Jongho’s eyes widened in shock. He had thought that Wooyoung was simply an arbitrary criminal, someone who made rash decisions but didn’t have a lot of organised criminal groups behind him. The fact that it wasn’t just Eunbi’s group who supported Wooyoung, the fact that he had an entire criminal ring behind him, made Wooyoung a much larger threat than Jongho had perceived him to be.
“I suppose,” Hwanhee quipped, “You’re wondering why they came after you and Hyunsuk.”
“No, we know why,” Hyunsuk answered quickly. He looked relieved to have been rescued by the three men, almost too relieved, and he blurted out all of their information before Jongho could stop him. “We saw footage of Eden holding Jongho at gunpoint, and Seonghwa trading away his access to America to save Jongho’s life. Seonghwa must naturally care about protecting Jongho, and Wooyoung would want to use the kid as leverage against him.”
Jongho groaned internally. Honestly, even though Hyunsuk was five years older than him, sometimes he was the biggest dumbass Jongho had ever met. Hadn’t they just had a conversation about Seonghwa being untrustworthy and his story not lining up? Why would they reveal that they had seen the footage?
Wooseok, Jinhyuk and Hwanhee didn’t look too surprised, although Jongho suspected they were used to hiding Seonghwa’s secrets. “Great, that’s basically all that matters,” Wooseok replied smoothly. He jerked his head towards the jet and beckoned Hyunsuk and Jongho to follow him. “Come on, the electric shocks that we induced on all of these people are going to wear off soon. We’ll fly you to New York City, although no shadow-travelling this time. It’s not worth the risk.”
Jongho wanted to protest, but Hyunsuk was already following them out the door with an eager expression on his face. This idiot , Jongho thought in annoyance. He’ll jump on any chance to kill Wooyoung, even if it means trusting shady people that we’ve just met . Yet realising that speaking up might get him shot by any of Seonghwa’s three able-bodied and well-armed friends, Jongho simply trailed behind the group as they watched their jet descend to the ground.