Crescent // ATEEZ ✔

68 [name]

"Alexander-"

"I told you to stop calling me that, it's not Alexander. My real name is Kim Sehyoon. Detective, agent, whatever, but not Alexander. I'm sick of that name now."

Yunho puts up a hand, silencing them all. He has sent Byul and Hwayoung to the dorm, with him being invited to the 'meeting' ATEEZ are currently having with this bunch of newcomers that include Alexander, which, according to him, is not his real name. So is every action related to him, because apparently 'Alexander' was a cover. An undercover mission that went on for years.

"Fill me in again because apparently, my brain is too slow to process what you just revealed to us."

Sehyoon nods before patiently clasping his hands and sweeping his vision across the whole expanse of the cafe then to the people he came with. He stops as he looks at ATEEZ, composing himself before he starts to explain again.

"I'm a part of the special team assembled to infiltrate into criminal underworlds and conduct undercover missions that can last for years. Infiltrating into KTC is only one of the tasks that we were given with. KTC is one of the... let's say... beads in a worldwide chain of illegal recruitment of test subjects. We are considered to be a part of the authorities, but our existence is kept in the low. For us, this particular unit is focused on KTC, in which, all of you have managed to destroy in one night."

"So Alexander was a secret identity for you to be recruited into KTC?" San scratches his cheek, still not believing that this person whom they thought had betrayed them during the initial assembly of ATEEZ is a secret agent for a special team.

"Yes. Our team is called A.C.E, and my members here are all included for the investigation on KTC. This operation has started around the same time they started the research into the drug, and we-" he gestures to the other four people that came together with him, "-were absorbed into the unit as young kids, because they needed someone who's eligible to be recruited into KTC. A few has been sent before me to go undercover, but we... lost some of them due to the drug, some were missing in action while some killed. None has managed to properly infiltrate the centre to get close to the Bifidensis board members."

"Except you," Jongho offers. "You came into the training centre as Alexander, starting off just like any of us. A normal trainee, but you got the chance to get closer to the Bifidensis board members and you took it. That was why you abandoned ATEEZ to grab the chance; this was your task. To get close to the board members."

Sehyoon nods slowly, agreeing to it. "When I said I never meant to break the trust all of you had in me, I meant it. It was part of the plan because this, for years, was the first time any of us in the team had managed to become a step closer to them. I provided intel to the rest of A.C.E, and we were slowly building up a plan to take down KTC. Well, that is," he shrugs, "until all of you decided to waltz in, took down the building and killed everyone involved."

"Sorry," Seonghwa grimaces. "Guess all of our plans were woven together, huh?"

"So... we basically trashed your whole plan and the reason of existence of A.C.E?" Wooyoung asks. "Whoops."

Sehyoon snorts but he quickly brings back his face to an official-like state. "What we're saying is, thank you for your service and the information you've managed to dig in the data bank. That's a headache taken care of, but as you may know this is not something that has vanished off the face of earth just like that. It's a deep-rooted system, even deeper than what we have known in KTC. This case is about to be opened to a worldwide scale, and our team is to direct our focus to the other 'beads' in this chain."

"All those jobs we did during our stint as ATEEZ..." Hongjoong trails off.

"Are off-the-record. We considered them as your obligation for your tie towards the Bifidensis. You can start anew as normal people, and we won't let your past as ATEEZ come back for you. You can," he smiles, "start your lives again with your new family."