Empire | ATEEZ

016

"And why are we baking brownies again?" Yunho mumbled, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he put down his oven mitt for a moment, "I'm wounded and-"

"You're not wounded," I said, frowning at him as I turned off the oven and opened it to let out some of the heat, "You're actually healing faster than I had anticipated. Your concussion is gone so there's no reason for you to act like you're dizzy," I scoffed, the man immediately straightening himself, "And we should be able to take your cast off in a couple of weeks, so stop whining and help me with this. It's heavy," I pouted.

Yunho gestured to his crutches at that, the things leaning against the counter next to him, and I made a small "Ah," sound before grabbing his oven mitt and carefully trying to get out the tray myself.

"I wanted a man to help me," I grumbled, "And all I got was a whiny little boy-" "Hey!" the blond exclaimed, "I am not a boy!"

"If you say so," I mumbled, brushing off his complaints as I turned to the steaming-hot brownies in front of me with a smile, "But since you were obviously forced to help me I'm not going to pressure you into eating them," I sighed, "I'll just go get the others-"

"Wait," Yunho huffed, huddling over on his crutches to stare at the wonderful chocolaty cake with a mix of eagerness and yearning in his eyes, "I didn't mean it," he quickly said, "It was actually fun to spend time with you."

"Really?" I gasped, turning to him with a bright smile that made his ears turn slightly red. He nodded his head. "Then you can have some," I grinned, carefully nudging him with my elbow as I gestured to the door, "Just wait here for a moment while I get Seonghwa."

〄

I had almost passed the door and continued down the hallway had it not been for the muffled sounds of raised voices seeping out from underneath it. I halted in my steps and glanced at the handle for a moment, unable to make out the words from the other side, before hesitantly placing my hand atop it and pushing the door open.

My breath caught as I poked my head into the room, eyes going wide as I watched Seonghwa grab Wooyoung's collar and pull the man closer, the supplier standing on the tips of his toes in order to not fall as he quickly nodded his head and mumbled a small, "I- I'm sorry."

"You cost us an entire shipment of guns," Seonghwa growled, his hand shaking slightly, "An entire shipment of weapons we need all because you didn't have the right information, something you're also supposed to manage on behalf of Empire, something you're supposed to be in control of."

Wooyoung lowered his gaze and clenched his jaw as he tried to stay on his feet. I felt sorry for him but I was afraid that butting in would get me in trouble as well, knowing that the incident they were no doubt talking about was what had gotten Seonghwa hurt last night.

"Hongjoong is furious," Seonghwa said, a chill running down my spine as his voice dipped an octave and turned cold, so painfully cold, "He's livid. This is a major setback in our plan so if we aren't ready for the gala-"

"I- I know," Wooyoung stammered, flinching slightly as Seonghwa grabbed him with his other hand as well, almost lifting the man off the ground. "Don't interrupt me," he warned, "Had it been up to him you would have gotten punished for your mistake but-"

"Seonghwa," I mumbled, my voice small and frail compared to his own as I finally mustered up the courage to take a step forward and make my way into the room, though still enough to make him fall silent as both men turned to me.

"Princess," he breathed, immediately letting go of Wooyoung who stumbled backwards and took a shaky breath, running a hand through his midnight-black hair as his gaze flickered back and forth between Seonghwa and me.