√ 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 // 𝐻𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝐻𝑦𝑢𝑛𝑗𝑖𝑛

forty six.

Hyunjin's p.o.v.

     Nari had taken choking up clotting blood pretty well considering how her day had been.

     Minho had ordered her, Jeongin and Chenle, who was passed out on a stretcher, inside immediately after he spied her physical state. Blabbing on about internal bleeding and damaged esophaguses. It was well outside of Hyunjin's job description, so he didn't follow them.

     Eyes squinting, Hyunjin appraised their haven. It was a huge gray warehouse with long, skinny windows at the very top of the walls and a single door, one that required three levels of security passes to enter, which Johnny had cleared for Minho moments before. Empty fields of tall grass surrounded the building, and giant trees lent their foliage as arial cover. It was the perfect place to lay low.

     "It's a lot cozier than it looks," Taeyong commented beside him. "We redesigned the inside; there's three floors, and plenty of room. You will all be comfortable here."

     Chan overheard the leader and bowed slightly in his direction. "I have to thank you again, for everything. Without your men and your help, we would never have been able to pull this off. My members wouldn't be here without you."

     A strained smile crossed Taeyong's face. "It's my own fault that one of your members is here at all. It's the least I could do. I owe it to her."

     Chan clapped his hand onto Taeyong's shoulder. "She doesn't blame you, you know that."

     "Yeah, well she should," Taeyong scoffed, clenching his jaw as he glared at the pavement beneath his feet. "Anyway, we should head in. Your members will want to be with you."

     He walked off to the warehouse as Chan and Hyunjin watched. Rubbing the back of his neck, Chan motioned for Hyunjin to follow him to the door. "He shouldn't beat himself up like that, it's really not his fault."

     "It's mine though."

     A shocked breath blew from Chan's mouth as he stared incredulously at his younger member. "Like hell it is! Why would you say that?"

     "Chan, if I had never joined you, we would never be in this situation. Sicarius would have never taken Jeongin or Nari, and all of you would still be safe and unharmed. It's only because of my affiliation with Sicarius that we're in danger."

     Deep down Hyunjin knew that what he was saying was untrue, that the only reason Sicarius was after them was because it's leaders were evil and cruel, but it was so much easier to blame himself for everything and claim responsibility than to act like he was an entirely innocent person. He had done things for Sicarius. Killed people, tortured them. He had to be punished for those things, even if it meant he lived through the unspeakable.

     His head snapped forward suddenly, and Hyunjin lurched, knocked off balance. As he regained his footing, he raised a hand to clasp the back of his skull. "Ow! What..."

     Chan put his arm back down, eyes rolling at Hyunjin's words. "Snap out of it, Hyunjin. My brother's battles are my own battles, and I'm sure the others feel the same too. We want to help you get through this, we volunteered, okay? Stop blaming yourself for things that are out of your control."

     Scowling, Hyunjin pursed his lips and nodded slowly, not meeting his leader's eyes as they continued to follow Taeyong. The man had already reached the building and was pressing his thumb to a sleek black pad affixed next to the reinforced door. A light above the pad flashed green, and the door hissed, something inside it clanking before it swung open, soft light spilling out onto the gravel. Taeyong glanced back, waving them forward.