"My squad will be the ones to rendezvous with our memb- our ex-member," he said with a wince, "And TxT will be the unit looking for Gwan Sungho. After capturing him, we will hold interrogations and executions for him and any survivors. During that time, designated groups will take every child in the facility and any prisoners of Sicarius back here to be looked after and assigned to safe houses."
"Any questions?"
It was an extremely straightforward plan, no fancy twists, no hidden surprises. Nari wasn't sure if that comforted or frightened her; the mission would be quick, which would shorten the reaction time Sicarius had to retaliate. But it also left too much room for the unexpected... what if something went horribly wrong?
But there was little time to suggest anything different. The quicker they acted, the less time Sicarius would have to rally and protect themselves. Now was the time to act.
As everyone dispersed, Nari pulled her brother aside before he could go anywhere. "Hey, I'm sorry to bother you, but I was wondering. Is... is Jisoo part of this mission too? Will I see her again?"
"I'm sorry, Nari," he winced. "I don't know if anyone would you, but she was part of the extraction mission. Jisoo left permanently after her it, she won't be coming back. She's requested that none of her new information be shared, so no, you won't see her again."
She solemnly thanked her brother as he walked off, and Nari prepared herself to feel angry or disappointed, but to her surprise, all she felt was relief.
As the gangs began to get to work, arms full of the last weapons and supplies to fill the trucks with, Chan tweaked Nari's hair as he pulled her aside. "Nari? A word?"
She obeyed and stepped away with her leader, glancing over her shoulder to see her brother nod at her before following his men. A nasty feeling pooled in her stomach. Nari didn't want to split up again.
Chan took a deep breath, eyes skimming over the commotion. "You know, I didn't just recruit you because you needed our help."
Nari paused, immediately trying to think of any other reason he would have let her join. And came up with nothing.
"But why...?"
"You may not see it, just as none of the others saw their own, but you have a spark, Nari. It was barely there when I first met you, but it's growing stronger now. All of us, we were lost before each other. Incomplete. But when we're together, we shine. And when you came, we shone just a little brighter. We can't do this without every piece, Nari. We need everyone, including you. Especially now."
His sincerity was making her heart ache, his words causing her chest to grow warm. "Chan, why are you saying all of this?"
"Because I can't lose anyone else."
He smiled softly at her before jerking his chin towards the door. "Now go help them load up."
Nari watched him unhappily as he walked off. He carried so much weight on his shoulders - too much for one person and certainly too much for him to be okay. She just wished he realized that his members were more than able to take some of the burden.
A hesitant tap on her shoulder made Nari turn curiously. A tall blond man was waiting for her attention with a handful of tech; it looked like wireless earpieces. He dimpled as he grinned slightly.
"Chan asked me to distribute these to everyone, could you pass them to the rest of Stray Kids for me?"
"Of course," a smile on her lips as she counted out eight pieces, assuming Chan had already snagged one. "Why aren't we using our own, if you don't mind me asking?"
"My group has been working on a more durable and secure private frequency, and because my members break ours so often, we have lots of spares."
He huffed humorlessly at that, shaking his head as he glanced to a group of four men standing a few yards away. "I have no idea how we afford to replace them all the time."
"Nari."
Hyunjin was clasping her elbow gently, nodding at the blonde man. "It's time to get ready."
She murmured her reply and waved goodbye to the man. "See you soon ..."
"Soobin," he answered, returning her farewell before leaving with his own members.
"He was nice," Nari noted as she and her boyfriend walked away, linking her pinky through his.
"Oh, Soobin? Yeah, he's the leader of TxT. We've had a few... meetings with them, and well," Hyunjin cackled, "they weren't exactly quiet evenings."
Nari shook her head. "We'll have to invite them over again once this is all over."
Hyunjin pursed his lips, nodding slowly as he looked down at Nari's face. "Definitely. We're in dire need of a happy night."
A sharp alarm sounded, signaling all gangs to load up into their designated vehicles. Hyunjin took a deep breath before planting a swift kiss on Nari's forehead.
"Let's go."
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