WHO ARE YOU?|ATEEZ FANFIC

Chapter 24|Me, myself and I|Be free

After separating from the rest of the group, Seonghwa, Yeosang, Yunho and Jongho all continued walking in the same direction. Their jobs were all in the same area so they decided to go together while Wooyoung and San went elsewhere. They didn't know where Mingi was going, he was already out of sight before they could ask him for his direction. Seonghwa was a little nervous. He walked alongside Yeosang and Jongho, who walked side by side with their arms crossed, and Yunho walked a little ahead of the other three and was always the first to look around corners when they came to an intersection. He was concerned that there might be enemies hiding in the other streets, so he was a bit cautious.

»Are you scared?« Seonghwa asked when he couldn't stand the silence anymore and Yeosang looked at him thoughtfully.

»Not really. Why? Does your task scare you?« Seonghwa shook his head.

»It's not the task that scares me. I don't have anything really dangerous.« he answered and Jongho smiled. He thought of his task and wanted to throw himself off some roof right now. It wasn't anything earth shattering, or even dangerous, but in his condition with his leg and his total lack of motivation, his tasks would probably take hours.

»I'm more afraid of being alone.« Seonghwa finally said, which Yunho heard. He stopped to let the others catch up and then took the oldest by the hand.

»I think mine and yours are very close together. When I'm done, I'll come pick you up. How does that sound?« Yunho smiled gently and Seonghwa immediately felt a little lighter. He nodded.

»That would be great.« The boys arrived at an intersection and Yeosang and Jongho looked at the other two a little nervously.

»We have to go this way now.« Jongho said and Seonghwa nodded. He hugged both of them briefly.

»Take care of yourselves. I don't want any injuries.« He looked at the two with a raised finger and Jongho smirked.

»Too late.« He turned away from Seonghwa, who rolled his eyes.

»No more serious injuries!« he called after the two, and then turned to Yunho, who smiled at Seonghwa.

»I have to turn here too. My location is over there.« He pointed to a small music shop not far away and Seonghwa sighed in frustration. He blinked at the road he had to walk down. It was a lonely road leading out of town. He could already see the 24/7 shop.

»Okay, see you later then.« Yunho hugged Seonghwa once before the two of them broke up and went their separate ways. Seonghwa followed the empty street with hesitant steps. He didn't like the feeling of being separated from the others at all, but he had no other choice. He kept walking until after a five-minute walk he finally arrived in front of the 24/7 shop. He stopped for a moment in front of the roadside shop and looked around. It looked like something out of some horror movie. The street and everything around it was deserted and apart from the light coming from the shop, nothing illuminated the street, which slowly changed from day to evening. The sun slowly set behind a group of clouds on the horizon and the first stars appeared in the sky next to the full moon. Seonghwa sighed in frustration. He didn't like this at all. Approaching the store, he cautiously peered through the windows at first. There were a pair of monitors in the window, all of which were either turned off or flickered so much that you couldn't see what was on. Hesitantly, Seonghwa opened the shop's door, and a soft ringing sounded. It was a bit warmer in the shop than outside on the street. Seonghwa looked around curiously. The shop wasn't particularly big. It had maybe four shelves lined up in the middle of the shop and there was a refrigerated shelf along one wall, which contained all sorts of yoghurts, cheese and meat products as well as milk. Seonghwa walked over to the cash register and carefully looked around. There was no one there. Seonghwa was all alone in the shop. He took the letter out of his pocket again and read the line again. 'Find the bracelet in the 24/7 shop.' Seonghwa didn't know what the bracelet looked like. He had no idea what color it was, whether it was braided or maybe metal or leather. The lack of information got on the black-haired man's nerves, but he had no other choice. He started tearing the whole place apart. The first thing he checked was the cash register. He rummaged in drawers, opened every door and even broke down the cash register, hoping the task would be easier than he thought. But it was not like that. The bracelet was nowhere in the checkout area. From the checkout he started rummaging through the shelves, grabbing a small snack here and there on the candy aisle. His search lasted almost an hour. Outside everything was already immersed in a deep black and Seonghwa was getting really bad mood. He'd searched every shelf, opened every door, lifted every rug on the floor. After all the candy he ate while searching, he was bound to get sick soon. Frustrated, he sat down on the chair behind the cash register and scanned the store.

»Where didn't I search?« he asked annoyed. He went through everything again. On the left side of the shop was the candy, but there hadn't been anything besides calories. The shelf in the middle was for bread on one side and pasta, rice and sacks of potatoes on the other side. Seonghwa had looked through there too. Twice even. He'd even felt the pasta bags in case the bracelet was inside, but again it wasn't. Seonghwa had also searched the third shelf several times. But apart from ready-made meals and other odds and ends that could be used in the kitchen, there hadn't been anything there either. It had been the same in the refrigerated section. Seonghwa sighed and rested his head on the checkout counter in frustration. He didn't want anymore. How was he supposed to find a stupid bracelet in this store that he didn't even know what the hell it looked like.

»God damn it.« Seonghwa looked up at the ceiling and was massaging the back of his neck when he suddenly stopped. Something glittered in the light of the shop lamp that was tied to a cable above the cash register. Seonghwa slouched in annoyance and stared at the silver thing on the ceiling.

»You've gotta be kidding me.« Seonghwa got up from the chair and, grumbling, climbed onto the small chair and then onto the checkout counter. When he was secure, he looked around and found the silver thing dangling right in front of his nose. It was a metallic bracelet that was pressed flat and shaped into a round shape. Seonghwa untied the small bracelet from the cable hanging from the ceiling and shook his head in frustration.

»Are you serious? You've been dangling over my head the whole time, you little shit of a bracelet?« He looked closely at the bracelet and turned it over in his fingers. Once he turned it completely around, he spotted a neat little inscription in the metal and read through it. 'Be free'.

»Now what is this supposed to mean?« Seonghwa asked as he carefully climbed back down from the goods platform. He slipped his hand through the bracelet and then walked out of the checkout area towards the door. Shaking his head, he reached down on the doorknob and pulled on the door to get out, but it wouldn't open. Seonghwa looked at the door in confusion.

»Oh come on. What the hell is this shit about now?« he asked, continuing to shake the door, but it just wouldn't budge. Frustrated, the black-haired let go of the door and turned away annoyed.

»This can't be real right now. Are you kidding me.« he scolded and ran his fingers through his hair when he suddenly noticed something at the door. Seonghwa flinched when he saw the black-clad figure at the door. The Halateez wore a mask and his hat was pulled so low over his face that Seonghwa couldn't even see his eyes. Seonghwa stared at the Halateez in fear and backed away until he suddenly felt the bread/noodle shelf behind him and couldn't go any further. For a moment the Halateez didn't move and just stared at the ground, then suddenly he reached up and grabbed the open shield and turned it around so that the shield now read closed. Seonghwa swallowed nervously, then the Halateez suddenly pulled a small remote control out of his pocket and held it up for Seonghwa to see. Seonghwa was breathing nervously and shaking as the Halateez pressed the button on the remote and suddenly the store's fuse blew. The lamps shot sparks and Seonghwa jumped and screamed. He squatted on the ground and made himself small. The sparks landed on the shelves and the dry papers at the checkout, setting them ablaze. Horrified, Seonghwa stood up. He looked at the door, where the Halateez still stood, and then at the checkout, where the fire was slowly spreading to the rest of the store.

»Damn shit!« The black-haired went to the door and banged on the pane in panic.

»LET ME OUT!!!« he yelled at the Halateez, but the Halateez didn't lift a finger, turning away from the store and disappearing into the darkness.

»HEY!!! PLEASE DO NOT!!! COME BACK!!« Seonghwa rapped desperately on the glass and began to cough. He turned around in a panic and saw the smoke and fire slowly filling the small shop.

»Help... HELP!!!« He covered his mouth with his hand, coughing and clearing his throat to somehow clear the smoke from his lungs, but it was no use. The black-haired one slowly fell to the ground and remained kneeling in front of the door, coughing and gasping for air. Then shards flew around his ears and a hand reached for him.