Promise

17: Count On Me

The leader paused, looking over each of his fellow members. He took the greatest concern out of the expression Yunho showed, since it was clear the taller was not happy with what was shared.

"Was that all you got?" Yunho spoke up after noticing Hongjoong staring at him. "Seriously? Nothing else?"

"We had the chance to take some other things, but to my knowledge none of us did. It wasn't worth it." Hongjoong answered with a shrug, vision still trained on Yunho.

From the look on his face, it was clear Yunho felt uncertain about that answer. The anger didn't diminish until a loud slap echoed around the warehouse.

"Ah fu—what was that for?" Yunho raised his voice defensively, cutting himself off as he snapped his head in his lovers direction.

"Stop being so pissed off." Mingi simply stated, tone scolding as he looked directly into Yunho's eyes. "It may be an irrelevant thing to you, but it means something to Hongjoong. And might I remind you, it was my choice to go, he didn't force me, and he actually wanted me to stay here. I took the risk, and I chose to put myself in front of Hongjoong and Yeosang, causing me to get hit the worst. If you're still mad about everything, then you're essentially mad at the choices I made."

That got Yunho to be quiet, biting his lip and turning his head downwards. Everyone else awkwardly looked to one another, deciding if it was appropriate to move on or not.

"Well...what I was also going to say, is that I think we all need a break from missions and whatnot." Hongjoong went back to the original topic, speaking with sincerity. "We all need time to heal in one way or another, and to just recuperate. Not to mention there is a pretty big winter storm that's said to be coming through, so I'd hate for anyone to get trapped anywhere they don't want to be."

There was a pause as Hongjoong looked over everyone once more. No one else said anything, too lost in thought or awaiting for Hongjoong to continue.

"I believe you all to have enough money and resources to last for a bit." Hongjoong leaned an arm on the coffee table, head in his hand. The position made his tiredness more apparent, both physically and in his voice. A heavy sigh passed through his lips. "I'm not quite sure about the money to keep this place up and running, but I'll find it somewhere."

"How long of a break are you talking about here?" Jongho piped up, concerned from the way Hongjoong was speaking.

"I don't know honestly." Hongjoong shook his head, eyes lowering.

"Hongjoong, you need to stop overthinking our health and safety." Seonghwa didn't necessarily snap, but his words were fast and out of nowhere. "We've been over this, we can all handle ourselves. This was a one-time, off thing. If you let it deter you from who we are as a group, then I'm sorry but I'm going to have to question your position."

All eyes were on the leader.

"It's not that." Hongjoong sighed again, pushing himself to sit completely upright again. "I believe I have some things to rethink at least. And I need more information right now before I can put any of you in potential danger."

"You're doing it again." Seonghwa muttered, shaking his head. His eyes were locked on Hongjoong, unwavering.

Those words seemed to have a deeper meaning than what was simply on the surface. At least it seemed that way given Hongjoong's reaction.

"Captain...this is our life as much as it is yours." Yeosang spoke up with a quiet voice, innocent-looking eyes staring into Hongjoong's soul. "We understand the risks and rewards that come with it. You can't just tear us away from what we know, that isn't fair."