light a flame || seventeen

four ; light a flame.

the gap between wonwoo's eyebrows narrows, and he squints at the younger, trying desperately to figure out what he's thinking. although mingyu wears an outer layer of confidence and playfulness, wonwoo thinks he hides everything else beneath it. perhaps he doesn't like being vulnerable; perhaps he would rather keep that part for himself only. but whatever it is, wonwoo suddenly feels the desire to know it.

he settles on not saying anything, and the conversation lulls to a stop. no one else says a word either, creating another suffocating silence. highly uncomfortable, wonwoo leaves the room, grabs the book from his bedside table, and heads to the backyard to try and clear his mind.

it's a warmer day at the beginning of april; the temperature is tolerable, especially with the sun shining. wonwoo zips up his jacket and repositions his glasses on his nose before opening his book where he left off.

the time they've had to simply be has been a nice respite. instead of being criminals, they're just everyday people. wonwoo thinks he rather likes it. maybe enough that he might have a change of heart at some point. he only vaguely remembers the time before perilous. there are both good and bad parts of his current life, but he only allows himself to think about them occasionally.

but of course, nothing lasts forever.

"we've created a diversion," yang says the next time they meet up.

"diversion? how so?" seungcheol asks.

"if they do learn who i am—as yang—we've created a fake person for them to find instead. instead of yang ji long or yang ji yong, they'll find yang jia zhuang. from what yin's told me, they know i'm related to jeongin and hongseok, but they also know that i'm chinese. we're giving this pretend person a chinese name since that's most likely what they'll be looking for."

"how'd you manage that?" mingyu questions.

"yin has a small circle of professionals who are more loyal to them than to their father. one of them is very good at making fake papers look authentic. a team has begun to create a timeline for yang jia zhuang's existence," she continues. "if possible, they'll disconnect me from my alias so jiyong and yang are seen as separate people. it'll be hard since the public already knows yang ji yong, but i believe in them."

"that's impressive," compliments hongjoong, who has been silently observing. "but i'm beginning to think you two are the real criminals here."

wonwoo can't stop the bark of laughter that escapes him, quickly covering his mouth with a sleeve-enveloped hand. all eyes shoot to him, and he feels the need to explain. "i just agree with you, is all. we might plan and carry out our schemes, but yin and yang make everything possible and ensure our success. it's more like we're the pawns in their game."

unreadable expressions cross both yin and yang's faces, but hongjoong also laughs. "they're crafty, that's for sure."

"how long will it take to finish setting up?" vernon asks, slightly shifting the topic of conversation.

"anywhere from a few days to a few weeks," replies yin with a casual shrug. "depends on what kinds of roadblocks pop up. i'm confident they'll manage without issue, however."

"in the meantime," seungcheol says, "should we plan our next step? if this is the case, i think we'll be able to pull off something even bigger. and since we have more people on our side, now seems like a good a time as any, don't you think?"

although wonwoo is a little reluctant about their leader's claim—and he can see it on yin and yang's faces, too—there's not much he can say or do. everyone else seems to be completely on board, so he just waits to see how it plays out.