Echo || NCTau ||

35 - About targets

Jisung lay in bed and listened to Chenle's steady breathing while staring at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep because he knew that instructor Kim was up to something. Earlier, he had seen how the news about the brutal murder spree in Busan had affected her. She had tried to hide her reaction as soon as she realized that he was looking at her but he had seen the fear on her face.

Did she know something about what had happened in Busan?

For the rest of the evening, he had agonized over whether or not he should share the abrupt change in her behavior with his friends.

In the end, he had remained quiet and opted for monitoring instructor Kim's room to make sure that she wouldn't do anything. No one was standing guard in front of her room anymore so, after everyone had gone to bed, Jisung stepped to the hallway every hour to check that nothing had changed. So far, the apartment had been very peaceful.

Jisung checked the time from his phone. It was already four in the morning and his eyelids were heavy.

The cat behind his mind suggested dropping the phone to the ground so that Chenle would be startled awake.
Jisung didn't allow the cat to do it and yawned.

Maybe it would've been smarter to tell the others instead of staying up on his own.

Well, he would do that the next time.

Jisung pushed the comforter aside and sneaked out of the room, making sure not to wake up Chenle. No one would be happy if Chenle woke up.

As soon as he closed the bedroom door behind him, he could hear a noise coming from Haechan and Renjun's room – instructor Kim's temporary prison.

He allowed the cat to access its senses in order to hear properly.

She was talking to someone. "- and you're sure about the address?" She spoke so softly that Jisung had to close his eyes and focus only on the sound of her voice that was muffled by the closed door.

She was quiet for a little bit and then hummed. "It's better if you don't know. But thank you for the help – I mean it, Sungchan. Thank you for everything. Tell Shotaro, too, that I'm grateful for everything. You both are okay, right?"

Another short silence.

"And you're in a safe location?" Instructor Kim sounded worried. "Okay, good." Silence. "Oh. I – I've been better. I'd rather not talk about it now. But I'll be careful, I promise. I'll hang up now. Take care, Channie, and don't let Taro eat too much cake."

Jisung frowned. It sounded like she had been talking on the phone but that didn't make sense. Jeno and Haechan had confiscated her phone when they took her in, and after that she had been tied with ropes and the door had been locked. The only moment when she was free was when Jisung took her to the bathroom, and she had returned to her room empty handed.

Jisung stood still, not knowing what to do. Was he supposed to storm in and check what was going on? What if she was playing a trick and was waiting to attack him?

While Jisung was still trying to figure out what was going on, instructor Kim's voice carried through the door again. This time, however, her tone was different from before.

"Are you ready with the goods?" Long gone was the vulnerability her voice had been softened with when she spoke with her friend. "The money has been transferred and everything is set from my side."

Jisung's heart froze in his chest. What was instructor Kim up to? He glanced at the closed door behind him. If Chenle woke up and thought that she was planning something, he would definitely call his shady aunt who had a lot more connections and power than any regular middle-aged lady was supposed to have.