WANNA (A Wanna One AU)

Chapter 16

"So, what did you think of that meeting?" Hyunbin asked warily after having led us to his office.

Sungwoon scoffed loudly. "Oh, it was just fucking fantastic," he scoffed bitterly. "It's always lovely seeing my parents."

"Hyung..." Jihoon began cautiously. "I thought you told me everything was fine between..."

"I lied," Sungwoon cut him off. "That woman is an absolute monster and my father is too passive to do anything against her. She's a bitch and he's her bitch."

"What was Jihoon's mother talking about earlier?" Seongwoo asked and Sungwoon sighed.

"My mother thinks I should become a leader like Amelia, because our family cofounded the gang with her family. She just wants more power that she can abuse, and she thinks she can sit back and relax while I devote my entire life to The Company."

"Do you want to be leader?" Jihoon asked and he shook his head.

"No, I don't want anything that will work in favor of my mother. Besides, your mother was right... I shouldn't be a leader," he looked down and I heard a hint of defeat in his voice.

"Sungwoon, she didn't mean it like that," I said quietly. "I told you before, I think you'd make a great leader. I'd love to have you by my side, and if anyone disagrees, then they can say it to my face."

"It has been discussed before," Hyunbin stated, and we all turned to him, shocked. "Many of the committee members have considered the possibility of you two leading together. They believe you have the potential to lead the gang, and considering both of your ages, the members think it would be beneficial to have two leaders. Seeing as Amelia is not only to become the leader of the SKB, but also a world leader of The Company, the committee thinks it could help alleviate some of her responsibilities," he turned to face me. "I'm not saying they don't trust you to lead...:"

"It's just a lot to throw at a 21 year old all at once," I finished and he nodded.

"Yes. We think if you had a coleader, that person could take on more responsibilities of the SKB, so you could focus more on The Company as a whole," Hyunbin agreed.

Sungwoon nodded slowly, but worry was still written on his face. "But shouldn't someone who will put the company before everything else be leader?" he asked. "If I had to choose between the company and my music career, I'd choose music immediately."

Hyunbin pressed his lips together firmly. "There is still a lot that the committee needs to discuss, and that is something they would think about before actually deciding on a coleader. However, if you do choose to consider this, please let me know and we will figure out some way to make this plausible for you."

"Thank you, but I don't know if I want to be leader," Sungwoon said quietly. "I don't want..."

"If what is holding you back is your parents, then you do not need to worry about them." Hyunbin cut him off and I nodded, confusing the three boys.

"W-what?" Sungwoon stuttered.

"Sungwoon, Hyunbin and I have been planning some... changes for when I become leader," I said. "That includes changing up the dynamics of the committee."

"Changing up the dynamics of the committee?" Jihoon repeated, his eyes wide. "Can you do that? The committee hasn't been changes since it was formed, and that was when the gang was formed!" he exclaimed and Seongwoo smacked his arm.

"Thank you for that history lesson, Park," he rolled his eyes at Jihoon, who only shrugged. "Now that you mention it, I'm not really surprised. My parents have complained about the committee countlessly, and my mom has been praying for a change. She doesn't believe members should be chosen based off of their name."

"That is part of our plan," I told him and he nodded. "We want to reevaluate every member, and cut out the ones who don't do anything to prove their worth. Being in the committee should mean you are a skilled and respected gang member. You shouldn't be in the committee just because you are a descendant of a founding family. We also want to change that rule about founding family members only, because some agents have the potential that isn't being recognized because of who their family is."

"Your mother, for example, will most likely not meet the qualifications after we change things up," Hyunbin said to Sungwoon. "Of course, she would say she isn't what is expected of a committee member because she didn't join The Company until after she met your father. However, you surpassed her skills as an agent within your first few months of training."

I turned to Jihoon and Seongwoo. "Please do not mention this to anyone, especially your parents. We don't want any of this spreading, and it could cause major problems if members were to find out. Don't worry, though, I can reassure you that your parents have nothing to worry about. They have more than proved themselves as elites."

They both nodded. "We won't tell anyone. You can trust us, noona," Jihoon said and Seongwoo agreed.

"Thank you," I smiled.

Hyunbin came over to me, handing me a folder. "The reason I wanted to talk to you 4 privately is because I wanted you to be aware of what the committee was trying to hide from you."

I opened the folder and saw Mason Choi's profile. Behind it was a note.

"We received this note a week after the incident with Choi. It was so heavily coded, it simply appeared as a spam email. My elite team of hackers have access to my email, and they found the IP address to be suspicious. After decoding it, we realized it was sent from the gang Choi worked for. Despite what the committee was trying to convey to you four, Wanna One is being targeted by this group. Whatever the reason is, your safety is our number one priority."

Flipping through the file, I frowned when I saw pictures of each Wanna One member. A profile had been made up for each boy, and it sent a shiver down my spine when I realized how personal each profile was. This gang knew way too much about my friends, and it made me uneasy. A gasp escaped from my lips when I came across my brother's picture, which was crossed out with a big red X.

I quickly shut the folder, tossing it onto Hyunbin's desk. Seongwoo and Jihoon grabbed it and began looking through it. I knew they got to the picture of my brother when they both looked at me with sympathetic frowns.

"Noona, we'll protect him," Jihoon assured me and Seongwoo nodded.

"Yeah, we'll also make sure he gets extra training so he can defend himself if worst comes to worst. I'll work with him individually while Sungwoon and Jihoon train the others."

"Thank you guys," I tried to smile, but I'm sure it looked pretty forced. Sungwoon gently patted my leg. "Seongwoo, you don't need to do that, I don't want you to have to do more than you're already doing. I'll figure out someway to train him myself."

Seongwoo looked at me, uneasy. "Are you sure? You're gonna be busy with leadership training, and our schedule is going to be really hard to work with..."

"It'll be fine. You'll be equally as busy as me, if not more seeing as you have idol training and you have to help train 11 new gang members," my smile was genuine this time. "And I still want to make up for putting him through so much trouble these past few years."

Seongwoo nodded in defeat. "Alright, but if you need any help, don't hesitate to ask."

"You got it, thank you," I looked at all three boys. "Thank you three so much. I know this is a lot to ask of you guys, but it really means a lot to me."

"Amelia, don't worry about it," Sungwoon told me. "Jaehwan, and all the members of Wanna One, are practically family to us. We want their safety just as much as you do."

I smiled appreciatively at him, "Thanks Sungwoon. You too, Seongwoo and Jihoon. It does make me a little more relieved knowing my brother has incredible people looking out for him."

Sungwoon walked over to me, patting my shoulder, "Anytime, Amelia. You're our friend, and this is what friends do for each other."