RUSH <PART TWO> {EXO MAFIA-AU}

Time.

It was one of those lazy mornings where the sun hardly rose at all, it just sat on the horizon like it was waiting for something.
"He's really not coming back, is he?" Chanyeol stated to Sehun who had followed him over to Kyungsoo's old desk. It had been months since Kyungsoo's departure, leaving because he felt lied to. It was true, Chanyeol lied to him about his relationship with Baekhyun, Baekhyun never told him about going out and killing his father. But what really tipped him off the edge was that his members didn't have faith in him. Not only were they lying, but also arguing and going against rules. He felt as if he wasn't needed, so he gave the group what they wanted: a chance to break the rules and not have a leader.
"I don't think so." Sehun reply gently. He was in a group of killers, for sure, but that didn't stop him from having feelings. He could love and empathize like any other human, except he also had the courage to kill.
"We need him." Chanyeol gritted his teeth almost angrily. He felt that Kyungsoo was being selfish by leaving them and not answering the hundreds of calls they'd sent. His voice mail was now full, from the number of times Chanyeol was trying to get a hold of him.
"I know we do. But right now, you need to take his place." Sehun said sternly, making Chanyeol look and listen to him. "We can't continue as a group if we don't have a leader. You've seen the way Lay and Suho have been arguing lately, you know that they need a leader. So, step up and do what boss would've done if he was still here."

"Can I have all of your attention please!" Chanyeol said over the top of the gentle chatter his group mates created. "Seeing as Kyungsoos return is yet to be confirmed, I will be filling in as boss of Exo while he is away."
He saw the smile on Baekhyun's face as if he was proud of him for stepping up to the job. Their relationship was still secret to the rest of the group. In the midnight hours, Baekhyun and Chanyeol would sneak out to the back forest to spend private time together and come back with stars in their eyes and crinkles in their shirts. It was thrilling for both to have a hidden secret that involved love and murder.
"Finally, glad you've done it Chanyeol!" Xiumin said in a sweet tone as if he was the mother of a graduating son.
"Does that mean we can start robbing again now?" Kai asked playfully, missing his high of gunshots and fire. They'd not done anything illegal since Kyungsoo left, as if they still had to wait for his command. They had lived off paying for food and drink with the money stored in file cabinets that they had stolen prior to D.O's departure. There was a weird atmosphere in the warehouse, a frustration similar to when you can't find the final piece of a puzzle. The whole picture complete except one part; D.O.
"We can start robbing soon," Chanyeol said in a playful chuckle, he was beginning to enjoy the thought of power towards his fellow teammates.
"Can we go to the casino tonight?" Sehun asked as he wandered to the double mattress he shared with Kai, sitting himself down and leaning into his hands that were behind his hips. It had been a long time since Sehun and Lay had been able to do what they did best: betting, winning and stealing more than what they played for. It was something they enjoyed a lot and were very talented at; a small trick of the hand to win money as precious as gold and make a man two times as big as them feel like a failure.
"Yeah, you can leave at eight," Chanyeol said, feeling more adult-like then he had before. He felt as if he had to stop being childish like he was in the past and grow up for the group. For D.O.
There's yet a day that has gone past where Chanyeol wasn't thinking of Kyungsoo. The thought of him usually occurred before he slept: Baekhyun in his arms and D.O in his thoughts. It made him feel weak; that there was so much love in his heart for the two of them that could be used against him. He knew that losing Baekhyun would ruin him and seeing Kyungsoo again would set him off his tracks. It stung his heart like an ache before tears. It made him feel as if he was walking in the dark, being lad by the thought of them into a trap. He felt vulnerable to them. When he felt like that he'd look at Baekhyun in his peaceful sleep and hold onto his body tight enough to know that he was going nowhere. Baekhyun was used to the sudden tight squeeze at the AM hours now D.O was gone, it was like he was just expecting it, no longer being woken from the embrace but, in fact, drifting deeper in his sleep because of Chanyeols comfort.
Chanyeol made him feel different, loved even. In a way it scared him too, though he was unaware of Chanyeols fright of vulnerability, he felt that this was all a game. That Ji-woo, his ex-girlfriend who got him locked in jail for three years, was controlling everyone around him like some sort of puppet master, manipulating the people he loved to just be fake and dead. He feared lies, deeply terrified. Fear and love for Chanyeol were two of the only remaining emotions he had left before he was to feel nothing at all.