Exception

XV. Thunderstorm

The sky was overcast and everything was going according to Minhyuk's plan. In this black four-seated car, rented under his fake identity Myung Hyunjoo, he sat with Jooheon and Daehyun in front of Nonghyup bank, waiting patiently for the right timing to come. The radio was turned on, and Minhyuk changed to the news channel so he could listen to the weather report.

"...a severe thunderstorm has broken out this early evening, bringing unexpected inconvenience and trouble to citizens. Following the recent sightings of strange weather patterns, the local observatory has been receiving many complaints about their misreporting of weather predictions. They insist that they are fully competent and are now investing scientists to further investigate on the so-called 'paranormal' weather behaviour. The current time is nine-fifty-six pm. We hope you enjoy your Thursday..."

Jooheon shifted in his seat, already feeling uncomfortable in his new "mission outfit": basically black of everything, including a cap and a mask to hide his face. The new fabric was tough and itchy against his skin, and his shoes were a size too big. He stared through the veil of rain, only barely making out the shape of the building he was targeting tonight.

"We might as well start now; I don't see anymore workers leaving the building." Daehyun yawned, annoyed. He knew Minhyuk knew there was no need for him to stay in the car with them—he could easily control the weather in his own home, or anywhere else. But of course, he was there just so his boss could keep an eye on him.

Minhyuk wanted to make up an excuse to retaliate, just to humiliate Daehyun, but couldn't think of any, which made him smirk. He was about to give out the orders when—

A flash of lightning struck mere metres away the car, causing Jooheon to yelp in surprise. Minhyuk recoiled as well, shutting his eyes to soothe the pain caused by the blinding white light. "The hell was that?" He shouted, to no one in particular at first, but repeated the question again when he turned around to look at... an empty seat and an open car door.

While both Jooheon and Minhyuk, who were sitting in the front row, were stunned, Daehyun had took the chance to escape.

Minhyuk slammed a fist onto the glove box, the impact causing the lid to fall open and rebound upwards, closing it again. Jooheon flinched at his palpable anger, bracing himself for a scream or a shout of frustration, yet it never came. Instead, Minhyuk started unbuckling his seatbelt and fumbling on the lock on his door.

"Hyung, where are you going?" Jooheon grabbed Minhyuk's forearm, pulling him back.

"To catch him, of course," Minhyuk hissed between gritted teeth. "Don't start until I come back, got it?"

"Hyung, just leave him. He's a grown up; we can't do anything to stop him. In fact, if we—"

Suddenly Minhyuk whipped around and looked Jooheon straight in the eyes. "If you won't let me go now, he's going to tell his stupid boyfriend about us, and then he's going to tell the police, and then what? We're going to be arrested!"

"No, hyung, why are you like this?" Jooheon started tearing up. He hated seeing Minhyuk in such a state, so paranoid, so... out of his mind. "He's our friend. He's not going to betray us, because he promised to complete this last mission with us, remember? He left because he doesn't want to be confined, sitting in this car following your orders. Just let him be."

Then, as if Minhyuk really did remember, his tense shoulders relaxed and the murderous look in his eyes disappeared. He nodded like a five-year-old kid after being reprimanded by his parents and said, "You're right. I'm sorry, I—I don't know what happened..."

"It's alright." Jooheon placed a hand on Minhyuk's affectionately. "Look, the area is already starting to fog up. Daehyun-hyung's doing everything accordingly, so you trust him, right?"