PROJECT: SEVENTEEN. seventeen au

☏ LEVEL ONE

Good. You've come this far.

Now, before we resume in our storytelling, I have to tell you this is where you free trial ends. Where your membership expires. Sure, you've proved yourself to be interested in a government matter. You've proved yourself to be brave.

Have you proved yourself to be trustworthy, though?

You've risked reading the first three stages of the plan, and now that you know the names of our heroes, I'm not quite sure if you're not gonna go around yelling their names in public. The wrong ears might hear. And now your freedom is over, this is your last chance to go away and not invest yourself in this chaotic mess.

As I've mentioned in the previous chapter, one of our heroes' names is Jeonghan. But what if his name was Johnny? Or what if his name was neither one of those? That is where the risk takes place. You are not allowed to say their names in a public place, where the enemies could be present and potentially hunt them down. Well, you have the right, technically- there could be a hundred Jeonghans or Johnnies out there roaming the world. But what you're not allowed to do is to say what they've done or who they're associated with or where they live after saying their name. That ruins the whole point of this secret story being-well, a secret. At one point, it all boils down to a single question: should you be trusted?

Can you be trusted?

We can only know if I continue.

I'm still watching you.

The robotic message sent the boys running.

Literally running. As soon as Seungkwan from the diner, Eight from the barber shop, and Jisoo from the computer shop all put down their phones and relayed the message to their team-or gang, or friends, or whatever those boys liked to call themselves, jackets were thrown on shoulders, combat boots and sneakers were laced, and protective helmets were strapped on. Whatever it was, they had to hurry: run, fly, and arrive at the speed of light, for whatever it was, the matter was serious. Eliminated? Position? Project Seventeen? Those words screamed SERIOUS STUFF to their faces. And SERIOUS STUFF quite literally meant GOVERNMENT MISSION for those boys, who may or may not have been waiting for that moment their whole lives.

Besides, you wouldn't want to be caught up in serious stuff, right?

So that's what sent three groups of boys racing against time and the speed limit. A certain group of four arrived at Building Seven, Block Thirteen clad in crimson and dark teal suits, looking classy and sophisticated in their matching motorcycles.

"Hyung," Seungkwan whispers from behind Seungcheol, "what if this is the mission?"

Seungcheol barely listens to the younger, observing his surroundings. "What mission?"

"You know, the one the government requires for teens."

Seungcheol considers the thought. "Hm. Could be." he looks around again to see if there was something they should be looking for. "Let's just see what happens."

"Oh shit." comes a whisper from beside Seungcheol. Mingyu? Wait, no. He was on the other side of Seungkwan. It was Soonyoung. And he looked more horrified than ever. "Oh shit." he repeats.

The three members of the group looked at Soonyoung. Seungkwan sees an object clasped in Mingyu's hands and he snorts. "Bitch, what's that umbrella for?"

"Ssh, it's hot, okay? And it's our getaway weapon too," Mingyu says. Then he furrows his eyebrows, looking in the direction Soonyoung glanced at. "Hyung, what do you mean, 'Oh shit?-"

And then Mingyu's jaw drops open. So does the rest of his team.

They were not the only ones there.

A gang of five boys pulled up in the empty space opposite Seungcheol's group, the thrumming sound of their monstrous motorbikes bouncing through the room. Five teens, at least almost their age, all clad in leather jackets, combat boots, and permanent scowls. Not shortly after, another group of four came, with bright-colored bomber jackets and windbreakers and sneakers looking like some regular teens stumbling upon a gang fight. All three groups looked surprised, troubled, confused, and even scared.

Except for one.

The three groups eyed each other nervously, not daring to make a move. Except for one of them. A certain pale-skinned, dark-haired boy, whose sharp, fox-like eyes felt like ice and steel. He got off his motorbike and walked, chin high and hands shoved in his pockets, towards the center of the room.

Seungcheol agreed with himself that he didn't particularly like this smug, arrogant brat standing in front of them. Why? because if there's going to be a group to be chosen for the government mission, (in the case that this was it), it's going to be them, and not the gangsters or the brats from the other side. So he gets off his motorcycle and walks, too-to the center where all three groups would meet. Just as he was face-to-face with fox eyes, though, one of the teens came striding to them-dark brown hair falling over his handsome face and a smirk plastered on his lips.

The three boys eyed one another up and down. Seungcheol had to restrain himself from interrogating the two-about why they were here, if they were the ones that called, or if they were here to play a childish prank-and socking them straight in the face.

But before he could get any of the racing questions in his head out of his mouth, a booming voice thundering through some invisible speakers beat him to it-

"You have successfully completed Level One. Proceed to the next level. Proceed to the next building. Next task: acquire the telephone."