KING

一 23

She could see the two tense, Dejun's shoulders tightening, Yangyang stepping back. Hendery made no further movement, merely staring at them darkly shadows moving across his face. There was an eerie calmness to his limbs, a softened grace with which he shifted from one foot to the other.

"It's been a year." Hendery said, tilting his head, a crack in the anger that gave way to pain, prominently interlaced with his words.

Yangyang's breath hitched, she could tell. His chest was falling up and down at an erratic pace, almost as if he was on the verge of a panic attack, until Dejun's hand was on his shoulder.

The tension ebbed slightly from him, but he still said nothing, merely lowering his head.

Finally, a broken whisper spilled from his mouth. "I know."

"I searched for you." Hendery's gaze was trained on the auburn haired boy, deadly still. "I searched for a year, asking everyone- I risked my position in the court to find you."

Yangyang didn't look up, but Dejun did, eyes shifting from the boy beside him to Hendery. "That's what we didn't want." He said quietly, and Rina frowned in unison with Hendery.

"You, you made it to the Court." He averted his eyes from the taller man in front of him, looking dangerously close to where she was hidden. Her breath hitched, muscles tightening as she attempted to remain still.

Her eyes darted, able to make out the silhouette of the a large empty bin beside her. Bricks protruded out the wall, and her heart pounded faster at the thought.

She could escape like that, couldn't she? She'd never tried, after all, in the prison cell, she'd had to fight in a close space. There wasn't a lot of room to jump and run and scale up walls, but if they were right - if Yuta was right - she would be able to do it, wouldn't she?

She wasn't inclined to give it a try.

She grit her teeth, legs turning to jelly from the relief when Dejun glanced back to Hendery, seemingly not noticing anything.

"So what if I made it into the Court?" Hendery asked, arms crossed over his chest, fingers drumming against his elbow as he waited patiently for the answer.

Yangyang looked up, the softest breath let out through his nose. "We didn't think you'd approve." He replied.

"Approve of what?" Hendery arched an eyebrow, jaw as taut at the trigger of a gun. "Don't make it say it." Yangyang grit his teeth, desperation mixed with a warning, but for what, she didn't know.

"Of what, Yangyang?" He pressed on, staring expectantly at the younger, who was visibly becoming more distraught, hands clutching the hooks of his belt, from where a long holster was clipped on, extending down the length of his thigh.

Rina's eyes widened as she cursed herself for not noticing earlier. A weapon, an actual weapon she had just glazed over. A weapon that boy probably knew very much how to use, she thought, as she glanced back up at the auburn haired.

"Yangyang." Hendery broke the silence, and the mentioned snapped. "Assassins, goddamn it." Yangyang ground his teeth together, raising his jaw, defiance glinting in his eyes. She couldn't help but notice the glassy look in his eyes, the way Dejun tensed beside him, hands tightening briefly on his shoulders, before letting go. "We were scared you would just leave again when we became assassins too, like Ten did with Kun!"

When she registered the monosyllabic name echoed in her ears like a broken mantra, she let out a gasp.

Ten.

She clamped her hands over her mouth, slow flames licking the interior of her veins as her adrenaline spiked when Dejun whipped his head around, eyes narrowed.