Honor and Glory | ATEEZ

038

Hongjoong got up from the ground, shuffling to stand up and get a better look at the others over the tops of the billowing wheat that had been shielding us from their view.

He dusted his hands off in the fabric of his pants, and the layer of ice that had covered his palm crumbled into small glinting pieces of snow as they fell to the ground.

I caught a glimpse of San over the top of the wheat, struggling to swallow down the lump of nervousness that had gotten stuck in my throat.

He glared at Hongjoong, his lips nothing more than a tight line.

Then he loosed up, raised his finger to his mouth, and blew the layer of ice off the top of it in an unfazed manner, sticking his hand back in his pocket before moving on.

I scrambled to get off the ground as well, accidentally bumping into Hongjoong on the way.

He dusted himself off again, looked at me for a moment before clearing his throat awkwardly and trudging after the others as well.

I ran my hand through my hair in an attempt to get a hold of myself.

Well that was awkward, I thought.

Seongwha glanced back over his shoulder to look at the two of us, rolling his eyes playfully before breaking into a smile and continuing his tricks on Wooyoung.

"They really are something," I mumled.

Except this time, I didn't only mean Mingi.

No, this time, I was sure that it went for the entire group.

Hongjoong's words repeated themselves in my head again, like an echo of something that I couldn't quite shake from my thoughts.

"Opposites attract."

I shook my head.

Once again, I told myself that couldn't possibly be the case.

Once again, I told myself there was absolutely no way I could be attracted to any of these men.

We kept moving, passing through endless fields of tall green grass, and crops, crossing small streams and rivers alike, climbing the hills, and enjoying the soft breeze once we reached the tops.

Before I knew it, the sun had reached the middle of its lane across the clear purple sky, hammering down on us with warm sun rays.

Suddenly, an excited yell from Wooyoung cut through the silent air.

I turned to look at him, cracking a smile as I saw him dancing around in a circle with Yeosang, the nature elemental struggling to get free though laughing along with him as they tumbled around in the flowers.

"Look!" Wooyoung yelled, getting up from the ground and pointing excitedly in front of us.

In the distance, you could just barely see District 1.

The outline of the city glowed brightly even in the midday sun as if lit by hundreds, maybe thousands, of fires, which it probably was.

Everyone came to a halt, though the excitement and anticipation hung heavily in the air around us.

We were so close.

And then we ran.

We ran through the landscape, watching as the ground changed from lush fields of flowers and grass into a rocky surface barren of any life except for a forest of pine trees which we slipped into.

The darkness from the trees surrounded us, and I felt a familiar tug at the bottom of my stomach as Seongwha appeared beside me.

I felt the portal taking shape before I saw it materialize.