"And how do you know his past?" Renjun asked and Jeno simply shrugged, "Cause I was the one who brought him here when he was- what? Five I guess?" He walked down the hallway and the two skipped behind him, bombarding Jeno with questions about Jisung's past which he had no other choice but to answered.
❖
Utterly devastated, the girl sat by the bench on the riverside, crying to herself as she pondered over his words.
Her heard pounding as she placed her hands on her face, eyes close as she drowned in her own thoughts, tears lining her eyes, desperately hoping all of it was just a nightmare but nonetheless she knew it was the reality.
The sound of her phone ringing brought her back to reality, instantly picking up the call without even glancing at the caller ID.
"Aera! Come to the headquarters! Seojun is here, quick" Mark nearly yelled at her on the other side and she simply hummed in response in a low tone before heading towards the headquarters.
Usually she would cheerfully greet the elder male who stood at the counter but today she her face was devoid of any emotion- lips down turned into a small pout and she did not even glance at him.
"What's wrong..?" He mumbled to himself before shrugging and going back to his work.
She walked inside the room labeled 'Staff only' only to see Johnny standing outside.
"Are you oka— healed? You met Haechan?" Johnny asked, eying her neck and she remained silent, giving him no response and he sighed out, sensing something was wrong and hit questioning her any further.
"Fine. Here's your card" Aera took her card from him swiping it against the machine that stood adjacent and so did he as the two walked in the dimly lit narrow pathway.
Aera brought her hand up to swipe the card once again but paused looking at the door that had was widely open, the door handle loosely hanging as the metal had cracks surrounding it since it was shot.
"It's ok, chill" Johnny mumbled out patting her shoulder comfortingly and she lightly sighed under her breath, knowing what was to come.
The two entered inside, catching sight of the other three who were waiting for them.
"Oh you're here, let's go" Taeyong said, taking the lead as the five walked towards the main office.
Mark approached the girl, eyes ranking over her as concern washed over him, "Are you okay? You aren't hurt right?" He asked and she shook her head, forcing out an assuring smile.
"Good to know" He mumbled flashing her a small smile as he sighed out in relief before each of the swiped their cards gaining entry inside Seojun's office.
Seojun has his eyes glued onto the broken glass window and turned around to face the five upon hearing footsteps in the room.
"What is all of this?" He asked, pointing at the shattered glass and the things on his desk being messily placed.
"You guys let someone break in and hack all the cameras and the documents in the main system. What the hell were you all doing?!" He yelled out, kicking his chair sending it onto the floor far away, infuriated.
"Now I have to answer the officials. I am the one being blamed cause of you irresponsible idiots!" He angrily spat, griting his teeth as he clenched his fists- enraged.
"I trusted you guys on this and this is what I get? Good, I've learnt my lesson" He scoffed under his breath- eyes boring holes into the five who stood ahead.
"I've to take an action against this. Who was at the headquarters when all of this happened?" He asked, crossing his arms while he awaited their response but none of them spoke.
"Answer me!" He slammed his hand on the table, making them shut their eyes at the loud noise but nonetheless they remained silent.
Aera was about to speak up but Jaehyun eyed her, shaking his head in disapproval oh so slightly, stopping her, which went unnoticed by Seojun.
"Well then, all of you face the bloody consequences" He snapped his finger, turning around on his heels as he grabbed his phone.
"Sir, it was me" Aera stepped forward and Mark snapped his head at the girl, holding onto her hand to stop her but she shook her head, pulling her hand out of his grip before turning to face Seojun.
Her words earned Seojun's attention, making him stop, "I was at the headquarters that time" She said and he knit his brows together before clicking his tongue- mockingly.
"You were a trouble since the start, 02" He taunted, now turning to face the girl.
"Not only you were being careless but also violated the rules" He began, indicating that she had shot the door for entry and not accessed for gaining the entry.
"Give me your ID" He demanded, extending his hand out and she pulled the card out from her pocket placing it in his hands.
Taeyong furrowed his brows seeing the girl wordlessly follow him, usually she would've said something to defend herself or explain him the situation but today she did none, silently listening to what the elder had asked her to do.
"You're suspended for two weeks and restricted from having any contact with these four in any ways in these 2 weeks. If I get to know you did, things will get worst, keep this in your mind" Seojun said and Aera nodded, already seeing this coming.
"Sir she's a part of this mission—" "Well 05 you think you can take my place in Pyrite and make decisions?" Seojun interjected Johnny making him press his lips into a thin line, helplessly looking at the girl who had to face all the consequences though none of it was her mistake.
"Now leave" He said, placing her card on his desk and she wordlessly exited the room, not sparing Seojun a look.
"You four will continue to work on the mission- without her. And about Citrine, I'll let you know" Grabbing onto Aera's ID, Seojun exited the room leaving the four inside.
Seojun's eyes caught sight of Aera was grabbing onto her necessary stuff from her office desk and he scoffed out, eyeing her with a disgusted expression lingering on his face.
Approaching the girl, he spoke with a smug smile on his lips, "That's where you'll end up if you go against us Park Aera" He taunted before turning around and exiting the headquarters.
Aera was too concerned about her soulmate to even bother being suspended from work for two weeks- her mind clouding with his thoughts, his words endlessly ringing in her mind and every time she mulled over it, she could help but have tears welling up in her eyes- mortified.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
