Empire | ATEEZ

017

My words faltered as a chill suddenly ran down my back, realizing how eerily quiet my surroundings had suddenly become as the darkness of the night had intensified, creeping along the ground at my feet as I kept walking, now a little faster than before, unable to shake the feeling of wrongness, of being watched, as I passed underneath the dim streetlights.

I shivered as the cold night air made the hairs on my bare arms stand on end, unable to keep myself from wrapping my arms around myself any longer as I clenched my teeth and forced myself to walk faster, suddenly overwhelmed by a strong feeling of deja vu as the sounds of footsteps echoed through my very bones from somewhere behind me.

That street turned darker and darker as clouds began to cover the flickering stars overhead, only intensifying the panic that was welling up inside me as I thought back to the night I had first met Seonghwa. The night where everything had begun.

I flinched slightly at the muffled sound of voices cut through the otherwise cold silence, instinctively glancing back over my shoulder to check if anywhere was there, my heart sinking as I spotted a dark silhouette behind me.

I cleared my throat, "Seonghwa is going to kill me if I die," I mumbled, clutching the bag a little tighter as I hurried on, feeling my heartbeat pick up as I briskly continued down the street, counting the steps until I could turn the corner just a couple of hundred meters ahead, until I could make a run for it onto one of the more well-lit streets.

The sounds of advancing footsteps made me wrap my arms tighter around myself and, despite knowing better, I once again glanced back, fighting back tears as I realized how close the silhouette had gotten. I was being followed.

"This was stupid," I whispered to myself, my voice thick with tears as I felt fear well up inside me, replacing the panic like a cold splash of reality as I realized my idiocy, "Who runs away from home because they don't want to train? I should have stayed with Jongho and-"

My words were cut off by a cry of surprise as I felt a rough hand grab my shoulder and push me into another alleyway, finding myself pressed against the rough surface of the old bricks as they scraped against the back of my head and hands, my bag lying discarded on the ground as my heart hammered almost painfully against my ribs.

"Not a word," Minho warned, immediately shutting me up as I felt my breath catch, trying to fight back the flicker of anger that was threatening to replace the fear, knowing that, no matter how much I despised Nocturne, despised the fact that they had once been my friends, I stood no chance compared to him.

I let my body relax a little as his dark eyes studied me for a moment, mixing eerily well with the cloudy skies above; the colour grey like charcoal, ashes, and smoke, as he sneered, "Do you know how hard it was to find you? What it cost us?"

I glared back, clenching my jaw and fists at my sides in an attempt to stop them from shaking as he continued, "And all because Chan wants his little plaything back-"

"I am not his plaything," I retorted, straightening myself a little as I took in a shaky breath. "No," Minho breathed, "You've decided to become Empire's little whore instead, haven't you?"

"Get your fucking hands off me," I growled, struggling against his hold only to gasp as he tightened his grip and pushed me harder against the wall. "You don't tell me what to do, Nari. You should know that your place in this world is far, far below mine, below all of us. A couple of weeks with them doesn't make you my equal, you little-"

"Seonghwa will kill you-" I tried, my voice coming out much more feeble and weak than I had intended it to as the look in his eyes darkened.

"I don't give a shit about Seonghwa," Minho sneered, dark hair falling into his face, letting shadows crawl across his features, "I came here to get you and as far as I see," he said, glancing to the side into the street beyond the alleyway, "Your boyfriend isn't here to save you. But once Chan gets you back he will no doubt come crawling for you, wanting to save you. I have some unfinished business with him and he's been messing up our plans for way too long-"

"You shouldn't take him lightly," I warned, knowing full-well that my next words would no doubt make my situation words and yet, finding myself unable to hold them back nonetheless.

"What did it cost you the last time you underestimated him, hm?" I breathed, voice shaky as his grip on my shoulder turned almost painful, "How much does it hurt to remove a bullet-?"

"I could show you exactly how painful it is if you ask nicely," Minho said, making another chill run down my spine as his voice dipped an octave and turned eerily cold, cutting dangerously through the silent night as I took another shaky breath.

"But that'll have to wait until Chan is finished with you," he said, smirking a little as he yanked me toward him and grabbed my arm instead, "I'm sure the two of you have a lot to talk about but he'll probably let me have some fun with you as well once we're finished. Now come on-"

"No!" I exclaimed, struggling as he pulled me along with him, struggling and fighting against his hold without much success as he grabbed my bag and yanked me out of the alleyway into the dimly lit streets.

"Stop!" I hissed, clawing at his arm in an attempt to fight back as tears welled up in my eyes, feeling the anger and contempt wash away into fear again as my feet scraped across the ground, "Minho, please-"

The man turned around with a glare that immediately made my breath catch, grabbing my throat with rough hands that made me halt in my steps, my heartbeat echoing in my ears as I fought to get out of his hold, "Minho-" I breathed.

"No one is going to come for you," he growled, "And I promise you that this will only get worse if-"

"Let me go-" I pleaded, feeling lightheaded as his grip on my throat tightened, my eyes widening slightly as a familiar voice cut almost beautifully through the darkness and Hongjoong stepped into the dim light of the streetlamps overhead as if he had appeared from the night itself.

"You heard her," he mused, his cerulean blue hair glowing almost electrically in the dull glow, "Get your dirty hands off her."

I wanted to cry out in relief had it not been for the fact that it was getting increasingly hard to breathe despite Minho removing one of his hands to reach for his gun.

I stumbled slightly, trying to stay on my feet as the dark-haired chuckled, the sound unamused and devoid of happiness, "Come to her rescue? What a knight in shining armor you are, Hongjoong. If she is not marked then she is not yours to save. And look at you, a criminal, a murderer, what did you-"

"It was smart not to send Hyunjin tonight," Hongjoong said, cutting Minho off with an almost bored tone as the darkness in his eyes intensified, burning with something dangerous as he said, "I would have killed him right then and there but the fact that you're here instead," he casually raised his gun at the man, "Is not going to stop me from taking a life tonight.

"What gives you the right-?" Minho growled but Hongjoong once again caught him to it, "Since I bear the crown and not you, that is not a question that I need to answer. Now get your fucking hands off her before I place a bullet in your brain. I will not tolerate people hurting my family."

A/N:
If you enjoyed the story so far, please leave a vote on the little star in the corner. It would mean the world to me :)

Good morninggg!! I will once again add a quick note of apology for making Stray Kids act like this lmao I love these babies but is all for da storyline B)