Empire | ATEEZ

024

"Wow," Mingi said as he stepped into the bathroom as well, the bright light making his dirty blond hair glow almost golden as he swept it back, eyes locked on me in a way that immediately made me angry.

"You look hot," he stated almost matter-of-factly, stuffing both of his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. I glared at the dark suit before letting my eyes meet his.

"Do you ever wonder what life would be like if you'd gotten enough oxygen at birth?" I asked, feigning innocence as he furrowed his brows, his ears immediately going red, "I- What?" he blurted.

I sighed, pushing past him as I made my way back out into his room. I could have been sleeping right now. I could have been lying underneath the warm covers and-

"You do realize that you have your entire life to be a jerk, right?" Mingi mumbled as he caught up and opened the door for me, "Why not take today off?" he smiled, leading me down the stairs and into the garage where all eight motorcycles were standing.

"If I break my ankle in these, you're going to pay for it," I mumbled, pouting as I wrapped my arms around myself in the cold evening air seeping in through the bottom of the garage door, "I'm barely wearing any clothes and you haven't even offered me your jacket-"

"Just get on, will you?" Mingi sighed as he mounted the motorcycle and offered me his helmet, "You're so feisty tonight. What has Seonghwa been feeding you?"

I didn't answer him as I took the helmet and pushed it down over my head, carefully climbing the vehicle as I sat down behind him and hesitated for a moment before sighing and deciding to wrap my arms around his waist.

He was always like this, I reminded myself as the motor roared to life and he revved the engine to create more thunder as we rolled out onto the driveway, the night air licking up my bare legs. He was always joking around and-

Every excuse I was about to make up for him died out as I gasped the moment he sped up, chuckling heartily at my reaction as I tightened my hold on him and pressed myself against his back, my heartbeat going at almost the same speed as we were.

"I'll definitely choke him in his sleep," I mumbled to myself, my voice muffled by the helmet as the city lights blurred together into a bright rainbow in the darkness of the night.

〄

Despite the many comebacks and retorts I had spent the entire trip to out destination preparing, I found myself speechless as I stared up at the warehouse in front of us, wrapping my arms tighter around myself as the doors opened and revealed the casino beyond the old and crumbling walls.

"Oh, this is so illegal," I breathed, shivering as the night breeze nipping at my bare skin only to jump slightly as Mingi pulled off his jacket and draped it across my shoulders, neither saying a word nor sparing me a glance as he headed for the entrance.

I was surprised to say the least, trying to follow him as best as I could in my heels, but finding myself unable to meet his eyes as I realized that any and all signs of his jokes were long gone by now.

He walked past the guards with his head held high, the two men by the doors not even checking his tattoo, not even laying their eyes upon him as he walked inside like a shadow of the man I had come to know, now wearing the armor of the treasurer to Korea's most infamous criminal group.

I swallowed thickly as I followed his lead, suddenly feeling like I was in way over my head, trying to hold my head high only to feel my entire facade crumble as I was stopped before I could even put a foot inside the building, shrinking underneath the glares of both guards as they took a step closer to me, blocking my way in.