Hyunjin's p.o.v.
Nari had taken choking up clotting blood pretty well considering how her day had been.
Minho had ordered her, Jeongin and Chenle, who was passed out on a stretcher, inside immediately after he spied her physical state. Blabbing on about internal bleeding and damaged esophaguses. It was well outside of Hyunjin's job description, so he didn't follow them.
Eyes squinting, Hyunjin appraised their haven. It was a huge gray warehouse with long, skinny windows at the very top of the walls and a single door, one that required three levels of security passes to enter, which Johnny had cleared for Minho moments before. Empty fields of tall grass surrounded the building, and giant trees lent their foliage as arial cover. It was the perfect place to lay low.
"It's a lot cozier than it looks," Taeyong commented beside him. "We redesigned the inside; there's three floors, and plenty of room. You will all be comfortable here."
Chan overheard the leader and bowed slightly in his direction. "I have to thank you again, for everything. Without your men and your help, we would never have been able to pull this off. My members wouldn't be here without you."
A strained smile crossed Taeyong's face. "It's my own fault that one of your members is here at all. It's the least I could do. I owe it to her."
Chan clapped his hand onto Taeyong's shoulder. "She doesn't blame you, you know that."
"Yeah, well she should," Taeyong scoffed, clenching his jaw as he glared at the pavement beneath his feet. "Anyway, we should head in. Your members will want to be with you."
He walked off to the warehouse as Chan and Hyunjin watched. Rubbing the back of his neck, Chan motioned for Hyunjin to follow him to the door. "He shouldn't beat himself up like that, it's really not his fault."
"It's mine though."
A shocked breath blew from Chan's mouth as he stared incredulously at his younger member. "Like hell it is! Why would you say that?"
"Chan, if I had never joined you, we would never be in this situation. Sicarius would have never taken Jeongin or Nari, and all of you would still be safe and unharmed. It's only because of my affiliation with Sicarius that we're in danger."
Deep down Hyunjin knew that what he was saying was untrue, that the only reason Sicarius was after them was because it's leaders were evil and cruel, but it was so much easier to blame himself for everything and claim responsibility than to act like he was an entirely innocent person. He had done things for Sicarius. Killed people, tortured them. He had to be punished for those things, even if it meant he lived through the unspeakable.
His head snapped forward suddenly, and Hyunjin lurched, knocked off balance. As he regained his footing, he raised a hand to clasp the back of his skull. "Ow! What..."
Chan put his arm back down, eyes rolling at Hyunjin's words. "Snap out of it, Hyunjin. My brother's battles are my own battles, and I'm sure the others feel the same too. We want to help you get through this, we volunteered, okay? Stop blaming yourself for things that are out of your control."
Scowling, Hyunjin pursed his lips and nodded slowly, not meeting his leader's eyes as they continued to follow Taeyong. The man had already reached the building and was pressing his thumb to a sleek black pad affixed next to the reinforced door. A light above the pad flashed green, and the door hissed, something inside it clanking before it swung open, soft light spilling out onto the gravel. Taeyong glanced back, waving them forward.
"Come on, I'll show you to your rooms."
° ° °
The warehouse was almost cavernous, the entryway's floorspace untouched, the ceiling soaring up. NCT had designed the inside in such a way that the huge building was almost like a small village on the inside, separate small buildings and floor levels adding to that sense of a town.
Hyunjin's mouth fell open in shock, the sheer size and detail almost overwhelming him. "Uh, do you think the right word for this place was 'safe house'? I think 'safe mansion' is more appropriate."
Taeyong laughed modestly, shaking his head. A hand gesturing to a section of structures, he said, "Those will take you to your quarters. The dining hall is in the center of the building; if you need help getting around, press this and one of mine will come to guide you."
He pressed a small black device into Chan's hand. "He's a new recruit, needs some practice speaking Korean anyway."
With that, Taeyong walked on ahead to Johnny, who nodded as his leader muttered to him. They left Chan and Hyunjin in the foyer, still shocked at the immersive quality the hideout had.
"Where do you think the others are? I want to see them," Hyunjin said, eyes traveling to the door leading to their rooms.
"They're probably in their rooms already, don't worry. Now come on, we both really need to shower," Chan replied, a warm smile brightening his face for a moment.
The boys opened the door and passed through it, met with a long, well lit hallway lined with doors. As they walked, Hyunjin noted the signs above each door: Storage, Weapons Room, more Storage. As they eventually turned the corner, the hall widened and Hyunjin spotted two boys loitering under one of the doorframes, seemingly waiting for someone. As they got closer, one of the boys turned their head. Hyunjin's eyes widened as Felix's gaze met his.
"They're back!"
The cry of elation was quickly met by Jisung whipping his head around and the rest meeting Felix at the door, Seungmin's mouth a wide grin as his hand clasped Changbin's shoulder. The boys whooped and ran to meet the weary travelers, narrowly avoiding several injuries as they collided in a flurry of hugs.
Chan laughed softly as Felix buried his face into his leader's shoulder. "We were listening on comms with the others after our retreat, and when we heard gunfire, we - "
Felix grew quiet and Chan raised a hand to the back of his neck, squeezing it reassuringly. "We're okay," he assured them. "All of us. We're okay."
It was quiet again for a few moments, then Seungmin spoke up, a small quiver in his voice. "I hate to break up this tender moment, but you two smell really bad."
The comment clashed with the group's mood so harshly that Hyunjin pulled away to hold his stomach from laughter, the high pitched sound echoing off the concrete floor. He wiped at his eyes hastily, calming down to reply to his friend. "Ah, Seungmin. Blunt even in our softest moments."
Seungmin finger-saluted his hyung before pulling away completely, glancing back at their bunk room door. "There's only one shower in this room, check across the hall and see if anyone's using that one."
Before Chan could move, Hyunjin waved him aside, telling him not to worry about anything for a few seconds and relax. He followed Jisung and Seungmin to their room and turned to the door opposite theirs, raising a fist to knock. Before he was able to press his knuckles against the wood, the door swung open, a small wave of heat washing over the boy. A slim, toned man with a towel wrapped around his waist leaned against the doorframe, raising an eyebrow.
"Can I help you?"
Hyunjin squinted, hazily recalling him from their first meeting at NCT's headquarters. "Oh, yeah. We need an extra shower," he said, awkwardly pointing over his shoulder towards their room.
The man made a face of understanding and stepped aside, gesturing towards his own room. "Well, you're welcome to use mine. I'm only bunking with Hendery, so you'll have plenty of time to wash up. There are some extra clothes in the dresser, you're free to borrow some."
"Ah, thank you..."
Hyunjin's sentence drifted off as he tried to recall the man's name, eyebrows drawn in concentration. The man smiled and stood upright, a hand on the doorknob.
"I'll get dressed so you can come in. It's Xiaojun, by the way."
The door closed with a click and Hyunjin stepped back to his own room, silently chanting the name in his mind to remember it better. Jisung caught hold of his arm as he entered their room to wait on Xiaojun, his grip tightening as they sat down on one of the bunk beds that lined the walls.
"So? Jeongin and Nari are okay, right? What did Sicarius do to them? Tell us everything," he pleaded, the eyes of his other member begging the same thing.
Hyunjin pried Jisung's fingers off of his arm, flexing them absentmindedly as he grinned. "Don't worry, I'll fill all of you in on every detail."
There was a light tap on the door as Xiaojun popped his head in, signaling that his room was free. Hyunjin bowed his head in thanks and tilted his head at the others.
"After I get my shower."