"ChangBin had to go. I needed him out." HyunJin explains softly. He felt bad trying to find a way to convince ChangBin to leave everything in his hands—but he had to.
Before—ChangBin was reckless and confident. Now—now ChangBin is reserved and hesitant. HyunJin saw so many opportunities slipping from their fingertips because of his hesitation. He couldn't let them keep missing prime opportunities.
"And that was kind of fucking stupid. Wasn't it, genius?" MinHo hisses through clenched teeth, his back pressed firmly against the door.
"Yes—and no—he's here—isn't he—" HyunJin nods toward JongHo, who sits in the corner of the abandoned home while SeungMin patches him up.
"Yeah—he's here and covered in his own goddamn blood from your stupid idea. Bin had a reason for not breaking him out sooner—and clearly it was a good one." MinHo snaps, but closes his mouth the moment he hears HyunJin sniffle.
"I thought I could do it. I thought I could be reckless and smart like he used to be. I thought breaking someone out of jail would be easy. I didn't know it'd end like this." HyunJin begins to fall apart as reality sinks in. He isn't ChangBin. He will never be ChangBin—even slightly.
"ChangBin's gonna be mad at me. He's gonna hate me. They know we're home. They know we're still alive—and trying to get our guard." HyunJin swallows hard, lowering his head.
"They already knew." JongHo speaks up, brushing SeungMin off as he gets to his feet.
"They already knew you were here. Everyone knows. Every member of the guard's auras came back. Anyone who's seen a guard member knows. When you left—our auras dulled until they faded away completely. I felt you the moment you stepped foot back here. We all did." JongHo approaches HyunJin with a limp. He does his best to hide his pain and discomfort as he wraps his arm around HyunJin's shoulders.
"They aren't stupid though. They won't hunt you down. They don't know what your new guard is capable of. They know they aren't Inbetweeners. For now—they're just going to watch. Maybe scare us a bit, but just to get a reaction so they can analyze your new crew more." JongHo continues laying out everything he knows.
He'd overheard a lot of things while locked away. A lot of things he had time to decipher and analyze on his own. Things that could drastically alter the outcome of the impending war.
"Truthfully—I didn't tell Winter because I didn't want to upset her—they were planning on offing me soon. They were going to use me to make a statement. Sure—I got pretty fucked up getting out—but I'm out—and I couldn't be any more thankful for that. You saved my damn life." JongHo mumbles, keeping his head low as he lets out the horrifying truth.
"The hell, JongHo! Why didn't you say something? I would've broken your ass out on my own way before they got here if I knew that was even a possibility!" YunHo smacks him, frustrated with the younger for not confiding in him sooner.
"It was a recent discovery. Literally the night before Winter came to see me." JongHo flinches, YunHo's hit so much more painful than it should be. All of his injuries only amplifying the discomfort.
"Doesn't matter—nothing matters—ChangBin is going to murder me. The sun is almost down—we got fucking guards on our asses—and at least an hour walk back to the kingdom. He'll get there before we do. He'll freak out. I don't know what he'll do." HyunJin's panic only heightens, the thought of them not making it back before ChangBin terrifying.
"Relax. We'll get back. It's not like no one is there to keep him controlled." SeungMin places his hands on HyunJin's shoulders, squeezing as JongHo steps back to take in the new dynamic he's never witnessed.
"When did this happen? Like—I know he's a new guy—but the two of them seem a little too lovey dovey." JongHo mumbles, falling back beside YunHo.
"Happened in the human world. A lot apparently happens there." YunHo informs him quietly, still getting used to it all on his own.
"What about ChangBin? He said he had to get rid of him—why? Winter didn't tell me much when she came—didn't seem like she knew much." JongHo tries to dig a bit deeper, his eyes never once leaving SeungMin and HyunJin in the process. He's too confused by their relationship to look away.
"ChangBin is—he's different. He's not the let's run into the volcanic eruption to get a lava flower ChangBin anymore. He's got a soul mate—and a kid." YunHo's voice goes quieter as he reaches the last part.
"He's got a what?" JongHo snaps his head in YunHo's direction, certain he heard him wrong.
"He's got a kid." YunHo hisses lowly, not wanting ChangBin's new guard to hear him.
"We should get going—gotta keep moving." MinHo attempts to get the party back on the move—his Syxx starting to creep in. The desire to start crying over the lack of Felix's warmth starting to slowly consume him.
"Let's go, Jinnie." SeungMin takes HyunJin's hand in his with a soft smile, watching their fingers as they intertwine.
"It seems quiet out there now. As long as we keep moving and don't make a big scene—we should get out fine. I think they backed down." MinHo mumbles, glancing out at the dimly lit path.
———————
"KeonHee and Eden got caught up. They won't make it back tonight. Don't worry though—they're safe. They're with SoMin." WooBin hurriedly informs ChangBin the moment he steps foot into the castle.
"It's fine. As long as she's safe and taken care of—it's fine." ChangBin mumbles, adjusting his grip on the sleeping girl in his arms. "Rys isn't in the best condition right now anyway."
"Oh—is—is she okay? What happened?" WooBin immediately backs down, feeling a bit frustrated with himself for jumping on ChangBin the minute he laid eyes on him.
"In our sense of the word—nothing. It was just too much for her. All of this is. It's alright. There's nothing anyone can do to make it better. She just needs time." ChangBin sighs, recalling the exact moment everything started to hit her.
"I'm going to put her in bed. Do you think you could grab Jinnie and have him meet me in the meeting room?" ChangBin questions as he makes his way towards the stairs.
"HyunJin—oh—he—he's not here right now—he just—he just stepped out. He—he should be back soon." WooBin stumbles over his words, unprepared to answer the question.
"The fact you couldn't get that sentence out smoothly tells me he did something really fucking stupid and no one stopped him. Who's here?" ChangBin groans, struggling to keep a good grip on Arys, but needing to know exactly what HyunJin did from someone without deep shield connections with HyunJin.
"I'm here." Chan calls out as he slips out of a nearby room, a Kyros fruit in his hand.
"Follow me and tell me what the asshat is doing and if I need to run after him so he doesn't get himself and whoever the hell he drug into his mess killed." ChangBin nods for Chan to join him on his journey to their room.
"They went to get that JongHo guy. Honestly—I'm a bit worried they aren't back yet." Chan hesitantly explains before taking a bite out of the ruby colored fruit.
"Ah—the big jailbreak. I bet you a million bucks he tried to pull the big ice explosion and probably failed. If they come home without tons of cuts I'll be shocked." ChangBin can't help but chuckle in amusement.
Years ago, he and HyunJin had a contest amongst themselves and the shield to see who could come up with the best jailbreak idea. Everyone had agreed that ChangBin's was a great distraction that also inflicted damage to the prison guards—but there were several ideas on how it would have to be gone about. Even ChangBin can't remember what they ended up deciding would be best—so clearly—HyunJin didn't remember either.
"They left maybe an hour after you did." Chan breaks the more concerning part of the news.
"And they still aren't back? That is a bit worrying. I hope to god he didn't kill anyone." ChangBin uses his knee to push the bedroom door open. He makes his way toward the bed and gently lays Arys down.
"We can go check the map. It'll show us where they are and who—if anyone—he got killed. Who of our boys is with him?" ChangBin turns toward Chan after he finishes tucking Arys in.
"MinHo and SeungMin." Chan lowers his head, prepared to get yelled at for letting SeungMin go.
"SeungMin—you let him take SeungMin—no—forget it—I'm not gonna fight. If I know SeungMin—he probably insisted he was going with." ChangBin does his best to stop himself from getting too worked up. He won't be able to think straight if he does.
"I'm most worried about MinHo. He's been away from Felix for far too long." Chan mumbles, well aware that the longer MinHo is away from his companion, the more stress his mental state gets.
"Fuck. If he's gone too long—" ChangBin cuts himself off as Chan shakes his head, not wanting to hear the rest of ChangBin's sentence.
"He won't be gone too long. I'm going to take Lix to find him." Chan makes his way back toward the door, confident that he'll be able to make sure they can avoid the worst case scenario.
"If they're being hunted—you won't find them." ChangBin states calmly as Chan stops in his tracks.
"We have to, Bin. We have to find them before it's too late. If—if Lix and Min—if they're apart too long—" Chan swallows hard, fear consuming him from the inside slowly.
"If Felix and MinHo are apart too long they lose their connection. They lose each other. Meet me in the map room. I'll be there in a minute. Bring Lix. We'll figure it out. We'll see where they are and how long it'll take them." ChangBin reassures the older, doing everything he can to keep himself levelheaded given the situation.
"Min is probably a hot mess. He's gotta be bawling his eyes out. HyunJin's probably beyond flustered. It's gonna be nothing but arguing—maybe even a fist fight once they get here." Chan chews on his bottom lip as he rambles to himself as he hurries to locate Felix.
"Fuck. I'm gone for one fucking day—" ChangBin groans, running his fingers through his hair.
He'd promised her he wouldn't leave her while she slept, but he has no choice. He has to make sure MinHo and Felix are reunited as soon as possible. He has to make sure HyunJin hasn't ruined their chance of making themselves a new home again.
"Go, Binnie." Arys yawns, rubbing at her eyes before rolling over onto her side.
"I'm sorry, Kitten. I really am. I promise that as soon as I fix HyunJin's mistakes I'll be right here for you. Nothing is gonna keep me away from you." ChangBin frowns as he takes a few hurried steps toward her. He presses his lips to her forehead before turning on his heel to leave with her blessing.
The longest a Syxx and their lover can be apart is twelve hours. It's been at least ten since MinHo had to have left. They've got maybe two hours left to make sure the two boys are reunited. If they aren't—things are going to get even more complicated than they already were. Maybe even more dangerous than it already is.
ChangBin can make it happen—can't he?