"You and I, we are forever a pair."
Joshua sat in the silence of a dark room. He had screamed until his throat hurt but no one came. No one had saved him. He was scared of all the unknown possibilities. In that moment he heard a sound. He froze in fear and held his breath. He didn't expect it to be Woozi when the door opened. The expression on Woozi's face was of relief.
No one but Hoshi had known where Woozi was. They spoke through their bond as he walked into the room and carefully walked toward Joshua.
"I found him. Keep up the facade for now. We can't let the fake Joshua know that we found the real one. We'll lose all of our leverage if we do." Woozi said. He could feel Hoshi's relief through the bond.
"I got it, Hyung. Stay safe."
"I will. We'll head your way as soon as I make sure he's okay." Hoshi gave a quick okay before he went silent again. Joshua scooted further back in an attempt to protect himself. Woozi could tell just by reading his aura that he'd been through hell. Woozi bent down in front of Joshua and smiled.
"It's really me, I promise. I'm the real Woozi. How long have you been here?" Joshua hesitated for a moment before holding out his hand. Woozi grabbed it and pulled him into a hug.
"I've been here for a week." Woozi felt his heart clench. He was angry that it had taken him that long to realize that it hadn't been the real Joshua.
"I'm so sorry I failed you. I should have realized sooner." Joshua pulled out of the hug and shook his head.
"It's okay. You found me. What's happening? Is everyone okay?" Woozi nodded lightly.
"The fake Joshua, who I think is Seungkwan's brother, hasn't tried anything yet. He doesn't even know that Hoshi and I know he isn't the real one."
"Do you have any water? My throat is raw from screaming." Woozi nodded and pulled out a water bottle to give him.
"Let's get you out of here and to the Annex. Hoshi is waiting for us." Joshua nodded. With Woozi's help, he was able to stand. The two of them carefully headed toward the Annex. When they got there, Hoshi was sitting on the table. His eyes were closed and he was fiddling with his fingers.
"Baby?" He opened his eyes as soon as he heard Woozi's voice. He was off the table in an instant and running toward them.
"Hyung. Are you okay?" Joshua nodded as he hugged the younger.
"I'm okay. How did you guys figure out that he wasn't me?" Hoshi let go of him and pulled them toward the table. He walked out of the room and came back a moment later with food in hand. He handed it to Joshua and motioned to sit down.
"It was Woozi that realized." Woozi nodded at Hoshi's words and went on to explain.
"I only noticed because of the way he was acting. It was how he acted around DK that gave it away. I couldn't see his aura."
"How was it different? I didn't notice anything." Hoshi said with a raised brow.
"The real Josh-" He said, motioning to Joshua. "Is very gentle with DK. Not only in touch but in words too. You wouldn't have noticed it but because I was mute for as long as I was, I learned how to read the way people talk and their tones. Anyway, my point is that his voice was not as gentle as the real Josh's. That's how I noticed. I know you can't tell Josh, but I can. There's probably no one in this world that talks to him as gently as you do. You're in love with him and a person like me could tell it from a mile away." Joshua could only smile. He had never realized how observant Woozi was till that moment. He was thankful for it too. Had Woozi not noticed that little change, He might have never been found.
"We need a way to tell the others to come here without the fake Josh coming too." Hoshi whispered.
"I have an idea." Woozi replied. He pulled out his phone and started typing.
Seungcheol Hyung
Wooz
Hyung, I need you to do me a favor.
You have to do it exactly as I tell you
Seungcheol Hyung
Okay
Is everything alright?
Wooz
Yes everything is fine
Just do as I say
Seungcheol Hyung
Alright tell me what to do
Wooz
Where is Josh?
Seungcheol Hyung
He went to the store.
He said he'll be gone for a while.
Wooz
Okay
I need you and everyone else to come to the Annex
But do not under any circumstances tell Josh anything
Make sure you tell the others that too
Seungcheol Hyung
Okay
But why?
Wooz
Don't ask questions
Just do as I tell you
Seungcheol Hyung
Understood
"Okay. Everything is settled. They should be here soon." Hoshi and Joshua nodded at Woozi's words. 10 minutes later, everyone but Joshua appeared at the Annex. They all wore confused expressions as they saw the three of them sitting at the table. Woozi smiled when he saw Sihun.
"Didn't you tell us that we were specifically not to tell Josh anything?" Mingyu asked, with a raised brow.
"That's because that isn't the real Josh. He is." Hoshi said, pointing to Joshua. DK hesitantly stepped toward Joshua with a frown. As he stood beside Joshua, DK turned toward Woozi.
"If this is the real Shua, then who is the person claiming to be him?"
"I guess that it's Seungkwan's brother. He's been posing as Josh for a week. Had I not noticed his change in tone toward DK, we'd probably been screwed by the time we actually found out."
"I'm sorry, Shua. I should have known. All the years I've been with you, I should have known." DK's words came out in a whisper. Joshua could only look at him with a sad smile.
"He must have been very convincing." Joshua said, wrapping his arm around DK's waist. DK tensed only for a moment before leaning into Joshua's touch.
"He was but what are we going to do now? He'll figure out the real Josh is with us soon if he hasn't already."
"Well, the good news is that he can't come into the An-" Everyone froze when they heard DK's phone go off. He pulled his phone out and saw a text message from Joshua's phone. It asked where everyone was.
"Do you think it's a trap to get us out of the Annex." Wonwoo asked.
"Maybe, but if it's not.." Everyone turned to Sihun for his opinion. Dino was tucked into his arms with a grim expression.
"I think we should leave and go meet him. DK and Joshua, you guys stay here. Don't leave the Annex. We need to know what's going on before we make any decisions." Joshua went to protest but Seungcheol shook his head and motioned him to sit down.
"Don't worry about us. We'll be okay. Stay here." He said. Joshua nodded.
"Okay."
"Once we scout out the situation, we'll call you." The boys nodded again at Sihun's words. After that, the guys left the Annex, leaving DK and Joshua behind. They sat in silence for a few minutes till DK stood up and stepped back from Joshua.
"Joshua, I have to tell you something." Joshua stood up and raised a brow.
"What kind of bad thing could you have done that would make you call me by my real name?" DK backed up against a wall and took a breath.
"Before I tell you, promise me that you won't hate me." Joshua frowned.
"I promise."
"He kissed me." Joshua stood completely still as he tried to register what DK had just said. He was angry and sad. He was angry that another person touched what was his but he was sad that some douche had done what he'd been scared to do for years.
"I'm sorry." DK was completely taken aback by Joshua's apology.
"Why would you be sorry?" Joshua walked toward DK with a frown.
"I'm sorry because he did something that I have never been able to do." It only took a minute for DK to realize what Joshua was talking about. DK moved from the wall and wrapped his arms around Joshua's neck.
"If you're scared then I'll do it." Joshua began to say something but was cut off by DK's lips meeting his.
***********************
The guys walked to the green room with hesitation. No one had said it out loud but they all were scared of what they were walking into. It was the third day in a row that they had all skipped classes. It had been the last thing on their minds at that moment. They were ready for it to all be over. As they reached the green room, they all glimpsed at each other before Seungcheol opened the door. The fake Joshua sat in the corner of the room with a smile on his face. Everyone had goosebumps as they composed themselves. He looked up as he heard them.
"Hey guys. Where's sunshine?" It was Hoshi who answered.
"He's not feeling good so he went to lay down." The fake Joshua nodded with a frown.
"Okay, I'll go check on him after our chat." Woozi leaned into Hoshi and spoke through their bond.
"He doesn't seem to know that we found the real Josh. This could be a good thing for right now." Hoshi discreetly nodded.
"Yes, till he finds out and we all end up getting hurt."
"Don't talk like that baby. We have an advantage for now. Let's be grateful for that."
"Still. This is dangerous."
"Maybe so but Sihun Hyung was right. We have to scope out the situation before we make any plans." Nothing else was said as they zoned back into the conversation.
"I think we should come up with a plan. Woozi's shocks are getting worse and the week is getting closer to the end." The fake Joshua said. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. They knew what he was trying to do. They didn't have to read each other's minds to know that they would play along and come up with a real plan later.
*********************
I know it's so random to put him here but I'm really missing Binnie right now....
That's the end of this chapter. Things are coming to an end and I'll be writing the epilogues very soon. I know some of the characters haven't gotten as much toward the end and I'm sorry for that but every couple will get their epilogues. Anyway, I have some plans underway and I'll tell you guys about them soon.
Thank you for giving The Mystic 13 so much love. It means the world to me. I'm open to comments and suggestions as always. Bye, guys I love you :)