The boy's heart sped up to an alarming rate, the girl from his past bringing up long-buried emotions and memories, ones that he had wanted to bury entirely. His mind fluttered cautiously over her name, mouth catching up as his lips formed the word.
"Hello Hana."
Hana seemed delighted that he was still familiar with her, a little too delighted. She perked up and began to relax her stance more, though her finger never left the trigger of her gun.
"How have you been? Minus all of this betrayal nonsense. In my opinion," she shared, glancing around and leaning foward as if she was sharing a secret, "you should just be put back on our team. You were the best partner I've ever had, you know."
Chan voice pierced through her silky tone, the firmness in it surprising her. "He is a member of Stray Kids. He can never be and will never be part of anything else, without his unbiased consent, that is."
Grateful for his hyung's defence, Hyunjin fingered the handle of one of his knives, debating on what he should say to his old... friend.
"Are you going to kill us?"
Hana was shocked by this suggestion, letting out a highly amused laugh. "What? Of course not, silly! Not right now, at least. Think of this as a... an invitation for you to turn yourself in. To spare all the casualties," she said, eyeing the other boys with a pitiful gaze.
Hyunjin bristled, wanting to defend his brother's skills in combat. The Sicarius may have been talented, but there was no way that Stray Kids would go down without a fight.
But Chan spoke before he could, asking what they were all thinking. "How long before you come again?"
Hana leisurely ran her tongue over her lip, appraising Chan as she mulled over her answer.
"A week."
She raised a brow, silently daring anyone to question the deadline. When no one did, although steam was practically coming out of Hyunjin's ears, she smiled brightly, tapping her fingers happily on her rifle.
"Wonderful! If I don't hear from you by then, I'm sure I can assume what that means," Hana purred, tossing a slip of paper at Hyunjin's feet. "See you later, gorgeous."
The boy stooped to snatch up the paper, finding a phone number elegantly scrawled on it, Hana's name and a few hearts drawn at the bottom. Angrily, Hyunjin crumpled the paper and shoved it in his pocket.
Hana rolled her eyes and turned to walk out of the door, and the boys saw a small device in her ear blink on. She paused, listening to whatever the person on her line was saying, and her lips stretched into a devious grin. As she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes half-closed, giving her the appearance of a sly panther.
"Well now you have even more reason to come in. Don't you keep track of all your members? Tsk, tsk," she cackled, slamming the door behind her.
Silence enveloped the boys, and Hyunjin's mind went completely quiet, only filled with white hot static.
What... did that... mean?
His surroundings were a complete blur as he sprinted through the house, eyes trying to catch on any signs of a struggle, a break in. An abduction.
As he scanned the living room, his foot crunched down on something. "What the... "
Hyunjin kneeled to inspect it, fingers gently brushing the floor. The pad of one finger touched something sharp, and he caught it up in his hand, bringing it close to his eyes.
Broken glass.
The panic in him started to spiral loose, and he began to sense that Hana hadn't just been teasing him. Something was wrong.
He looked back down at the glass, following a small trail made up of the shards. It had most likely been made by the wind coming from an open door, or broken window.
Hyunjin froze at the basement door, the others catching up to him as he did so. None of them spoke as their eyes took in the horrible scene in front of them.
There was a huge pile of broken glass lying in front of the mutilated window it had come from. Bloody handprints led from a small puddle of blood near the door, smearing as they got closer to the window. It looked like there was something written near the puddle, the beginning of a word.
Hyunjin slid to his knees, eyes stinging as he attempted to make out the letters. J... e... o... n... g...
The letters stopped there, but it was enough for them. Hyunjin sat back on his heels, fighting the moisture brimming in his eyes.
"Jeongin," he whispered, voice cracking as he uttered his youngest brother's name.
Minho, face still stoic, caught on something lying on the floor near the wall. He slowly walked over, squatting to pick it up, fingers trembling as he realized what it was. The bracelet twinkled in his hand, obviously that of a girl. Biting his lip bitterly, he held the peice of jewelry up for the others to see, head falling in attempt to compose himself.
"And... and Nari."
Her name echoed through the hall, flowing through Hyunjin's ears. His brain couldn't comprehend what he was hearing, what Minho had just said.
Because it couldn't be. Nari had just been with Chan, and she had probably gone upstairs to help in any way she could, monitoring the cameras with Woojin, or assisting Jisung with the bulletproof vests. There was no way that... that she could be...
Hyunjin painstakingly looked at the bracelet, disbelieving eyes running over its surface. Lips trembling, he furrowed his brow at Minho.
"She... she's gone?"
The older boy nodded, placing a hand over his eyes as he clenched the bracelet in a fist. Chan looked struck, so bewildered that he didn't say a word, couldn't believe that it was true, like Hyunjin.
Seungmin, Jisung, and Felix came upon them just then, looking extremely scared. Felix blew out a long breath, eyes counting his members as he spoke.
"We couldn't find anyone, we were so worried and... where's Nari and Jeongin?"
That was the last straw. Chan buried his face in his hands, legs giving out as his heart did as well. The sobs were muffled, but everyone could hear them, and the three youngest looked appalled at their leader's unexpected display of emotion.
Seungmin's arms started to shake, and he took a step forward, head darting around. When no one answered Felix, he repeated the question.
"Where the hell are Nari and Jeongin?"
Rage had begun to build up in Hyunjin's chest, so hot, so livid, that it blinded his vision and his ears began to ring. His hands fisted as his eyes settled on the puddle of blood in front of him. His love's blood.
"They're. Fucking. Gone," he screamed, throat threatening to tear with the viciousness of his words, body finally releasing his agony. He placed a hand in the blood, fingers curling like he could touch who it belonged to.
Jisung's jaw dropped, tears instantly filling his eyes as he processed the words. "What?"
Changbin spoke up, swallowing to control his emotions. "They're gone. Sicarius took them."
Felix burst into tears, his usually joyful eyes unbearably full of mourning. While Seungmin didn't cry, he was shaken to the core, having thought of the idea of a member being taken, but never expecting it to actually happen.
Ever the one to keep it together, Minho squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to clear his thoughts. "Chan, what do we do?"
The eldest had ceased his tears, damp face gazing down at the blood as well. He locked eyes with Minho, despair filling his features, yes, but also authority. As wrecked as he was, he knew exactly what had to be done in the moment, and he was ready to get to work.
"Get her brother on the phone."
i hope the chapters aren't getting boring
haha
just a disclaimer,, there will probably be
more strong language in the upcoming chapters. idk what everyone is comfortable with,, just wanted to let you know!