Hyunjin's p.o.v.
"So just how long is this tunnel? Will it take long for us to reach the building? Will it be hard to go unnoticed when we enter? Will... "
Hyunjin barely stopped his eye roll as the youngest in the group doled out his questions, blissfully unaware of how his talkative nature was irritating his elder.
"It should only take about thirty minutes to walk it. We should be fine as long as the others keep the attention off of us. Are all eighteen of yours ready to go?" Hyunjin addressed Taeyong, projecting his voice over his shoulder while eyeing the damp tunnel floor.
"Twenty, actually," the man corrected, bracing a hand on the wall next to him as they walked along the slightly dangerous ground.
Hyunjin and Chan raised their brows; Taeyong was building quite the little empire for himself. Before long, NCT might be the biggest gang in their respective area.
"Oh really?" Minho hummed to keep the conversation going. The leader nodded to himself, a soft smile spreading across his lips as he pictured his group.
"Sungchan and Shotaro. They joined just a little while ago. Brilliant kids, those two," he commented, stifling a curse as his footing slipped for a moment.
Chenle chimed in, his bright expression practically illuminating the musty tunnel as he smiled. "They're the best! Although Jisung and I are still the youngest out of everyone," he begrudgingly pouted, kicking a pebble lightly.
"That's a lot of members to keep up with," Minho noted absently. "Where will we all go to lie low after we succeed here? Is your base big enough?"
Taeyong took his time answering, preoccupied with keeping himself from slipping on the slimy concrete floor. "We recently established another base that's completely off the records, about an hour from here - Sicarius won't be able to find us there."
The entire conversation, focusing entirely on what was to happen after the mission, was putting Hyunjin on edge. No matter the amount of confidence they all had, it was impossible to know the outcome of tonight's events, and he wanted his mindset to stay as practical as possible. Which meant expecting the worst.
Hyunjin wasn't expecting everyone to make it out.
Whether that meant that he was a bad person or not, Hyunjin didn't know. At this point he didn't think it mattered - all he wanted was to get to her.
"Watch your step," he warned the others, shining his flashlight beam further down the tunnel, throwing shadows across the walls. "It's about to get slippery up ahead."
° ° °
Nari's p.o.v.
"W-woojin, please."
She was helpless, there was nothing to be done. She couldn't save herself or her other member, who was probably sitting in a chair just like hers a few rooms down, sweating and fearful as he awaited the return of his current torment.
She couldn't even get her friend to explain why he had betrayed his family.
Woojin's eyes stayed cast toward the ground, unrelenting hardness encasing his gaze. "I'm... I'm sorry. I can't help you."
Smugly, Hana raised an elbow to settle on his tall shoulder, only for Woojin to roughly shrug it off a few moments later. She made a face at him and rolled her eyes, lips smirking once again as she looked down at Nari.
"Any last words for your comrade? You won't be seeing many people after this."
Nari's tears were just of exhaustion at that point. She didn't care anymore. Her body, beaten and broken, was too tired to go on for much longer. Honestly, she wouldn't have minded if it was death that waited for her with open arms, waiting to hold her in it's cold embrace.
Hana jerked her chin toward the door. "You can leave now," she addressed Woojin, who's fists turned white as he clenched them tightly.
He didn't speak or spare a last glance at Nari, slipping out through the door quickly. And there it was. Her last hope was gone.
Hana must have been able to read the defeat in her prisoner's eyes, because she bent down to her level with a snear, narrowing her eyes as though she was a lion about to go for the kill.
"Your own member betrayed you, one is being beaten in the next room, and the rest are nowhere to be found. Given up yet?"
The harsh, purposefully cold words only made Nari accept her reality more, but she defiantly stayed silent, keeping her head down as Hana laughed in victory.
"So tell me, what are you to Hyunjin?"
The standing girl's nostrils flared a bit as she asked this, giving away her intentions behind the question. Unable to resist, Nari mustered a smile.
"Why? Jealous?"
The breath flew out of her as Hana punched her in the diaphragm, her lungs spasming desperately and eyes filling with salty liquid. Nari gasped as she fought against her body, wanting to cough but not being able to draw in enough air to do so. She finally started to hack, blood passing up through her lips and splattering on the floor.
She drew herself up, panting heavily. "Guess that was a yes."
Hana seized Nari's tattered collar and fisted it, yanking the girl's face to her own. "You are nothing to him. He hasn't come after you. He's leaving you to die here, and your friend too. He doesn't care about you, and he never will. He's mine!"
The sound left the room, but Hana's fierce expression didn't let up. Her grip tightened as the unusual light in her eyes grew. A strange, almost psychotic expression had overtaken her face, and Nari realized what was going on.
Hana was obsessed with Hyunjin.
"He doesn't care about you," she whispered, gaze darting around Nari's stricken face. "He doesn't... "
Her words faded as her fingers closed around a thin knife resting on the tool table next to her, eyes unfocused but grip steady. "And because you think so, in spite of the truth... "
"I'm going to kill you."
Finally.
Nari was welcoming the idea, weakened so greatly physically and mentally that the relief brought by the idea of death was so... appealing. So she didn't flinch as the blade came, didn't feel pain as it cut into her. All she felt was peace.
That is, until some speakers in the hallway began to announce that their location was under attack.
Hana reared up, scowling at the interruption. She leered at Nari, twirling the knife in her hand before snarling. "We're not finished," she growled before stalking out of the room, locking the door behind her.
The room was blurring at the edges again, and Nari inhaled deeply, wanting her last moments to be clear ones.
She was too far gone to be curious about what was happening around her, but as her conciousness faded again, she couldn't help but wonder... could it be her members? Her brother? But no, she was sure that no one was coming for her.
She was alone.
hiii
i'm sorry, i know i've been trying to update frequently, but this week was very hectic so i apologize for the delay. also, sorry for any typos !
hope you enjoyed !!