Clack clack clack.

Four boys’ shoes echoed through the night as they descended the fire escape. Below them, the nightly lights of Seoul glistered, enticing them to hurry up and put some distance between themselves and Pledis headquarters.

“Wait,” S.Coups said and stopped dead in his tracks. The others behind him crashed into each other as they tried to avoid crashing into him.

His shoe was dangling right next to him, the rope slung loosely around the spiral staircase. “Let me just grab that. Great. Now I only… dang… why did I make this knot too tight. Those are my only good shoes. Can somebody help me with-“

A gust of wind blew the rope off the stairs and S.Coups dropped his shoe. Reaching after it made him slip over the low fence.

S.Coups fell. For a second he regretted about ten million life decisions – only a fraction of them were responsible for him ending up in his current situation.

Then he managed to grab onto the equally free falling rope. His weight pulled the sheets taut and somehow a knot got stuck in the stairs above. The boy held on for dear life and smacked into the window on the first floor. He got a glimpse of Boss – soaked, covered in remnants of slime and wielding a comically massive knife. The man was completely wet, apparently just out of the indoor pool. Pledis had an indoor pool? Where those sharks?

The rope tore and S.Coups dropped into a decorative hedge. Some money from under his shirt fluttered away into the night.

~~~

“Three, two, one!”

Performance unit rushed at the door, their battering ram firmly in their hands. Presumably the speaker wasn’t conceived for such purposes but it was hardly a concern if the electronic audio box made it out alive.

The door cracked open on first try and all four performers were flung out into the night. Jun caught himself while the rest ended up more or less sprawling on the concrete in the side alley.

“We made it,” Woozi said as he hurried through the door. “We really made it. We’re free.”

The boys breathed in the chilly night air and then assumed a neat row with Woozi at the front followed by Hoshi. Together they marched out of the alley, to the front of the building.

As they passed the corner, there was a scream above their heads. Then something smacked against glass. Just as they found the source of the noise above them, something dropped into the bushes.

S.Coups groaned.

“Where’s the rest?” Dino wondered.

Three rappers jumped off the fire ladder and joined the boys on the ground. After a moment of hugs and congratulations, they resumed their neat row, this time with S.Coups at the front, who complained about his spine.

“Bus fare’s on me, kids,” he said eventually. As he pulled a bundle of Won from his pants he looked back a last time. Pledis stood grimly against the night sky. Then they rounded a corner and it was out of sight for good.

Not long after, the group of thirteen boys reached the terminal. It was time for plans.

“Alright then,” he said with a heavy heart. “Who needs to go to the airport, and who needs to go to the train station? We’ll distribute the money according to need. I’m not sure what to do with the gold bars, though.”

Seungkwan gasped. “You found gold bars? Pledis had those?”

“Ha,” S.Coups said. “That’s nothing. You should have seen the indoor pool.”

Woozi only listened with half an ear. He felt like they were forgetting something. Nah, he was probably just missing his piano already.

~~~

“I don’t think they’re coming out,” Ren said. “I’m not sure they’re even still in there. If so, they probably got caught by now.”

The sun rose over Seoul. Nu’est was standing around at a distance from the Pledis building that allowed them to see if anyone left. So far there was no sign of the other music group.

Minhyun hummed. “Wasn’t it part of the plan that we create a distraction if another team doesn’t make it out?”

“Let’s just leave,” Baekho said. “I need breakfast. When are we getting breakfast? You know where they have great breakfast? Jeju. I’m from Jeju, did I mention that?”

“You hadn’t yet, today,” JR said. “Anyway, we have to create a distraction. It’s our duty to our friends. They wouldn’t abandon us in our position so we can’t abandon them.”

Minhyun rubbed his chin. “What do you propose, leader?”

“I shall cast whirl winds forth from my palms. Swoosh. Shwoooosh.” JR waved his hands in intricate patterns. “Shwoooosh.”

“Alright,” Ren said. “Let’s make this planning session quick. Shut up, Chair. I want breakfast, too. And for the record, they make the best breakfast in Busan.”

“Do not,” Baekho said.

“Do, too,” Ren said.

“Swoooooosh,” JR made.

Aron and Minhyun exchanged glances.

“We’re free,” Aron mumbled, “but at what cost? Now, about that distraction… the hedges are rather dry this time of year, don’t you think?”

~~~

Vernon and Joshua had gotten seats next to each other. It was more practical to fly to Los Angeles first and have Vernon stay there a while until he found an apartment in New York.

The plane had just taken off and the sprawling city below them glistened in the morning dew as it awoke for a new day. Vernon had a window seat.

“Seoul’s pretty from above,” he said, mostly to himself.

But Joshua heard him anyway. “Yeah. So… When are you telling your parents?”

“Soon as we land.”

“Do you think they’ll move back to the US?”

“I dunno. I’m not sure I want them to. I’ll have a solo carrier soon.”

It was silent for a while, only the chatter of other business class passengers around them.

“Hey,” Vernon said eventually, “where’s Pledis?”

Joshua leaned past him to look out the window. “I think, over there, right under that…really low hanging cloud.”

“Looks like smoke.”

The older boy grumbled. “Guess they burned the place down for the insurance money once they realized we’re gone. It’s not like any of us were still there to do that. Although, wait a second, I feel like I forgot something …Oh look, free peanuts! Are you gonna eat your pack or can I have it?”

~~~

“So what now?” Mingyu said.

“What do you mean?” Wonwoo asked with a brow raised. “Now we stay under the radar until this mess has blown over. Help me with the chairs.”

The two young men moved the cheap furniture into the shabby apartment. There was only a minimum of stuff, but there also was only a minimum of space. The chairs would barely fit without blocking the fridge door.

Mingyu carried four chairs at once. That was all the ones they had bought. “Yeah, but then what? We gave most of the money to the others.”

Wonwoo sighed. “I guess. It’ll run out someday soon. But we’re used to working hard. We can get jobs.”

“Actually, I was thinking of an easier source of revenue?”

“Like what?”

The taller one looked at his roommate with bedroom eyes. “We’d only need a camera.”

“No! Mingyu, just no.”

“Aww,” he said with a pout. “I already ordered the dishwasher and five liters of glue.”

Wonwoo sighed. “Let’s start small. What was number twelve again? An oil massage doesn’t sound so bad. Now help me with the table. These Ikea instructions never make sense. And stop grinning, you weirdo.”

T H E     E N D

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Maybe I should mention that I don’t hate Pledis. This was just for fun.

Thanks for reading and remember to tell me what you liked or didn’t like in the comments^^