Please reread the prologue. There are changes that I've made.

 

18:30:21

December 19, 2010

Seoul, Korea

 

Chanyeol arrives later, his hair moist from the slight drizzle. He finds Baekhyun in the kitchen, head bowed down as he stirs a sauce pan of soup.

“Baek, I’m back,” he announces, noticing his boyfriend’s still form. Baekhyun usually greets him as soon as he opens the door, a genial ‘welcome home’ and a peck on the cheek. There was something bothering Baekhyun, that much was apparent, if his silence and ignorance was anything to go by.

Baekhyun jumps a little at Chanyeol’s voice, his head jerking at the sound of his boyfriend’s booming voice. He looks at Chanyeol slightly bewildered before walking to him and engulfing him in a hug.

Chanyeol is slightly surprised. He’s used to Baekhyun being affectionate, but the way he grasped onto Chanyeol’s waist seemed different. It seemed off.

Chanyeol lifts Baekhyun’s chin to see his boyfriend’s face contorted into a frown. It seems empty—blank.

“Hey, why the long face?”

“They found us.”

Chanyeol’s eyes suddenly bulge, his hands grasping onto Baekhyun’s arms tightly, looking at him seriously.

“What? How? We made sure we were untraceable, we made sure.” Chanyeol says, eyes suddenly manic as to what the agency was up to this time.

“Taeyeon.”

Chanyeol’s eyes are suddenly crestfallen at the answer.

“Of course, of course it was her,” he says shaking his head, “But what does sh—they want?”

Baekhyun’s bows his head. He’s trying to be strong, trying his best to be composed, but the reality is too much. The reality of the situation was caving in on him.

“Tao and Kris, they’re missing.”

It comes out hollow, his voice not hiding the strain in his throat, nor does it hide the sadness linked to each word. Because even though they’ve broken up, some in bad blood, Baekhyun still considers all of them his brothers. They saved him when he couldn’t go one, gave him a reason to live when he lost it all. They might say that blood is thicker, but god be damned, theirs was wrought out of iron and forged under hellfire.

Chanyeol face falls, really falls. He was always closest to Kris, he was his best friend and his most beloved hyung. Chanyeol credits him for helping him become the best that he could be. To Baekhyun it was painful, but to Chanyeol this must have been unbearable.

“How?”

Baekhyun reaches out to hold Chanyeol’s neck and hold him, lowering him head so that it rested on his shoulders.

“Their apartment was empty, there were signs of struggle,” Baekhyun says, “I didn’t believe it at first, but Tao left the sign.”

“How bad?”

“Time goes backward. I want to go back,” Baekhyun mutters, eyes turning red. A solitary tear falls.

Chanyeol pales.

“W-what do you want to do?” Chanyeol’s voice shakes, but he tries his best to keep it in. But Baekhyun sees through it, he’s choking up inside. Chanyeol was always sensitive with these things.

“I don’t know,” Baekhyun whispers placing his head on Chanyeol’s chest. The thrum of Chanyeol’s heartbeat brought some semblance of calm to Baekhyun’s agitated state, but nothing that could appease it. Right now, nothing could appease it.

“Are you sure about that?”

Baekhyun stills, he knows that tone. Years of living together has revealed so much that both of them knew how they operated.

“You know I don’t want to. You know I want to stay like this, but I can’t stand around like nothing’s happened. I just can’t.”

This is what they wanted. The simple life, the life unblemished by secrets and lies. A life that promised normality.  A peaceful life.

Baekhyun loved it, he loved being a writer. And Chanyeol loved being an architect. They loved where they were and they cherished every minute of it.

 But Baekhyun will admit that from time to time he missed going out on missions. Because the thrill of hanging off a building with only a piece of rope, death inching at every nudge is highly inimitable. But aside from that, he missed his boys—his unconventional family.

Now, two of them were missing. Baekhyun can’t stand idly by.

Chanyeol gives him a smile, “I know you wouldn’t. But what do you plan on doing.”

“We’re going to gather everyone up, Find Kris and Tao, then kill whoever thought messing with us was a good idea.”

Chanyeol smirks, “Nice plan, any idea how we’re gonna gather seven of the best spies in the world?”

Baekhyun moves out of Chanyeol’s grasp, turning off the stove and pouring its contents into a serving bowl.

“Well, we have access to two.”

Chanyeol quirks his eyebrow at Baekhyun, mildly surprised at his revelation. Baekhyun responds by getting a spoonful of rice from the cooker and dumping it into two small metal bowls, one for each of them. He busies himself by grabbing the ban chan: kimchi, radish, steamed okra, and roast sweet potatoes. He places them into small plates arranged on a tray before hauling them to the table. His boyfriend eyeing him all the while.

“Baek.” He goads, eyes still trained on the smaller man.

Baekhyun sets down the last of the dishes, back turned toward his boyfriend. He can feel Chanyeol’s prying glare on him, but chooses to stick to his guns.

“I might have exchanged numbers with Jongdae before we all went our separate ways.”

“BAEK!?”

He turns back with a guilty expression, “I know it’s wrong. I know that it threatens not just our lives but his and Min’s, but it’s hard to cut all contact with them. He’s my best friend Chanyeol”

“Kris is my best friend, Baek, and we cut all connections, because it was for the benefit of everyone,” Chanyeol growls, “Imagine if Kris had my number on his phone, they would have taken me next, they could have taken you,” he says eyes filled with worry.

Baekhyun goes closer, putting his hands on Chanyeol’s face, “I know. I’m sorry, but what’s done is done. Right now, for our safety we have to find those two.”

Chanyeol huffs, pecking Baekhyun on the lips before giving in, “Fine, let’s just have a nice meal before we start hunting a syndicate that’s trying to kidnap us one by one. I feel like one isn’t in our immediate future.”

Baekhyun nods, kissing his boyfriend one more time before heading to the table and tucking in.

--

10:45:20

December 19, 2010

London, England

 

Kim Jongdae doesn’t just hate the cold. He loathes it. But here he is in the center of Piccadilly Circus trying to find his rogue boyfriend.

“I really had to fall in love with ice boy, really.” He mutters to himself as he bitterly trudges through the busy square.

So, maybe it was his fault for being so indecisive and he can’t blame Minseok for trying to “find” himself after his failed proposal.

But after five days with no word from his gallivanting boyfriend Jongdae is both extremely worried and extremely annoyed. And because Jongdae doesn’t have anyone to whine to, he leaves their cottage in the French countryside to go find his missing lover.

And honestly, it’s not that hard to find his boyfriend. As much as Minseok didn’t care to admit it, he had a knack for wearing his heart on his sleeve, or in this case, broadcasting his frustration into the weather. There’s an abnormal spike of cold somewhere in London. Weather forecasters don’t know what’s ushering the sudden drop in temperature. But Jongdae knows, and its name is Kim Minseok. And if his predictions are correct, then the forecast for next week will be partly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorm.

Finding Minseok’s general location was easy, sure, but finding him in the mess that is London, well that’s another story altogether.

“You’d better prepare yourself Minseok, cause when I get my hands on you, I swear to god you’d wish you never left home.”

He must look weird, a very irate Korean man shouting random curses to the sky as he trudges through the throng of people going about their business, but he’s too far gone in bludgeoning Minseok in his mind to care.

That’s when his phone rings.

Thinking that it’s Minseok finally getting his wits about him, he angrily answers the phone with a bellow.

“KIM MINSEOK WHERE THE ARE YOU!?”

The other line is silent for a moment.

J-Jongdae

Jongdae is silent for a moment, his eyes bulging at the sound of the raspy voice. A voice he hasn’t heard in over five years. The last memory he had of it, whispering sadly into his ear, “I’ll miss you.”

“B-Baekhyun?”

Yeah, it’s me.

There’s a crack on the other line, it sounds like a sob.

“Why are you calling?”

I need to know your safe. Please tell me your safe.

Jongdae frowns. He hears the desperation in Baekhyun’s voice. It doesn’t sit well with him. He moves swiftly through the crowd, spotting an abandoned building not far from current location.

He looks around then murmurs into the phone, “Wait a minute.” Without another word he walks past the crowd, silently entering the empty building. He climbs the stairs, his shoes clacking quietly as he ascends the beat up staircase. He finds himself on an empty rooftop, clotheslines with white satin sheets hanging from them, the fabric whirring against the cold December wind.

The sky is dull, a flat grey coloring the sky above.

“I’m safe, Baek.” He murmurs into the phone after checking his surroundings. Years out of the job has left his endurance quite vulnerable as he starts breathing heavily into the phone.

Good. Cause something’s happened, something big.

Jongdae tenses at his words. If Baekhyun is calling him after five years with big news, it only meant something bad.

“What, Baek?”

There’s silence on the phone as Baekhyun takes a deep breath.

Kris and Tao have gone missing. We’re being targeted.

Jongdae quiets. His eyes going wide at the revelation. His mind immediately going to his boyfriend. What if Minseok’s disappearance wasn’t because he was gallivanting and “finding” himself. What if his little adventure was cut short by people strong enough to wrestle Tao and Kris without so much as a trace? What if he was in danger? Suddenly Jongdae feels queasy.

Jongdae! Jongdae, are you there?

He snaps out of it, his eyes narrowing at even the thought.

“I’m in London. I’m safe, but I don’t know about Minseok.”

Huh? What do you mean?

“We had a big fight, he bolted out saying he needed to find himself and hasn’t come back.”

What!?

“I need to find him Baek, I-I need to find him.” His voice cracks at the idea of ever losing Minseok. He can’t lose him. He just can’t.

Okay, we’ll help you.

Jongdae nods

What’s your location?

Jongdae takes his phone away from his ear. He checks the weather all throughout Europe, checks for news updates and alerts. Anything to give him a clue as to where Minseok. Then his phone pings, “Berlin records coldest day of the year.”

19:47:34

December 19, 2010

Seoul, Korea

 

Baekhyun breathes heavily as he assesses the situation at hand. Jongdae is fine, but Minseok may not be. They had to get there as soon as possible.

“We’re heading for Berlin. We need the fastest flight.”

Chanyeol nods, immediately grabbing his phone and dialing a number. Baekhyun heads into their room and starts packing the essentials. He passes the hall of paintings he and Chanyeol had collected over the years. They’ve amassed quite a collection over their five years together. They often bought one to commemorate milestones together.

The Matisse was when Chanyeol got his first architecture license.

The Lee Jung-Seob when Baekhyun got his first book published.

The Schiele was for their third year of normalcy.

But there was one painting that the two loved the most, Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss.

It held meaning to both he and Chanyeol. Much like how the two are entrapped in a kiss, the rest of the world around them melting into obscurity, the concrete world turning abstract around them, the only definitive moment being the kiss, he and Chanyeol are whole as long as they are together. It’s a painting that reminds them that they only need each other to make sense in this world.

It also means that they make decisions together. As Chanyeol comes ambling down the hall, stopping right next to Baekhyun. They press their thumbs on opposites sides of the painting. It slides open, revealing a small compartment that contain two handguns. One for each. Baekhyun nods at his boyfriend. Cocking the gun and feeling the familiar cold steel against his slender fingers.

It’s been a while, but it still feels the same.

They reconvene at the living room Chanyeol trying to call another person to arrange for some tickets.

Baekhyun stares at Chanyeol as his face scrunches in agitation. After some time, he sighs and puts down the phone.

“Bad news?”

“There’s a storm. We can’t get off the ground.”

Baekhyun groans. They can’t waste time; they have to get to Berlin if they have any hopes of finding Minseok before someone else does.

Chanyeol moves to the couch, not seeing the huge splotch of water still stuck to the fabric, landing unceremoniously on the most surface.

He furrows his eyebrows as he notices the moisture seeping onto his pants, feeling around for it.

“Baek, why is our couch wet.”

Baekhyun snaps out of his stupor to look at Chanyeol, his eyes falling on the seat Taeyeon not so subtly desecrated.

“Taeyeon sat there with her coat on, got all the rainwat—” Baekhyun pauses, his eyes going listless as he remembers their parting words.

“Don’t think too hard on it, Byul.”

He suddenly bolts towards Chanyeol and commands him to get out of the seat. The tall man looks perplexed, but abides nonetheless, standing up and revealing the huge watermark Taeyeon left on their couch.

Baekhyun grabs the cushion, and flips it over, there underneath the couch is a white card written on it “Kim Taeyeon.”

Baekhyun makes a grab for it and finds that it’s moist. The edges are moist against his fingers, as if it was purposely drenched in water. Then it clicks. The card’s sensitive to humidity.

Kim Taeyeon will play her game, even you tell her not to, she’ll find a way.

Chanyeol looks at the card, Baekhyun’s holding, “Did it fall?”

Baekhyun gives him a look, “This is Kim Taeyeon, everything she does is calculated,” Baekhyun sighs, “She planted this. She knew I’d talk to you first before I even thought of making a move.”

He turns the card and dials the number written on the back.

It takes two rings for Taeyeon to answer her phone.

That was quick

“I need to find a way to get to Berlin now.”

Why?

“Your brother might be in trouble.”

A pause.

Byun, you’d better bring him home so that I can personally kill him myself. Tell Kirin he’s in for it as well.

Ever the concerned sister.

Head for Incheon Airport, Hangar 2. You know what to do.

Thanks.

Whatever, Byul.

--

01:29:09

December 20, 2010

Berlin, Germany

 

Jongdae arrives in Berlin at the wee hours of the night. Temperatures have reached the deep negatives and he feels like the world hates him, or maybe just his boyfriend.

The ancient city of Berlin stands gaunt against the stark night. The city both a symbol of divide and unity. The city that burned with an immense history took with it the memories of the blood shed by men. The winter breeze billows wantonly outside the airport, the windsock stiff against the bitter winds.

Jongdae huffs. He knows Minseok could handle himself. He used to be half of the White Snakes with his sister before joining EXO. The deadliest sibling pairing in the agency’s history. They were like the bitter cold—they’re fingers bore into your shoulders, cold and heavy against your skin, they imprint themselves onto your skin, your eyes, your mind. Then, when hope seems nigh, when night grows dark, when the end seems near, they strike. It’s a haunting ritual of death and torment fueled by the ominous force of hatred and acrimony. One they’ve held within ever since they were left orphans.

The image of Taeyeon cradling a crying Minseok in the burning remains of their family manor on Christmas Day forever embedded in their minds.

Their parents were retired spies of the agency. They had beef with a syndicate leader after they put a halt to more than half of his drug trafficking operations around the world. They retired before they could ever fully put a stop to him. A fatal mistake.

He thought he could end their lives with fire. But fire was nothing against a raging blizzard.

They only ever had each other, Minseok and Taeyeon. They were cold to everyone except each other. That’s why the agency thought it was for the best to separate them. It took time, but EXO became Minseok’s new family. On the other hand, Taeyeon was still cold to her own team. That’s when they decided she worked better alone.

It’s because Minseok was younger when their parents perished, his mind was still young—impressionable. While Minseok learned to move on, learned to learn to love, Taeyeon held onto her bitterness with a vice grip.

Taeyeon only ever loved her brother.

Sometimes Jongdae forgets that Minseok was one of the most vicious assassins in the agency, with the way he was such a romantic mess when it came to their relationship. But Jongdae knew that Minseok still held the storm within his heart, he knew that somewhere deep within his boyfriend was the little boy who wanted to kill everyone.

Jongdae is taken back to reality when the announcement rings. He grabs his luggage and heads for the arrival area.

He remembers that he has to contact Baekhyun soon, find out how long he has to wait before their arrival. He checks flights from Korea on his phone, only to be discover that all flights have been cancelled due to an ensuing storm.

He curses at his phone before he stalks to the arrival bay. He surveys the area searching for a taxi. He needs to find a hotel to stay in before he starts doing reconnaissance. But he stops in his tracks when he sees a single speck of light floating in front of his face. Then, in a blink, it’s gone.

Baekhyun’s here.

He looks around, his eyes scanning each and every head that’s moving through the busy terminal. When he sees it, a tall figure standing by a pillar reading a French newspaper, the picture on the front a building on fire.

Jongdae approaches the man, “Subtle, Phoenix.”

The tall man has a black face mask on, but Jongdae sees the way he smirks from behind it. Park Chanyeol was never the subtlest of people.

“Took you long enough.”

“How did you get here so quickly? All flights were barred.”

“Your boyfriend’s sister hooked us up.”

Jongdae gulps, “Well, there’s the extra motivation to find him as soon as possible.”

Chanyeol chuckles, “Come on, if we lose Minseok, we’re probably losing you as well.”

02:29:09

December 20, 2010

Berlin, Germany

 

Jongdae leads Baekhyun and Chanyeol to one of the secret safe houses he and Minseok have littered across Europe.

Of course, Minseok was not there.

But it gave them time to find a way to look for him.

“So, are you broken up or something?” Baekhyun asks. He’s leaning on the headboard cross-legged, typing away on his laptop. Next to him, Chanyeol was trying to hack into the surveillance cameras, while Jongdae was prying through every communication channel he could get his hands on.

“No.”

“Why did you reject his proposal?”

“I didn’t reject it,” Jongdae sighs not taking his eyes off the screen, “I just didn’t say yes.”

“That’s as good as rejecting him.”

Jongdae turns on his seat to give Baekhyun a menacing glare, “Hey, you weren’t there. I felt pressured okay. He asked to spend our lives together, I was shocked.”

“But you two are basically married, I don’t know why you had to think about it.”

He’s forgotten how perceptive Baekhyun was. The boy had a knack for hitting all the bitter truths without even trying.

“You said you wanted stability. Minseok handed it to you on a diamond encrusted platter and you told him that ‘I’m saving room for dessert.’”

Jongdae rolls his eyes, “I don’t see you sporting a wedding ring either, why aren’t you two married, then.”

“That’s because we don’t need a wedding to know that we’re spending the rest of our lives together, you on the other hand,” this comes from Chanyeol, who’s apparently been listening to the entire conversation without ever taking a glance out of the surveillance cameras.

Jongdae scoffs, it’s common knowledge knew that Jongdae’s relationships before Minseok never lasted longer than two weeks. Claiming that no one ever got him.

“Up top, babe.” Baekhyun says holding his hand up, Chanyeol smacks a high five, without taking his eyes off his screen.

Jongdae rolls his eyes before going back to trying to get a voice recognition from Minseok. But knowing his boyfriend, he’d hide so well, it was a waste of time trying to look for him with just surveillance footage. And if he was compromised, he’d be better at hiding, especially in this cold.

Jongdae checks the weather reports again, goes through every borough of Berlin. He checks the live weather map of the city, that’s when he sees it, Falkenberg near the border of Branderburg dipping at -26 degrees.

He stands up, “We’re doing this on foot, we’re heading off to Falkenberg, I’m pretty sure he’s there.”

“What makes you say that?” Baekhyun says packing up.

03:15:09

December 20,, 2010

Berlin, Germany

 

Jongdae doesn’t know if Minseok is deliberately making it colder to send him signs, or because he wants to piss him off.

It’s three in the morning, almost all the lights in the quiet town were off, and the three were braving the coldest time of the day. Jongdae felt for Chanyeol, because as much as Jongdae hated the cold, Chanyeol was controlled fire, he was probably livid. But throughout their excursion, the two didn’t complain.

They’re resting at a little park near a couple of office buildings, resting up, Chanyeol and Baekhyun cuddling up to share some heat in this treacherous cold.

“Chan, are you alright? Do you need to stay indoors?” Baekhyun asks through the thick scarf wrapped around his mouth.

Jongdae could physically see Chanyeol shiver underneath his thick thermal clothing.

“Jongdae, I think we should start our search tomorrow morning,” Baekhyun says looking around, surveying the in silence the dead night. Baekhyun looks to the sky, “look it even started snowing.”

Jongdae does a double take.

“What?”

Baekhyun looks at Jongdae and points up, “It’s snowing.”  Up above them, small specs of snow have started descending to the ground, littering the ground with small dots of pure white.

He looks at Baekhyun, “Baek, get up. He’s near.”

Baekhyun and Chanyeol bolt up, “What?” they ask in unison.

“Snow doesn’t fall at these temperatures, it’s too dry. Minseok knows we’re here.”

Jongdae surveys the area, looks at the buildings, tries to look for some sort of sign, some sort of indication where Minseok was staying.

Chanyeol then pipes up from behind him, “There.” Jongdae looks and find that the man is pointing to an abandoned warehouse, on the wall a large 12 painted in cracking yellow paint.

---

 

They reach the warehouse in record time. The three pile into the abandoned space in silence. There are large metal boxes lining the floor and dust gathering at every crevice. It smells of rotting flesh and pine scented air freshener.

They could barely see anything in the darkness. That’s when Baekhyun sends flares of lights racing through the empty space, lights dancing through corroding metal and dusty remains.

“Took you long enough.” A voice echoes through the empty space. The three turn their heads to where the noise is coming from, there standing on top of an empty container is Kim Minseok with in a raincoat, a flimsy t-shirt and shorts, looking more like a pre-pubescent skater boy rather than the Winter Revenant. He starts skipping through the massive boxes, each leap sending hollow echoes through the space, before jumping in front of the trio.

“Follow me, and keep those lights out,” he whispers not regarding any of them and stalking to a far corner of the building. They pass dilapidated hallways with crustier walls and dusty remains.

Minseok doesn’t say a word the entire time, nor do the other three. Minseok stops at a door at the end of the hallway. He moves to the small space between the door and the adjoining wall, lending his thumb.

There’s a soft rumble and a creaking like an ancient groan from beneath the earth. When it ends Minseok opens the door. Instead of a torn down room everyone expects there is a sleek metal room, lit from every corner with bright flourscent light, a chair, a monitor, and a small cot on the side its only décor.

Minseok walks into the room, gesturing for the other three to follow him inside. Once they’ve piled in, Chanyeol closing the door behind him, there’s another groan as they feel the bunker sink back into the ground.

Minseok looks at them once everything’s settled, “We can talk now.”

But before anyone can say anything, Jongdae is smacking Minseok on the head with both fury and relief.

“You!”

Smack

“Idiot!”

Smack

“Making”

Smack

“Me!”

Smack

“Worry!”

Baekhyun pries Jongdae off of Minseok, stopping the sweet reunion from continuing. Minseok massages his head, groaning as he recovers from Jongdae’s attack.

“Wow, you reject my proposal, then you start harassing me. Thanks.”

Jongdae sneers at him, “I’ve been on this stupid Eurotrip cause of your stupid soul searching outburst in the middle of December, with your sister sending these two to find your stupid , only to find you dressing like a seventeen-year-old douchebag from the wrong side of town. If anyone deserves an apology, it’s me.”

Minseok lets out a huff as he looks at his fuming boyfriend. He approaches him and engulfs him in a hug, “I’m sorry. I intended to go home, but someone was following me.”

Jongdae accepts the hug, albeit hesitantly, but he melts into it as soon as Minseok’s arms enshroud him and the familiar warmth touches his body.

“I’m assuming you guys know something about this?”

Beakhyun and Chanyeol share a look, “Kris and Tao, they disappeared.”

“They’ve been following me since I was in London. I’ve managed to get them off my tail once I got here, but it won’t be long till they catch up.” Minseok says after a while, head still ducked, “It’s a good think I didn’t engage them.”

“Did you get a face on them?” Baekhyun asks.

Minseok shakes his head, “I’ve only had the feeling that I’m being watched. I thought they were amateurs; I’ve only considered them a real threat once I got to Berlin.”

“When did you get this bunker and why have you never told me about it?” Jongdae asks arms crossed. Contrary to his bitter tone, he’s settled nicely on Minseok’s lap.

“This was before the split, when I was still with noona,” Minseok explains, “Speaking of which, do you think she can get us out of Berlin without being followed?”

“We have to get back to the main airport, that’s where the jet is.”

Minseok nods, “Okay, we should leave as soon as poss--”

That’s when the alarm goes off.

It’s not blaring, just a faint beeping on the monitor, but everyone knows it’s implications.

“Told you they’d catch up.”

“What do we do?”

Minseok goes into a small compartment at the end of the bunker and produces a handgun.

“We engage,” he says passing the firearms to the three, “If Kris and Tao were captured, it’s because someone knew of their powers and prepared accordingly. Hopefully, they’ve only prepared for me.”

Baekhyun doesn’t like dealing with the dirty laundry that killing entailed. He hated the blood and lengthened violence, he liked to keep things as clean as they could get. He wasn’t like Minseok who cherished his victim’s misery, nor was he like their former member, Kyungsoo, who used brute force to cause mortal harm. Baekhyun was a pacifist at heart, and he liked settling things as cleanly as possible.

And because he’s an illusionist, these things came naturally to him. He bends light to create images, visages to confuse and intimidate, then when they’re at their most vulnerable, he strikes. It was usually a gun to the head or heart that ended their lives. A Byun Baekhyun trademark—the fatal kill.  

And today, he hoped, after five years, he can do it again.

He’s positioned by one of the containers, quietly observing the outside. The plan was to lead them to the hallway leading to the bunker. Minseok would block off the exit before Jongdae and Chanyeol unloaded on them.

Simple enough.

But as Baekhyun waits, his heart pumping with adrenaline, a mix of agitation, anxiety, and excitement throbbing through each muscle of his body, he can’t help but feel an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia. It’s overwhelming, Baekhyun thrived on it, like a drug he’d been abstaining for so long.

He hears the first signs of life when a pair footsteps enter the building. They’re quiet, trudging in with caution.

Baekhyun goes to work.

Baekhyun treats his kills like a play. You start with introducing your cast. In this case, a solitary Kim Minseok, his hero.

A shadow sitting by an empty container. He hears more footsteps; he counts four or five. They trudge in almost recklessly into the room. In their minds it was five to one. In their minds it was a sure win.

They see the shadow; their feet get excited.

Baekhyun sees them surround it. It’s like a bunch of cavemen converging on the first fire--curious, hungry, and ignorant.

The shadow takes form. It’s Minseok with his too short shorts and flimsy t-shirt. He sees them, sees their guns.

Baekhyun can’t see it, but he can sense the excitement that took over them as soon as they saw Minseok’s surprise.

It’s funny, these men were so attracted to the light, so attracted to the hope it brought. But they should have learned from the annals of history. They should have learned from Icarus.

Those who crave for hope too much will surely fall.

Now that Baekhyun had introduced his main character, and the assailants had a good time acquainting with him.

The next part calls for a bit more suspense: The rising action.

The illusion flounces off the container, much like how Minseok does, hitting the ground and racing through the empty hall. His assailants follow like dogs to a bone, unrelenting in pursuit. Baekhyun takes them across the space, makes them believe they’ve got Minseok cornered. Only to make them pursue faster.

He tires them out, all of them too hungry, too desperate to think about their pursuit. This part wasn’t necessary, but Baekhyun doesn’t want his play to be boring. But when he’s had his fun, the illusion brilliantly evading each pursuit with the grace of a swan, he leads them to the final setting.

The .

They run helplessly, some shooting with reckless disregard. At this point, Baekhyun’s played with their emotions so much, that they’ve become rabid dogs. Creatures consumed by pure instinct.

Baekhyun follows from his position. He follows them as they corner Minseok at the end of the hall. Follows as they start shooting at him. Follows as they realize that Minseok was still standing without a scratch. Follows when they turn around at the sound of Baekhyun’s unhurried footsteps, calm and collected against the raging storm within their minds.

True, Baekhyun doesn’t play with fear, nor does he like making a big mess. Baekhyun plays with something more insidious: Baekhyun plays with hope.

Baekhyun cherishes the looks on their faces as the truth of their demise slowly sinks into their heads. He likes it when they’ve hit the turning point of his play, when they realize that it’s time for curtain call and they were never part of the roster.

And as the wall of solid ice rises from the ground, their faces strewn into helplessness, Baekhyun feels a triumph within his heart. When he hears their desperate screams as fire and lightning course through their bodies, he feels elated.

This was his standing ovation. And so he takes a bow.

He’s snapped out of his thoughts, the ice wall melting slowly as a heap of bodies rest on the cold stone floor.

Chanyeol and Jongdae are standing on the other side, smoke still emanating from their outstretched hands. Minseok behind them standing calm and collected, eyes unmoved by the brutality of their actions.

They left one alive, his face partially burnt, his breathing shallow, but very much alive. Chanyeol moves to pick him up from the floor, but as soon as he lifts him up there’s a click that goes off and the man’s body is disintegrating before their eyes.

Chanyeol lets him go, the crumpled body turning liquid, gurgling on the floor as it releases the foul odor of death and sulfur.

Soon the bodies had melted into a heap of liquefied corpses, unidentifiable and permanently wiped from the face of the earth.

Baekhyun reaches for his phone, knowing full well that they were out of danger, and dials.

It takes two rings for Taeyeon to answer her phone.

“We’ve got Minseok. We need to talk.”

There’s a pause.

Good. But there’s something you should know.

“What?”

There’s a bit of silence as Baekhyun recognizes the phone being passed on. The new person’s breath is heavy, and he can distinguish a bit of sniffle.

Hyung

It’s a man’s voice. It’s raspy and rough, like he’s been crying. There’s sadness in it. But he can recognize that lilt in it, the softness in it.

“Sehun?”

T-They t-took him.

It comes at as a broken sob, his lisp making its distinguished appearance. And Baekhyun’s heart sinks, of course they’d target him next. He understands. Kris and Tao were the biggest threats, Minseok was the best assassin. And him? He was the brains. Baekhyun hoped to find him next, hoped he could get his mind help find the others, but they were too late.

They took Luhan.

---

A/N

Well, look who wrote the first chapter. If you noticed that Taeyeon called Jongdae Kirin is because they all have codenames which will be revealed in the later chapters.

The the three Chinese member missing? That's just a coincidence, really.

Who am I kidding, it's totally a reflection of how I want the other member to meet up again so that everyone can be happy again. 

But that's just me projecting. 

Anyway, please share your thoughts on this chapter.