Labyrinth: Chapter 7
Labyrinth
Over the course of a month, Haera had moved up three belts on both Karate and Judo with the help of Dongwoo and L and was now moving on to weaponry with Hoya and Junho. Both were extremely impatient men who demanded great results. Besides combat, Haera had acquired a great number of skills. She passed the high ropes course, the flora and fauna course and hunting course.
"Weapons are harder to deal with than hands. You may like them but they may not like you," Junho had warned.
So far, they had trained with a variety of swords, knives, arrows and spears. But Haera had an affinity for the guns and rifles. Big boy stuff, Hoya had grunted huskily.
After correcting her posture in a day, she moved on to perfect her shots. A week later, Hoya joined Junho joined her in the moving target range operated by Commander Chansung. As he stripped on their vests and triple checked their weapons, he kept saying, "Be careful out there. The Captain has modified the level of this course. I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm the only one to have passed this course. If you get hit by a paintball, stay down and I'll get you."
Hoya smirked at the thought of the Commander and the newbie failing the course. The boy couldn't fail, even Junho doubted he would. He was one of the best shots in Hidden, having even a brief stint with South Korea's SWAT team on special recommendations.
"Okay, strap on your goggles and go!" Chansung ordered.
They did so and immediately slipped through the door. It was automatic chaos. The Combat team appeared everywhere and started shooting. Haera dived behind a wall for cover, landing on a shooter, and effectively "snapping" his neck.
Junho and Hoya were faster, delivering perfect shots, they swept from wall to wall, taking cover and moving so fast they were a blur. Haera shot the wall of shooters blocking her way and slung her rifle before jumping lightly to land on a wall slightly further than Hoya. The Commander was further, choosing to straightforwardly barge into another line of shooters, slicing them with his blunt training bayonet on his rifle.
She quickly landed on the soil, running swiftly, racing Hoya from wall to wall. Suddenly a shooter came out to jump on the surprised Hoya. She immediately roundhouse kicked, sending the attacker reeling and sprinted towards the exit, ignoring the sting from a paintball that grazed her shoulder.
The sudden bright light made her eyes ache and she pulled off the goggles, kneeling as her breaths came in pants. Hoya came in a few seconds later unscathed but panting. Only Junho seemed to be holding up fine, breathing normally.
Chansung whistled as he helped them both up. "Damn, you guys are good!" he crowed. "You could be the next OneDay!"
***********************************
"Sorry! Sorry!" Chansung whimpered as Junsu continued to twist his arm.
"Be the next OneDay? That's a curse, Chansung! Choose-your-words-carefully-next-time!" Junsu scolded, twisting the maknae's arm slightly with every word.
"Hyung, let him go," Jinwoon sighed.
Junsu did so just as Jokwon entered the room and bolted the heavy door behind him. "Nobody talk," he ordered as he tapped onto a screen on the wall. They all stayed silent till a beep sounded.
"This room has been installed with maximum security by Internal Security. Not even the Captain himself can bypass this," Jokwon smirked, pleased with his creation.
Changmin and Seulong began pushing tabs in the walls, revealing secret compartments filled with papers. They took them out and spread them across the table. They hadn't touched these papers since before the Selections.
Junho sighed as his hand skimmed across a file meant for Jay. "Do you think we can pull it off again?" he muttered. "Without casualties this time?"
"Impossible," Seulong snorted. "14 of them will have to die. The Captain won't let it happen twice. We were lucky."
Jinwoon's fists balled and he hunched his back. "I'm not sure that's entirely true," Jokwon began hesitantly.
"We all know the Selections are monitored by the Commanders. If he wanted to kill the boys, he would have already. If he wanted to kill us, he would have done what he did to our instructors. There has to be a reason why he let us be in control of operations in Hidden."
"Leverage," Wooyoung whispered. "He still has something he needs from us."
The others froze: what else did they have that others in Hidden didn't? They were superior in skills but killing them would be a waste to Hidden.
"Why bring in the girl then?" Taecyeon found himself asking. "Precisely," Seulong said. "Jokwon told me his suspicions and I gathered what I could from intel. "
He passed fresh sheets of paper around. Haera's profile. "Kim Haera, daughter of Kim Sehun and Choi Sooyeon."
"Wait- isn't Choi Sooyeon the ex-president's daughter?" Junsu shouted.
"Exactly," Jokwon stated. "Which is why I think that this has something to do with more than just Hidden."
"He's right," Junho said. "It's not just us, it's the whole freaking country."
******************************
Jinwoon and Junho sat at the rooftop of the building facing the field and track, silently observing BlockB and Infinite. Jinwoon chuckled, "Those two hate each other with a passion huh."
Junho replied softly, "It'll be easier for them in the forests then. Less backs to cover." Jinwoon balled his fists up to keep him from crying.
"I dream of it every night. How i almost killed Wooyoung hyung," he said suddenly. Junho didn't answer but a muscle throbbed in his temple. He couldn't help but think about it too. How feral Jinwoon had been in the forests, how Wooyoung pushed Jay aside to get clawed at bu Jinwoon. And now with Jay dead, Wooyoung had to live with the silver scars on his neck and nothing else.
By now, Jinwoon had started crying in earnest. "I don't know what came over me. It scares me that I could have been that kind of person. A killer. And my boys, what if the same thing happened? Maknae Jihoon, what's going to happen to him?"
"Don't beat yourself over it, Jinwoon. At least you stopped in time. And you regret it, it'll scare me more of you didn't," Junho comforted.
It took a while for Jinwoon to calm down and the sun was beginning to set. From the rooftop, they could see the Gates being opened, copters landing on helipads; soldiers who have returned from missions, see 14 year old boys running laps before dinner, the smaller ones fooling around at the obstacle courses, see Commanders old and young alike triple checking equipment and barking orders. And then there was Block B and Infinite, occupying the center of the field, ignoring envious stares of the other boys who were studiously ogling at Haera for that matter.
Jinwoon's voice shook. "If you had to sacrifice yourself, would you? Just like our Commanders?"he asked the Emperor.
"At this point, there's nothing I won't do. Even if I end up like MBLAQ, if I could save the boys, I would."
*********************************
As per requested, the boys of OneDay found themselves in the Captain's office at 2000 hours. It was deathly silent in the office as the Captain and the boys were locked in glares.
"Let's get down to business then boys, I'm a very busy man," the scarred man puffed out. Nichkhun clenched his teeth together, needing the combined efforts of the maknaes to restrain him.
"Commander Junho, I trust that your training with the girl has been going smoothly?"
"Yes sir," he replied curtly. "As of now, I believe she can been cleared for missions, Sir."
"And you're not curious as to why I brought her here? Specially to you?"
The boys stayed silent. The Captain laughed mockingly. "And here I thought you all had enough courage to blatantly stand before me. I guess I thought wrong.
Believe me, nothing escapes my intelligence. I suppose you already know about my intentions to hold another Selection?"
"Believe me when I say a man has never disgusted me more, Captain," Jokwon snarled. "Must you stoop so low? Is killing six innocents not enough that you intend to kill fourteen more?"
The Captain chortled out loud, "Well spoken, Jokwon. But I assure you it's not about the satisfaction. I had enough when I publicly executed your Commanders. And our whole family experienced first hand what the mines are capable of, thanks to Jay Park. So no, it's not about the satisfaction."
He stopped to assess their faces, ashen with anger. He smirked as he saw tears welling up in Seulong's eyes. How touching. His eyes lingered on the scars on Wooyoung's neck. He walked over to him and placed his fingers alongside the scars.
"My dear boys," he said softly as he took Wooyoung's face in his hands. "They were all but pawns in a chess game, and Jay Park was a knight. But I needed them to make the set.
Sons of the dishonoured must pay. And you boys, just made things easier for me."
"Our Commanders were great and our friend even more so. Such filth should never come out of your disgusting mouth," Changmin said coldly.
"We will find a way around you," Wooyoung said through gritted teeth and placed his finngers along the Captain's neck. "And when we do, I'll enjoy twisting your neck and listening to your every bone splinter."
With that, he stalked out of the room. The Captain's face lit up gleefully. "Oh this is fantastic! Our Woodong has finally broken out of his shell!" he exclaimed.
Jinwoon swore, "You sick and pathetic man. Do you enjoy seeing the life drain out of their eyes? Leave the boys and girl alone! Take us if need be.
"Ah but that wont do- you all are the finale! But it seems someone can't leave the girl alone," the Captain grinned. "Isn't that right, Commander Lee? Did you enjoy your night in the graveyard?"
The other members turned in confusion to Junho except for Jokwon who barred his teeth. Internal security certainly did know everything. "I am not aware of any breach in rules- accidental or otherwise. As for the girl, she is merely a soldier under my guidance, nothing more."
The Commander snickered gaily as he settled his chair. "My sons taught you well, didn't they?" he laughed as he waved his hand in dismissal.
**************************************
Hi guys! Sorry this took so long! I've been super busy with sports and stuff for school!
And guys where are the comments? It hurts to see only one person comment although of course, I thank you.
But please comment! It's motivation for me:)
Just introduced MBLAQ in here as OneDay's Commanders. They were executed when OneDay survived the mine blast during the Selections. So sad:(
Also, why does the Captain still need OneDay? And Haera and Infinite and BlockB? Who are they exactly? And what did the Captain mean by MBLAQ being his sons?
Just some questions to ask yourself:)
AS USUAL, PLEASE COMMENT AND SUBSCRIBE!
"Weapons are harder to deal with than hands. You may like them but they may not like you," Junho had warned.
So far, they had trained with a variety of swords, knives, arrows and spears. But Haera had an affinity for the guns and rifles. Big boy stuff, Hoya had grunted huskily.
After correcting her posture in a day, she moved on to perfect her shots. A week later, Hoya joined Junho joined her in the moving target range operated by Commander Chansung. As he stripped on their vests and triple checked their weapons, he kept saying, "Be careful out there. The Captain has modified the level of this course. I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm the only one to have passed this course. If you get hit by a paintball, stay down and I'll get you."
Hoya smirked at the thought of the Commander and the newbie failing the course. The boy couldn't fail, even Junho doubted he would. He was one of the best shots in Hidden, having even a brief stint with South Korea's SWAT team on special recommendations.
"Okay, strap on your goggles and go!" Chansung ordered.
They did so and immediately slipped through the door. It was automatic chaos. The Combat team appeared everywhere and started shooting. Haera dived behind a wall for cover, landing on a shooter, and effectively "snapping" his neck.
Junho and Hoya were faster, delivering perfect shots, they swept from wall to wall, taking cover and moving so fast they were a blur. Haera shot the wall of shooters blocking her way and slung her rifle before jumping lightly to land on a wall slightly further than Hoya. The Commander was further, choosing to straightforwardly barge into another line of shooters, slicing them with his blunt training bayonet on his rifle.
She quickly landed on the soil, running swiftly, racing Hoya from wall to wall. Suddenly a shooter came out to jump on the surprised Hoya. She immediately roundhouse kicked, sending the attacker reeling and sprinted towards the exit, ignoring the sting from a paintball that grazed her shoulder.
The sudden bright light made her eyes ache and she pulled off the goggles, kneeling as her breaths came in pants. Hoya came in a few seconds later unscathed but panting. Only Junho seemed to be holding up fine, breathing normally.
Chansung whistled as he helped them both up. "Damn, you guys are good!" he crowed. "You could be the next OneDay!"
***********************************
"Sorry! Sorry!" Chansung whimpered as Junsu continued to twist his arm.
"Be the next OneDay? That's a curse, Chansung! Choose-your-words-carefully-next-time!" Junsu scolded, twisting the maknae's arm slightly with every word.
"Hyung, let him go," Jinwoon sighed.
Junsu did so just as Jokwon entered the room and bolted the heavy door behind him. "Nobody talk," he ordered as he tapped onto a screen on the wall. They all stayed silent till a beep sounded.
"This room has been installed with maximum security by Internal Security. Not even the Captain himself can bypass this," Jokwon smirked, pleased with his creation.
Changmin and Seulong began pushing tabs in the walls, revealing secret compartments filled with papers. They took them out and spread them across the table. They hadn't touched these papers since before the Selections.
Junho sighed as his hand skimmed across a file meant for Jay. "Do you think we can pull it off again?" he muttered. "Without casualties this time?"
"Impossible," Seulong snorted. "14 of them will have to die. The Captain won't let it happen twice. We were lucky."
Jinwoon's fists balled and he hunched his back. "I'm not sure that's entirely true," Jokwon began hesitantly.
"We all know the Selections are monitored by the Commanders. If he wanted to kill the boys, he would have already. If he wanted to kill us, he would have done what he did to our instructors. There has to be a reason why he let us be in control of operations in Hidden."
"Leverage," Wooyoung whispered. "He still has something he needs from us."
The others froze: what else did they have that others in Hidden didn't? They were superior in skills but killing them would be a waste to Hidden.
"Why bring in the girl then?" Taecyeon found himself asking. "Precisely," Seulong said. "Jokwon told me his suspicions and I gathered what I could from intel. "
He passed fresh sheets of paper around. Haera's profile. "Kim Haera, daughter of Kim Sehun and Choi Sooyeon."
"Wait- isn't Choi Sooyeon the ex-president's daughter?" Junsu shouted.
"Exactly," Jokwon stated. "Which is why I think that this has something to do with more than just Hidden."
"He's right," Junho said. "It's not just us, it's the whole freaking country."
******************************
Jinwoon and Junho sat at the rooftop of the building facing the field and track, silently observing BlockB and Infinite. Jinwoon chuckled, "Those two hate each other with a passion huh."
Junho replied softly, "It'll be easier for them in the forests then. Less backs to cover." Jinwoon balled his fists up to keep him from crying.
"I dream of it every night. How i almost killed Wooyoung hyung," he said suddenly. Junho didn't answer but a muscle throbbed in his temple. He couldn't help but think about it too. How feral Jinwoon had been in the forests, how Wooyoung pushed Jay aside to get clawed at bu Jinwoon. And now with Jay dead, Wooyoung had to live with the silver scars on his neck and nothing else.
By now, Jinwoon had started crying in earnest. "I don't know what came over me. It scares me that I could have been that kind of person. A killer. And my boys, what if the same thing happened? Maknae Jihoon, what's going to happen to him?"
"Don't beat yourself over it, Jinwoon. At least you stopped in time. And you regret it, it'll scare me more of you didn't," Junho comforted.
It took a while for Jinwoon to calm down and the sun was beginning to set. From the rooftop, they could see the Gates being opened, copters landing on helipads; soldiers who have returned from missions, see 14 year old boys running laps before dinner, the smaller ones fooling around at the obstacle courses, see Commanders old and young alike triple checking equipment and barking orders. And then there was Block B and Infinite, occupying the center of the field, ignoring envious stares of the other boys who were studiously ogling at Haera for that matter.
Jinwoon's voice shook. "If you had to sacrifice yourself, would you? Just like our Commanders?"he asked the Emperor.
"At this point, there's nothing I won't do. Even if I end up like MBLAQ, if I could save the boys, I would."
*********************************
As per requested, the boys of OneDay found themselves in the Captain's office at 2000 hours. It was deathly silent in the office as the Captain and the boys were locked in glares.
"Let's get down to business then boys, I'm a very busy man," the scarred man puffed out. Nichkhun clenched his teeth together, needing the combined efforts of the maknaes to restrain him.
"Commander Junho, I trust that your training with the girl has been going smoothly?"
"Yes sir," he replied curtly. "As of now, I believe she can been cleared for missions, Sir."
"And you're not curious as to why I brought her here? Specially to you?"
The boys stayed silent. The Captain laughed mockingly. "And here I thought you all had enough courage to blatantly stand before me. I guess I thought wrong.
Believe me, nothing escapes my intelligence. I suppose you already know about my intentions to hold another Selection?"
"Believe me when I say a man has never disgusted me more, Captain," Jokwon snarled. "Must you stoop so low? Is killing six innocents not enough that you intend to kill fourteen more?"
The Captain chortled out loud, "Well spoken, Jokwon. But I assure you it's not about the satisfaction. I had enough when I publicly executed your Commanders. And our whole family experienced first hand what the mines are capable of, thanks to Jay Park. So no, it's not about the satisfaction."
He stopped to assess their faces, ashen with anger. He smirked as he saw tears welling up in Seulong's eyes. How touching. His eyes lingered on the scars on Wooyoung's neck. He walked over to him and placed his fingers alongside the scars.
"My dear boys," he said softly as he took Wooyoung's face in his hands. "They were all but pawns in a chess game, and Jay Park was a knight. But I needed them to make the set.
Sons of the dishonoured must pay. And you boys, just made things easier for me."
"Our Commanders were great and our friend even more so. Such filth should never come out of your disgusting mouth," Changmin said coldly.
"We will find a way around you," Wooyoung said through gritted teeth and placed his finngers along the Captain's neck. "And when we do, I'll enjoy twisting your neck and listening to your every bone splinter."
With that, he stalked out of the room. The Captain's face lit up gleefully. "Oh this is fantastic! Our Woodong has finally broken out of his shell!" he exclaimed.
Jinwoon swore, "You sick and pathetic man. Do you enjoy seeing the life drain out of their eyes? Leave the boys and girl alone! Take us if need be.
"Ah but that wont do- you all are the finale! But it seems someone can't leave the girl alone," the Captain grinned. "Isn't that right, Commander Lee? Did you enjoy your night in the graveyard?"
The other members turned in confusion to Junho except for Jokwon who barred his teeth. Internal security certainly did know everything. "I am not aware of any breach in rules- accidental or otherwise. As for the girl, she is merely a soldier under my guidance, nothing more."
The Commander snickered gaily as he settled his chair. "My sons taught you well, didn't they?" he laughed as he waved his hand in dismissal.
**************************************
Hi guys! Sorry this took so long! I've been super busy with sports and stuff for school!
And guys where are the comments? It hurts to see only one person comment although of course, I thank you.
But please comment! It's motivation for me:)
Just introduced MBLAQ in here as OneDay's Commanders. They were executed when OneDay survived the mine blast during the Selections. So sad:(
Also, why does the Captain still need OneDay? And Haera and Infinite and BlockB? Who are they exactly? And what did the Captain mean by MBLAQ being his sons?
Just some questions to ask yourself:)
AS USUAL, PLEASE COMMENT AND SUBSCRIBE!
Comments