L.joe ran up the stairs, towards the 23rd floor.

He did not have a designated place to go, but he wanted to find the other members to check up on them. As he turned the corner sharply, he ran right smack into someone.

The both of them yelled out in pain and tumbled back. L.joe groaned as he got up slowly, rubbing his aching head. Sungjong recognised the person, and so did L.joe as he opened his eyes.

"Niel!" L.joe snapped. "Where have you been?"

"Where have YOU been?" Niel retorted back. "I didn't see you the whole time I was running around!"

L.joe frowned. Niel leaned against the wall and tried to catch his breath. "I'm the runner, remember? I'm supposed to check the condition of the members and report back to C.A.P and Sunggyu." He then looked down at the floor, a crestfallen expression on his face.

"Just to let you know... three of the people on our side are dead."

L.joe stiffened. Sungjong peered at him with wide eyes. "No way..." 

"On the bright side, four of the spies are dead." Niel tried to motivate him. "Now all that's left is the other two."

"Who died?" L.joe asked immediately. His heart grew uneasy. Niel waved him off quickly. "It's better if you don't know. I don't want to lower your morale when this mission isn't finished yet."

"Let's go." Niel led the two of them. 

-

Daehyun and you both walked right into him.

It was the leader himself, sauntering through the corridor, the gun in his hand. His presence itself was threatening. You shuddered and counted yourself lucky since his back was facing the both of you.

Daehyun, on the other hand, was too afraid to move. 

His new-found confidence from earlier had melted away. The idea of going up against his leader was reckless to him. No one knows what Yongguk was capable of. You looked at Daehyun and observed his pale face.

You waved a hand in front of him. He snapped out of his trance and glanced at you furtively. 

"Be brave." You mouthed.

"Don't let Youngjae die in vain."

Yongguk stopped walking. 

The echo of his last