♦ ♦ ♦ Chapter Nine ♦ ♦ ♦

Hyunjung glared with disdain at the little girl standing in the corner of her office. Sighing in frustration, Hyunjung leaned back in her seat, waving her hand dismissively at the little girl.

"I'm disappointed, A.I." She quipped coldly, and the little girl flinched.

"...I'm sorry."

"That won't do anything."

"...I know."

Hyunjung threw her a look before turning away, focusing on the holographic map of 2145 Seoul hovering just above her desk. She passed her fingers over eleven moving dots on the screen, and eleven corresponding profiles popped up all around the map. Profiles of the EXO members stared back at her, and she scrunched up her nose in annoyance. She turned to the little girl, who quickly tensed at the cold and piercing gaze.

"Get Onew, you useless scrap of metal."

The little girl hurried out of the room, and soon came back with the leader of SHINee. Hyunjung beckoned him over, and he tipped his head slightly in a bow before approaching. His eyes automatically flickered to the map and the multiple agent profiles displayed. Hyunjung cleared before gesturing at the dots on the map.

"Onew, I want you to intercept this team." She said calmly, and Onew frowned slightly.

"Am I correct to assume that you are sending me to go after team EXO?" He clarified, clasping his hands together behind his back.

"Yes. They are fraternizing with ex-team Shinhwa. They are traitors, rebels." Hyunjung shrugged before leaning back into her seat.

"But under what proof?" Onew pushed on, and Hyunjung narrowed his eyes.

"You don't need any proof. You just need to follow my orders."

"...very well." Onew shifted in his spot, straightening his blazer.

"But I want you to make them feel safe for a while. Let them have a little false sense of security at first."

"Understood. I'll leave them to their devices for now, then. I shall take my leave now."

"Alright. Also take that scrap of metal with you. She might prove to be of use, but I doubt it, really. I just don't want her around me." Hyunjung gestured lamely at the little girl standing at the corner again, and Onew let out a small smile at her before turning back to Hyunjung with his perfectly practiced poker face.

"Permission to bring my whole team, madam."

"Granted." Hyunjung waved him off, and he tipped his head again before turning to the door.

Once his hand was on the doorknob, he turned slightly to the little girl, smiling softly before reaching out a hand.

"Come on, Ae-In. Let's go."

"Should we destroy our watches? They might track us."

Sehun quirked his lips in thought, his watch and waiting for his friends' answers. Chanyeol looked up from treating a wound on Baekhyun's ankle before shaking his head, focusing back on his task.

"That won't do anything. A lot of timedroppers have done that, but we could still track them." Chanyeol mumbled in response, and Suho clicked his tongue at the realization.

"They must have some other kind of tracking device on us..." He thought to himself, but was pulled out of his reverie when Baekhyun shrieked in surprise.

"Chanyeol, that hurts!" He whined, pouting as Chanyeol gripped his leg while dabbing disinfectant on his wound (luckily, Lay had a first aid kit with him).

"Stop moving, Baek, I can't treat your wound properly."

"But it hurts..."

"I'm almost done. Just hold still. It's not my fault you tripped."

Baekhyun bit his lip as Chanyeol kept him still. To distract himself, he let his eyes travel to the other members. Luhan and Sehun were huddled up together in a corner of the room, quiet and looking worried. He couldn't blame them, though. They had been on the run for two days already, and they were only halfway to their destination. They all worried at the fact that no one was still after them. Kris and Suho sat beside each other, talking in hushed whispers. D.O., Chen and Lay busied themselves with making quick trips to a nearby convenience store while scouting the area, making sure that they had even a semblance of safety. Tao, Kai and Xiumin kept watch outside the little hotel they were temporarily staying at for the night.

"How long until we reach Minwoo-sunbae?" Luhan asked quietly, lifting his head  from Sehun's shoulder and looking at Kris.

"If we move now, we'll be there before dawn." Kris answered as he looked outside the window, the night seemingly darker than how it usually was.

"Should we go now? D.O., Chen and Lay should be back in a while. Baekhyun-ah, are you okay to move?" Suho turned to the small blond male who was squirming in pain under Chanyeol's firm hold.

"I-I'm fine, I guess." He answered, only to have Chanyeol shake his head.

"Let's just rest for the night. Baek sprained his ankle. It's not okay for him to move."

"Chanyeol, I'm not a baby. I don't want to bring you guys down. I can move." Baekhyun snapped back, and Chanyeol frowned at him, seemingly losing his patience.

"Baek, no."

"Chanyeol, yes."

The couple stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, until the taller of the two groaned in frustration, and Baekhyun smiled in triumph. Suho and Kris only watched in amusement.

"Alright, but I'm carrying you." Chanyeol mumbled, and Baekhyun blushed, but he nodded.

"On your back. No princess style. Jesus." Baekhyun bit his lip, and stayed quiet from then on as Chanyeol wrapped a bandage around his injured ankle.

D.O, Chen and Lay soon came in each with backpacks filled to the brim with food and supplies. Kris stood up and gave quick orders, and soon enough, they were on their way to Minwoo's hideout. Chanyeol easily carried Baekhyun on his back, as they walked along the dark highway leading to the outskirts of Seoul. Tao, Kai and Xiumin, the three most adept in fighting, flanked their little group. Chen and Lay went ahead by a few metres, checking if the coast was clear. D.O., Luhan and Sehun carried their supplies, while Suho and Kris lead the way.

Just before they reached the border of Seoul, Chen and Lay came running back, having reached the border first. With tense expressions on their face, they beckoned them to hurry and quicken their pace, and upon reaching the border, they were greeted by a middle aged man of short stature who donned a frown on his face as he welcomed the sight of twelve young men, one injured, before him. Cloaked by the darkness of the night, they let their guard down a little as they stood in the open.

"It's been a while since I last saw you." He started, and Suho was the first to tip his head in a bow.

"We were still students back then."

"I know, I know. Come on, hurry up. We need to get you ready."

Without a word, the whole team followed the eldest, weaving through the foliage that lined the border. They soon came upon a huge rock which, at first glance, seemed like a normal one. Minwoo ran his hand over a certain dark spot on the rock. Under his palm, a soft light glowed, and the rock opened up, surprising the twelve boys, especially Baekhyun.

"What the just happened..." He breathed out, and Chanyeol chuckled.

"We don't know either, but let's just go. Minwoo-sunbae's a nice guy." He shrugged, fixing Baekhyun's position on his back before following the others inside the rock.

The interior surprised them as well. It was wide and roomy, and looked like a normal house save for one side which was equipped with unknown materials that made it look like a laboratory. Lounging in what seemed like a living room was Andy Lee. He waved at the boys before wincing in pain as another man, who was sitting beside him and whom the boys recognized as Kim Dongwan, gripped his shoulder tightly with one hand while the other hovered over it, a soft glow emanating from his palm. Over in the laboratory, Eric Mun, Shin Hyesung, and Jun Jin were huddled over a table, discussing something which involved them hitting each other playfully.

"A-Andy-sunbae?" Both Suho and Chanyeol gasped out in surprise, and the said man grinned sheepishly at them.

"Hi."

"How'd you-- did you get out? I mean, you did, obviously, but-- how?" Suho asked, clearly surprised.

"Well, my team members didn't want to abandon me, so..." He shrugged, and the three men at the laboratory turned to smile at them.

"Well, enough dawdle. Let's get to work, yeah?" This time, it was Minwoo who spoke, and the boys nodded, not knowing what was in store for them.

^{A/N: Ohoho, Ae-In's identity is finally revealed...sort of. I don't know what I'm doing with this fic. I'm so confused with it lol}