TAO

Hoya had warned me that this was it, that I couldn’t posisbly expect to enter a bank with a big rucksack on my back, a sword up my sleeve and the visible intention to disturb the 9-5 routine of the biggset bank in the world, all the while hip-hop boomed from my headphones.

“You have to take this seriously,” he had said, his thick eyebrows furrowed across his broad forehead. His jaw was tightened, gritty annoyance and anxiety spelt on his face. “Even Kung Fu Panda never ed around when it was time.”

Years ago when I had headed to the Dharavi slum to clean up the fire’s wreck, I had found a CD lying next to a young boy’s charred body. I was surprised to find the CD untouched, almost as if the fire didn’t want to burn the memories of the music away. I tucked it into my trench coat and on the way back to the temple, bought an MD player from an antique shop.

It was a mixtape and nothing like I had ever heard before. There was not a hint of the electro dubstep beats Kai would exercise to like a religious ritual. This was jazz, hip-hop, baroque pop. I later deciphered the handwritten words on the CD as “Neo-Noir, I Think” and understood that this belonged to a kid who could never belong to his times.

The Temple didn’t belong to its age as well and it was one of the central reasons that Paragon justified our alienation to its citizens. “Religion is a drug, a harmful drug,” they had said. But we weren’t a religion. We had struggled, meditated, prayed into ourselves, focused on reaching our core strength and eventually, surpassing the limitations that a distracted human mind places upon itself. We were a philosophy, a philosophy that believed that we were as much as we wanted ourselves to be.

From the 13 track playlist, one song stood out for me. “No church in the wild…” the piercingly smooth voice crooned and automatically, everything made sense to me. The bass riff in the beginning had crept up to me like an ominous dirge and even now that effect was never lost upon me. I could feel a dangerously balanced fury purifying my darkness and setting the sparks inside me on fire. When it was time to invade the financial crux of the global superpower, I knew exactly which track was to be played.

Hoya heaved a sigh and cocked his rifle, while I wore the fancy red pair on my ears. All the blueprints that Jiyong had made resurfaced to my mind and I scrutinized on the design of the bank, warming up whatever little parkour I knew inside my head, dormant in my veins. The second the beats looped into the hook of the song, I cracked my shoulders and kicked open into the honeycomb like interiors of the building, pentagon shaped cubicles stacked on the walls like a red carpet to my ultimate destination – the fancy glass dome right at the top. The commotion started when Daehyun shot a few bullets into the air, professionally aimed at the CCTV cameras lining the spherical surface. Chaos was confirmed when I took out my sword and began hopping onto the cubicles like a character in a video game. I noticed the persons seated in each cubicles, their jaw falling slack open and their hands fervently pushing at the alarm button. I saw the confusion and anxiety in their eyes as they wondered at how the efficient security system was failing when most needed.

“We’ve got to thank Dongwoo for this,” I snickered, winking at a middle-aged lady who could not hide her awestruck face as I hung onto the edge of one cubicle to flip myself onto the roof of another.

“The bank was my job!” Chanyeol hissed.

“Hey keep it down,” Woohyun murmured. “My face is plastered on every billboard screen in Central Paragon, the last thing you want right now is attention.”

“How did they even--?”

“Not now Kairi.”

Woohyun’s dismissive words jerked all of us back to reality and I had to resist from looking down to see the most important place on the planet slowly losing control of itself. My task was simple. Reach the Managing Director’s office, put the guards to sleep and threaten the old man to hand over ‘the numbers’.

“They’re connected to the Zhang Insurance Policy,” I remembered Donghae’s briefing before we all left. “Once we get those numbers, we’ll get a proofshot of all the extortion that took place after its founder passed away. Each client must have been cheated by a good 40,000 bucks.”

“Once I get those numbers,” Chanyeol had continued, pride bursting from his eyes, “I’ll be transferring the money to their deserved places.”

“So we’re buying support?” Krystal had remarked.

“No,” Jiyong had replied, “We’ll be fulfilling promises. Who doesn’t like someone who sticks to their end of the bargain?”

“TAO WATCH OUT!”

As soon as my feet left the last box situated on the furthest right, I knew I had done something wrong. I calculated the inevitable fall that was going to take place, my head hurtling through all the cubicles I had laughingly jumped off from a few seconds ago. I caught Yoona’s eyes widening with horror as I missed the footing to land on the cubicle above me, time slowing down as I slipped to my end.

Right then, I felt a force grabbing me and pushing me away. I gritted my teeth, waiting for the fall to crush me, but all I heard was a familiar voice screaming :

“You’ve gained weight! Now hurry and jump!”

I looked down and grinned as I found Zhang Sehun’s arms reached out towards me, a misty look on his eyes.

“Hey Storm,” I laughed.

“Get your off my wind and finish your work,” he muttered. I nodded and infront of the shocked disbelief of hundreds, used the leverage of the wind to lift myself onto the final step. I threw a salute to my friend who simply rolled his eyes, while I broke open the sliding door of the office and faced a frightened man.

“If you didn’t know any better,” I said, my breath still heaving from the fatal possibility that passed, “I would like to inform you that the man who helped me is your old friend Zhang Huqing’s adopted son, Zhang Sehun. I’m saving you from a personal session of gory vengeance so before I use my sword, please give me those damn numbers.”

Moments later, Chanyeol cried out in delight and said, “It worked! Money is in the air my friends!”

Sure enough, cheers of celebration rose around Central Paragon  --- phones beeping, messages being received, district banks sheepishly hearing frustration being vented out --- and the curiosity surrounding Woohyun’s face on the neon screens was replaced by expressions of great expectation.

“Damn they stole a lot,” Chanyeol muttered. “After I transferred the money, Central Bank is pretty much bankrupt!”

“Alright people,” Woohyun said. “Don’t get too excited. Good job Tao --- no you cannot make one small cut on his face --- and thanks to Sehun for that last minute save. Daehyun and Hoya, evacuate the workers immediately. Yoona, Sehun and Tao, head—”

Before he could finish his sentence, sirens began ringing from around the corner. I heard a scuffle and Baekhyun muttering, “Not now.” Chanyeol whispered, “Calm down Kairi,” and SungGyu was told by Woohyun to “hold the kid down”.

It doesn’t take rocket science to figure out human emotions. Only one person in the world could infuriate Kairi and Zelo so much that they would commit an imperious mistake.

“It’s Joon and his men,” SungGyu’s informed us. “They’re blocking off all the exits and entries and um… that’s a lot of uniformed men. With a lot of weapons.”

Hoya cursed and said, “But what about the civilians---”

“They don’t care.” Kairi took a deep breath and added, “They never ing cared.”

A sharp silence seared through everyone’s Bluetooth devices.

“Call the East Paragon team here,” Woohyun said, his clear voice a premonition of a long-awaited encounter. “We need them.”

                                                                                     LAY

As soon as I entered the ship, my chest began hurting.

The atmosphere was morbid; the navy vehicle wasn’t new and shiny. It had been rebuilt from an old warship that now housed the ghosts of several soldiers, who had died during the last attempt to suppress Paragon. The forces had not been divided according to regional or political alignments --- in a desperate collision of powers, India, Turkey, France, Iran, Israel and of course, America, were only a few of the countries that wholeheartedly contributed military power. Unfortunately Paragon had befriended some deadly people, including the Afghans, the Chinese, the Japanese, and the Vietnamese and through essentialist patriotism, South Korea too had to forcefully beckon to the call. Paragon won and the Japanese, whose navy skills were as exemplary back then as they were today, were responsible for the slaughter that had taken place in this ship. 

"It's a masterpiece," said Leo, the redhead whose eyes hadn't left Nicole's face ever since we climbed up the steps. He slapped the soundproof walls and said, "We remade it after the 2014 Battle. Had those allied forces fought through this, the Japanese wouldn't even have punched a hole into them."

Chunji opened his mouth to say something but Dongwoo was faster. "Which is why we need your help. Paragon's military power is scary but what we are going to tell you will prove that the General is in trouble."

By now, everyone was aware that Leo was different. I remembered Chunji's words ("They have something better"), but ever since we had reached the deck of the ship, one glance at Leo's yellow eyes and his Amazonian stature was enough for us to understand that the International Court had something stronger than the INVICTUS. Did they use the same serum? I couldn't imagine his bright yellow eyes being a dull brown, his body being anything but the tall broad Adonis it was as of now. 

As if he had ready my thoughts, Leo turned to me and smirked. "Your priest isn't feeling so well, it seems."

"The energy isn't so good," I curtly replied, throwing in a smile for courtesy. Leo wasn't one to fool though and he set his lips in a firm line, leading us into the conference room. Everyone's expectations must have been high after going through the sharply decorated corridors. The room was like another conference room, a long wooden table, a podium right at its head and a whiteboard behind it. Dongwoo yelled and leapt away from the podium when a man emerged, his eyes as yellow as Leo's but his hair as dark as ivory. When he gave us a smile, we instantly sighed in relief. 

"I had fought with Leo to keep this room simple," he laughed, his eyes twinkling. He introduced himself as Ken, the Mediator sent by the International Court. Leo's protective stance around him confirmed that he was probably among the military spheres and was sent in case our encounter turned violent. Everyone's thoughts returned to Ken calling himself the Mediator and as if lightning had struck all of us at the same time, we realized that Ken wasn't the 'good cop' in the room --- he was the Chief. He was the man who was going to decide whether IC would support us or not. 

"I've heard Henney's sister is with you?"

The man in question looked at us, his eyes widened with expectation. Nicole gave a soft smile and nodded. For some reason, Daniel seemed upset by that fact. 

"I've also heard that your comrades are in Central Paragon... arresting the financial element of Paragon?"

"That's correct," Chunji said, his voice seething with impatience. 

Calm down, I thought, our eyes meeting. 

Get out of my head, he narrowed his eyes. I don't like this werewolf already. 

We're not werewolves.

Everyone, save the three IC officers, jumped in their seats. Leo smirked while Ken simply took out his laptop and began typing away. 

"Let's start shall we? May I ask who I will be corresponding with? I mean of course, everyone here is important but the agreement --- if that takes place --- will need the sign of only one representative."

Our heads turned to Nicole who took in a deep breahth and nodded. 

"Very well then," Ken said, giving a courteous smile. Suddenly a flash of pain crossed his face. He swallowed his saliva and in a very controlled voice, said, "I believe the General's daughter is partnering with you?"

"She's a part of our family," Nicole said. "And the involvement of EXO can confirm to you that she is not a traitor."

"Oh no!" Ken said with a humorous smile. "No no no, you've got me wrong. You see, of course we know you can trust her. Had her loyalties been the focus of the topic, we wouldn't even have agreed to this discussion in the first place. The problem I'm afraid, is more critical."

Ken took his time looking at each and everyone of us. When his eyes finally landed on me, he said, "You are the Healer?"

"Yes, that's right."

"I would like you to brief in on me on the health of your teammates---"

Chunji stood up, his fist pounding against the table. "Look here now," he began. "We don't have time for the details, we just want to present you with the evidence, have you agree that the General's in deep and send us the peacekeepers and military support we desperately need if Avalon is to be achieved. Skip the small talk and---"

"Avalon?" Daniel spoke for the first time. "Did you say... Avalon?"

"Let us all calm down," Ken said, his face shaken more than frightened by Chunji's outburst. "We know you are an INVICTUS and we have a decent amount of information about the gene corruption that has, how should I put it, destabilized your strength. And we really wish to help you of course! There is something important that you need to know though."

He turned to me. "Yixing, is that right?" When I nodded, he continued, "My friend Yixing. I would like you to please inform us how long do the INVICTUS members have?"

"The plan was to finish everything by dawn tomorrow."

"Very ambitious, yet realistic," Ken commented. "Now, could you please inform us why the corruption took place?"

I stalled. "I thought you knew---"

"Tell us please," Leo said, his voice suddenly losing its arrogance. I looked at my teammates and cleared my throat. 

"The gene corruption took place because of a special system structure that can connect the INVICTUS to the, let's say, control room of Paragon. Paragon must have found out that a large portion of their special forces were going against them and thus, they began the deactivation process for all INVICTUS members. Kairi is an INVICTUS member too and we found out that years ago, when the General had illegally migrated her to Hawaii and back, she had been polluted. The General pulled strings with science and stalled her corruption, thus her green eyes." I paused. "I used special tactics to delay the corruption. If the destabilization, as you call it, is not look after or medicated at the right time, they could all die a painful death."

Ken looked like I had said something he already knew. It was a waste of seconds, but I knew that nothing in the world was really a waste. There must have been a reason why he wanted me to say this out loud.

"The keyword," he said slowly, "is control room. INVICTUS, you all should know by now, is Paragon property."

Chunji was about to stand up again when Ken frowned and stood up from his seat. 

"Please sit down Mr. Chanhee, if I was any less hospitable I would have shot you in the head right now and finished this right away. Your friends would be safe but not the likes of you, Mr. Chanhee, because you see, if INVICTUS is Paragon property then the only way we can work with you is if we demolish each and everyone of you. The International Court can only agree to a merger with you if there is not a single of your INVICTUS friends on the list. Working with them is working with Paragon property which is ultimately, not permissible. I'm afraid Mr. Yixing, the antidote would have to be injected right away."

Before any of us could sense what was about to happen, before I could stop what I had sensed, Leo took out a gun and drilled what seemed to be a transparent cap into Chunji's neck. Within seconds an epileptic fit coursed through our teammates' body and by the time Nicole ran around the table to reach him, his broad body had leaned down and his hair had turned into a dirty haystack colour. There were wrinkles all over his face and veins looked like they were going to fall out of his skin. 

"I'm afraid Nicole," Ken said, genuine sadness in his eyes, "you would have to inform Nam Woohyun that if another hour is spent working with the INVICTUS, we will have to arrest all of you on charges of treason."

"But you're against Paragon!" she shouted. 

"It was an agreement we had made with the General several years ago," Leo said. "We do want to help but this," he said, pointing at Chunji, "is the condition."

"Our friends are in the middle of a battle in Central Paragon," I said. "If we stall them now, they all will die, even the non-INVICTUS!"

"Mr. Yixing," Ken said, his eyebrows furrowed. "Terms and conditions, apply." 

                                                                          WOOHYUN

Sunggyu was standing next to me, trying to hide his worry behind a poker face. For the past few minutes he had been muttering, “It’ll be okay, Dongwoo’s there, Lay’s there and Chunji, yeah. They’ll be safe.” His reassurances were disturbing our lot even more, prompting Hyoyeon to firmly take his arm and say, “You don’t believe that do you? You’re just trying to convince yourself.”

The only thing keeping us going was the change in the atmosphere around us. Chanyeol was trying to keep his excitement on the downlow but no one could blame him. The kid was smart and had made a helluva lot of people happy. My face blinking under the ‘WANTED’ sign on the neon billboard didn’t bother me anymore. Everyone was calling up their friends and family and talking about the stories that had been spreading around the network – apparently Joon had broken up with Kairi way before the elopement, so shouldn’t he be the one punished? I guess the bank didn’t pay you the right amount when they said ‘insurance’.

The only reason Paragon had ever worked was because the General had cleverly won the citizens’ trust. Not anymore. The only thing missing now was the crucial IC backup.

“Congratulations Ms. Lee, now everyone cares about you!” Chanyeol’s laugh was interrupted by a muffling sound, which when I turned around to see was Kairi zipping up his hoodie right up till his forehead. She slipped her hand back into Baekhyun’s who gave her a bemused smile and shook his head. The two saw me looking at them and I scoffed when the fake boyfriend mouthed, “Jealous?”

“You’re only acting,” I said. “Once all this ends, you have no excuse to even look at her.”

“Tell me again how you’re not creeped out by this?” Baekhyun winced when I narrowed my eyes.

“Joon never cared that much for me.” Kairi shrugged and winked at me. She looked towards the end of the street and slowly, tugged on Baekhyun’s sweatshirt.

“Alright people,” I said. “Don’t get too excited. Good job Tao --- no you cannot make one small cut on his face --- and thanks to Sehun for that last minute save. Daehyun and Hoya, evacuate the workers immediately. Yoona, Sehun and Tao, head—”

“Not now Kairi!” I heard Baekhyun hiss. Kairi was on the verge of slipping out her katana but he wrapped his arms around her, locking her actions. He looked at me and I nodded in approval. Someone behind me pushed ahead but Hyoyeon caught him. It was Zelo and his eyes weren’t in focus. “Hold the kid down,” Sunggyu said. He looked towards the bank from where Hoya, Yoona and Daehyun were hurriedly exiting, trying to keep the civilians out of the way. In a grave voice, he said, “It’s Joon and his men. They’re blocking off all the exits and entries and um… that’s a lot of uniformed men. With a lot of weapons.”

I saw Hoya pull Yoona out of the crowd and hiss a curse upon hearing Sunggyu’s information. “But what about the civilians---”

“They don’t care.” Kairi took a deep breath and added, “They never ing cared.”

I still couldn’t connect with the International Court group and horror washed through me as I wondered if maybe, this wasn’t going to work as smoothly as expected.

A crashing sound was heard. The glass dome at the top had shattered and Tao and Sehun were sliding down the windows, landing on their feet and running towards us at top speed. Tao had his sword in his hand and the people around us were recognizing who we were. He ignored their gazes and said, “Woohyun, there is literally a battalion heading our way and I’m not counting overhead snipers and helicopters.”

I cursed. “Are they planning on killing these people as well?” I waved my arms at the helpless citizens, the premonition of something fatal enveloping all of them.

“They don’t care.”

Kairi’s voice rung out clear and loud and we all looked at her, her face smothered in angry tears. “They never cared and today, if they get to kill us, they’ll kill these people as well.”

The silence lasted for a few seconds. “We are the ones fighting against them, we have to make sure the civilians don’t pay the price.” I said. “Can everyone hear me? Okay. Now, we’ll have to speed up our schedule a bit. Jiyoon, grab Kairi and head towards the Justice Building. Get the Chief of Justice and grab the original agreement Paragon made with the International Court.”

“Send Kyungsoo with them,” Suho’s voice spoke. I straightened up and looked around in alarm. From a distance, I saw a pale man raise his hand and wave at us. Xiumin and Chen were standing next to him, their faces flushed but far from exhausted.

“The East Paragon inhabitants are already headed to other parts of Paragon for temporary accomodation.” Suho said while walking towards us. A few steps behind him were a large number of the INVICTUS group who had been sent to West Paragon. I recognized a few faces, the most notorious of them all grinning away with his arm around Amber. Key, I remembered, the only INVICTUS along with Baekho and Kairi who had not been affected by the destabilization of the gene.

“That’s good news,” Zelo said, his voice being heard for the first time since the day had started. He turned to me and gave a small smile. “We can call the East Paragon group here to help us out.”

“The army isn’t that far,” Tao said, his voice shaking with restlessness. “We need to act fast!”

“Hospital.”

Jiyong walked out of the department store behind us, removing his hat and his façade. “There’s no point in hiding anymore, half of the people here matched the face on the billboard with Woohyun’s and didn’t say .” He waited for Suho and the rest to join us while I signalled Kairi, Baekhyun and Chanyeol to stay at their spot.

“Believe it or not, these people around us are our strongest weapons.” Jiyong’s voice wasn’t looming with that familiar energy of a wounded past. “Find a place away from here and make it into a makeshift hospital. Joon is an but the last thing he’ll do is attack a building full of civilians, wounded and helpers both. That’s against Paragon’s own amended rights. Casualties are inevitable but we must save as many lives as possible.”

“We still haven’t heard from the International Court,” Sunggyu said. Hyoyeon was about to chide him but Suho stopped her. He looked at us and said, “Right now, we need to work on what we have infront of us. I’ll send Kyungsoo to the Justice Building, he’ll help. Jiyoon and Kairi should leave right away. Woohyun?”

I didn’t realize it but the whole time the plan was being made, half of my heart was set on Kairi’s face and all the possibilities that brightened up whenever I looked at her. She had heard the plan and while softly smiling at me said, “I’ll get Jiyoon right away.”

“Be safe,” I said, almost stammering. I saw Chen looking down at the ground and smiling, while Baekhyun let go of her arms. I watched as Kairi ran across the road, exposing herself as passersby gasped in shock. I saw the light in her eyes and caught her when she jumped into my arms, grabbing my face as she enclosed my lips with hers.

For those five seconds, our teammates looked away. For those five seconds, we were just a couple trying to take as much as we could of each other, trying hard not to let our emotions overflow. When we parted, I caught a glimpse of her eyes and for a moment, everything was perfect.

“Don’t come looking for me,” she whispered. I grimaced but she placed her hand on my cheek. “I mean it Woohyun. Don’t come looking for me. I’ll see you when this ends. We can’t be fighting and looking out for each other at the same time.”

The hush was supposed to be a pause but Kairi took it as silent agreement and after a last peck on my lips, ran back towards a flustered Chanyeol. I watched him hand her a small device and give her instructions on how to use it. She nodded and without a backward glance, ran with Jiyoon down a dark alley.

“So apparently you need our help,” a voice crackled into everyone’s wireless. Hyoyeon yelped as Key grabbed her ear and shouted into the Blutetooth, “Hey Kang Baekho! Shut up and get your pompous here!”

A shiver ran down our spine when the earth began rumbling. Was Joon already here? Moments later, the panic simmered down with the appearance of a familiar face. Tao’s jaw dropped and Sehun smirked.

“When you guys meant backup, you really meant it didn’t you?” he said. All of us watched Baekho’s head stick out of a tank with five monstrous Hummers following him. The Chief INVICTUS jumped out and jogged towards us. “The skies are going to be packed soon,” he said, waving his hand at the sky above. He narrowed his eyes and cursed. “Can you hear that?”

Our ears perked up and our nerves tensed as soon as the sound of choppers became prominent.

“I have this!” Seohyun shouted, running towards us. She dismissed our reactions to her bruised face and her limping leg, lifting up the loudspeaker in her hand.

“For the safety of everyone out here, we would request you all to please evacuate the Central Paragon area.”

No one moved. Everyone was busy staring at the tank and the broken down bank and our renegade team, holding suspicious looking objects in our hands. They all thought this was a joke. This was beyond their imagination.

“They don’t realize anything,” I muttered, snatching the loudspeaker away and climbing atop the tank.

“Your District Official Lee Joon fooled all of you. The girl who was executed was an innocent girl named Han Jiyeon, daughter of a former Paragon minister and sister of Han Seungyeon, who killed herself. You never heard of her, right? There are a lot of things you haven’t heard of and now they’re all coming out in the open. Shall I tell you the truth?”

Suddenly everyone’s eyes were sharp and the ripple of attentive minds was visible. Someone mentioned ‘the Hidden’ and I turned to nod at her. She gasped and blushed. I lifted the loudspeaker against my mouth.

“The General has been fooling you all along,” I continued, slowly stepping down and walking inside the crowd. “He kept mentioning Avalon like it was a stupid mythical document, an unattainable form of justice whose existence he confirmed and confounded simultaneously. I know all of you grew tired and eventually gave up. But some of us didn’t. My name is Nam Woohyun and for the past fifteen years, my friends and I have been searching for Avalon. We always thought Avalon was something invincible but a few days ago we learned that that isn’t true. Avalon has always been with us, with all of you. Today is the day Avalon will be executed, but we can’t do anything without your help.”

I stopped talking and looked at my accomplices who were mentally counting down the time we had. Suddenly a young man stood infront of me, one hand holding onto the strap of his backpack, the other reaching out for something.

“I’m Jin,” he said and I realized he was reaching out for my hand. I firmly shook it and waited for him to speak.

“I’m Paragon University’s president,” he informed me. He looked beyond my shoulder and gave a courteous nod to the others. The earth rumbled again and I knew that this time, those tanks weren’t ours.

“We don’t have ti—”

“The library is safe.” He turned around and pointed to the end of the street. “We lead everyone towards the Outer Circle and keep to the left. The library is a four-storeyed building and is massive. There’s a boarding school two blocks from it and holidays are going on right now so the hostel is empty. We could use both buildings and keep as many people safe as we can.”

The discomfort of doubt refused to go away, until Jin looked towards Jiyong and smiled. “Have you forgotten me?”

Jiyong widened his eyes and pointed at himself, then laughed. “This is no time to play games kid---”

“Seungri was my elder brother,” he said and the words took effect immediately. Jin set his lips in a firm line while Jiyong’s face fell slack. “I knew you were still alive. And I knew you would come back someday. I wasn’t brave enough to follow you, but right now I am the only person here who can convince all of them to believe in you. So I guess I’m not useless right?”

Jiyong stared at him. I felt a presence behind me and found the psychic EXO member giving a soft smile.

“He’s telling the truth,” Luhan said.

“I know,” Jiyong said. He looked at me and soon, everyone’s eyes were waiting for me to say something.

“Jin right?” I said, taking in a deep breath when he nodded. I rested my hand on his shoulder and waved at the crowd full of curious and frightened faces. Jin took the loudspeaker from them and climbed up the tank. Baekho almost hollered out in disapproval but Luhan slapped his hand on his mouth. He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Don’t say too much,” he muttered. “Even Woohyun’s speech didn’t seem enough---”

“We can trust them,” Jin announced. Seconds later, everyone was running for the library.

Baekho scoffed as ten people pushed and ran past him. “You’re ting me right?”

Jin stepped down and shrugged. “All they needed was a familiar face,” he said. “They never knew something like him even existed.” He jerked a thumb towards me.

“What do you mean by that?” I said, tensing up.

Jin gave me a bittersweet smile. “Hope. They never knew what it looked like.”

                                                                                                                NICOLE

They promised to give Chunji a proper burial but Baekho, who was standing on the shoreline, was already thinking of calling Woohyun. 

“We don’t have to fight,” Ken said, his voice miraculously bellowing from the deck and reaching our hostile teammates. “All we wanted was---”

“Help me Lay,” I whispered. He nodded and softly placed his hand on the nape of my neck. Seconds later, my voice was booming across the lake as well.

“We’re making a deal,” I said. Even from the distance, I could see their shoulders easing upon hearing my voice. “Trust us, it’s for everyone’s good.”

Everyone? Lay’s doubtful voice rang in my head. I pursed my lips and continued.

“The IC is willing to facilitate proper rehabilitation for the INVICTUS members,” I explained. “They’ll hand us the military support, but we need to adhere by their rules too.”

For a moment, nothing was heard. I almost expected Baekho to propel himself towards us, a gun in hand. To our surprise, we saw him backing away, his hand raised in thumbs up. He shouted something but it was incoherent.

“The Chief of INVICTUS says yes,” Ken said, his lips stretched into a gleeful grin. Lay removed his hand and pulled me back.

We’ll have to warn Kairi and Woohyun. Lay looked at me and then back at the shoreline.

The minute the deal is done, we’ll leave. I turned around and saw Baekho’s head nod in agreeement. Leo looked at us with suspicion but I quickly smiled and said, “Shall we?” briskly walking towards the conference room.

                                                                                                                KAIRI

“So Kyungsoo is the tall guy right?”

Jiyoon looked at me and furrowed her eyebrows. “What? Oh yeah right! Right, right, right, the tall one. The one who can fly, that’s him. He’s quite a looker too, don’t you think?”

“They’re giving us the big guns,” I murmured, my jog slowing down to a walk when the Romanian pillars of the Justice Building appeared before us. “Won’t Woohyun need him?”

“Hey, we are the ones getting the Amendment, that’s a big job,” Jiyoon said. “Of course we need someone who can kick----”

Jiyoon stopped talking, her jaw dropping in shock. I followed her gaze and watched a kid run up to us, a bag on his back. His running was more like a waddle, his thick lips puffing out to keep his breathing intact. The moment he raised his hand to wave at us, we glanced at each other and sighed.

“Don’t say anything,” I whispered, as he got closer.

“I’m Kyungsoo, but you can call me D.O.” D.O grinned then furrowed his eyebrows. “We’ve got work to do.”

I covered up Jiyoon’s snicker with a one-hand embrace around D.O’s shoulder. “Suho said you’d… help?”

“Oh yeah! Yeah, um. Okay.” He took out his bag and removed a folded sheet of paper, which when opened we found to be a blueprint. “These are the interiors of the Justice Building.”

“I already know how it looks like… But no harm in some briefing right?” I said, changing my words when D.O looked up at me, his excitement visibly decreased. He seemed to have understood that I was cutting him some slack and gave a grateful smile.

“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” he said. Jiyoon stopped grinning and nodded in understanding.

“We all have,” she agreed and clapped him on the back. “So what do we have to do?”

“Okay,” D.O said, pointing towards the corner of the blueprint. “That’s the entrance. This building’s interiors are as unique as every adminstrative structure in Central Paragon. The entrance is at the corner, slowly expanding into a series of staircases and hallways.”

I nodded as memories of never-ending social dinners returned. “One of the staircases leads to a little quadrangle where the reception table and waiting room stand.”

“What’s the point of a reception if there are other steps leading to the main offices?” Jiyoon asked. D.O looked at her and shook his head. I couldn’t help but wonder what ‘powers’ this particular EXO member had. So far, he seemed like the fact-file of the group.

“The steps might seem open to access, but there are identity detectors on the walls.”

“If you walk into those corridors without a confirmed appointment,” I added, shivering a little at the stories we used to hear as warnings. “I don’t even want to know, really.”

“That’s our only obstacle,” D.O said, giving a reassuring smile. He folded back the paper and placed it in his bag. Jiyoon did a double take when she saw the cooking handbook stuffed inside. I shook my head, signalling her to keep her comments to herself.

“We obviously cannot walk in saying, ‘hey we need to meet the Chief Justice and threaten him until he gives us the Avalon Amendment’. And with Kairi’s face having entered the executed list due to a misunderstanding, alarms will be sounded the minute she breathes into the building.”

“So what do we do?” Jiyoon asked.

“We’ll have to go the hard way,” D.O said, tightly strapping his bag. “I’m guessing we all know how to rock-climb?”

“Nuh-uh,” Jiyoon said. “Open your wide eyes Kyungsoo. This building is not for climbing. Period.”

D.O sighed. “It’s the only way in. We break into the top floor, which is right next to the Chief Justice’s office and easily have him at the palm of our hands.”

“That’s risky,” I agreed with Jiyoon. “And we don’t have time. The easiest way to get in is to go through the entrance.”

“Everyone knows you Kairi! And Jiyoon will definitely come off as danger! We need someone completely devoid of suspicion, someone who looks like he wouldn’t even hurt a fly!”

The moment D.O finished his sentence; Jiyoon and I glanced at each other and smiled. By the time we could even verbalize our idea, D.O was waddling towards the alley we had come from. It took a lot of struggling and bag-strap holding but eventually, we got him cornered to the entrance.

“You look like a kid,” I assured him. “All you have to do is say you got lost.”

“This wasn’t the plan,” he murmured.

“Once the person at the reception leaves,” I continued, “you reach behind the desk and grab an ID.”

“You let us know,” Jiyoon said, tapping her Bluetooth. “And we’ll move in right away.”

“Just pout those lips, you’ll be fine.” We pushed him towards the entrance, a sliding door strangely positioned at the meeting point of two walls. Jiyoon whispered a “fighting!” but D.O was already on his way.

“Hey!”

The Bluetooth crackled and we recognized Woohyun’s voice.

“You’re fine right?” he asked.

“We sent Kyungsoo in,” I said, nudging Jiyoon when she quietly added, ‘as sacrifice’. “Max fifteen minutes. Why?”

“The civilians are cooperating with us,” Woohyun said. He sounded relieved and anxious at the same time. “Jiyong’s late friend’s younger brother, apparently he’s the student president of Paragon University?”

I blinked at the floor beneath. “Is his name Jin?”

“Yeah I—wait, why is your voice like that? Is he suspicious?”

“What? No, no, no, no, he’s clear. It’s just…”

“What an asshat.”

I turned around and found a guy kicking himself off the wall and walking towards me. He offered the beer in his hand but I shook my head.

“That’s my boyfriend,” I said, making sure the hostility was established.

The guy snickered. “That’s sad.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m Jin, student VP of Paragon U, co-host of this party. I know who that kid is, District Officer’s son and all.” He gazed at me for a while. “Your eyes…”

“Natural, not lenses,” I said. This wasn’t the first time someone had commented on them. “I’m sorry Jin, I don’t see myself making personal comments on your friends.”

“I know they’re natural,” he said, “ And that wasn’t a personal comment.” He signalled the bottle towards Joon, who was now trying to get a bunch of his classmates to join him at the bar. “That guy’s the biggest douche and you can’t even see it.” He paused and closed the distance between us. A shiver ran down my spine as he whispered into my ear, “Or maybe the General’s daughter is too used to being blind.”

“Who the hell are you?” I pushed him away. I turned to look for Joon but he was too busy encouraging a drinking challenge between two siblings.

“You know what’s unfortunate?” Jin said, giving a sad smile. “This is probably the first time you’re questioning someone, someone who for the first time has shown any amount of concern for you. You need to know who to question Kairi. In your case though, the people worth questioning are too close for comfort. Have a good night.”

“You can trust him,” I sighed. “He’s… he’s honest. Always has been.”

Woohyun didn’t say anything for a while. I could hear a low reverb of noise from his side, the sound of people talking and moving. Motion, so different from the static Paragon had conditioned us into believing was music.

“I just wanted to let you know that there’s a makeshift hospital here,” he finally said. “The library outside Central Paragon and the hostel right next to it, they’re being used as shelter for anyone who couldn’t make it out of the target zone.”

“Target zone?”

“Joon’s men are here,” he said, fury already seething in his voice. “You do your job and come towards the Institution, alright? We’re meeting the International Court reps there.”

“Okay.” I hung up and looked at Jiyoon who was tapping at her ear.

“Coast is clear,” she said. I took in a deep breath and nodded; following her as we walked past the sliding doors and found an excited Kyungsoo holding three cards in his hand. Suddenly the ground started rumbling and when I looked outside the window, I found a considerably large amount of earth caving in around the building.

“Not such a kid afterall,” Jiyoon complimented. D.O shrugged and by the time we had reached our destination, I could see the moat that had blocked off access for people inside and outside the building.

“So,” Jiyoon said, when we reached the door. “Do we knock?”

“I know him,” I said, pushing it open and finding my father’s friend freeze in shock. “Hey Uncle Kang! Remember me? I never liked those marzipan chocolates you used to get me so here’s payback for your lack of aesthetic choices.”