Chapter# 15:

         The Real Target.

“What do you guys want from me so suddenly?” The soon-to-be former King asked the men sitting in front of him in a bored tone. The five men in their thirties were armed with guns and were dressed in official attires. It was obvious that they were not the people to be messed with, but the King had enough dirt on them to not be scared.

“We have heard that you are going to sign a peace alliance with the Exo Kingdom.” One of them started in an extremely controlled voice and looked at the King for the confirmation of his words.

“Yes, I have. Moonlight needs a new king and there is no one better.” Though the man had an intimidating aura around him, the King wasn’t fazed by it at all.

“Why?” The same person snarled and slammed his hand against the wooden desk in front of him.

“You know that we have an underground organization running that is involved in illegal dealings. We kidnap those damned kids from the very Kingdom you are signing an alliance with, and making their crown Prince our King?” He continued incredulously and looked at the current King with an inquiring gaze. Another one of those men got up from his place and patted the shouting male’s shoulder to calm him down when he saw the bored look on the King’s face.

“My King, are you aware that their crown Prince won’t tolerate it. He would stop the funding of our company once he knows about it—”

“Then don’t let him know about it.” The King cut his men off with a wave of his hand and got up from his seat.

“There is no way the crown Prince knows that the foundation still exists. Remember, your foundation was destroyed years ago and nobody knows that it’s still working.”

“Once, you transfer the power to him, he is ought to look through all the financial documents and he would track us down.” His men reasoned out and the King turned towards them with a snarl.

“So, do you have anyone better in your mind that could marry my daughter and be the most eligible King for the Moonlight Kingdom?”

“We have actually. That is why we highly disagree with your idea.”

“Well, then enlighten me.” King Lee demanded and looked at his men with a challenging gaze.

“Kim Moon Shik, the only son of mine.” The man, Mr. Kim proposed with a proud look which soon flattered when he saw the amused expression on his King’s face.

“So, you are telling me that your son who can’t even handle a single case properly is better than the crown Prince of Exo; whose capability is recognized by all the Kingdoms?”

“My King—”

“Enough!” The King roared and walked around the table with a threatening gaze.

“I gave you guys fund to start that foundation again because I wanted the best for my Kingdom, remember that. I won’t sacrifice its future for the mere foundation that was created for its welfare.”

“Then are we supposed to abandon all the research and leave the foundation?” Finally, all of them stood up, not looking happy at all.

“No. Lay low for some time and don’t get noticed. You will continue receiving the fund from me.”

“What if we get caught?”

“That’s none of my damn business.”

“What if we reveal your name?” Mr. Kim argued and looked at the King with a smirk on his face.

“I mean such thought-provoking news it will be.” He continued and laughed along with his men. The King looked at them with a raised brow and let out a resigned sigh while shaking his head.

“I thought you guys could do better than that.”

“What?” The King walked towards Mr. Kim and harshly gripped his face.

“Do you really think I would leave any proof with you? I have expected you guys to do this. By the time, you will reach your headquarters there will not be a single trace of my name in any of the files.” King sneered in his face and pushed him away.

“We will not let it end like this! You will regret it.” That were the last words Mr. Kim said before leaving the room with his men.

It was finally the big day. The coronation ceremony like planned was being held in an open venue where thousands of people from Moonlight and Exo Kingdom would be able to see the crowning of their heirs. The whole venue was decorated beautifully. Thousands of chairs covered with royal blue velvet that had a delicate golden design on it were lined around the vast field along with the tables which were adorned with the golden cloth. A vase filled with elegantly arranged white and blue flowers was placed in the middle of each table. All the trees and pillars in the venue were encircled with pink and golden fairy lights. The floor lamps which were emitting golden light were placed between every two tables; it was overall an enchanting view to see and the Exo Princes were proud to say that they were the one who had decided on the decorations- especially Tao.

……..

Baekhyun was not the type of person who liked huge gathering, but he found himself enjoying the coronation ceremony; at least as much as he can while supporting the constant fear of attack on his shoulders. He had met thousands of people from his Kingdom, as well as Moonlight and just like he suspected not many were aware of the dirty deeds of their higher ups. He even allowed some of the common people to come and greet him; he was not one of those stuck up people, who checked the status of the people first before talking to them, but it was mainly for the purpose of accessing them and their mentalities. He was surprised to find that many were genuinely open to the idea of him becoming the King. He smiled politely at one of the elders he was currently having a chat with and roamed his eyes around a little to keep a check on his family. Sehun and Kai like usual were busy grooming their dogs along with Chanyeol who was just looking at them with irritation. Xiumin, Luhan, Suho and Lay like him were busy keeping an eye on the people around them, making sure that everything was under control. Kris and Tao were busy scolding one of the workers; he assumed that the latter had committed the crime of not doing something according to their taste while they were away in the back room taking care of Haejin. Lastly, Chen and Kyungsoo were busy having a small discussion with their parents. Baekhyun let another smile grace his lips when he caught his mother’s eye and turned his attention back to the man he was talking to. He gave the elder a formal bow and made his way towards the stage where his parents were standing, but before he could reach them a hand on his shoulder stopped him. The crown Prince spun around immediately to find his father-in-law smiling at him proudly; the other had also managed to follow him on the stage. He raised a questioning brow at the King and folded his arms over his chest.

“King Lee, how can I help you?”

“Baekhyun my son! I was just passing by when I saw you.  I thought maybe a little greeting should be made.” The King replied and followed his son-in-law when he made his way towards the center of the stage and faced the crowd. Many curious eyes were directed at them, which was exactly what the elder wanted. He wanted to be seen next to the powerful and influential soon-to-be King, as much as he can. He didn’t want people to point fingers at him, once he had lost the power to the young Prince. He wanted them all to still fear him like before. Besides that, there were rumors about Baekhyun’s cold behavior towards him and he wanted to dissipate them too; even though they were true. The eldest Prince, of course, was aware of the King’s intentions and smirked smugly when he heard his answer.

“Ah- Yes! Pardon me, I should have been the one greeting you, but it happened to slip my mind.” Baekhyun apologized with a fake smile and made a polite bow to the King too. Only, if it was not for the sake of the thousands of eyes accessing their movements, he would have not even bothered answering the other. The King, who was oblivious to the crown’s Prince motives gave an excited smile and shook his head with a laugh.

“No need to be so formal—” Baekhyun toned the other out and occasionally nodded his head. He turned his attention towards the crowd, rather than the King and swept his gaze over the huge mass that has been collected around the stage now. There must be thousands of people at the venue right now and it just scared the Prince for their safety. He was not sure whether the foundation would have the guts to do something on the occasion since there were so many people from their Kingdom too. He was about to turn his attention back to his father-in-law but stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted a man who was crouching down. His eyes widened a little bit in shock, as his blood ran cold. The act itself was not something that should shock him; it should have been normal but the fact that there was a gun peeking out of his pocket changed the entire situation. He let out a shaky breath and frantically ran his eyes over the crowd again; like he predicted there were more of them lurking around. He can’t predict their number, but he was smart enough to not take the whole situation lightly. The gunmen were not aware that he had seen them and the eldest was really keen on keeping it the same way. He wanted them to be clueless until he had made enough arrangements to bring everyone out of the venue safely. His all fears were valid after all, he was right to suspect the easy way they all were being caught and he was right to think that there was something wrong. Baekhyun was scared; even now, when he had seen the danger with his own eyes, he was not able to pinpoint their real purpose. What were they here for? Did they want to kill him? Then why were they not doing it? It didn’t look like they were after him at all. Were they after the people and the children? He couldn’t tell anymore and it frustrated him more than he would like to admit. Maybe, they were after his brothers, but that didn’t seem like the case at all. Shaking his head, he fixed his gaze on the man, he had seen with the gun. The latter was roaming around casually as if they were waiting for something to happen as if they were waiting for an appropriate moment. The crown Prince was confused. Why were they not attacking? The security around the venue was still not packed. It was the best opportunity for them, but it seemed like they were waiting for something else.
………

“Kris!” Baekhyun called his brother out and smiled at the few officials that his brother was busy talking to. Kris turned towards his brother alarmed and was surprised to see the hint of anger in the elder’s eyes. He knew something big must have happened to have Baekhyun so riled up. He immediately excused himself and made his way towards his elder brother, who was standing a foot away from him looking really impatient.

“Hyung?”

“They are here,” Baekhyun informed his brother with a hint of urgency in his voice. They didn’t have time. There were thousands of people that were relying on him for their safety.

“Who is here?” Kris asked his brother confused.

“There are people with guns roaming all over the venue.”

“What?” Kris' eyes widen in surprise and he turned towards the crowd to examine himself.

“But how? We have made sure that no one would be able to bring weapons in here.”

“There is no time for questions now. Arrange the food stalls by every exit and open the lunch for the people.” The crown Prince instructed and discreetly glanced at the man he had noticed before.

“Open the lunch before the ceremony?” Kris looked at his brother with an incredulous expression but decided to keep his silence when he saw, how serious his brother was.

“It is the only way. As soon as something happens, tell Minjoon to instruct the guards to guide all the people outside safely. It would be quick and less messy. We have no idea when they will strike.” Baekhyun explained himself with a sigh and massaged his temples.

“Tell Xiumin to gather everyone around mom and dad too. I have seen Sehun and Kyungsoo wandering off to somewhere a while ago.” With that being said, Kris was gone to carry out the duties, as his eldest brother had instructed. As soon as Kris went, Baekhyun’s father who was ready to step on the stage caught his attention. He immediately made his way towards his father and took hold of his arm before he could step up.

“