[comfort]

Crescent
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"Hwayoung does not need a nanny," Yunho protests. "I can take care of her, all of us can take care of her. We don't need another person in the house."

"I know, but we'll keep her around as that before we decide what to do with her; it's just a temporary cover. We have to take responsibility for her life. She'll need a new identity now that she's supposed to be dead."

"You're really playing around with her life like it's a game... It was your fault but right now you're involving everyone. You think they're stupid to not notice that we suddenly brought in a new nanny just right after we've supposedly killed her?" he starts to get heated up. He decides that whatever Hongjoong is doing now is reckless, and he's doing it without consulting the others.

Yunho has sent Hwayoung away with Seonghwa to her room, instructing him to help her get back to sleep and not let her wander off into the living room again. Wooyoung, Jongho, San and Mingi have went up and now they're all gathered at the living room with Byul, who is as equally unsatisfied as him. The others who were downstairs are filled in by Yeosang, but even then they don't know how to react to the plan. Yeosang turns quiet after, his expression unreadable after some point.

"Listen, if we let her go now there's a chance they might look for her, knowing that Alexander doesn't trust us enough. They would probably scout her place for a few days, so she can't go back to her place. The only route she has to avoid is through the cafe where the cameras are. She can always use the other route to go here."

"The other route. The route that's..."

"That's what? Haunted? Dangerous? Nasty?" Byul looks back and forth from the leader to the younger, but none is focused on her. Yet again, they're discussing about her as if she's not there, which irritates her.

"She'll have to use that route to avoid the cameras at the cafe and the possible spies from there. We can let her stay here until things get settled."

"And how long do you think that would take? Do you have a plan on what you're going to do with her after?" he gestures angrily at Byul. He doesn't look at her, his chest puffing up and down after his outburst. "You need to think about the long-term consequences, how it's going to affect us and her. If you're just going to abandon her after-"

"Then what do you want to do? We can let her walk out of here right now but she doesn't have anywhere else to go. That's why I need time to think! If you think it's easy to become a team leader of this forsaken group, then why don't you be one?"

"Don't call us a forsaken group," Jongho interjects. "I don't like that."

"That's what we are, no matter how hard you try to deny it," the leader says as he stands up, intending to leave the discussion group. He's had enough for today. "Did you forget why we're here in the first place? Nobody cares about this damn team; our lives from the start are bound to be doomed anyway. I'm sorry because I'm really trying to be a leader right now. I'm trying so hard but nobody seems to appreciate that." He leaves them, purposely stomping his feet on the vinyl flooring to make sure the whole house can hear. He enters his bedroom, slamming the door as he does so.

"Kim Hongjoong!" Yunho calls out, but only once to his closed bedroom door before he goes the opposite way, stepping into his own bedroom and closing the door. Although he does it slowly, the rest of the occupants feel the tension between them, as if there is something that's waiting to explode. They have altercations here and there but it has never been so intense like this, and they would never have thought that a day would come that they would see Yunho get mad. He has always been the bright person of the group, not even once showing how mad he is, especially when Hwayoung is around.

Byul drowns in the palpable silence, unsure of what she's supposed to feel. They are arguing because of her, yet it's not her fault in the first place to be involved in the mess. She doesn't know what the others think about her, as they seem to be fighting with the voices inside their heads, debating on what they should do with her, now that even their leader has decided to storm away from the discussion. At least they're not asking her to leave, although they don't look too eager to keep her around. Only Yeosang offers her a weak smile, but nothing else.

"We're really sorry about whatever they said or did. Yunho is quite... protective of Hwayoung and it's hard for him to let anyone close to her, especially if it's a woman," San says. "He's fidgety even when Hwayoung shows that she's comfortable with a female teacher at her kindergarten."

"It's... fine," she says, because that's the only thing she can say. If she says it's not, what else can be done anyway? "So he's Yunho, your leader's a Kim Hongjoong and you're Kang Yeosang." She feels a tug at her lips as she clumsily gestures to them.

San picks this up and he gives a dimpled smile to her, "I'm Choi San, this is Choi Jongho, Song Mingi, Jung Wooyoung. We're all just a bunch of misfits gathered in a group, stuck doing this job. Observed by the higher-ups, trying to pay our debts."

"You borrowed money from them and you have to pay them back by doing this job?"

Wooyoung chuckles as he hears this, the innocent way of h

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Magbuull5245 #1
Chapter 70: By far the best book I have read. Laughing, crying, deep thinking. Just amazing!
jeongsclown
#2
Chapter 3: LMFAO THEY'RE SO CHAOTIC I LOVE IT
Manna-chan #3
Chapter 70: This story is amazing! You are so talented, the flow of the story, the way you managed to tell about all of them without it seeming forced or weird. I love it, thank you for making me smile, cry, smile again and cry happy tears at the end. Thank you for sharing this story with us <'333
WiltedStar
#4
Chapter 1: You're such a great writer.
Jade_Flower #5
Chapter 70: Loved it!!
TaeTae_wife
#6
Chapter 70: I so love your story! It's the fist Ateez story that I read and it's WOW!
Congratulations!!!! <3
MsPinKai
#7
Chapter 70: THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME SHED HAPPY TEARS ??? this was EVERYTHING!!!! One of the best written stories & plotline ever! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Animeakume
#8
Chapter 70: prepared my heart for a tragic ending but tHANK GOD ??? shed happy tears instead but it’s all worth it

i love this whole story so much! defs one of my go tos for rereading <3 thank you so much for this amazing story
Animeakume
#9
Chapter 57: i cracked and bawled my eyes out when yunho and byul repeated that they said back then as trainees ??? the whole “Dont you wish everything here is an illusion” “us, being here?” “No you idiot” back and forth conversation ohmyheart
MsPinKai
#10
Chapter 51: just when I was already believing that she 's not eunbi.......OH. MY. GOD.