[name]

Crescent
Please Subscribe to read the full chapter

"Alexander-"

"I told you to stop calling me that, it's not Alexander. My real name is Kim Sehyoon. Detective, agent, whatever, but not Alexander. I'm sick of that name now."

Yunho puts up a hand, silencing them all. He has sent Byul and Hwayoung to the dorm, with him being invited to the 'meeting' ATEEZ are currently having with this bunch of newcomers that include Alexander, which, according to him, is not his real name. So is every action related to him, because apparently 'Alexander' was a cover. An undercover mission that went on for years.

"Fill me in again because apparently, my brain is too slow to process what you just revealed to us."

Sehyoon nods before patiently clasping his hands and sweeping his vision across the whole expanse of the cafe then to the people he came with. He stops as he looks at ATEEZ, composing himself before he starts to explain again.

"I'm a part of the special team assembled to infiltrate into criminal underworlds and conduct undercover missions that can last for years. Infiltrating into KTC is only one of the tasks that we were given with. KTC is one of the... let's say... beads in a worldwide chain of illegal recruitment of test subjects. We are considered to be a part of the authorities, but our existence is kept in the low. For us, this particular unit is focused on KTC, in which, all of you have managed to destroy in one night."

"So Alexander was a secret identity for you to be recruited into KTC?" San scratches his cheek, still not believing that this person whom they thought had betrayed them during the initial assembly of ATEEZ is a secret agent for a special team.

"Yes. Our team is called A.C.E, and my members here are all included for the investigation on KTC. This operation has started around the same time they started the research into the drug, and we-" he gestures to the other four people that came together with him, "-were absorbed into the unit as young kids, because they needed someone who's eligible to be recruited into KTC. A few has been sent before me to go undercover, but we... lost some of them due to the drug, some were missing in action while some killed. None has managed to properly infiltrate the centre to get close to the Bifidensis board members."

"Except you," Jongho offers. "You came into the training centre as Alexander, starting off just like any of us. A normal trainee, but you got the chance to get closer to the Bifidensis board members and you took it. That was why you abandoned ATEEZ to grab the chance; this was your task. To get close to the board members."

Sehyoon nods slowly, agreeing to it. "When I said I never meant to break the trust all of you had in me, I meant it. It was part of the plan because this, for years, was the first time any of us in the team had managed to become a step closer to them. I provided intel to the rest of A.C.E, and we were slowly building up a plan to take down KTC. Well, that is," he shrugs, "until all of you decided to waltz in, took down the building and killed everyone involved."

"Sorry," Seonghwa grimaces. "Guess all of our plans were woven together, huh?"

"So... we basically trashed your whole plan and the reason of existence of A.C.E?" Wooyoung asks. "Whoops."

Sehyoon snorts but he quickly brings back his face to an official-like state. "What we're saying is, thank you for your service and the information you've managed to dig in the data bank. That's a headache taken care of, but as you may know this is not something that has vanished off the face of earth just like that. It's a deep-rooted system, even deeper than what we have known in KTC. This case is about to be opened to a worldwide scale, and our team is to direct our focus to the other 'beads' in this chain."

"All those jobs we did during our stint as ATEEZ..." Hongjoong trails off.

"Are off-the-record. We considered them as your obligation for your tie towards the Bifidensis. You can start anew as normal people, and we won't let your past as ATEEZ come back for you. You can," he smiles, "start your lives again with your new family."

He particularly focuses on Seonghwa and Yunho, before nodding to the rest.

"Although you," he gestures towards Seonghwa, "tried to conceal the uncertain relationship you had with Akira, there were eyes watching. They knew you were in a relationship but I stopped them from advancing towards you, or do anything to harm your loved ones. There's a reason why I was the one who sent to do a clean-up after you 'killed' Han Byul. I requested to come, because I know that all of you are too nice to kill someone as innocent as her. In which, I found out that she used to be Lee Eunbi. That's... a turn of events that I never expected to see."

They stare down at their clasped hands, the burden being lifted off making them feel lighter, but they know that there's a hole left by what the Bifidensis did to them that can never be repaired. They have to live with the knowledge that their hands did in fact, kill.

"I understand," Sehyoon utters. "It's not something easy to digest for you and reverting to a normal life might take a long time. That's why we have a team to help you integrate back into life, in case you need any. Your documents for the continuation of your lives will be provided by us, and everything will be taken care of. You'll only be close-knit friends who happened to have the opportunity to run a cafe together."

They keep on listening to his string of words, too much to fathom.

He taps a palm on the table, "You're free from the contracts; you can do whatever you want as long as," he takes a look at them one by one, "it doesn't break the law. Oh, and I forgot to tell you this that..." he takes out his phone and reads off the details on the screen, "...Remy and Danbi? They'll be given their proper identification back, too. Go and live your lives as normal people- open up another shop, take up a job, continue your studies and whatnot. And," he chortles, "I believe that you have a lot of money to start off with. The screen of the ATM machine can't even fit in the numbers you have. They're all yours."

Sehyoon returns his gaze to Hongjoong, in which the former shrugs. "Looks like your uncle left you a lot of money and properties too. You've inherited all of it since he has no descendants. That's all I have to say, and... welcome back to society. As far as anyone is concerned, we have had no contact and all 8 of you run this cafe ever since you managed to collect money for the capital to start up this business." He shrugs, "About your headquarters, you can leave it and make it a hangout place or something. Such a shame to watch it go, since I heard you have an indoor pool, a full-equipped gym... that's a lot. I might even come here sometime to hang out," he jokes.

A.C.E stands up, looking to exit the cafe when everything is done being tied up, no leaking ends to attend to anymore.

Sehyoon is the last to leave the cafe, rocking on the balls on his feet when the rest of A.C.E are waiting outside for him. He takes one last look at them before saying, "Sorry I betrayed the trust you had when I left the team. And sorry because of whatever I did or said as Alexander."

"Guess we're equal now?" Mingi asks. "And believe me when I say, I can scream like that, even at a higher pitch. One of my many talents."

"I sure do believe that," he pauses, then in a sharp breath, "you know, talking about talents... All of yours would be a pity to watch them go to waste, so-" he takes out a card and gives them his number, "-if you'd ever think of doing more of this stuff but legally, don't hesitate and call me. We could use more brains and brawn in the team."

Hongjoong takes the card, seeing the card only bearing the title 'A.C.E', his name and number. No positions or addresses whatsoever.

"Well, we do work in secret so people have never really heard of us and we can't brag about it, but show this to the police headquarters in Utopia and they'll bring you down straight to our secret office. Not as cool as your headquarters but we have some advanced technology too. We'll be more than glad to accept you on our team, considering how you're the cream of the crop. The best of the best and we wouldn't want to miss that. Ah, I don't know when it's going to happen but I assume you're getting married to your longtime girlfriend?"

All heads turn to Seonghwa and with a proud smile, he nods. "Expect a wedding invitation for A.C.E, and I hope that you'll be able to come."

"Wait for mine too," Yunho pipes up. "I proposed to her, by the way," he addresses the rest of ATEEZ, "and she said yes."

"Really?" Wooyoung beams before he puts a dramatic finger to his eyebrow. "I knew it."

"You're the first person to say that she'd reject my proposal."

"When did I say that?" he frowns. "Heck I did not."

Sehyoon gives off a genuine laugh at their banter before waving to them. "I'll be leaving now. I hope that you'll have a better life ahead and it's ty, I must say, for whatever KTC had done, but that's why we're looking to stop it. One bead at a time." He steps outside. "Your cafe just needs a little promotion; look at how many customers came once I promoted it a bit. Take my advice and do a little renovation, yeah?"

"That was you?" Jongho scoffs before shaking his head in disbelief. "It's no wonder we were getting more customers in a day than we had in a week."

Sehyoon shrugs. "Just a little help to boost you back into business."

"Sorry for the gum that I slapped on the back of your suit that day," San stops him before he completely disappears behind the roller shutter.

"It's fine, Alexander deserved it anyway. He was an ."

---

Yeosang paces uncertainly in front of Anna's shop, the first time he decides to visit her after saying goodbye to her, rehearsing what he should say to her when she decides to open the shop. It's 7 in the morning and he has been waiting for half an hour, thinking that he'll be prepared once he's actually there, but the bravery doesn't seem to build up. In fact, he's probably looking like a creep who's waiting to prey on Ann

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter
Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
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.