“Sorry I’m kinda tired,” Sehun apologizes as he yawns. The boy sits opposite of him on a couch in the visiting area.

“It’s okay, Sehun.”

He sighs and pushes his hair out of his face. “My boss has me working hard lately.” 

Taemin smiles, watching the boy carefully. “You’ve been working hard this past week...are you guys planning things?”

“I can’t really say,” he admits. Sehun glances at the TV as soon as it’s turned out, noticing it’s to the news channel. “How’re you? Are you excited to get out?”

His friend nods. “I...feel pretty nervous still.”

“Hey, it’s okay. My brother and I are gonna help you move,” the boy says. “And whatever else you...need,” he trails off when he looks to the tv. He furrows his brows and slowly stands. On the screen, it shows Tamein and his old camp. “Tae,” he motions. It causes the boy to look, standing as well now. The two boys approach to listen.

“Who has been known to own several conversion therapy camps has been found brutally murdered in his home around six in the morning, where his maid had found him. His neighbors claim to have seen no one suspicious. As of now, there are no suspects. The police are currently unsure if it’s connected to the fires that started in the camps around the same time. The flames had erupted around two-thirty last night, killing only staff members.”

“Oh my god,” he gasps. “That’s...it’s…”

“Our old camp,” Taemin finishes, seeming just as shocked. Sehun starts to think back on his conversation with Suho and the look in his eyes. He shakes his head and goes back to the couch.

“Let’s forget about it,” Sehun offers. “So...you’re gonna leave in a few days, right? You got any plans?”

His friend smiles. “I do, actually. They have this program that helps people after they’re released find a job.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Sehun says. “Any places catch your attention yet?”

“Yeah, they have a spot open at a really cool movie theater. In camp, we used to talk about movies a lot, remember?”

He grins and nods. “I do, yeah. Does this mean I get a discount?”

Taemin snorts as he brings his knees up to his chest and fiddles with the hem of his pant leg. “Maybe after a couple of weeks.”

“Cool,” he smiles. “My boyfriend wants to meet you.”

“He...he does?” Taemin asks. “The...big scary gang leader?”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Sehun waves his hand. “You don’t have to be scared of him, okay? He knows you mean a lot to me.”

“Yeah, but to meet a real-life one...I’ve seen plenty of mobster and gangster movies…”

“Honesty? We’re...kind of different,” Sehun admits. “We’re actually like a family. I really...I found my place with them, you know?”

“Really? You all are very close?”

“Very. You’re pretty much protected by them now, by us.”

“That’s how it works...?” His friend sighs. “But…we’ve barely…”

“Look, Tae. I know. But I...I already lost my dad. It’d kill me if I lost anyone else, even if we were recently reconnected.”

“Wow,” Taemin smiles. “Is...Kai like that too?”

“I’m a hundred percent sure,” he glances back at the news, which is still talking about the fires. He stares at his old camp burns. Flicking, roaring flames and smoke. “He’d do just about anything for us…” Tomorrow, it’s their attack on the hotel. “Ah, I have to go now,” he says as soon as there’s a vibration in his pocket. He stands and pulls on his jacket. 

“I know I get out in a few days, I’ll...see you then?” Taemin says, also standing. 

Sehun’s not sure how tomorrow is going to go down. He may die, to be honest. His chest tightens at that but he tries not to show it. Clearing his throat, he wraps his arms around his friend tightly. He forces a laugh. After pulling back, his friend has a big grin on his face; seemingly excited for the first time in a while. “See you then,” he waves before making his way about the building and toward Kai’s car. Sehun wishes he could have promised that he'd be back. With all of his ing fiber, he did. But he just couldn’t lie to his friend like that.

As soon as he approaches, he barely looks at his boyfriend. “You ok?” Sehun shakes his head slowly but remains silent. “Are you...nervous about tomorrow?”

“Yes...”

Kai goes quiet as well for a few minutes before reaching over and tightly grabbing the boy’s hand. Sehun looks up at him, relaxed by the lazy smile he’s given. “Hey, we’ll be okay. Tomorrow will come and the next day, I’ll take you to the movies.”

“Kai, w-we’re in public…”

“Whatever,” His boyfriend shrugs. “Look, Sehun. I want to admit something-”

“You murdered that guy for me…” Sehun whispers.

“What?”

Sehun faces Kai fully now. “You killed that guy for me. You know...the one who owned the camps. When I was visiting Taemin, I...we saw it on the news,” He speaks quietly. “They said he was brutally murdered. You did that for me, didn’t you?”

Kai lets out a sigh. “Is that a weird declaration of love?”

Sehun’s eyes widen. “L-love?”

“Well...I haven’t really uh…” He laughs nervously. “I’ve never really known the right way to show affection.”

“So you thought burning the camp that tormented me and murdering its owner would be it?”

“Part of it,” Kai shrugs. “Tomorrow,” Wrapping his other arm around the boy’s waist and pulling him so close their nose touched. After staring into Sehun’s eyes for a moment, he slowly leans into his ear. “I’m gonna give you Zitao’s head on a ing platter.”

Sehun must be sick or ed up. Because his heart and stomach flutter at that. Grabbing Kai’s leather jacket, he shivers. “It’s...kinda hot to have someone threaten murder for you,” He admits. 

“I should do it more often for you then,” he smirks.

“As hot as you are...it’s kind of inappropriate to flirt here.”

Kai purses his lips and lets go of Sehun, pulling out his keys. “You’re right. Let’s go to the warehouse so you can show me how much you appreciate my murderous gesture.”

Sehun rolls his eyes but grins regardless, getting into the driver’s seat now. “You’re an .” But the gang leader already knows he’s about to be VERY appreciated.

Not even the gentle bumping of Lay’s tank soothe Sehun as they drive; his heart beating fast as he constantly checks to make sure his guns and knives are ready or properly holstered. Regardless of the fact that he spent the previous night lovemaking, his stomach clenches. He looks over at Suho and Kai, their expressions almost blank. His step-brother always has a smile or some other expression on; but not now. He seems completely focused. All of them do. He glances out the back, at the car following them. The rest of the gang are being transported by a van driven by Xiumin, except for Chanyeol, Krystal, and Amber. The two snipers had come early, finding their positions on the opposing roof. Amber and Lisa sit in a van several blocks away. 

Once they hit an intersection, Xiumin turns the van and heads in another direction, toward the front of the hotel. “Sehun.” He looks over at Kai in question. “I want you to be ready,” his leader says. “It’s not uncommon for a couple of our guys to get badly hurt in these situations.”

“Right,” Suho says. “We’re the ones who really need to make it to the top...the others are distractions.”

Sehun frowns. “You’re...expecting them to die?”

“No,” Kai quickly says. “We don’t want any of them to die. What we want to say-”

“If too many of us get hurt to the point it may be fatal, we pull out,” Lay cuts in from the driver’s seat. “Our lives are more valuable than King’s and we’ll have plenty of opportunities to get him in the future.”

Sehun looks at the floor as he slowly nods. For some reason, he doesn’t feel as worried as he should. Beyond a slightly upset stomach, he’s ok. His hands don’t shake, he feels confident. He smiles weakly when Kai quickly kisses him on his lips. Right when he pulls away, Lay stops Tank. Kai pushes the door open and hops out. Suho after him, and lastly Sehun. They all back up as their driver parks the car horizontally to block the entrance of the alley. As soon as Lay gets out of his car, all their guns are pulled out, making their way to a back door and pressing their backs to the wall.

“Kai,” Amber calls out from the mics in their ears. “King is on the top floor with the Sovereign. They don’t know you’re here yet but...it’s probably going to change with the explosion.”

Kai nods. “What're they doing?”

“Sitting on a couch. They’re talking about merging businesses.”

Their lead nods as he raises his gun. “Baekhyun, are you ready?”

“The bombs are planted, boss,” Baekhyun confirms. “Give us the word and fireworks are ready to blow.”

Kai glances around at the other boys, nodding again when they do. “Go!”

A sudden, loud explosion erupts and fills the air, causing screams nearby to ensure. Using the moment of shock and loud noise, Lay kicks the door open and runs in. Suho follows him but Kai forces Sehun to go next. He can already hear gunshots ringing from the front of the hotel, chaos quickly spreading. He’d normally only go for legs and arms but not today. Today’s different. Today, he aims to kill. While the three other men shoot most of them down, he does manage to get a few in himself. They make their way through the halls, making easy work of the men. Some belong to Sovereign, some King. He glances over to the lobby, noticing the other boys fighting. A few things he notices. One, how quickly everyone seems to move. He’s not sure why but it does surprise him. 

Sehun moves in time to dodge a knife thrown at him, plunging into the wall beside him. Kai 

Suho takes the lead this time and leads them up the stairs quickly. When one of Sovereign's men tries to sneak on him, his step-brother grabs and twists the man’s hand, the sound of cracking indicating some broken bones. Lay kicks one of them before shooting him, letting Suho take care of the ones with broken fingers. “Sehun!” Suho shouts and grabs his brother’s arm, pushing him just as the sound of a gun rings. He grunts as he slams his back against a wall. He groans and rubs his back. When he notices a man approaching Suho quickly, he glances at the other. Panic sets in when seeing them distracted. Sehun quickly pulls out his knife and pushes himself off the floor. He screams, launching himself toward the man’s back. Sehun brings the blade up, roughly sliding it across the attacker’s throat. Warm blood spills onto his hand and knife before the body slumps to the floor. He pants and stares with wide eyes. “I…!”

Suho grabs Sehun and pulls tightly. “You saved my life, okay? Think about it later,” when the boy still looks hesitant, he grabs the back of his neck. “Sehun, listen to me,” he flinches at his brother’s harsh tone. “You need to get the hell over it! Yes, you just killed someone but you’ve done it before. And you’ll do it again, you HAVE to,” Junmyeon says. “I need to know you can do this, Sehun. I need to know that if Kai wants you to shoot King or Zitao in the ing head without god damn blinking, you’ll do it.” He states into Sehun’s eyes. “If you’re ordered to do it, you’re going to grab that gun from your belt and pull that ing trigger. No hesitations got it?!” Sehun opens his mouth to say something, his mouth too dry. He closes it and nods. “I need to know you got this!”

“I…” Sehun takes a deep breath grabbing his hand to try and stop trembling. “I got this…”

“You what?!” Suho snaps, causing him to jump.

“I got this!” He shouts back and his brother nods, letting him go.

“Remember,” he motions to Sehun’s gun. “No hesitation.”

“No hesitation,” Sehun repeats. Seemingly happy with that, Suho and the two other boys turn back and lead up the stairs. He glances back as two more members catch up. Baekhyun and D.O. He knows his mentor has a thing for never getting dirty. But in the middle of a bloody battle like this, Sehun would assume he’d get something on him; like Baekhyun does. But not even a drop of blood managed to land. 

“Report,” Kai orders.

“We’ve occupied the lobby but we still have more sections to clear out,” Baekhyun reports obediently. “Chen has been shot.”

“Krystal is tending to him, Chanyeol is going with Xiumin to clear out the others,” D.O continues.

“Right,” Kai sighs. “He probably won’t fight his dad.”

“Understandable,” Baekhyun nods.

“But weak,” D.O argues. “He should be the one to kill him.”

Kai nods and motions to them. They quickly make their way back down the stairs, returning to the lobby. With a flick of his hands and a look, they begin ascending the stairs; toward the top floor. As soon as they reach it, however, they stop. It’s extremely quiet here. It shouldn't be. “I don’t see them in the room anymore, Kai,” Amber calls out from the mic.

“Right,” Lay nods. “Let’s keep an eye out.”

“Lay, check the room on the left, Suho, you go right,” the leader says. “Sehun, you’re with me; we’re going to check their room.” Sehun nods before they head down the hall, as quietly as possible. The other boys separate and now search. 

They stop at the door of King’s suite, stopping to put his ear to the door. When given the signal, Sehun makes his way up to the door and raises his guns. He takes a deep breath as he prepares himself. When deciding he’s ready, Sehun slowly opens the door and steps inside. He grunts when something suddenly hits his head, causing him to stumble backward. When trying to get his bearings, he brings his arm up in time to protect against a knife. Pain erupts in his forearm as it slashes in deeply. Sehun can’t hear Suho, Lay, or Kai but he can hear the sound of fighting. 

That’s when he notices his attacker. Sovereign. Sehun glares at him before kicking the Chinese man square in the chest, pushing him back. 

“Sehun,” The Sovereign speaks in Chinese, that malicious grin on his face. “I truly had hoped it’d be you.”

“Shut up and fight me!” Sehun spits, switching to the same languages. Zitao slowly smiles as he brings his hands up. When slashing forward with his own knife, the man twirls and slams an elbow hard into Sehun’s arm. He cries out and drops it, but manages to dodge another blow. 

The Chinese man chuckles when Baekhyun jumps in front of his brother. “Deal with me, you ing coward,” he hisses. Sehun doesn’t recall seeing him rejoin them but he assumes he had gotten worried and came up. His best friend actually manages to keep up with the man fairly well. His arms blur as he blocks and lands his own blows to the man. Sovereign backs up and twirls off the floor, spinning and almost landing a kick to Baekhyun's head. But he ducks and flattens his hand into an open palm, bringing it up against the man’s leg harshly. Zitao gasps and lands hard before spinning and launching off the floor. 

“Very petite and fast,” The man groans but quickly gets back into stance. Baekhyun raises his fists for balance before he steps forward, launching a series of short and long kicks. Muay Thai, he thinks. As impressive as his friend is, Zitao seems to overpower him regardless; probably with more experience; landing a practically hard blow to his friend’s head. His best friend lets out a gasp as he falls hard against a wall and lands on to the floor. Baekhyun's arms tremble as he tries to push himself and stand up, but it fails and he falls back; losing consciousness. That's what angers Sehun. He doesn't care if he gets hurt, but hurting his best friend is going too far.

“You piece of !” Sehun growls and grabs his knife, raising it in a defensive stance. He steps back when Tao kicks at him, his foot almost kicking his hand. He takes the opportunity to slash, cutting through his suit and into his flesh. Though, he does more dodging than actually landing any more hits himself. So preoccupied, Sehun doesn’t notice when the man spins close. He grabs his head and slams it hard against the wall. He puts his hands up against it and groans, staring at the hole his head made. He crouches in time for another hit but feels his head slam back against when Tao uses his knee. He rolls onto his side, putting a hand up to his face. Shaking his head, he glances over at Kai. He seems to be fighting some other men with Lay and Baekhyun lies motionless nearby. A practically close gunshot makes him blink a few times. That’s when he finally notices his brother. Laying against a wall, blood-smeared behind him and in his stomach; he had been shot. “S-Suho…” Sehun reaches for his knife and glances back up again. His vision goes black for a moment when a fist connects to the side of his face. Right after letting out a soft moan, the Chinese man once again hits him. Hard. Hard enough to make him immediately lose consciousness.