41. Totalis Deditionem

 

Totalis Deditionem: "Total Surrender"

 

 

 

"I am willing to live another's life..."

 

 

Totalis deditionem can only be done with love.

 

 

"... if it would entail her presence again."

 

 

 

= = = Soundtrack: U-Kiss - Someday = = =

 

 

"Haiyah!"

 

With the last guard down on the ground, Kai immediately ran inside the medic warehouse and made his way towards the accomodation area, receiving some confused stares from the ReapedSouls nurses and paramedics as he desperately searched for Shirin's room. This has been the first time he had gone there, as this wasn't his territory, but he just couldn't stop going through the areas of the place.

 

He just needed to find her.

 

In the confusion he had while searching for her, Kai stopped walking and breathed deeply while closing his eyes.

 

He just needs to trust his heart to find her. And wherever his heart takes him, there she'll be.

 

When he opened his eyes, his feet managed a step, and another, then another one.

 

And soon enough, he found himself running again.

 

= = =

 

"Who are you?"

 

The question left my lips in a whisper as I looked at all the dead bodies scattered around my bed, with the four men who entered my room still unscathed. One man with quite the gentle features just took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat that had formed on my face. At first, I scooted away from the gesture, but when he had taken my chin into his hand and continued wiping my face... I felt like I could relax.

 

"We're colleagues. I'm Byun Baekhyun, and I'm called in the brotherhood by my first name." The one who was wiping the sweat from my face said before smiling, and in curiosity, I turned my head towards the other three who were disposing of the bodies.

 

"And who are they?"

 

"Oh, they are my co-members of the brotherhood. Their names are Park Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo who is also called D.O., and Oh Sehun. But I'll let them introduce themselves so that you'll know who is who." He said, finally finishing up on my face and sitting on the bed beside me.

 

"Are you going to hurt me?" I was about to ask, but even before I was through, he smiled again at me and shook his head.

 

"Definitely not, Miss. If you were watched over here by both Lee Taemin last night and visited by Lee Soonkyu earlier, then you must be someone important to the brotherhood." Baekhyun-sshi said before placing a hand on my shaking ones.

 

"Don't be scared. I already told you that we are coll--." He was about to say when a familiar figure appeared in front of my room's doorframe.

 

"Kai-yah--" I acknowledged him, but he immediately saw the close position of Baekhyun-sshi with me, and perhaps interpreted it as if he was going to hurt me.

 

The one I was talking to earlier was already on the ground, rotating his jaw, when I had caught Kai-yah's attention.

 

"Kai-yah, don't hurt him! He saved me!"

 

As Kai-yah's head snapped to turn in my direction, I saw relief being reflected in his face, which caused me to give him a weak smile. In his joy, Kai-yah approached me and sat on the space beside my bed where Baekhyun-sshi was earlier, taking my face into his hands and pressing his lips gently to mine. Our foreheads touched as I pulled back.

 

"I thought I won't be able to find you again." He whispered to my lips before pressing another kiss to it, and in the gesture, I found myself smiling.

 

Not long after, the other three young men had filed inside the room and helped Baekhyun-sshi stand up, their eyes widening at the other figure beside me. Their faces were tense as they tried to analyze who Kai-yah was, and in recognition, they all gasped.

 

"Yah, aren't you..." A young man, who I had suspected as Park Chanyeol, began to say but was cut off by the man who I had suspected as Do Kyungsoo.

 

"... the SkullBeaters second-in-command?"

 

"Yes, he is."

 

All of our heads turned towards the voice that confirmed everything, and saw the serious expressions of Song Seunghyun and Song Chanho who was silently behind him. The four guys had made way for the leaders of the ReapedSouls, who firmly stood at the foot of my bed, glaring at Kai-yah.

 

My knack for protecting Kai-yah immediately kicked in, and I glared at the two as well before speaking.

 

"And no one touches him." I muttered under my breath, taking hold of Kai-yah's frame and sneering at the Song Brothers. They didn't snap out of their stoic expressions nor looked anywhere else except at me, even when Taemin-sshi and Sunny-sshi entered the room again and stood apalled at the scene before them

 

"You took down ten guards in your venture here, SkullBeater, and that can be described under our brotherhood law as both trespassing and breach of territory code." Chanho-sshi flatly said, but in his voice lies a hint of anger.

 

"But I didn't hurt anyone fatally. I used no weapons in my so-called trespassing, and I only came here for a brotherhood member. These, evidently, are logical reasons for breach of territory code and are acceptable exceptions for any brotherhood law." Kai-yah said, a certain tone of defiance in his voice, and it made me look at him for a moment.

 

He carried a confident look on his face... which suddenly fell as his expression radiated sadness.

 

"Besides... I cut off all ties with the SkullBeaters, anyway."

 

Loud gasps and exclamations of "MWORAGO?!" followed this remark of Kai-yah, and even I myself was stunned. So I just silently looked, concerned, at Kai-yah's face.

 

"Neh. I cut off all ties with them, because Myungsoo Hyung was forcing me to become a secondary leader. But that would inhibit me from doing anything to find Shirin-ah. L.Joe Hyung himself told me that Hyung-ah had no plans on rescuing her, and that I couldn't take. It would kill me to be without Shirin-ah..." He continued, and he looked at me softly with tears building in his eyes. So I just ran my thumb below his eyes to wipe away the tears that were going to brim over.

 

"So, now, you're saying that the SkullBeaters are treating you as an enemy now?" Sunny-sshi asked, which made everybody look at her.

 

"Neh." Kai-yah said.

 

"Kojinma." A voice interjected.

 

In surprise, I looked at Taemin-sshi's enraged expression and tried to find out why he had said that Kai-yah was lying.

 

"The SkullBeaters won't let go of you that easily. They're desperate to have you in their side because only you can be able to weaken Shirin-ah. You can't just escape them without that Myungsoo guy doing something to harm you, or Shirin-ah..." Taemin-sshi added, his expression serious.

 

"But something DID happen, Taemin-sshi." The man who I assumed as Oh Sehun suddenly spoke up.

 

"We were just doing rounds here earlier, because Suho Hyung instructed us to do so, saying that he'd still come back from the suburbs tomorrow and he'd be unable to do it. Then suddenly, we found her and saw that there were five men inside her room. Two were pointing a gun at her, two were holding her down, and another was about to cut ." He added, and a look of shock crossed the Song Brothers' features, as well as Taemin-sshi's.

 

"Seolma..." Seungyun-sshi murmured, but I nodded in confirmation.

 

"Almost the whole brotherhood has been tasked to get to me and Shirin-ah. Just before I got here, my car collided with the car of one of the group members asked to kill me. Good thing I got out alive." Kai-yah said, and my eyes widened at his statement.

 

"But you say 'almost', so that means..." Baekhyun-sshi began, but it seems like Kai-yah understood him and answered immediately.

 

"Neh, the main researcher Kim Hyuna, with the subgroup leaders Lee Byunghun, Jo Kwangmin and Jo Youngmin supported me in my separation from the brotherhood. They'll be doing double undercover so that we'll know how the system is going back at the SkullBeaters' side, since it's been closed off to you. When the time comes, they themselves will separate from the SkullBeaters and form another brotherhood with me. But most probably, it will just be the size of a subgroup, since most of our men still side with Myungsoo Hyung. L.Joe Hyung told me that via phone while I was escaping."

 

The plan was unbelievable.

 

Hyuna Unnie... L.Joe-sshi... Kwangmin-sshi... and Youngmin-sshi...

 

They really were serious about helping Kai-yah on this one.

 

"But that plan will only take effect if you help me with it. I've never tried asking your help before. But when brother turn against brother, even the enemy is a friend. I need to have at least a members' privilege in this brotherhood, so that I could start my own and then split from you when the time is right. I will take all the work myself, so that you wouldn't have to mind me so much. Please. For the sake of me being with Shirin-ah..." Kai-yah said before doing that one thing I never expected him to do.

 

He sat up from my bed, went to where the Song Brothers were, and did a very formal bow before asking formally for permission to become a part of the ReapedSouls. Everybody was shocked at this brave move from the former second-in-command of the SkullBeaters, and silence governed the room.

 

I suddenly remembered the words I had almost unconsciously given out to Taemin-sshi and Sunny-sshi earlier, and using that remark, I've had the whole ReapedSouls leadership twirled around my finger.

 

"Recall what I said earlier to you, Sunny-sshi, Taemin-sshi. The only way you can have me back..." I said, and in continuing my sentence, both Sunny-sshi and Taemin-sshi spoke the exact words with me, except that Sunny-sshi termed Kai-yah as -sshi instead of -yah.

 

"...is if Kai-sshi/-yah asks to join the ReapedSouls."