“It’s about time isn’t it?” Ken asked rhetorically as he brushed over the cool metal of the gun with the tip of his finger.

“We’ve waited long enough,” N spoke softly as he gently pulled Ken’s hand away from the gun.

“Then why are we still sitting here, simply watching it?’” Leo questioned, watching the other two interact with complete disinterest.

Ken continued to cautiously trace along each and every contour of the gun.

“So...” N started awkwardly, “Who’s going to do it?”

“I would have thought you would step forward, be the ‘hero’. I suppose you aren’t as brave as you appear to be,” Leo smirked, testing N’s temper.

“Why would something like this require bravery? It’s a menial task. I think it suits you best,” N retorted.

“Is that so? Why would that be?”

“In this dorm we have a monarchy. I am the king and you are nothing but a mindless commoner,” N stated.

“And what if regicide were to occur?” Leo countered flawlessly.

“Then we would be thrown into anarchy wouldn’t we? Every man for himself; correct?”

“But you’re the king. You would be dead, completely forgotten.”

“The king never truly dies, you should know that. This is why you are a commoner.”

“Even if you are a king, that doesn’t make you immortal, you are just a vulnerable as your people,” Leo scoffed.

“I may be physically as strong but power wise, it’s a completely different sto-“

N was interrupted when Ken cleared his throat. They both looked over him, completely shocked as he held up the gun, pointed towards Leo. He slowly shifted the gun so he then pointed it at N.

“No why don’t you both shut up before the queen kills you both?” He snarled.

N’s cocky façade instantly dropped and he smiled sweetly at Ken who scowled back at him.

“Come on Ken, put it down. It’s not necessary,” N reasoned and Ken hesitated before slowly lowered the gun, still keeping a watchful eye on both of them.

“Leo, you’re going,” Ken stated in a monotonous tone as he handed the gun to him.

Leo didn’t bother to argue against it. He didn’t want Ken to depict him as an enemy. Ken was the only one that Leo had maintained his trust in.

Leo simply nodded and took the gun from him, stuffing it into the depths of the pocket of his jacket.

“I suppose I’ll go then,” Leo murmured as he spun on his heels, heading towards the dorm door. The remaining two didn’t bother to bid him goodbye.

Leo held his jacket closer as he walked down the city roads he knew so well. Before the whole ordeal started he often took walks in the morning, watching the city and its inhabitants slowly change.  

But over the recent month he had never had the courage to face the outside world when it wasn’t absolutely necessary. He was constantly in fear of the police finding something to prove their own theories right and taking away Leo’s valued freedom.

Things used to be so peaceful. They would all huddle up together on rainy night in the living room, watching movies until dawn. Where had that all gone? These days Leo lived in constant fear of having his life taken from him at any given moment, the man he was once so close to now being his biggest threat.

He sighed heavily as his destination came closer and closer. It was the very same place they had discarded Hongbin’s body all those months ago. No matter how hard he fought against them, those images of that very night crept their way into his train of thought, bringing tears to his eyes.

He quickly brushed away the tears that were beginning to fall down his cheeks. He couldn’t afford to look weak, not anymore. These days, to him at least, the world was kill or be killed. Well, it’s the way that N liked to play, so truthfully he had no other choice.

He approached the water and stared into the water at his own reflection. He still looked the same, physically at least, but where the eye couldn’t see, he had changed so very much. He was never a malicious or violent person, he was quite passive. But the turn of events had left him no other choice. He could barely recognise himself.

He growled in frustration and kicked a small nearby rock into the water, warping his reflection as the water rippled. He began to hear sounds around him but he simply brushed them off as being part of his imagination and pulled the gun out from the his pocket.

He held in up in front of him, examining it. How could something so small destroy humanity with nothing more than a flick of the wrist? It would have been so easy to take away his own life right then, right there but he couldn’t do that. He wasn’t ready to die.  He had decided to protect Ken till his last breath, and he was going to stick to that decision, no matter what pain would be inflicted on him in return.

He held the gun above to water, ready to drop it and dispose of it once and forever. Just before he could release his hold on the grip, he felt his arms be yanked and pulled behind him. Cold metal clasping them together as the gun fell into the grass.

“Jung Taekwoon, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used in a court of law,” A gruff voice from behind him stated as he was spun around. He looked up to see a throng of police officers scattered around the area, all of their eyes on him.

“We got an anonymous call saying that you would be here,” Another officer informed him.

N… He should have seen this coming, no wonder he had been so forceful about Leo being the one to go. How could he have been so foolish?

As he was towed into the back of a police van the same words played over and over in his mind.

I’m sorry Ken, I failed to protect you.