The world was crumbling, losing color and light.
“Chimera has Minho?” Jisung finally managed to get his voice working. The floor under his feet dipped and swayed, and Hyunjin steadied him.
Jeongin nodded regretfully. “Jaya only just found out herself. She told us about ten minutes ago.”
Jisung’s maimed hands drew into his vision, and he wanted to vomit. Hyeon is going to destroy him completely. “We have to get him out of there.”
Jeongin immediately shook his head. “We can’t.”
Jisung was going to pass out. “What do you mean? You got me out, can’t we do that for Minho too? Jaya can pull some strings, something.“
“You were in more accessible holding, and we had the element of surprise on our side. Minho is in Hyeon’s office, which is basically his personal torture chamber. No one can get into that area except for Hyeon. Jaya has no power, and we don’t know the layout of the area.”
Jisung wanted to scream, cry, punch someone, and tear his hair out all at once, but everything inside him felt frozen. “No. No, I can’t abandon him just like that. I can’t. I won’t.”
Hyunjin gave him a leveling look. “So what, you’re going to storm Chimera by yourself?”
“If I have to, that’s exactly what I’ll do!” Jisung quickly reeled himself back. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t scream at you like that.”
“It’s okay,” Hyunjin soothed, rubbing his back. “You’re scared, we get it. I’d lose it if Jeongin was still there. But we need to step back and make sure we don’t get ourselves killed. We’re no good at rescuing someone if we’re dead.”
Jisung closed his eyes and took a deep breath, steadying himself. Hyunjin was right. Now was not the time to lose his head. At least all the way. He was already willing to go crazy if necessary.
That thought made him pause. Crazy. Going crazy. I called Minho crazy for standing up to Chimera. I need to be crazy to help him out of there.
Jeongin raised an eyebrow. “Something just shifted, are you okay?”
Jisung sat up, determination set deep in his bones. “Have you talked to Nightfield yet?”
“Not yet. Want me to lend you a phone?” Hyunjin asked, already taking his phone out.
“Yes, thank you.” Jisung took the offered device and headed for the balcony. “Give me one minute. I’ll keep you updated.” He stepped outside and dialed Chan’s emergency number, grateful to have remembered it. He held his breath as it rang.
“Chan.”
“It’s Jisung. We’ve got some work to do.”
⧫⧫⧫
To step through Nightfield’s front doors was something strange, yet comforting to Jisung, and he had to take a deep breath to keep himself in check. From the lavish lobby to the polished stairs and garish decor, nothing had changed, as if he’d never left.
He didn’t have long to admire the extravagant interior before he was tackled and crushed in Changbin’s massive arms. He let out a small, relieved laugh as he returned his best friend’s embrace.
“You’re alive! You’re okay! I cried when Chan told me you were safe, like full crocodile tears,” Changbin rambled all at once, all while robbing Jisung’s lungs of air.
“Don’t talk about crying or I’ll end up crying and we’ll both be a mess,” Jisung warned, chuckling as he pulled back.
Changbin’s eyes darkened upon seeing Jisung’s hands. “When do I get to kill the bastards that did this to you?”
“As soon as possible, if I have anything to say about it.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Chan said, approaching the group. He sent a friendly smile toward Hyunjin and Jeongin and stuck his hand out. “Welcome to Nightfield, I’m Bang Chan.”
“Jeongin shook his hand. “Thank you. I’m Yang Jeongin, this is my partner, Hwang Hyunjin.”
Chan dipped his head as he shook Hyunjin’s hand as well. “I can’t thank you enough for getting Jisung to safety. It means more than you will ever know.”
Changbin stepped forward. “If I can ever do anything to repay you, let me know.”
Chan set his arm around Jisung’s shoulders and gently pulled him away as Changbin began chatting with the other two. “There’s something I need to tell you, but I didn’t want to say anything over the phone.”
Jisung’s brow furrowed in concern. “What is it?”
“We found Minho’s underboss, Seungmin.”
Jisung’s heart sank. “It was too late.”
“If we found him any later, it would have been. We managed to revive him for a minute, and in the few seconds he was awake he told us about this doctor, Soo?”
“Soo! Yes, she’s amazing.”
Chan smiled. “I know she is. Seungmin is recovering really well thanks to her. He’s upstairs in that room you never used. Go see him, we’ll get Hyunjin and Jeongin settled and reconvene in the meeting room.”
The rain was back, thawing some of the snow that’d covered Jisung last night. He threw his arms around his leader. “Thank you.”
Chan chuckled. “You never have a need to thank me, Ji.”
“Hey, you raised me to be polite.”
“Stop acting like I’m your dad.”
“Never.” Jisung ran up the stairs, eager to see Seungmin alive and well so he could replace the awful image of the underboss laying limp against a destroyed car.
Jisung threw the bedroom door open and launched himself onto the bed, throwing his arms around Seungmin, making sure to be gentle. “You lucky son of a bitch,” he breathed.
Seungmin groaned, lightly pushing at Jisung. “Ew, get off me, I heavily protest hugs.”
“Shut up and let me hug you. You died in front of my eyes, I have the right to hug you for at least another thirty seconds.”
A deep laugh suddenly sounded from behind him, and he turned his head to see Felix sitting in a chair beside the bed. He hadn’t even noticed the other underboss.
Jisung carefully pushed himself up. “Oh, hi Felix, I didn’t realize you were in here. Wait, why are you in here?”
Felix pointedly held up a clipboard. “Underboss things. Also Seungmin is now my best friend.”
“How would Chan feel if he heard you say that?” Jisung teased, giving Felix a look of mock disappointment.
Seungmin shrugged. “He’d understand. I mean look at me, I’m awesome.”
Felix set the clipboard down and leaned forward. “I don’t know if you’re aware of how much time has actually passed since Chimera pinned you down.” Jisung shook his head. “Well, it’s been about two weeks.”
Jisung’s mouth dropped. “No way, it’s been like three days, hasn’t it?”
Seungmin told me you were drugged when Chimera took you, so I’m sure you were out of it for a few days, at least. If not more.”
That did make sense. He couldn’t be sure how much time had passed after he blacked out from Hyeon’s lovely treatment either, so the fact that several days had passed wasn’t all that crazy.
Jisung’s mood dropped and he turned back to Seungmin. “They have Minho.”
Seungmin nodded, his eyes lowered in sadness or regret, Jisung wasn’t sure. “Chan told me this morning. After all this time and all the precautions we took, they still managed to get to him. I failed both you and Minho.”
“No, you haven’t failed anyone. You literally gave your life to try and save me when we were cornered. And you’re the reason Minho has managed to stay afloat. He told me that himself.”
“But-“
“Chimera has been closing in on us, it was only a matter of time before they set a trap we couldn’t avoid.”
Seungmin grabbed Jisung’s hands and held them up. “What the hell is wrong with those people?”
Jisung swallowed hard. “See, don’t get upset at yourself. Get angry at the people that have haunted Minho’s every step, the ones that have torn so many lives apart.”
Seungmin’s eyes hardened. “Of course I’m angry with them.”
“Good. Stay angry, cause we’re going to finish what Minho started. He needs our help, Seungmin. Now more than ever.”
A spark ignited in the underboss’ eyes. “You and Minho are meant for each other. You’re both crazy as hell. I can’t really get out of bed, but I’ll do everything I can.”
“That’s what I’m for,” Felix spoke up with a smile. “I’m Seungmin’s legs for a little while.”
Jisung felt a renewed wave of relief wash through him. “Can I hug you again?”
Seungmin released a very long and dramatic sigh before holding his arms out. “Fine, but why?”
“I’m just glad you’re alive,” Jisung said, hugging Seungmin once again.Â
As they pulled back, Seungmin gripped Jisung’s hands, looking him in the eye with a lazy grin. “Let the war begin.”
⧫⧫⧫
“Minho,” a distant voice whispered. “Minho, open your eyes, come on.” A cool hand gently patted his cheek. “Open your eyes, it’s me, Eui.”
Minho’s eyes swam as he forced them open. They couldn’t focus beyond the weak light that filtered through, and he blinked several times as a groan escaped his throat.
“That’s it, but you’ve gotta stay quiet, okay?” Something metallic and cold touched his lips. “It’s water, drink it slowly,” Eui whispered. When he couldn’t seem to lift his head, she carefully tipped his chin up, and cold refreshing water flowed into his mouth.
That seemed to clear Minho’s head just a little, but his eyes still wouldn’t cooperate, so he kept them closed. “What happened?” His words slurred together. “Where am I?”
“You’ve been in Hyeon’s office for two days. I only managed to get in here because I offered to keep an eye on you while Hyeon leaves the compound.”
“But no one is allowed here.”
“I guess policies change when one prisoner is supposed to be kept here indefinitely.”
Minho sort of became aware that he was sitting, but his numb arms were chained to the wall on each side of his head, giving him no room to move. “How bad is it?”
Something cool and wet began gently wiping his face as Eui began cleaning him up. “How bad is what?”
His eyes opened slightly. “The damage to my body.”
Eui went quiet for a long moment. “It’s hard to say. Also I’m not a doctor.”
Minho pushed out a wry laugh, which hurt a little. “You’re already a great employee, I think you’re well on your way to a promotion.”
“So once I’m done washing your face, I’ll be your vice president?”
“That’s not how the mafia works.”
“Well whatever a vice president is in the mafia.”
“We’ll see how well you do first, how’s that?”
Something beeped in the distance, and Eui shot to her feet. “I can only help you so much, but I’ll try to make things at least a little more comfortable.”
“Watch your back, Eui.”
As she took her place next to the door, another guard entered. “Where’s your partner?” he asked suspiciously.
“You’re replacing him, his shift ended. Or are you not his replacement?”
“I’m checking in, I’m your supervisor now. So you best respect me, young lady.”
“Don’t ‘young lady’ me, and we’ll get along just fine.”
The man’s eyes narrowed, but he eventually shook his head. “I guess you’ve got enough fire to keep on eye on this machine. Sit tight, I’ll find a replacement for your partner.”
The moment he was gone, Eui was back in front of Minho, crouching next to him as she continued wiping some of the grime from his skin with the small cloth she’d shoved in her pocket.
“Do I want to know what you did to make Hyeon hate you so much?”
“Maybe not. But it’s a long story that I’ll have to share when we’re no longer in this… predicament.” Minho coughed, and he winced at the strange ache that echoed through his body with the action.
Eui immediately offered more of the water from her canteen, and Minho accepted it gratefully. “I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.”
“You’re doing what you can, and that’s all that matters. It’s good to have someone on my side in this hell hole.”
Eui went quiet for a moment. “How do you plan on getting out?”
Minho lightly shook his head. “I don’t have a plan. We either need a miracle, or some outside help.”
“Then we’re in deep shit.”
“Basically. But holding onto hope. Jisung will come for me. I know he will.” Minho’s eyes drifted close as he spoke, his exhausted body telling him to shut down. His lips twitched in a near smile as he pictured his love somewhere safe. “He’ll be here. Eventually.”
“Who’s Jisung?” Eui asked quietly, still cleaning his skin.
“He’s my light in this darkened world. He’s my comfort, my hope. My love. And I know he’ll come for me.”
“That’s beautiful,” Eui whispered.
“He is.”
⧫⧫⧫
Jisung bolted down the smoky corridor, ignoring the burning in his lungs as he made for the metal door up ahead. Changbin had given him an opening, and he only had one chance to take it.
He broke the door down, gun at the ready as he burst into the holding cell. His heart leapt when he saw Minho standing at the center of the room, his arms chained above him.
“Minho, I’m here!” Jisung ran forward, taking Minho’s face in his hands. “Wake up, it’s me, I’m here to get you out.”
Minho’s eyes flickered open as Jisung picked at the cuffs locking his wrists to the chains hanging down.
Jisung backed toward the door. “Come on, we can make it out.”
Minho stood there, his eyes cold as he stared at Jisung like he was a stranger.
“Minho?”
“Oh, he doesn’t know that name.”
A chill raced up Jisung’s spine when Hyeon stepped out of the shadows, a wide grin stretching his pale face. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, I did to him what I did to you. I took a large part of his memory. He’d nothing more than a machine called ML-32 that only obeys me.”
Jisung’s heart went cold. “No,” he whispered.
“ML-32, terminate him.”
Minho lunged at him.
Jisung jolted upright, his heart pounding in his ears as he came to. The desk had left a line etched into his cheek from where he’d fallen asleep, and he rubbed at it as he calmed himself down. It was a dream.
A hand rubbed his back. “Jisung, are you okay?” Felix’s deep voice came from beside him.
“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. I just fell asleep on accident.” Jisung closed the laptop he’d been using.
Felix didn’t seem convinced, but he sank into the chair beside him. “You’ve been in here all day, I think you need to get some proper rest.”
Jisung nodded, stretching his sore body as he did. “I know, I just have a hard time falling asleep, you know that.”
They’d decided as a group that the first step in taking Chimera down was to get their allies out of the way, which meant going after Solswor first. Since they began planning an attack, Jisung busied himself with researching everything there was to research regarding the mafia group. He even managed to plan a few tactics to get Solswor cornered, but it still didn’t feel like he was doing enough.
Felix gently patted his shoulder. “Come on, let’s brew you some of that tea. We still have some left over from when you left.”
That made Jisung strangely happy. “Yeah, let’s do that.”
The pair headed down to the kitchen, and Jisung realized just how late it was with how strangely quiet the estate was at the moment.
Felix offered to make the tea, and he filled Jisung in on what he and Seungmin had worked on that day as he did. Minho’s men were mostly in hiding, as per the protocol Minho had set for them in case he disappeared, but they were still in operation, and Seungmin was able to work with them to an extent. Thanks to that handle, Solswor’s location was found, and Seungmin and Felix were well on the way to mapping out their entire compound.
Chan was planning on sending Jisung and Hyunjin to do some reconnaissance within the next few days. Once they had a clear vision of their target and any weaknesses they had, Nightfield would move in and incapacitate Solswor to the best of their ability. From there, they planned on finding out what happened to Iregray.
Jisung was eager to get moving, and he was excited to be working in his old position within Nightfield, but he was going to have to be patient. And he hoped he could keep it together long enough. He knew that every wasted moment meant that Minho was under Hyeon’s chains longer, and the knowledge set an uncomfortable fire deep in his body. He wished he could swoop in like an all powerful angel to rescue Minho, but unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.
Jisung caught up with Felix for a time as they enjoyed tea together, and he felt much better after the friendly, familiar interaction. While he was staying at the cabin, it nearly felt like Minho was the only one he had, but he knew that was far from true. Seungmin and everyone in Nightfield had his back, and he’d recently made two new allies within Hyunjin and Jeongin. They were already well on their way to being good friends.
For the past several nights, Jisung talked to himself like he was talking to Minho as he got into bed, and tonight was no different.
“We’re getting closer to helping you, Minho,” Jisung said quietly, changing his clothes. “It’s been a long process. Well, it’s actually been relatively fast, but it feels like it’s taking forever. I wish I could trade places with you. I don’t remember everything I went through within Chimera, so it wouldn’t be as bad for me.
“I wish you were here with me. I want to explore my feelings with you. It isn’t fair that they broke us apart at our most vulnerable stage.”
Jisung went quiet again, crawling into bed and staring at the ceiling. “What am I doing? It’s not like you can hear me.” His throat constricted. “I really want to know all of you, Minho. I miss you, and I want to understand exactly why.”
“It’s because I’m absolutely amazing, duh,” Minho’s voice appeared in his head.Â
Jisung let himself smile a little. “Just hang on a little longer, Minho. I’ll be there soon, and I’ll take care of you like you took care of me.”
———————- If you’re worried about where this is going… don’t be :). I’m not one to drag things out so yeah. But it’s getting more exciting, yay! Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading. >-<
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