Empire | ATEEZ

035

My hands were shaking by the time we made it to the garage and Jeongin pushed past the door, a small sound of excitement escaping his lips at the sight of the car we would be taking, stealing; painfully unaware of the gun in my hands as I raised it to his head.

It was only as the click of the weapon I had taken from Hongjoong's office cut through the air that he froze, slowly turning back toward me, "What-" he began, but his words faltered as his eyes widened, taking a step backwards.

"Give me your hand," I said, fishing out the handcuffs I had been hiding at which he frowned, but he neither moved nor said anything, seemingly surprised by the fact that I had the nerve to even ask.

I placed my finger on the trigger and clenched my teeth, feeling my jaw go taut, "Your hands, Jeongin."

"Can you even drive?" he asked instead, narrowing his eyes at me as he crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the handcuffs in my hands as if he wasn't even phazed by the weapon I had aimed directly at him.

"If I wanted to get killed, I would have let them shoot me. I don't want to be in a car accident, I was planning on going out in some cool way-"

"The question is not wether or not I can drive. I will drive and you will get in that car because I tell you to, and you will put these on because I tell you to because that is the only way you're going to get to that gala unless you want to stay locked up here."

"Half of my ticket is the tattoo on my back. It's enough to get me in, but what about you? If you stay here, you'll be in Hongjoong's hands, at his mercy, and I can assure you that he's not half as generous as I am."

At first, Jeongin didn't move a muscle, simply holding returning my glare with a look of scepticism and defiance that made me nervous. I hadn't actually been planning on using the gun.

"I swore to myself, to you, that I would make sure that you wouldn't get hurt, so stop being a baby about it and let me put these on you. I need to have a word with Chan and we're wasting precious time right now.

And, to my relief, after what seemed like minutes of quiet and intimidating nonverbal aguing as he simply stared at me and I stared right back, he sighed, reaching out his hands to me as he said, "A valid argument."

〄

The car ride was uncomfortable to say the least, and the silence had only grown increasingly suffocating the more time passed as the man in the seat next to me, handcuffed and sporting a frown so deep it almost worried me, had refused to speak or accept any of my apologies.

I had parked the car outside of the enormous building where the gala was supposed to be held, too afraid to go out, and had turned off the engine as I sat completely still in my seat, debating on whether or not this whole idea had actually been the biggest mistake of my life.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you," Jeongin mumbled, picking at one of the handcuffs as he pouted a little.

I stopped thrumming my fingers against the steeling wheel and turned my attention to my obviously upset hostage, resisting the urge to roll my eyes as I said, "Those are big words for someone whose group tried to kidnap, threaten, wound, and even kill me on several occasions."

I was about to say something else, feeling a need to distract myself from the fact that, despite having planned this for months, despite it being now or never, I was unable to get out of the car.

But before I got the chance to do so, I visibly flinched as a face appeared on the other side of the window at my side, a young man offering me a small smile as he gestured for me to roll it down. Still, I hesitated.