nineteen ateez-four (ateez au)

five

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmyg-"

"Will you shut it, Mingi!"

"Shut it? I just murdered a person, Wooyoung!"

"The both of you, shut up." Hongjoong snaps, sitting atop a wooden crate with his head in his hands.

The group had headed to an abandoned warehouse just outside the city, deeming it safe enough for a few days while they carried out the first stage of their plan.

Nobody had actually expected them to go through with it though.

"Ohmygod, I just killed a man!" Mingi wept into his knees in the corner, Seonghwa rubbing his back gently.

"It's okay Mingi, he deserved it." The nurturing nature of Seonghwa soothing Mingi only a little.

"What makes us any better than them, Seonghwa?" Mingi suddenly demands. "Is it suddenly ethical to murder, when you're murdering a murderer?"

"It was pretty cool though." Wooyoung pipes up, the childish, boyish fascination overpowering the seriousness of the deed itself.

"It was." Yunho nods in agreement. "It was badass, Mingi."

"Who are you?" The man struggles pathetically in Yunho's grip, the collar of his smart business shirt tightening around his neck as he thrashes around.

"You don't even know who we are?" Hongjoong sneers. "We're the ones you've been training to kill innocent people for your selfish endeavours."

"So you're ATEEZ?" Xiao Dejun nods, understanding immediately. "So, you're going to kill me, are you?"

"Well, it says here, Mr. Xiao" San holds aloft a few sheets of paper, pointing at one of them harshly. "That you are solely responsible for deciding where to station each of us. You have decided which parts of the world we will go to kill innocent people."

"And what?" The man spits. "You don't know them, so why do you care?"

"That isn't the point!" Seonghwa explodes, Yunho having to tighten his grip, the sheer abruptness of Seonghwa's outburst making the man jump in his hold. "The point is that people like you need to be stopped, so civilians aren't murdered for stupid reasons!"

"I understand." Xiao Dejun chuckles mockingly. "And so you kids are going to make a difference are you? Look at you. You're pathetic, all of you."

"We could kill you, don't try it." Mingi growls.

"And yet, I'm still standing here, breathing-" He chokes suddenly on his words as Yunho wraps an arm around his neck, flexing his bicep ever so slighty.

"I'm sorry, you were saying?" Yunho asks.

Xiao Dejun grunts in frustration, wriggling frantically like a rat caught in a trap.

"No matter how powerful you think you kids are, you'll never make a difference. I can see it in your eyes. Not a single one of you has the balls to do it. Especially you." He stares Seonghwa down, searching the young man's eyes that sparkle with innocence. "You're the most pathetic of the lo-"

Xiao Dejun doesn't get to finish his sentence, Yunho's arm wrenched out of the way and replaced with a strong, yet trembling hand. He feels the fingers constrict around his neck, like five snakes preparing their meal. He splutters a laugh, impressed that one of them actually had the guts to go there.

But his smile falters when he feels the burning. His stomach drops to his feet when he hears the sizzling of his skin ringing in his ears.

"Don't you dare insult him" Mingi seethes, his eyes burning furiously and his grip tightening around the man's neck.