bloodline. ateez x reader

|3| gentle giant

It was silent in the living room. There was a thickness in the air, some sort of awkward tension between the boys. Most were confused about why they took a young woman hostage with no family connection or wealth to steal. Out of all people to kidnap, she wouldn't be useful.

One of the boys sat on the corner of the large, worn-down sofa between his best friend and the armrest. His black hair seemed to swallow the light around him like he was wearing a black hole as a hat. He didn't like having her here- the thought of an outsider being so close to his only home was enough to put him on edge. You were supposed to be dead by now. He didn't know what you were capable of, even though he didn't suspect much.

Their leader was sitting on an armchair to their left, which was just as beat up as the couch itself. There was one other man, leaning against the sofa comfortably with his arms crossed.

"Where's Mingi?" Asked the black-haired boy.

"Out," Hongjoong replied and everyone reached a mutual conclusion; he went to go kill some things. Mingi often went on quests individually a couple times a week. He said that blood clears his thoughts when he needs to think, which actually ends up being very often. "He left a few hours ago. He'll most likely be back tonight."

Hongjoong peered up at him through his fading blue locks and Wooyoung nodded, satisfied with the answer.

Nobody spoke up to address the elephant in the room, even if it was the obvious reason why the meeting was called.

The "meetings" were hardly even meetings. They were like 15-minute talk sessions to fill everyone up on what was going on so Hongjoong didn't have to repeat himself to every member individually. Sometimes meetings were called for a specific reason like to plan an upcoming Run or to discuss who's making dinner that night.

But something told Wooyoung that wasn't the case this time.

Hongjoong was staring off into nothing as he let the silence fill the room. Normally they would be joking, teasing or arguing when they were all brought together like this.

But this was different.

The atmosphere was suffocatingly awkward, and every little breath felt like breathing in soup.

"Why did we keep her?" The youngest boy asked at last, his tone stale and straightforward. "What is it about her that has you hesitating?"

Hongjoong's cat-like eyes trailed to him, latching him into a stone-like gaze. Jongho would have frozen up, except he's gotten so used to seeing Hongjoong's expression like that. He uses that face when he's deep in thought, searching through what he knows to figure out what to do next.

The men stared at Hongjoong, now anticipating his reply. San was leaning into Hongjoong's words, brimming with curiosity. Yeosang leaned back into the cushions from beside San, his eyes also on his leader. Yunho stood next to them, arms crossed, staring at the ground and waiting for his words.

"We can't kill her." He said finally, determined. "We have to keep her here."

"What?" Wooyoung asked, his disgust obvious in his voice. "Why? She's an outsider."

"Because I said so," Hongjoong sent a glare his way, his impression was sweet but they could sense the underlining grim undertone. His eyes challenged Wooyoung, and the younger boy backed down. "I'm not asking you to accept her, because I know you won't. But I need you to not kill her- and protect her from each other."

"For how long? Are we going to kill her eventually?" Questioned San and Hongjoong shook his head.

"I don't know. Just not yet. Give it a few weeks-"