bloodline. ateez x reader

|9| betrayal in all its glory

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Hongjoong trusted Seonghwa. With his life.

The eldest was always there for him- whether it was guidance or comfort Seonghwa was a prominent figure of stability in his life. They were always on the same page and Seonghwa would never question Hongjoong's ability to lead them. they understood each other.

When Hwa told him he wasn't going to join them on their Run, he didn't suspect anything weird. Seonghwa could go longer without hurting people than the others could anyways, so it wasn't unusual.

This betrayal was unexpected, to say the least.

Hongjoong watched his boots stomp against the damp green earth, Wooyoung and San walking next to him. Mingi was somewhere behind them while the rest of the group traveled West to look for different victims. Mingi and San had their bodies drenched in blood due to their careless killing- as always. Wooyoung's hands had it soaked up to his wrists, while Hongjoong was relatively clean. A miracle.

It had been about an hour since the sun came up, the boys were tired and ready to get out of the bloodstained clothes. Hongjoong knew something was wrong when Wooyoung abruptly told everyone to stop moving. "Stop," He blurted suddenly and held out his hands, causing the footsteps and chatter around him to cease. He closed his eyes and focused his hearing, trying to block out the sounds of river water and birds chirping early in the morning.

Wooyoung opened his eyes and looked around, sharp eyes searching every leaf on the trees and every curve of the hills around them. He heard a rustle on his left and his head snapped in that direction, only to be met by an eery silence afterward.

"What's wrong?" Asked Hongjoong after a few moments of silence. The onyx-haired boy blinked, his head snapping back towardshis group, who qwew sending him worried glances.

He hesitated. "Nothing, but... the river's that way if you wanna rinse off." He told San and Mingi, leading the taller males to eagerly move in that direction.

As thrilling as it feels to have warm blood coating your skin after a kill, it dries after a while, which turns it sticky and uncomfortable. San, the most bloodthirsty out of them all, never seemed to learn his lesson when it came to this.

Wooyoung and Hongjoong followed them from behind and the leader bumped his arm against Wooyoung's. He knew the dark-haired male felt conflicted about something.

"I just thought I heard something, that's all." He muttered, his hands in his pockets as he approached the river. They all rinsed themselves off in the cool water, whether that meant wiping their hands or splashing Mingi in the face was up to you.

Not a half-hour later they returned to the warehouse and Seonghwa was nowhere to be seen. Which was not suspicious at all until Wooyoung went up to Hongjoong, wide-eyed. "You might wanna check up on him." He muttered.

Hongjoong felt his nerves spike and he glanced at Wooyoung, raising a brow quizzingly. When he received no further elaboration from the boy he turned and went downstairs, where their captive and guard is.

It was dark, there was no light whatsoever in the eerie basement. He paused his steps to listen, to try to catch any sort of sound. Seonghwa should be here with you, but it was too quiet. Once he got to the bottom of the steps he started towards the middle of the room where the lightbulb was. He hurriedly turned on the switch, the pit of his stomach falling even more with suspense.

But Hwa was right there. Sitting in the middle of the room, on his knees, looking at the empty spot in front of him.

"Hwa," Hongjoong said, his voice strong. "Where is she?"