Rebirth; A New Age || seongjoong || ATEEZ

Chapter 8 : Losing an Innocent

Seonghwa sat on the bench in the equipment room, bent over at the waist as he tied up his boots. It must have been no later than six in the morning, the sun probably not even fully up yet and Seonghwa could definitely feel the tiredness sting behind his eyes.

He hadn't slept well at all, knowing what was about to take place today. He was lucky if he got two hours.

Seonghwa sat there alone for a few minutes, running his fingers over the ridges in his leather jacket. He knew that it would be way too hot to be wearing a jacket once the sun was set high in the sky, but the leather was tough to cut and bite, it would add an extra layer of security he knew he could need.

However he wasn't alone for long, San was the next person to walk in along with Jongho. They both looked wide awake, their eyes already bright and alert that made Seonghwa feel even worse than he was currently. Seonghwa watched them silently grab their body straps that they stored in the cubbies on the wall and attached them to their chest and thighs, sliding in knives or a pistol into the holders.

"You don't look so good," Jongho looked at him, adjusting the straps around his thigh with a harmless smile on his face.

"I didn't sleep well," Seonghwa murmured, leaning back to rest his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Did you at least eat something?" San asked with his back turned, his hair freshly gelled back as he too adjusted his weapons in a position that worked best for him.

Seonghwa just made a noise in the back of his throat for an answer instead of verbally speaking. He heard the door creak open once more, footsteps piling into the room, and Seonghwa brought his arms up to cross at his chest and he scooted down more, trying to find a comfortable position.

"He doesn't eat anything before missions," Seonghwa was able to easily distinguish the man's voice as Yunho's. "He's got a weak stomach. We don't want him throwing up all over the place when we get there."

"Yunho," Seonghwa cracked open one of his eyes, seeing Yunho looking down at him with an eyebrow cocked upward. "Please refrain from opening your mouth. Thank you."

The taller man just chuckled, waving Seonghwa off to tend to his own gear. It was clear to say that Seonghwa was not a morning person, never was, and never will be. He was lucky before when he had the luxury of coffee in the morning that would help him become more personable during most mornings. But now that coffee was simply unheard of, he found himself struggling to wake up, each day getting harder and harder.

Someone sat next to him, their shoulder pressing up against his. The body was warm, much unlike the frigid air around him, and he found himself leaning up against the body.

"You're not gonna fall asleep on me are you?"

Seonghwa jerked his head upwards, his eyebrows instantly furrowing.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, twisting his body in an unnatural way to address Wooyoung who had sat down next to him silently. He looked the younger up and down, his own attire matched Seonghwa's and the rest of them perfectly.

"What do you mean? I'm coming with," Wooyoung's expression turned confused.

Seonghwa's face hardened. "No, you're not."

"That's not up to you to decide," Wooyoung told him, but his voice was not harsh nor was his expression. He looked mellow, calm, collect- like he already knew Seonghwa was going to deny him and had come up with a whole list of reasons why he should be allowed to come.

"Why would you even want to come?" Seonghwa felt himself tensing up. "You do know what we are doing, don't you?"

"Of course I do," he responded, a soft nod of his head.