To See The Moon

The Real Plan

     Ok y'all, this chapter has a bit of everything. A nice mix of despair, suspense, and sweet stuff :D Enjoy!

     "The four quarters of the clock, if I'm correct?"

     "Precisely. The first letter takes its centre. It goes clockwise."

     "This key we need... it's not of the material sense, is it?"

     "Not material, but simple enough. Its first part lies on the third hour of the second quarter, the second hour of the fourth quarter, and the third hour of the fourth quarter, all from the centre."

     "The time must be far more specific than that."

     "You must have already grasped your hold of the key, shouldn't you?"

     "It's best not to take risks with what's at stake."

     "Fine. Is the fifth hour of the second quarter, second hour of the first quarter, fifth hour of the fourth quarter, fourth hour of the first quarter, second hour of the second quarter, third hour of the fourth quarter, second hour of the fourth quarter, and fourth hour of the first quarter specific enough for you?"

     "All from the centre?"

     "It's always from the centre."

     "This plan is quite risky. Are the superiors certain the key will actually work?"

     "The key is the most certain to work."

     "Very well. When do we seek it?"

     "The time will come. And when it does, the world shall receive a gift."

     Changbin switched off the recording, withholding comments. An air of silence spread over the gym.

     "So yeah, the meeting ended there. But nothing they're saying makes any sense," Hyunjin said.

     "So they have a plan..." Minho muttered under his breath, assorting the puzzle pieces, trying in vain to put them together. "A certain 'key.' They talk a lot about a clock. This could be time sensitive."

     "The world receives a gift. Are they talking about taking over the council? So like, would the word 'gift' be a code?" Seungmin asked. "Why say that? Wouldn't anyone important enough to be in such a meeting already know about the plan?"

     "Unless that's not the only thing they're planning..." Hyunjin mused, horror dawning on him. "Please tell me I'm wrong."

     "If there's something in the works, it's nothing that Aera's team knows about yet. I'll try to reach out to Miyeon again," Minho said.

     "So we can't at least try to figure out the code?" Jeongin asked.

     Chan appeared to be doing just that, having already made notes of the conversation on the margins of his notebook. "They're talking about quarters and hours... and a few combinations are repeated a few times. Does a certain action need to be repeated several times?"

     "But what action? What requires something so secretive and specific that it needs to be told in code?" Seungmin said. "And there are two parts to the key. Could it be an actual material key? Is that how they'll break into city hall? I don't remember Parliament even having a proper lock and key..."

     "It said in the recording that the key is not of the material sense," Jeongin pointed out.

     "Maybe they're talking about numbers," Felix said. "Like, keypad numbers to access the hall. Minnie, the Parliament has those, right?"