Fireworks | ATEEZ story

20 - Seonghwa

The weight of his body felt light as the ventilation cover from under opened on its own.

"SEONGHWA!" Mars and Hongjoong whipped their heads towards him while Mars reached out his hand to catch him-

WHAM! It was over in a split second, and Seonghwa had already plopped onto the floor and sheered in pain. Although the height wasn't drastic, the sudden impact between the hard floor and his body only bruised him. His chest was searing hot, and his head had hit the floor, yet he was still in one piece.

"Ugh...shit." Seonghwa breathed out. "Ough...huh?"

"SEONGHWA!" Mars and Hongjoong cried out as they both banged the ventilation cover open. As soon as Seonghwa fell through, the flap closed on its own afterwards. Even with Mars and Hongjoong's added strength, for some reason, the cover wouldn't budge. It was certain that Seonghwa's weight was lighter than Mars and Hongjoong's punches, so how did he easily fall through?

BANG! BANG! "SEONGHWA! Wait here! I'll come get you, okay?!" Hongjoong cried out from the cracks. "Mars and San'll continue the mission, don't go anywhere!"

Shit...change of plans then, because of this slight interference, they lost a little bit of time, but the show must go on. Losing only a mere essence of time, he laid there in disappointment...Seonghwa grunted as he continued to lay on the floor to ease the sheering pain on his chest and head, all while a static came clear next to his ear.

TCH! "Hyung, why are you in the incinerator? Your location's different, are you planning something? This isn't part of the plan?"

Seonghwa moaned as he brought two fingers upon his ear, the other on his chest. TCH! "...I fell through. Am I really at the incinerator?"

TCH! "WHAT??? SO THAT'S WHAT IT WAS?"

TCH! "What do you mean..."

TCH! "I...I accidentally pressed something, I think I opened the electric ventilation cover..."

"..."

TCH! "Hyung...say something..."

TCH! "...Can you just give me directions so I can follow the group again? Where are they now?"

TCH! Hongjoong opened the common communication line and spoke through. "I told you to stay put while I get you. You can't deal with five guards at once, right?"

TCH! Seonghwa sneered. "As if you can handle one, hahaha-OW!" giggling as you were in pain certainly was a bad idea.

TCH! "I memorized the layout of this place already, I have Wooyoung to guide me, so stay put. That's an order."

TCH! "...Yes, captain."

Seonghwa laid there as the pain has just started to subside. Although it wasn't completely gone, he managed through and carried himself to sit up.

"...The incinerator?"

The incinerator was the executional place where sense offenders were to be murdered from breaking the law. Seonghwa recalled the meeting and shivered. Among this empty room was a dark space filled with rows and rows of glass tubes. On each side of each incinerator, a dialpad had been set to schedule the incineration of the sinner. This was plain murder, yet this city was the definition of perfection by its citizens and image? Seonghwa had already planned not to engage with a soul in this city, fearing that he might have grown attachment, that would have distracted him from the mission of getting the Cromer back. It was a dark act, yet he recalled thousands of times in which the siblings had warned the fugitives not to react when they have set foot here.

"...Is anybody here?" Seonghwa called out.

"..." Silence ensued.

Seonghwa guessed that no one had sinned recently judging by the emptiness of each cage, sighing of relief, he pulled himself up and stood on his own feet, waiting for Hongjoong to come pick him up and follow the Captain's orders.