Scattered [ONF ff]

Chapter 6

"This is the last time I'm stepping in this forsaken trap," Seungjun muttered under his breath.

"You know it won't be," Hyojin answered. "I doubt we can walk the entire way to HQ."

Seungjun put on his seatbelt and crossed his arms. "I'll just run after you."

"I'd like to see you try that," Hyojin snickered while the engine woke up.

He got an eye roll as they pulled away from the hotel again. Familiar trees, familiar bushes, familiar valleys — Hyojin tried his best to ignore it this time and focused on the road. Seungjun was keeping himself busy with the birds outside and still seemed a tad sleepy.

"How soon will it be?" he mumbled while staring at the sky. "Before we leave for that HQ, I mean."

"We'll probably be home just before dinner time," Hyojin guessed. "And I think it's smart if we all sleep there one more night so we can prepare properly and leave first thing in the morning."

"And how far is it to those numbers you found?"

"The coordinates? If everything goes absolutely smoothly, about half a day," Hyojin recalled what he had looked up on his phone. It was located somewhere remote, which is all he could find out as there were no pictures or satellite view.

Hyojin briefly noticed his dashboard and began looking out for a certain sign. It wasn't long after getting on something resembling a highway, that the building he needed showed itself. He took a right and Seungjun instantly noticed the change of direction.

"Where are we going?" he asked with narrow eyes.

"To get petrol," Hyojin answered flatly.

"What?"

"Fuel for the car."

"You need to feed this thing?" Seungjun questioned while gesturing to the vehicle. "Useless..."

"You need food too," Hyojin remarked. "But at least this car doesn't need to rest after a few minutes of running."

Seungjun crossed his arms and sat back while muttering, "I can run way longer than a few minutes."

Even with the relatively good night Hyojin had had, he noticed his body had grown a tad sluggish when stepping out of the car. It didn't concern him quite yet, but being on alert constantly for multiple days was definitely taking a toll on him and he couldn't wait to go back to his regular life. No worries, no stress, no confrontation. Just simple tasks and keeping track of numbers.
He spaced out slightly while waiting for the car to fill. Visiting the home he had only spent a few weeks in was one thing, but he wondered how he would hold up going back to where he spent his childhood. The place where everything started, the place he first learnt how vile his surroundings could be, the place that first taught him safety was never something to take for granted.

The handle of the pump clicked and Hyojin put it back before going into the small shop to pay.

"Here," he said and threw a bag of candy and a bottle of water into Seungjun's lap. He had gotten coffee for himself and gently put that in a cup holder.

"What's this?" the dragonborn wondered while staring at the bright red package.

"It's a snack, because you didn't eat much during breakfast." Hyojin shrugged but Seungjun didn't seem to appreciate it much.

"Maybe because I'm not hungry."

"It's better if you eat."

"I don't need it."

"Then open it and give me some." Hyojin kept one hand on the wheel and held out his other while continuing their journey.

Seungjun grumbled something under his breath before ripping the plastic. A groan left him when he saw the vibrant spheres falling into the other's palm. "Why do you humans think food should be these colours?"