banned. // hyunin/hyunjeong

chapitre quarante-neuf

jeongin.

jeongin ran out of his father's old office upon hearing a voice coming from outside. a part of the archives was in his arms, pressed against his chest, as he left the rest with his friends.

near the window, he caught sight of changbin, his back facing him.

"i'll keep you like this until i find a safe room to lock you in and let you turn back." changbin was saying.

jeongin was confused but mostly worried.

"changbin hyung, what is it ?"

changbin started a little. he hadn't hear jeongin arriving. he turned around in order to show him what he was grabbing onto.

"oi, calm down now ! why are you wiggling so much ?" he asked the bat.

it had been very calm and behaved a second ago but seemed to be agitated now.

jeongin's blood froze once he saw the bat in changbin's hand.

"who- who is this ?"

"i'd like to know the same thing. i found it on the window."

"how could you just find it on the window ?"

jeongin didn't like to jump so quickly on conclusions. he was usually very trustful of those around him. and he even felt bad to be asking this question to changbin.

on the other hand, it was true that changbin helped them sneak further in the castle, but the fact that he was working under dohyeon couldn't be forgotten so easily.

the fear that this was a trap to have him show the way until his father's office suddenly surfaced and his heart started to contract in worry.

"i know you're not trusting me, but i'm telling you the truth."

"then let it go so he can turn back."

there was a rule in transforming from human to bat form, which was that any contact with another person was a barrier and made it impossible. but like most rules, there was an exception : it was only possible if two vampires wanted to turn into a bat at the same time, then they could have a physical contact.

"if i let it go, it may fly away." changbin answered.

"so you won't let us know who it is ?"

"that's not what i said !"

hearing the commotion outside, the rest of them joined them. they didn't notice the bat in changbin's hand at first, except chan. then one after the other, they did.

"changbin ?" chan called in a stern voice.

changbin wasn't dumb. he knew it would take the bare minimum for them all to turn against him. he knew he couldn't blame them but it would be a lie to say he wasn't upset and a bit hurt about it.

"you guys are misunderstanding !" he tried to plead.

the bat was getting more and more restless in changbin's hand.

"then let it change back so we can see who it is !" jeongin insisted again.

"you guys !" the suspect yelled.

he was about to continue with an explanation, but his raised voice made the rest lose their patience. especially minho, who stepped forward, his eyebrows furrowed.

"what, 'you guys' ? do you understand the situation right now ?" he yelled back.

"i do !"

"oh really now ? do you think just because you helped us once, everything else you did is forgotten ? now that we're in mister yang's old office, you disappear on your own and suddenly there's an intruder with you ? and when jeongin asks you to let us know who it is, you refuse ? how do you explain this ?"

"i know very well what you're thinking ! that i pretended to help you only to find the office and then betray you ! but be logical for a second ! if that's what i wanted to do, would it be done so unwell ? i would so openly hold an accomplice ? just one ?"

"maybe there's more of you somewhere ?" seungmin said, trying to get all the possibilities in the open.

"there's not !" he clenched his eyes and exhaled by his nose. then before anyone could throw more accusation, he continued. "look ! i never said i wouldn't let you see who this was, okay ? i just said that if i let it go now, it can fly away with the knowledge of the office and who knows who it can give the info to ?"

"then what ?" chan asked, wanting to hear what changbin would say.

"then we lock it first and then we let it change back ! that's what i wanted to say since the beginning !"

"what didn't you say it then ?" jeongin frowned.

"because you all started to get mad at me and i couldn't say it ! i know you have the right to be wary of me but you could have at least let me explain further instead of jumping so easily on conclusions."

maybe changbin was right. but they didn't think they were wrong either. of course they would be wary of someone who served dohyeon for so long. yes, he was pretending but all they had as proof were his words.

"okay," chan took a deep breath to calm himself, "let's forget this matter for now. there's a small closet in mister yang's office. let's lock the bat in with one or two of us."

"what if it doesn't turn back ?" worry was clear in jeongin's voice.

"let's threaten it." minho plainly said.

"let's lock it with minho hyung." felix said, talking for the first time since all of this happened.

minho rolled his eyes but didn't refuse. "i'll take changbin with me."

"i was planning to go anyway. let's not even waste a second !"

as soon as he said that, he started making his way to mister yang's old office. everyone followed him closely, still unsure of whether or not they could trust him fully.

changbin entered the small closet that was used to store files and old books, and waited for minho to join him.

no one was paying much attention to the bat itself, so they didn't notice it when it was agitated, nor now, as it calmed down.

once the two of them were inside, minho closed the door behind them. the room was big enough for two people to move freely despite the shelves, but not enough to add more people.

at last, changbin let go of the bat. minho was already anticipating all kinds of bad situation, watching it fly around the room with intense eyes. he cast a quick glance to changbin, wanting to see his reaction, but he looked collected, although a bit angry, as shown by his serious gaze.

after it flew for a bit, as if to stretch its wings after being held for a while, it came down and turn back in mid-air. the figure landing down gracefully was that of a woman.

changbin was confused, looking at the stranger. as for minho, it took him a second to take in the sight of her, but when he recognized her, his eyes widened.

"irene-noona ?" he exclaimed.

~

hello guys~

i know this chapter is short and it will probably take a while (maybe just another week) to get another one out, BUT i swear this time it's not because of me being burnt out TT

i actually have a job where i work from 08:30 to 07pm and phones are forbidden so not only am i completely exhausted at the end of the day, i also don't have time to do most thing :(

im still very sorry tho 😭

and i hope you guys are doing all right <33
take care 💛