The High-Tiers // Monsta X

Chapter 29

— PART 4: PREPARATION —

Enemies become allies when you share a common goal.

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Minhyuk

"When should we break into VALER?"

Everyone went quiet at my question. They hadn't expected me to proceed with this mission. Neither did I. But seeing Jooheon after he barely escaped VALER changed my mind.

Across Jooheon's neck was a bruise he said he had gotten while fighting with the guards. He refused to get treated, rejected Hyungwon's offer of an ice pack, and now the bruise was a sickly purple colour.

My heart was in flames. It was anger at myself from failing to protect my brother, but also anger at VALER for being responsible, and the latter was stronger.

So I knew I wasn't backing down when Hyungwon asked if we wanted to stop. There was no way I could let this go. Not anymore.

"As soon as possible." Hyungwon looked at me with the same grim determination I felt, and it hardened my resolve to do this.

"Shouldn't we do a bit more research?" Wonho asked, pressing his hands together, his fingers interlocked tightly. "We're definitely outnumbered. We can figure out when they change shifts or something, so we can break through an entrance easier."

It was an appealing thought, but I was afraid to think it was going to be that simple. And Hyungwon confirmed my thoughts.

"VALER is expecting us. They were distracted by the reporters yesterday, but they'll be more prepared this time. There will be guards stationed twenty-four hours. I doubt we'll find an opening." Hyungwon paused and landed his gaze on each of us, one by one, his eyes looking opaque even in the well-lit living room. His lips were stretched tight, as if it was taking more effort to get the next few words out.

"We're going to have to fight our way in."

I felt the morale plummet from that one statement. It sounded like we were going into a losing battle. It wasn't as if I didn't know this before, but hearing it put into words sharpened the edge to that reality.

This was a really bad idea.

And I was committed to it.

"You probably aren't used to fighting with your powers, but don't forget how strong they are," said Hyungwon, trying to lift the mood. "You can do a lot with your powers. Trust yourself."

As usual, Hyungwon didn't speak with much emotion, but something about the matter-of-fact way he said it infused me with a bit of confidence. And it wasn't only me; I could feel the tension in the room loosening up a bit from the encouragement.

Hyungwon met my eyes with a meaningful gaze, and suddenly I was thinking about the night Jooheon and I almost got mugged by Changkyun, the thief. I narrowed my eyes. Was Hyungwon using his powers again? Putting this thought into my mind just like how he had fabricated that image of Jooheon being kidnapped inside my head? Hyungwon knew about the incident—we told him after we met Changkyun by chance at the convention—but I couldn't remember if I told him in such detail.

I was recalling every single moment of that night, every single action and decision I made when Jooheon was held hostage. And the message was clear, whether or not Hyungwon was the one who was sending it. I had outsmarted someone as dangerous as Changkyun. Someone with Darkness Manipulation.

You could do a lot with your powers.

The memory ended and I studied Hyungwon's face, trying to figure out if he had done something to my mind, but he turned away before I could glean anything from his flat expression.

"I think we should break in at night," Wonho suggested, bringing us back on track. "That's usually what people do, right?"

Hyungwon shook his head. "It won't give us any sort of advantage if there's going to be the same level of security day and night. Darkness will only lower our visibility." There was barely any change to Hyungwon's usual detached tone, yet somehow he managed to reject Wonho's suggestion in a respectful and anodyne way.

"What if we give ourselves an advantage?"

The inflection in Jooheon's voice made it clear he had something in mind. I waited for him to continue, an inexplicable sense of unease growing in the pit of my stomach.

"We can ask Changkyun to help—"

I interjected as soon as he finished that sentence. "That's ridiculous."

Hyungwon placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked over to him with the same incredulous expression I gave Jooheon. Hyungwon barely touched anyone. "Let Jooheon finish," was all he said. He wasn't even looking at me.

"Well..." Jooheon glanced at me, then turned his attention back to Hyungwon. "I just thought since he had Darkness Manipulation, he could give us the upper hand if we go at night. He's also experienced with being stealthy since he's a thief. Wouldn't that be helpful for us?"

Wonho and Hyungwon were immediately sold on the idea. I saw it in the approving nods, no matter how furtively they tried to do it. But they weren't there when we got attacked. They didn't see what Changkyun did.

I shrugged Hyungwon's hand away. "How could you ask a thief who tried to attack us for help?!"

"Why not?" Jooheon stood up, forcing me to step back. "You hired him to help us steal the VALER ID!"

"I didn't know it was going to be him!"

"But he helped us!"

"Yes, for money. Why would he have any reason to help us expose VALER?"

Jooheon didn't have an immediate response for that. He averted his gaze. "Just let me talk to him. We have to pay him for the job anyway."

"Give him one day." Hyungwon spoke before I could open my mouth again. I glared at him, and he stared back with impassive eyes. "Jooheon isn't all wrong. Someone with Darkness Manipulation can give us a sizable advantage."

"It'll make us a bigger target," I shot back. "Have you forgotten what VALER wants the most? High-tiers. We're basically making ourselves an even more appealing target."

Hyungwon placed his hand on my shoulder again. My first instinct was to brush it off, but I didn't even move. His stern gaze had locked me in place. "We need all the help we can get."

"And what if he hurt us again?" I said, refusing to back down. "You don't know who he is. How he's like."

"Neither do we, hyung." I turned to Jooheon, hurt that my own brother was leaving me alone in this argument. "I told you before. It doesn't make sense that he became a thief when he has one of the strongest powers you could have. There's more to it. Maybe he hates VALER too."

"It's us four against him if he does anything to harm us," Wonho reasoned. "Just give it a try. We can't keep arguing like this if we want to work together."

And right now it was three against one, me being the one. I knew I had lost. What frustrated me most was that I knew they were right about Changkyun being helpful. I just hated the fact that I had to place trust on a person who had hurt Jooheon before. I didn't know what I would do if Jooheon got hurt again.

"Fine," I said finally. "But you're only contacting him by phone, and you have to tell me when you're communicating."

Jooheon smiled at me. It had become such a rare sight the past few days that it made my heart ache to look at it. "Okay, hyung."