WHO ARE YOU?|ATEEZ FANFIC (In Editing Progress)

Chapter 22|Dangerous dinner

The boys didn't move when they saw the eight Halateez sitting at the table. When and how did they get into the villa and why had none of them noticed? San and Yeosang had been looking out the window the whole time and the door to the drawing room had always been open. Even if the two hadn't seen it, you would have heard if someone entered the villa through the front door. Hongjoong took a deep breath and glanced at his teammate. They all looked at him helplessly, seeming to expect him to act. Seeking help, Hongjoong turned to Seonghwa, who took Hongjoong's hand and squeezed it lightly.

»We should sit down.« he whispered to Hongjoong, and Hongjoong hesitated for a moment. He gingerly stepped forward, then paused again to see the Halateez's reaction, but they didn't move. A little confused, Hongjoong walked closer to them, but even when he was standing right in front of the table, with the rest of the group behind him, they didn't even look at him. Hongjoong accepted it and looked at the place in front of him, where he was about to sit down, then he stopped.

»What's going on?« Wooyoung asked confused as he saw Hongjoong looking at the seat infront of him.

»They're labeled with our names.« he said, holding up a small name tag that had Jongho's name on it.

»They assigned us seats.« With that he walked further along the table and when he finally found his place at the end of the table, the others also sat down in their assigned places. Now they sat in them all - sorted by age - next to each other and facing their enemies. It was quiet at the table. Even the boys' breathing was so shallow and quiet that you could hardly hear it. For a moment, the sixteen people just sat there. Nobody said anything. Nobody moved. Wooyoung glared nervously at the other man, who glared back. He recognized his eyes. He had looked into those eyes a few times now. It was himself. But something was different. Mingi suddenly cleared his throat and pointed to the Halateez in front of him.

»H-he looks like me.«

»Well spotted, Sherlock. They all look like us.« Jongho answered quietly and Seonghwa shook his head in bewilderment.

»It's so scary.« Seeing that Wooyoung wasn't particularly surprised by the fact that the Halateez looked like themselves, Mingi suddenly realized. He now knew how Wooyoung could tell the Halateez apart and why he didn't want to say it made sense as well now. He'd have sounded crazy. It was even more understandable for Mingi that he hadn't told the others. They would have trusted him even less than they have since Wonderland if they had known the Halateez looked like Wooyoung.

»Is something going to happen now?« Yeosang asked after they had just been sitting there for a while and Yunho shrugged.

»They just stare. And I don't think they blink.« He whispered to the mint-haired man and he nodded.

»They don't really breathe either.«

»They're robots.« Hongjoong said suddenly, and then the Halateez in front of him suddenly moved. The boys froze as the Halateez brought his hand to his face and removed the mask. The other Halateez suddenly did the same, and then they all sat without masks, staring at their human doubles. Wooyoung was taken aback. Something was different. He couldn't explain it, but it felt different seeing the Halateez in front of him without a mask. His gaze was different. He seemed more inhuman than usual and that scared the shit out of Wooyoung.

»Joong.« Seonghwa nudged Hongjoong on the thigh and Hongjoong looked at him in confusion.

»He's the leader.« the black-haired man whispered into his neighbor's ear. Confused, Hongjoong looked at the Halateez in front of him. Then he saw the chain around the Halateez's neck and understood. A key hung on the chain. The letter said that the leader had the key.