The High-Tiers // Monsta X

Chapter 43

Shownu

The air went tight with tension the moment Kihyun stepped inside. I met his gaze and I stared at him, trying to read his expression and figure out why he was back, but there was nothing in the hard, cool eyes that looked back at me and surveyed the others in the room. It reminded me of the doctor I had seen in the clinic on the first day I met him, but there was also something different about that gaze. It wasn't just detachment from professionalism; there was something frosty about this one. Something personal.

"Why are you back?" Minhyuk asked, surprise softening the disdain in his voice.

"I remembered something." Kihyun stared at me as he replied.

His short answer caught our attention. Anticipation built as we waited for him to elaborate, but Kihyun stayed quiet.

Finally, Minhyuk's patience ran out. "What—"

"I might know where we can access the secret lab."

I widened my eyes at Kihyun, his flat expression as indifferent as the tone of his voice.

"Where?" Hyungwon asked calmly.

"I will bring you there."

Minhyuk barely gave Kihyun time to finish his sentence. "So you're helping us suddenly?" He waved an arm at Changkyun, then at the CEO's desk. "After all that? How do I know you aren't just using us to find your potions or whatever? Do you really expect us to believe you?"

"You don't have to believe me if you don't want to," Kihyun said coldly. "But you're never going to find it just by exploring the building." He paused, looked down at the ground, then looked back up with an even harsher glare than before. "VALER is the root of my problems. Taking them down is the only way to get my revenge and solve all my problems. It'll give me closure, at least. And Sungwoon..." Kihyun trailed off and I thought he wasn't going to continue, but then he said, "VALER might have taken Sungwoon already. Getting those potions won't help anymore."

Kihyun looked at me as he spoke, trying to tell me with his eyes that he had changed his mind, that he was ready to fight back, like I had tried to persuade him to do before I brought us here. The conviction was clear in his firm voice, but the way he said the last two sentences, as if he had to force them out, revealed the painful resentment he was trying to hide behind his cool demeanour.

I felt a pang of sympathy then. Something that no one else felt.

"It's hard to trust you if you won't tell us where you think the entrance is," Hyungwon reasoned.

Minhyuk nodded in assent. Jooheon and Changkyun stayed silent, not taking either side. But they weren't helping, either.

It wasn't fair. Kihyun was up against everyone, all by himself. I tried to think of something to say, but before I could come up with something effective, Kihyun strode up to Hyungwon and stared at him straight in the eyes.

"Then use your Mind Reading powers on me. You'll know whether I'm trying to deceive you or not." Kihyun flicked his eyes towards Jooheon, who flinched from the frightening gaze. "And you can use your Knowledge Absorption."

Hyungwon held Kihyun's gaze without a split second of hesitation. His eyes glazed over with intense concentration. When he returned, the flat expression on his face had barely changed. The only difference was the fleeting moment of understanding that flashed across his eyes and a slight raise of his eyebrow.

"He's not lying," Hyungwon announced.

Minhyuk turned to Jooheon, clearly not satisfied. With a nod of encouragement from his brother, Jooheon took a few timid steps towards Kihyun and touched his forearm. Jooheon closed his eyes for a mere ten seconds before snapping them wide again.