The High-Tiers // Monsta X

Chapter 51

An hour ago, Wonho

I blinked my eyes open and slowly pushed my body off the cold, hard floor. My head spun the moment I got to my feet and I swayed, only just catching myself with one elbow on a wall before I collapsed again.

As my vision came into focus, I saw the square-shaped room I was placed into and the glass pane that replaced the front wall, facing out into a hallway that led to more rooms like the one I was in. The hallway of the VALER's secret lab.

I remembered being attacked from behind during Kihyun's altercation with Changkyun's in the CEO's office, then being teleported away before I could let out a cry for help.

I took a cursory glance around me, at the benches that hugged the perimeter of the room and the bare steel table and chair sitting miserably in the centre. Everything was in the same shade of grey; the only splash of colour came from the VALER logo printed on the back wall behind me.

I tried to walk towards the glass wall, but as soon as I took a step forward I felt every muscle of my body cramp up, sending another wave of dizziness over me.

Another flash of memory crossed my mind. I wasn't teleported straight into the cell. My hand went up to my left arm as I remembered the needle that pierced my skin and my whole body going numb as I got dragged over here, my legs stumbling beneath me, my eyes covered by a soft fabric.

Everything was aching, but I could be sure my powers were still intact. Because VALER didn't want me; they wanted what I had and what I could do. Still, I couldn't resist the instinct to raise an arm and point my hand at the chair. I frowned, the small exertion already enough to drain what's left of my energy. The chair rattled on its flimsy legs and, as soon as the invisible force exceeded the opposing friction holding it in place, skidded a few inches across the floor with a high-pitched screech.

Warm relief spread through me. My powers weren't just my weapon and my shield. It was also my identity. But at the same time I let out that sigh, I felt a surge of anger rise up my chest as I thought about what VALER's CEO was planning to do to me, my friends, and everyone else like us. He hadn't done anything life-threatening to us yet, but that didn't mean he treated us like humans. To Myungwon, we were nothing but vessels they had to break through to get what they needed for his selfish project.

I lunged towards the glass and pounded my fist against it. The reinforced material didn't even vibrate, but I continued putting every single ounce of my strength into each punch. "Hey! Let me out! Do you hear me? I'm not scared of you! You'll never get away with this!" My voice echoed in the small cell and bounced off the walls straight back into my ears. The desperate fury I heard in it just fueled me with even more rage. "Kim Myung—"

"It's no use."

A soft female voice interrupted me before I could go further.

"It's soundproof. No one outside can hear us." I turned to my right towards the voice. A rectangular window in the wall connected my room to an identical one adjacent to mine. A woman was standing by it on the other side, looking at me with a bleak expression. "And I don't think there's anyone in here anyway," she continued, gesturing to the empty hallway outside with her eyes. "The guards left their post when the invasion happened."

Her expression, like her tone, was flat, and I couldn't tell if she knew I was one of the invaders. But there was another thing about her that caught my attention. I lowered my gaze slightly towards her torso, and the lab coat she was wearing. "Are you...?"

"Yes," she replied, cutting me off. "I'm an–I was—an employee." Her stony facade broke here and she averted her gaze, looking down and to the side. "I worked for VALER." The final statement was let out in a shameful whisper.