Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
დ .•*””*• ★ •*””*•.★.•*””*• ★ •*””*•.დ
Hey~ Author here~
Just a heads up, there will be a use of in-ear communication in this chapter and future chapters. Conversation within the in-ear communication will be bolded.
With that being said, onto the story!
დ .•*””*• ★ •*””*•.★.•*””*• ★ •*””*•.დ
The crowd erupted in chaos. The eight victors widened their eyes as the sound of gunshots came from every corner. “Get down!”, Mark ordered as they followed it without context. “Form pairs, stay together, don't lose each other.”, “We'll split on my signal.”.
Zoey was shocked by Mark's words. Are we really going to split up?, she thought.
Suddenly, she felt a hand grasp her's. Glancing up at the boy, her panicked expression faded upon seeing his reassuring eye smile. “Let's pair up.”, Zoey nodded at his words, the seven of them staring up at Mark, waiting for the signal.
In the corner of her eye, she saw Jaehyun pushing past some civilians, shooting at the officers on the sideline. It was utter chaos.
As soon as Mark found a clearing, he sprang into action. “Now!”.
The eight of them split up into pairs, each going opposite directions. Mark with Renjun, Haechan with Jisung, Chenle with Jaemin, and Jeno with Zoey. Each pair approached the Neo Zone member closest towards their direction. Jeno and Zoey's being Johnny.
“Johnny hyung!”, Jeno approached him, his hand firmly keeping ahold of Zoey's, as not to lose her. “Jeno, here.”, Johnny went up to the two, handing them a pair of in-ear communicators. “We'll contact you when we're ready to storm the government building.”, he said, also handing them two pistols.
“Stay hidden for now.”.
The two of them shared a nod before running down the street, away from the massive crowds.
Taking a second to rest, they crouched down in a hidden area, deep in an alleyway. Jeno handed her an in-ear piece as she placed it in her ear, tapping the button to turn it on.
A loud screeching sound rang through her ear as she flinched. “Is anyone there?”, a high pitched voice spoke up through the earpiece as Jeno and Zoey made eye contact. Jeno tapped the side of his earpiece to speak. “Yes.”, he responded with a simple answer, earning a chuckle from the recipient.
“So who's with Zoey?”, another voice joined in on the conversation as Zoey took this chance to answer. “I'm with Jeno.”, “Oh, okay. This is Mark by the way.”, Zoey slowly nodded, her brain trying to process all the different voices. “Should we make code names?”, the same high pitched voice spoke up once more. “I'll be Pudu.”.
Jeno let out a sigh as Zoey laughed. Now she knew exactly who the owner of the high pitched voice was. “I'll be Tiger.”, Mark said. “I'll be Puppy.”, Zoey raised a brow at Jeno's code name. “Why a puppy?”, “Because he's our pet dog. It's an inside joke.”, a different high pitched voice rang over the in-ear.
“What are you, Chenle?”, “Dolphin.”, Jeno rolled his eyes. “Of course you are.”, Haechan sighed through the in-ear as a loud laugh made them all flinch. “I'll be Fox.”, Zoey nodded, immediately recognizing Renjun's soft tone. “I'll be Rabbit.”, “And you are?”.
Zoey heard a scoff on the other end. “Really, princess? I'm hurt.”.
Zoey widened her eyes at the realization. Only one person calls her by that nickname. “Ah, sorry, Jaemin.”.
“What are you, Zoey?”, Zoey paused, taking a second to think of her code name. “Flower.”, “That's my girl~”, Haechan smirked victoriously as Jeno rolled his eyes. “Lemme go kill a wild Pudu real quick-”, “Yah! Huang Renjun!”, Zoey bursted into laughter.
“But anyways~ Jisung is Hamster.”, Chenle announced, making Jeno laugh. “Yah! Chenle! How many times must I tell you I don't look like a Hamster!”, “But you do, Ji.”, “Noona!!!”.
The eight of them continued to talk using in-ear communication until Haechan and Jisung as well as Mark and Renjun were called to action by the other members.
Jeno and Zoey continued roaming the streets, coming to a halt at the sight of officers patrolling the Capitol. “Stay low.”, Jeno said as the two crouched down, taking slow steps down the pathway. Jeno looked around the corner, seeing no sight of the officers.
“Okay, coast clear-”, Jeno averted his eyes towards Zoey, but instead he caught a sight creeping up from behind them. “Watch out!”, Jeno acted quick and pushed Zoey out of the way as a loud bang vibrated off the walls.
“Jeno!”, she widened her eyes. Jeno got shot. “RUN!!!”.
Jeno grabbed Zoey by the wrist before bolting down the pathway, officers right on their tail. Jeno completely ignored the pain in his leg as they sharply cut the corner, slipping into a tight crack between two buildings.
The two stayed completely silent as their bodies pressed up against each others.
Without even realizing it, Zoey was holding her breath as she felt chills crawl on her skin. Her heart fluttered and her stomach turned at the sudden feeling.
We're too close, she thought.
Zoey tried to scoot further down the crack, but was stopped by a firm grasp on her waist. “Stop moving.”.
She gulped as Jeno looked down at her, also realizing how close they were. “J-just a little longer.”, Jeno whispered, earning a nod from her.
As soon as the officers passed them, Zoey let out the breath she had been holding this whole time. Zoey grabbed ahold of Jeno's arm to help herself out of the crack, but immediately pulled her hand away after hearing Jeno groan in pain.
“Are you okay?!!”, her expression turned into one of concern as her hand hovered over his gunshot wound. Jeno smiled softly at her, his heart fluttering at the fact that she was worried about him.
It was a feeling he hadn't felt in awhile. Someone was genuinely worried about him and it made him love her even more. She had become everything to him, even if she didn't know it yet.
“I'm fine.”, “No you aren't!”.
Jeno watched as Zoey grabbed the hem of her shirt, ripping part of it off, as she applied pressure to his wound. She then used her free hand to turn her in-ear on, calling out to the others.
“Is anyone near the barber shop? On Ay-Yo Street. Jen- I mean, Puppy got injured.”, Zoey waited for a minute before a voice responded to her. “Dolphin and I are coming.”.
Zoey let out a sigh of relief as the two moved from the small crack into the alleyway on the opposite side of the street as they waited for Jaemin and Chenle.
“Really, I'm fine.”, he said.
Jeno then suddenly winced in pain as Zoey let out a long sigh. She turned her head towards his face before placing her finger on his chin, slightly tilting his head up to lock eyes. “You're not fine.”.
