perfect something ;; xikers

nine

"Motherfucker...!"

Minjae was boiling with rage, blood trickling from his fist and down the broken mirror he had so gracefully given some of his anger to. He wanted to shoot more bullets into that neodroid corpse on his rooftop, but he had to remain calm.

Yujun stood outside the bathroom, glancing in for a moment before deciding to step in. "He's going to be fine."

"That's not the fucking point, Yujun," Minjae snapped, turning to the boy. "K was the one that nearly killed him. Do you know who that fucker is?"

"Unfortunately."

Minjae laughed as he leaned over the sink. "I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna cut his fucking head off."

"We need to focus on other things," Yujun said softly, still keeping his distance with the man. "Jinsik's going to be fine. He's recovering in his room, and everything is back up and running."

Minjae turned around, quickly tossing a small black object in Yujun's direction. The other caught it, looking closely at the small drive with a frown. "It's a knowledge capsule of Jinsik's signature. Everything about him is in there. Use it — you're my right hand until he comes back to the attack division."

"H-hyung—"

"You're going with Hunter tonight to pick up those capsules at the dock — and tomorrow, we have a short meeting with an ally," Minjae told him. "I trust you enough. The others have set roles in the team, but... you're a blank slate. You don't have a place here yet, so maybe straight to the top is where you should go."

"I can't do that, hyung," Yujun said, his tone slightly panicked. "Even if it's temporary, I think someone else could do it better than me—"

"Yujun, who's the leader of XIKERS, again?"

Minjae's expression was relaxed but somehow stern. Yujun was almost afraid to make eye contact with him. Minjae stepped past him to leave the bathroom, and Yujun glanced at the blood that still stained the mirror. Minjae was pissed — and he wondered if the great leader of XIKERS' anger was a sight to behold or not.

Yujun made his way to the main room where Seeun was, stopping right beside his desk and pulling up a chair to sit beside him. "Is there anything I can help with?" Seeun asked, turning to face the other. "Junmin said to say that the drone is fully operational, if you have any questions about it."

"I need help with this knowledge capsule," Yujun asked, holding forward the chip that Minjae had given him. "It's... Jinsik's signature."

Seeun paused for a moment, eyes widened ever so slightly as he looked at the chip. "Who made that?"

"K."

Seeun's expression turned sour for a second before he sighed, standing up from his chair and standing right in front of Yujun. He took the chip, gently raising Yujun's head by his chin so that they made eye contact. "Keep looking at me. Don't worry about the pain — it's just the nanobots. If it hurts too much, just hold onto me, okay?"

Yujun nodded, relaxing as Seeun gently pushed his hair out of his face, revealing his forehead and right temple to the taller. Seeun activated the knowledge capsule, gently pressing it against the side of Yujun's head. The other hissed in pain, his hands quickly gripping the side of Seeun's hoodie. Seeun softly shushed him, gently running his hand through Yujun's hair.

"It's okay. Just relax. It'll be over in ten seconds."

Yujun had light tears in his eyes, his body limping against the chair as the pain subsided. His eyes closed, as all the information on the knowledge capsule entered his brain. Seeun watched him for a moment — Yujun would be in stasis for about ten minutes as Jinsik's memories filled his mind, so even if he had tasks to do, he'd rather stay to watch Yujun.

"We heard what happened upstairs."

Hyunwoo, Junghoon and Yechan hurried into the main room, causing Seeun to stand up quickly. "Jinsik's comatose due to blood loss. He'll be fine, but... probably out of commission for a while until then."

Yechan glanced at Yujun. "Knowledge capsule?"

"Long story," Seeun sighed, shaking his head. "Someone please check on Sumin. We can't afford for him to let his emotions control him right now."

"He and Jinsik are best friends," Junghoon said, crossing his arms. "I think we can let him cry about this one, okay? Don't be insensitive, Seeun."

"I'm not being insensitive," Seeun snapped, "I'm just saying that we have important matters—"

"Seeun, we nearly lost someone today, and you're thinking about the damn expansion? Really?" Junghoon asked with a scoff. "Sumin won't head with you on the mission. Give him some time with his friend."

"Junghoon has a point," Hyunwoo agreed. "Sumin needs time — you know Minjae would give him all the time he needs. From what it seems, his wounds were... fatal."

"His heart rate kept going down and down until it stuck at 32bpm," Seeun explained. "Even after Sumin gave him the stim shot, he was still bleeding."

"But that's impossible — Sumin's stim shot is the most effective one out there," Yechan noted, earning a frown of confusion from Seeun. "I know it's a weird time, but we should probably get Sumin to test Jinsik's blood for any thinners that could prevent the stim from working properly."

"Blood thinners...!" Seeun widened his eyes in realisation, causing the others to grow more curious. "Jinsik's on medication for his depression, isn't he? And he has chronic headaches — maybe his pain pills are causing the healing process to take longer."

"So he should be fine within the next hour or so," Junghoon ended off, earning a sigh of relief from Hyunwoo and Yechan. "I think we can rest easy until tonight. In the mean time, we should prepare for tonight. Yujun's the star of the show for tonight's mission, isn't he?"

"He has no choice, because he allows us to erase our tracks even better," Seeun said. "He and Minjae hyung can head in, while we keep a watch out and shoot anyone or anything listening in. Make sure every camera is down."

"Haven't you heard? He's Minjae's right hand now."

•

"I thought you'd appoint me."

Minjae kept quiet as Hunter carefully wrapped the bandage around his hand, glancing up into his eyes ever so often. Hunter eventually finished up and Minjae withdrew his hand from the other's hold. "You're in defence."

"I can use a gun."

"Not as well as he can," Minjae said, smirking slightly when Hunter rolled his eyes. "Get better, then. Maybe I'll let you out onto the field more, then."

"I shouldn't have brought that kid here."

"Why not?"

Hunter reached forward, attempting to take Minjae's hand into his own to intertwine their fingers. "He's taking all your attention."

Minjae withdrew his hand almost immediately. "Get over me already. We leave at 11pm."

"I thought you liked me."

"Well, you're just a member of XIKERS to me — part of survival," Minjae told him, pressing his lips into a tight-lipped smile. "I wish you'd stop, you know? I told you I'm not romantically inclined, so stop trying."

"Just tell me you don't like me."

"I have been telling you that, Hunter, but you're so... restless."

Minjae pulled his glove onto his hand, wringing his fingers before silently leaving Hunter alone in his storage room. Hunter slouched in his seat, clearly irritated with the turnout of their conversation. He glanced at the time on his watch — thirty minutes until they left, which meant they'd be having a meeting in the main room soon.

"Tch — annoying."