The Aged | Gyuhao (Sequel to Youth)

- 52

| Chapter Fifty - Two — IN! |
| 📍Chicago, Illinois |

Not a lot of things can make Mingyu stop in his tracks. It's only ever happened once.

Minghao.

He remembers bumping into him so clearly, and even though it was meant to be on purpose, he can't help but call their abrupt meeting fate.

It was a memory worth everything.

It meant everything.

So when half of his main troop barged into his office with Jeonghan, Soonyoung, and Junhui trailing behind them, he couldn't help but feel a little bit on edge.

With a low voice, he finally breaks the silence, "Uh—" His eyes flicker between every single one of them, "What's going on here?"

Joshua groans, "They—"

Soonyoung pushes past Seungcheol and the others, practically slamming a foot down, "We want in,"

Mingyu blinks, "You want in," He repeats, monotoned as if he were thinking.

"They basically want to join Cerise," Seungcheol speaks up, "All 3 of them,"

"And it's not fucking happening," Joshua spits.

"Wait, wait, wait—Hold on," Mingyu rises to his feet, pacing back and forth, "You want to join? You 3?" He looks back and forth between them all, "Like really?"

"You fuckers need to fill us in on Minghao, and the only way you'll go all the way in doing so is if we do. We know you're hiding shit from us," Junhui speaks up. He nudges Soonyoung's shoulder soon enough, "Soon and I are about to be arrested, anyways. We helped a runaway convict go into hiding. That's at least 3 years jail time," He tells him, "We flew all the way from fuckass Korea so you're gonna have to take us here and now,"

Mingyu doesn't know what to say. His eyes trail slowly to Jeonghan, "And you?"

Jeonghan shrugs, not wanting to be seen by many, but wanting to be heard, "I have nothing," He says simply, "No family, no job, nothing to go home to," He hates how he catches the way Joshua's face twitches as his heart breaks.

"That doesn't mean you can just go and throw away your life," Joshua turns to him nonetheless, distraught.

"You can't tell me what and what not to do anymore, Joshua," Joshua. Not Shua. It makes Joshua's head throb.

Mingyu swallows, "W-Well, I—"

Soonyoung snorts suddenly, "Oh my god, you know what I just thought of?"

Junhui chuckles, "What?"

"Seungkwan's gonna be so pissed when—"

"Sunbaenim!" Mingyu flinches in surprise when the door barges open again, Hansol strolling inside with one arm hooked around a guy and the other hooked around another, "Intruders. We found them at the main entrance,"

"Holy shit," Soonyoung bursts out laughing.

"No way," Junhui giggles with him, jaw dropping as he jumps over to Seungkwan, pulling him into a bone crushing hug, "You literally appeared just on time, man,"

"I've always been a star," Seungkwan hums.

"And you?!" Soonyoung strides over to Chan, shaking his head in disbelief, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"My life sucks," The youngest scoffs, "I quit my job and Kwan and I have been struggling with rent anyways,"

Seungkwan nudges his side, "Okay, that's a little too much info," He sighs, "But on the other hand, I did have a 1 night stand with our main kitchen baker, and now he's obsessed with me and won't leave me alone, so...."

"If you're looking for a place to crash, you might as well leave now," Joshua shakes his head, "This isn't your friendly neighborhood hotel,"

"Oh, I know," Chan hums like this conversation is nothing, like he wasn't planning on joining one of the most ruthless gangs alive, "I've always wanted to be a badass, y'know? Like get machine guns and fucking arm tattoos, c'mon, where do we start?" He grins.

"I can tell you're the youngest," Seungcheol says with a sigh. Chan winks.

"You all have to realize how big of a step you're taking," Mingyu says sternly, "I won't stop you if you want to join us, but I'll also have to warn you. No matter how cool you want to seem, or how much you want to brag to others that you're in a gang, it's dangerous. I advise you to think before you make any choices. Think about you. About your safety," He pauses, "Think about if this is really what Minghao—"

"I don't give a damn what he thinks," Junhui scoffs, "He snuck off when we were all vulnerable after seeing him for the first time in a year. We have the right to be angry," He huffs, "God, I wanna see the look on his face when he sees that stupid cherry on my dic—"

"Okay!" Mingyu blinks, "Wow, alright,"

"Mingyu-yah," Joshua steps past them, fingers dipping into Mingyu's bicep as he squeezes his arm tight, "We can't do this,"

"They said they wanted to," Mingyu says simply, "I know you aren't 100% on board, but they said they wanted to. I won't stop them from trying to find their friend, and we need as many soldiers as we can get. Remember that,"

Joshua closes his eyes, hand weakly slipping off Mingyu's arm.

"If he dies," Joshua says, low enough to where only Mingyu can hear. He looks him dead in the eye, "I'll kill you myself,"

From afar, Seungkwan claps his hands together excitedly, tossing a large bag into Hansol's arms. The boy yelps in surprise, "You ghosted me for over a year, so you're holding my shit," Seungkwan tells him.

Soonyoung squeals along with him, "Okay," He looks at the others, "Where are our rooms?"

Seungcheol groans, "This can't be happening,"