This Day | Gyuhao (Threequel to Youth & The Aged)

- 13

| Chapter Thirteen — I remember |
| 📍 Okayama, Japan |

"It's just like how we left it." Minghao swallows, staring down the alley way. The door to the hideout was just on the right side of the brick corner, and the thought alone was making Minghao shiver down to the bone.

"It is." Seokmin swallows, having tagged along on the trip because he was the only other person who knew the way around here. Eunchae and the other former Cerise members did of course, but Minghao couldn't put them in danger if there happened to be any.

And it was as if the universe had heard him, people in dark clothes with masks covering their faces busting out of the entrance and aiming their guns so fast Minghao almost doesn't comprehend it fully.

"Woah! Woah!" Mingyu pushes Minghao behind him, "Who the hell are you?!"

"Who the hell are you guys? Huh?" A woman asks, dark hair falling past her face to dangle just above her shoulders, "How did you find us? Who sent you?"

"What are you talking about?" Seokmin steps up, "This is Cerise territory."

"Not anymore." The woman responds, "Cerise disappeared years ago. Last I heard, their gang completely went to shit. That means this place was up for grabs."

Minghao doesn't say anything, just lets his eyes travel to the woman's neck. He eyes it carefully, tilting his head to see past the little strands of hair blocking her—

"Tattoo." Minghao says under his breath.

"What?" Joshua nudges him, muzzle pointed to the ground, "What do you see?"

"Hao?" Wonwoo urges.

Minghao blinks, pushing past Mingyu. He doesn't even flinch when this random woman acts on instinct, aiming the gun in his direction now. But Minghao's not afraid, guns don't scare him that much anymore.

"Your tattoo." Minghao tells her, watching her eyes widen, the other half of her expression covered by the mask.

"Hao." Mingyu warns.

"Carnelian." Minghao says, staring at the X tattoo like he's never seen it before, "You're a Carnelian member...." He shakes his head in disbelief, looking at the other people behind her, "All of you..." He catches the scar smothered with a clean up of ink on them as well, "What are you doing here?"

The woman doesn't move her gun, face still as hard as before, "I won't ask again." She says, taking a step closer, "Tell us who sent you." She instructs.

Mingyu pulls Minghao away from the woman's aim on him, "We're the leaders of Carmine." Is all he has to say before the strange woman's eyes are going as wide as ever before, gun falling from her grip on shock.

"Chaewon-ah," A man calls from behind her.

"Carmine?" 'Chaewon' repeats, ripping her mask off to show the genuine shock on her face, "What are you... What are you doing here? What significance does Carmine have in Japan? There's nothing for you here."

"Noona, let them speak." There's that man again, walking closer to take a place next to her. He takes his mask off too, dark hair just about as long as her's.

"Go get Sunbaenim, Wonbin-ah." Chaewon says all whilst keeping eye contact with both Mingyu and Minghao, occasionally switching between the two of them.

"What? Why?" 'Wonbin' asks, "Shouldn't we just like—"

"I said go." Chaewon demands, eyes dark.

Wonbin takes a moment but eventually leaves with another hesitant look at Carmine, a group he never thought he'd ever have to see again since that fight.

"I'm Shotaro." A boy with a blonde head of hair is soon up in their faces, a smile on his as he joins in revealing his identity as well, "It's good to see you. Strange... but good."

"We're not here to make friends." Seungcheol spits from next to Mingyu.

"Right. I know." Shotaro sighs, "Sorry."

"What is Carnelian doing in Cerise's old hideout?" Jihoon asks, furrowing his brows, grip tight on the handle of his gun just in case of a wrong answer.

Chaewon just shakes her head and sighs, "It's not safe to talk here. Follow us."

"What?" Hansol chuckles, "You expect us to just walk into—"

"Let's go." Chaewon starts walking away. Hansol turns red in embarrassment, looking away awkwardly.

Chaewon walks them down to the side entrance, typing in a code that she conceals with the back of her palm.

"Come in." She says as soon as the alarm dings.

When everyone makes it inside, it smells like smoke and beer, all while looking like a five star hotel. It's absolutely beautiful in here, much nicer than Minghao and the others had ever kept it, that's for sure.

"They've really outdone themselves, haven't they?" Seokmin whispers in his ear.

"Looks like it." Minghao gulps, suddenly feeling intimidated.

"She'll want to speak with you."

"She?" Minghao asks, glancing over at Mingyu in confusion as the news rolls past Chaewon's tongue.

Chaewon furrows her brows, "Our leader." She tells Minghao, giving him a look as if he were supposed to know who that was, "Yuqi? Surely you know her."

Minghao's face twists.

He has no idea who Chaewon is talki—

Wait.

Minghao's heart drops.

"Yuqi?"

The woman with the baby. His name was Qian, Minghao remembers.

The woman who smiled at him and spoke to him the whole plane ride to pull him out of his very obvious breakdown then.

Yuqi.

"She's—" Minghao looks at Mingyu for answers, breath caught in his throat, "Yuqi's the leader?"

Mingyu bites his lip, "She looked like she knew you.... I caught it, then." He tells his husband, looking at Minghao with concern, "Were you familiar with her? Friends?"

"Uh, light acquaintances, I guess you could say." He looks back at Chaewon, "I only spoke to Yuqi once, but... she was so... so nice to me. How could she have been the one to order an attack on all of us that day?"

"Because I didn't know it was you."

Minghao turns his head, eyes catching onto a woman.

He knows it's Yuqi right away, and the toddler hugging her leg just confirms it.

"You can see again." Yuqi says, rubbing her little boy's head and looking at Minghao with an expression that he can't quite pinpoint, "I'm glad. It's been so long."

Minghao doesn't say a thing— Just stares.

"We..." Yuqi swallows, "We need to talk."