Code 61

Chapter 5

There were so many things that didn't make sense to me. That included the service room at the back of the parking lot which Sehun has taken to calling the "war room," if you could call it that. It looked more like an open-floor studio on low budget.

Except for the makeshift kitchen at the back, the room held everything. The shared beds were at the farthest corners, basically just a bunch of mattresses pushed together except for one which I assumed was Kyungsoo's. He seemed like the type who detested physical contact.

On the opposite corner was Jongdae's messy computer setup. He was spinning on his squeaking swivel chair as the black screens flickered with a string of glowing green text. With the tangle of wires around it, I wondered how it still hadn't combusted. It looked like an electrical accident waiting to happen. The thought might have shown on my face because Jongdae smiled at me a bit too sweetly, like he knew and didn't care.

A small collection of mismatched couches and sofas surrounded a low coffee table at the front and centre of the room. To its left was an equally unmatched dining table whose chairs ranged from wooden stools to elegantly backed chairs. Where they came from, I didn't even want to know. The whole place felt like a collection of found objects trying to fit in and have a purpose.

That sounded a lot like me.

And then there was the bulletin board. Newspaper clippings were tacked to it, photographs of places in the city, faces of people that seemed vaguely familiar but I couldn't place. On one side, a map of Seoul was spread out. A red yarn ran through them, crisscrossing over each other with no sense — at least to me. Kyungsoo was standing before it, still as a rock.

Breaking the silence, I asked him. "Are you planning another robbery?"

He turned to face me. "Is that what you think we've been doing?"

"It's all over the news."

"Sometimes what you see isn't everything, Chanyeol." Kyungsoo pointed to a portrait of a man on the bulletin board. I almost didn't recognise Lieutenant Kim who must have been in his early twenties when the photo was taken. The hardened edge in his gaze and the sharp authority he carried wouldn't come until years later, I realised. "He's a dangerous man."

The way Kyungsoo said it made me think there was something more to the story, but I didn't pry. I didn't think he trusted me enough to tell me anything of importance. Not yet, anyway.

"I met him when they arrested me," I told him. "I hate to say this but I think things are about to get worse for us."

Kyungsoo smiled bitterly. "It always does."

When he turned back to the bulletin board, I didn't dare say another word. I tried to understand what Kyungsoo was seeing but it only made my head hurt. Deciding I needed fresh air, I walked out of the war room and back into the darkness of the parking lot.

Save for the faint whistle of the draft blowing through the silence, everything was quiet. I picked my way out until I found the exit to the surface. The surroundings didn't seem familiar, nowhere I've been before. In the distance, downtown Seoul glowed a warm yellow like it had been set ablaze from the inside.

"You shouldn't have come here."

I whirled, surprised that I didn't hear him approach in the first place. Minseok regarded me with barely repressed mistrust. In the moonlight, his white hair seemed to glow. His face looked young, but his posture spoke of age. And the way Kyungsoo regarded him seemed like he was the eldest in the group. Something told me he wasn't too keen about letting me join them.

He took a long drag from the cigarette held between his teeth and blew the smoke into my face. I turned away, coughing at both the smoke and the chill of his breath. When I looked up, he was still looking at me. His eyes glowed bright blue then the cigarette stick he was holding froze instantly.