dangerous | choi seungcheol

[ Chapter 4 ]

Eventually they had made it out of the concrete jungle, avoiding the probes as much as possible.
That wasn't a problem; they seemed to have given up on them.
After an hour or so of Analeigh navigating through the arrangement of concrete they had rushed into earlier, the four made it back to the main part of the city.
"Where to now?" Analeigh asked. "Your base was destroyed.."
They slid into an alley, avoiding the crowds of people rushing past on either side.
"She's right." Mingyu added. "We can't go back there, even if pieces of it are still there. Our location wouldn't be secret."
Seungcheol sighed, clicking at his watch for a moment.
"I know where we can go."
--
There they stood, in the middle of a New York City skyscraper hallway.
Analeigh began to drift away, thinking of who could be behind the door, but then was bumped back into reality as Seungcheol's knocks echoed down the hallway.
Mingyu bit his lip, exchanging nervous glances with May.
Who exactly were they looking for?
After a few moments, the door swug open, and Analeigh was quick to get a glimpse.
Who she saw was definitely not anything like what she had expected.
In the door way stood-
"Soonyoung." Seungcheol's voice echoed down the hallway, equivalent to his knocks.
"Ah, hyung! You know Seokmin and I don't do this stuff anymore! And how many times did I have to tell you to call me Hoshi-"
"Listen, Hoshi," May butted in. "The point is you really need to let us into your apartment right now."
The shorter, light haired male sighed. "Fine."
He stepped back, letting the four walk in, quickly closing the door behind them afterwards.
"I'll be right back." He turned and walked into the other room, searching for someone. A moment later he returned, with a taller and smiling persona.
"Choi Seungcheol.. I thought you were dead!" Seokmin reached out his hand and Seungcheol met it, confirming his greeting with a firm shake. "What can we do for you..?"
"Just let us a stay here for a few days until we find a new place to set up." He answered, the tone of his voice lowering.
"You mean..?" Hoshi began. "They found you..?"
"How?"
"We don't know," Mingyu answered. "But they did and that's all that we have right now." The taller fumbled around in his pocket for a moment, and then pulled out the small, sleek, silver flash drive he had taken from the computer. "But everything we have is safe."
"We know you guys left the agency for.. reasons, but we really need your help right now. We're falling apart." May pushed a strand of her dark hair behind her ear, leaning up against Mingyu.
"Follow me." Seokmin said, and the four followed the two deeper into the apartment.
They reached a small room with gray walls, and two computers. A filing cabinet stood pushed up against the wall, beneath a photograph of Hoshi and Seokmin, along with two others that Analeigh didn't recognize.
-
Mingyu quickly made himself at home, plugging in the flash drive. Soon, windows of images and coding flooded the computer screens.
"So you're Analeigh, right?" Hoshi asked, approaching the somewhat shy brunette.
"Yeah," She smiled slightly, pushing a lock of chocolate brown hair behind her ear, only to have it fall back into it's original position. "Nice to meet you."
"What do you think of the SCA so far?"
"It's something new.. And pretty terrifying honestly."
Hoshi laughed. "You'll get used to it."
"Why did you and Seokmin leave..?" She hated to jump right into questions, but she was curious.
He hesitated. "Things were getting pretty heavy.. For once I slowed down and thought about all the things I was missing."
Analeigh nodded. "Yeah, I completely left my best friend behind-"
"Don't feel bad."
How could she not, though? Charlotte was her best friend. They had been through so much together. And then Analeigh suddenly disappeared.
"How can I not?"
"Trust me, you'll see her again."
"Okay." She was hesitant, but then slowly thanked him for the encouragement, even though she knew it might not ever happen.
How worried was Charlotte? What about Analeigh's family?
"The agency changes you," He looked down. "It might not seem right, but in the long run, it is. I've seen so many things, you just learn to appreciate stuff more, you know?"
"Yeah," She sighed. "I think it's for the better too. I don't want to be someone helpless."
"It might not seem like it, but you've already saved so many people. Especially one in particular."
-
Analeigh lay on the couch in Seokmin and Hoshi's living room. She glanced over at May, who was as still as a rock, all except for the steady rising and lowering of her chest.
She thought of everything that had happened to her so far.
Will it really be for the better?
She missed home, her apartment, Charlotte and her constant hungriness. But through all of that, she felt that this was what was better. She could actually do something.
Analeigh had always felt helpless. Not that she was, she just didn't always feel with putting up with things.
Being with the SCA, being able to save a city, being able to even survive in these drastic situations- she felt like she could do something.
The tick of the clock echoed through the apartment, almost blending in with the faint sound of Mingyu's fingers against the keyboard.
Pale moonlight shone through the blinds, leaving it's mark on the hard, wood floor.
Analeigh tried to close her eyes, but she just couldn't. Something felt different, and she couldn't mark exactly what.
She sat up, pushing her hair out of her face and adjusting the straps of her gray tank top. Her bare feet padded against the floor as she made her way into the kitchen.
She opened the cabinet, her brown eyes searching for a glass. Her fingers closed around one, and she turned around, only to meet another figure in the darkness.
Seungcheol.
"Can't sleep?" He whispered, aware of the others sleeping in the house.
"Yeah," Analeigh replied, nodding slightly. "I just needed a drink.. I thought it would help." She turned to the sink, the cup weighing a little more each second as it filled with water.
"I'm sorry again. For bringing you into this."
She turned around, facing him once more. He ran his fingers through his hair, and searching through the darkness, she found a look of concern in his eyes.
"Don't worry about it, really." She sat her now empty glass on the counter. "I think it'll be for the better."
And she walked back to her spot on the couch, falling asleep immediately.

--

Thank you for over 150 reads!!
If you hadn't noticed by now, I'm trying to update weekly. (Most likely every Thursday or Friday!)
-m.c. (^: