Guts (EXO)

Monster

“Pathetic.”

TOP’s gaze lifted from the floor to look up at their leader. The mayor was standing in front of the window like usual, smoking his third cigar of the day as he poured himself a glass of whiskey. Sitting on top of his worktable was Blue, picking his nails obsessively, while TOP settled in the couch at the corner of the dimly lit room.

“Who is pathetic, my lord?” Blue asked, taking a pen beside him and balancing it on his nose.

Jiyong ignored him. “They were right there within an arms length, yet he still let them escape,” he took a swig of his whiskey, “pathetic.”

TOP folded his legs and leaned back on the couch. “Durus may be physically unrivaled but he doesn’t have the brain to think things through,” he said. “Brawny as he is, he’s simpleminded.”

“I had high expectations of him,” Jiyong scoffed. “But so did I with Baekhyun and the Noxius brothers.”

“They’re traitors,” Blue sneered.

“And they have yet to receive their punishment,” Jiyong hissed. “They’re messing with the wrong man.”

TOP stared at the mayor’s physique and would have burst out laughing if it weren’t for his exceptional ability to mask his emotions. The mayor wasn’t the same as before – his once healthy hair was now dry and gray, and his youthful appearance was slowly diminishing. Wrinkles lined his features and now, he needed a cane to keep his posture upright. His true age was finally showing, and if it weren’t for them and his hundreds of soldiers, Jiyong would probably be dead right now. He was an old man now and it was pathetic.

“Rest for now,” TOP said. “You can’t afford to strain yourself too much anymore. Your condition is unlike before.”

“I do not need a reminder,” Jiyong sneered, glaring at TOP. “I know full well what’s happening to me and my body.”

TOP nodded once and looked away. People give Jiyong too much credit, especially those M-LX agents. Durus may be a pathetic individual, but so was the mayor. TOP knew it just from hearing his takeover plans and recruiting all the wrong people to do his dirty work for him. TOP knew Baekhyun was going to leave them at one point and the Noxius brothers were too reluctant to be loyal. Jiyong was responsible for his own mistakes, but he was too proud to admit it or too naïve to even realize it.

Jiyong cleared his throat. “I’ve had enough of traitors,” he placed the cigar in between his lips, “my weak condition is not getting any better and having disloyal members in my army will just delay our plans.”

“You’re right, my lord,” Blue said distractedly, still picking his nails.

“Good. What do you think, TOP?” he asked, raising a brow at the boy.

TOP met his gaze, and he knew that the mayor wanted him to recall why he was on his side in the first place. It was all for his father, how M-LX denied him a place in the organization for being crazy and experimenting on his own son before jumping off a building. His father was the reason why TOP had this strange ability of manipulating other people’s emotions, turning him into a monster, yet here he was, avenging his death.

TOP nodded. “You’re right.”

“I know I am,” Jiyong said. “Now go and get me something to eat.” Which was Jiyong’s way of telling him to capture random citizens from the streets, bring them into his office, kill them, and hand them over to the mayor to eat.

TOP exhaled through his nose and stood up. “Of course, my lord.”

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“Isn’t it weird,” Chanyeol started, propping his legs on top of Chen’s worktable, “that the mayor’s not showing his face lately?”