Everyone seated themselves at the long table as Junmyeon yanked the arrow out of the wall. He inspected the weapon and took his place at the head of the table. I plopped down in between Chanyeol and Jongin.
"They're taking this too far." Kyungsoo said stiffly. "This is absolutely ridiculous. First a death threat, and now a war declaration?"
Junmyeon sighed. "I agree, but I don't see what we can do ab-"
"Kill them!" Sehun interrupted angrily, slamming his hands into the table. I flinched a little at the sudden move. "What do you mean you 'don't see what we can do about it'? They declared war on us. Not the other way around. If they want a war, let's give it to them. They deserve to die anyway."
"Sehun!" Jumyeon said sternly, "This isn't that simple."
"It's perfectly simple, hyung." Sehun argued. "They are a threat to one of our own; we eliminate the threat, and Y/N is safe."
I looked around uncomfortably before I spoke up. "Um," everyone immediately turned to me, "Baek said that he felt like the whole thing was a setup."
A confused look crossed their faces. "What do you mean?" Jongin asked.
"I don't know, honestly. All he said was that the whole ordeal seemed planned. Baek thought that it seemed weird how I just happened to be passing through the same area when...when they killed that guy."
Chanyeol leaned back thoughtfully. "It's not impossible. Especially after this. he gestured to the arrow between Junmyeon's fingers. "They aren't the type to act on a whim. Namjoon uses his resources wisely. He wouldn't do something like this just because he wants to make a point about territory lines."
I frowned slightly. "What resources, though? I mean, all he did was shoot an arrow through our dining room window."
"Myeon?" Chanyeol exchanged a look with Junmyeon.
A small sigh escaped the older man's lips as he placed the arrow on the table. "Y/N, everything has a risk. With a business like ours and BTS's, we always have to be careful that we don't get caught. That means that we have to minimize the amount of movement within our respective organizations. Namjoon would've had to either hire someone, come himself, or send one of the other six BTS members to do this. And it came with a note. Do you understand?"
I gulped. "You're saying that he wouldn't have risked going through all this just to send us a note. Unless..." I paused, dreading the next words.
"Unless they are either desperate, or really need you for something." Kyungsoo finished for me. A heavy silence crossed the table.
"Read the note." I said finally. Everyone glanced at each other uncertainly. "Read the note, Junmyeon."
He began, "Y/N I don't think it's-"
"Read it!" I exclaimed. "All of you have always kept me in the dark about anything that concerns your mafia stuff. This one time, when it actually concerns me, you can't just leave me hanging. It's my life, guys. I'm in danger whether you tell me or not. You don't have a right to keep my life under wraps the way you do with everything else. We're all here. We all need to know so we can solve this. Read it, Myeon." This seemed to spur something in the EXO members, or at least Junmyeon, who unrolled the cream colored paper that was tied to the arrow.
"You're crossing dangerous waters, Suho. Appreciated the effort, but we will allow only one negotiation. We have those two fools you sent to speak with us.
In two days, you bring that Y/L/N girl to the border and hand her over. 11pm. Otherwise, you never see your friends again.
Looking forward to witnessing your anguish,
Bangtan."
"No way..." Sehun mumbled.
"Wait!" I said quickly, before everyone sank into shock. "It said they had two of our own. We sent four!"
Jongin's head shot up. "She's right!" He realized. "Guys, we might be okay! If we can find the other two, then we'll have more power to be able to save them!"
Chanyeol groaned. "We don't even know who they have. How are we going to find who they don't have? And aren't you forgetting the most important detail? There's absolutely no way in hell we can get them back like this. They want Y/N. That's the only way."
A collective gasp filled the air. "What the hell, Chanyeol?" Kyungsoo shouted. "No way! Are you actually suggesting that we trade Y/N for them?"
"Woah, chill!" Yeol yelled angrily. "I'm not suggesting anything! I'm just stating the obvious!"
"You know very well that's not an option!" Kyungsoo accused Chanyeol.
"Come one, you guys." Sehun tried. "We can find some way to get them back that doesn't include Y/N."
"So what?" Chanyeol shot back at Kyungsoo, completely ignoring the maknae. "Are you saying we should abandon them?"
"Bro what the hell?" Soo ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "I never said anything like that!"
"Shut the hell up!" Jongin roared. Instantly, everyone went silent. Angry Jongin is a scary Jongin. "How stupid can you guys be? There's no way we're abandoning my hyungs, and there's no way we're giving them Y/N either. Let's just get that clear."
"Right. Thanks Jongin." Junmyeon said dryly. "Well said. Minus the, ahem, yelling at your hyungs."
A blush of embarrassment crossed Jongin's face as he looked down and mumbled, "Sorry hyung." Junmyeon raised an eyebrow. "Hyungs." Jongin corrected himself.
"Right." Junmyeon said with a small smile. "In any case, you're all right. We're definitely at an impasse. And they're probably expecting us to find some way around this. They know we don't have enough men to engage. Any civil," a meaningful glance in Sehun's direction, "ideas on how to figure this out?"
"Why don't we just give them what they don't expect?" I suggested.
A soft laugh escaped Chanyeol. "Well that's original." I shot him a glare.
Sehun rolled his eyes. "What do you have in mind?"
"Do what they asked." I said simply. "Give them me."
A/N My mom asked me what I was writing and I almost told her I was writing a conspiracy theory XD
Also, Shristi, if you are reading this, Tae is coming soon. His figs fly high in the sky. I'm hoping that my repetitive usage of EXO members names will help you start to remember them now. lol <3
