Monsta X: The Clan Pt. 2

3: Nothing to Lose

"I laid everything down"

"I have nothing to lose"

Kihyun:

Climbing up the guard tower, I tried to be as silent as possible.

This wasn't easy since every rung of the old ladder I was climbing seemed to creak under my weight. It was as if it was trying to call for the guard's attention, who was sitting at the very top of the box-shaped guard tower, half asleep as he surveyed the empty farmland that was near the border.

The guard tower was built the same as the other guard towers that the government had placed around the Capitol's border. It was a metal box that was raised about twenty feet in the air by four thick metal columns. On the underside of each guard box was a hole and a ladder attached, so that anyone could get inside.

Since it was underneath the box, it was out of sight from the windows of the guard tower.

Out of sight from the guard.

Was I supposed to be nervous about what I was about to do?

I felt like I was supposed to be, even though I didn't feel the slightest bit uncomfortable with the cold metal of a gun digging into my back.

Sure I might've felt nervous back then.

But a lot has changed. We lost some of our friends to the government, we experienced capture and we had our freedom taken away from us. We were on the run, always, and had to make tough decisions.

None of us were the same, and as we were changing, I tried my hardest to make myself into something useful.

The old Kihyun, the one who was desperate for attention, wouldn't cut it.

The old Kihyun, the one who was never able to do anything without an order, wasn't enough.

The old Kihyun, the one who had endless amounts of empathy, wasn't the one that they wanted.

I knew it from their eyes, their looks, every harsh reprimand they gave.

They wanted another Lee Minhyuk.

Not Yoo Kihyun.

Mentally scolding myself, I reminded myself to focus on the task at hand. I had reached the top of the ladder and was now waiting to see if the guard had noticed anything.

Judging by the snoring sound emitting from the room, I could tell that he clearly wasn't paying attention.

Slowly, I used my arms to pull my body into the room. Standing up, I quickly examined my surroundings in the small box.

There wasn't much room for anything in here. The walls were lined with large windows that spanned the entire way, providing a perfect view of everything outside. Underneath the lying windows were several control system panels, with beeping and flashing lights that I assumed had each a certain function. Shoved into another corner of the room was a table with a microphone on top, I guess for broadcasting, and a chair, in which the sleeping guard was sitting on.

They said that the key I needed to find would be hidden in one of the drawers underneath the control panel. Silently crossing the room, I carefully began opening drawers, trying my hardest not to wake up the guard.

After opening nearly all of the drawers, I couldn't find it anywhere. All that was there were useless daily logs on what went on at the border, most of it containing irrelevant and lazy writing. 

If the key wasn't hiding in the drawers, then that meant that it wasn't here, or it was in a place I really didn't want it to be.

On the guard himself.

Sighing, I knew I had to check. Tip-toeing over, I managed to get closer so that I was only a few feet away. Sure enough, I could see the shiny silver key hanging off of the back of the guard's leather belt. He was nearly sitting on it, which made this much harder.

Edging closer, I nervously studied his eyes to see them tightly closed. He was indeed in a deep sleep, no doubt tired from all of the work he had done. 

Now was the perfect chance. 

Reaching over, my fingers carefully grasped onto the tip of the key. It was, unfortunately, attached to a key ring around his belt, meaning I would have to undo that first to get the key off of him.

With fumbling fingers, I managed to open the key ring and slip the key off. Now slowly withdrawing from the guard, I turned around the make my exit, thankful that I had done this quietly and cleanly.

Just as I had reached the ladder, thinking I had made it, a loud snort sounded behind me.

Turning around in horror, I could see the guard slowly open his eyes and stare at me. Then his eyes traveled to the key in hands and he instantly arose.

"Hey!" He yelled, struggling to come out from around the table. "Who are you? Give that key back!"

He was reaching towards his side, where a gun sat in its holster.

Frowning grimly, I reached behind me myself, and before he could take his gun out, I brought out mines.

And without a second thought, I shot the bullet.

________________________________________

I grunted in annoyance as I dragged the heavy body bag behind me.

The cold metal of the key could be felt in my hoodie pocket as I trudged on in the dark, musky alleyway. 

There was little light here except that given by the moonlight. These back roads were emptied at this time of the night; nobody dared to travel here so late.

I glanced back in apprehension to find that the bag was leaving behind a dark trail of red blood; a path that led directly to me. I hardly cared. Hardly anyone here would find the sight strange, considering how shady this place seemed to be. It's not like anyone would question the guard's sudden disappearance either.

I was safe, for now.

They had instructed me to get the key so that they could "show me where the flowers were." I'm not entirely sure what that meant, but I had learned to handle myself. If there was anything shady about this deal that my friends had set up, I would be ready.

The shady men who we were doing this deal with said that they had wanted the key for a while, but never sent anyone to get it. 

Now, I suppose, they had someone to do their dirty work for them.

And that someone was me.

I tugged the heavy bag behind me harder, eager to finally get rid of it. The thick smell of blood was irritating, and my arms wouldn't be able to handle the weight much longer.

It didn't feel like I was the cause of this, the cause of the lifeless body I was taking with me. It rather felt like someone else was doing it. It seemed like I was living in a dream.

It was never my fault.

I would never believe that it was.

Because that's exactly what Minhyuk would do.

A/N

Time-stamp is 0:43-0:52 in the Fighter M/V.

I'll try to keep these author notes short from now on!

Next update is this Sunday, 7/8. Don't forget to vote and see you then!