𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐓 𝟗.

one

2:06am.

The living space of the safe house was eerily quiet. All that could be heard was the anxious tapping of Hyunjin's foot on the creaky hardwood floor, and the muffled voices of Chan, Jisung, and Minho from the next room over. The others remained silent. To distract himself, Changbin had logged onto the house's security cameras, making sure they hadn't been followed. Felix sharpened his throwing knives aggressively on the couch. Woojin was on his laptop, plotting escape routes and where to get gas for the van. Seungmin was counting the stolen cash from the mission. After being on the run for three years, they had made every mistake possible, and learned from them.

They didn't make mistakes anymore.

They were now a team of mindless killing machines. That's what everyone said, at least. Maybe they had been more humane once. Maybe they had days of making a kill, and immediately moved away to vomit over the overwhelming smell of blood that was now no more than a simple nuisance. Their sensitivity gone, their innocence gone. They did what they had to in order to survive. This was the life they chose. They all regretted their choice once. Not anymore. They had each other, and that was all they needed.

No one smiled as they waited. And waited. It was still quiet until Felix threw his knife to the ground—startling everyone in the room— and stood up suddenly.

"Screw this! I want to see him!"

Seungmin stood up quickly after Felix, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him, just as he put his hand on the door handle.

"Lix, stop this, let them work," Felix immediately relaxed under his touch. "Jeongin is injured. You barging in there won't help anything." He reasoned calmly.

Felix had always had a temper, for as long as Seungmin had known him. He was terrifying sometimes. The boy killed without remorse, without a conscience. He liked it. Everyone present knew about Felix's past, how it had made him this way, but if you ever brought it up, you might as well wish yourself dead. Said boy rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I'll wait." He sulked back to his seat, picking his knife off the ground. As he sat back down, Hyunjin and the other members in the room let out a silent exhale of relief. Felix may have an innocent face, but he was by far the scariest of them. He and Hyunjin were close, mostly because they had to work together often. Well, kill together often is more like it.

And so they went back to waiting.

But then the door opened. Their leader stepped through it slowly. His face was solemn, eyes slightly puffy and red. Hyunjin felt himself frown.
This wasn't good, Chan never cries. Ever.

The group looks up at him with anticipation. As he remained silent, Hyunjin grew more and more anxious. Chan went into the small kitchen, grabbing a cup and filling it with water. He took a long drink, ignoring the slightly annoyed boys in front of him.

After what felt like an eternity, he spoke. "Jeongin's okay. The wound wasn't too bad, but the bullet did go deeper than we originally thought. He'll recover in about a week."

He smiled at the boys. "You can see him now. Go." Felix was the first to smile brightly and rush into the room where their friend lay. The rest followed after, also eager to see him.

Jeongin laid on the bed, back leaning against the headboard, watching as his family rushed into the room as Minho and Jisung finished cleaning up.

Felix was the first into the room, immediately kneeling down and hugging him tightly, only pulling away after he winced in pain from his wound. He still clasped his hand tightly, even after pulling away. Jeongin smiled at him, letting him know he was all right.

"I'm all right." He said.

"You're all right." Felix repeated.

Seungmin gave the boys a smile, and put an arm over Felix's shoulders. Changbin moved around to the other side of the bed, putting another hand on Jeongin's shoulder. He was joined by Minho and Jisung. Hyunjin joined Seungmin and Felix, almost near tears. Woojin wiped a single tear away, approaching the boy as well, joining the circle of brothers.

Meanwhile, Chan watched from the back, and felt a strange sense of happiness. Earlier, taking care of Jeongin had made him realise how much he cared for his team. Seeing him hurt made him angry, not at the person who caused it, but at himself. He had failed as a leader. He hadn't protected his youngest team member. He was worthless. He had made many mistakes, but this was one of the worst. He never wanted to see Jeongin, or anyone on his team, get hurt again.

He figured it was because he was scared. He's scared of being alone. Scared of losing everyone. Being left with nothing again, the way he once was. They meant to much to him. He wiped away a stray tear that appeared on his face. Leaders don't cry. He would protect them. It was all for them.

These boys were his family, and with them is where he would stay.