Monsta X: The Clan Pt. 2

11: Never Give Up

"I can never give up"

"Even if I fall again"

Shownu:

I hadn't expected it to happen so early.

The meeting was only yesterday. Only yesterday they had decided my fate during a meeting organized by Jooheon himself. They decided that I was worthy for a retrial.

Why?

I had no idea.

Whether they wanted to make sure I never got out or to set me free and give some mercy, I was suddenly hopeful. Months of staying in the darkness and not knowing of anything in the outside world made any opportunity dreamlike.

Yet I wasn't prepared for the trial to be the day after the meeting.

It was the day after a restless night. I was still too excited about the news; I could hardly sit still. Back and forth I paced. I didn't have any sense of time down here, but I estimate that is was the afternoon, since the guards came to give me "lunch" not long ago. Although I was tired from lack of sleep, I couldn't stop myself from anxiously moving around the room.

Suddenly, in the midst of my pacing, heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway. I couldn't see much except for the small space in front of my cell, as there was a nearby lantern hanging next to the guard on the wall. It was hard to tell who was making the sound and what for. 

The guard outside my door turned his head towards the end of the hallway, in surprise as well. He suddenly took a step to the side to make room for four other guards that had arrived.

I froze in my spot and listened closely to hear what they were here for, though I could hardly hear anything but my thumping heart. Dropping down to the floor I quickly pretended that I was asleep so that they wouldn't know I was listening to them.

"It's too soon." Was all that I could think of.

The guard in front of my room seemed to think the same.

"You're here? Is it time? Already?" He asked incredulously. "Nobody ever gets a retrial that fast; it usually takes months, maybe even years."

I thought the same. There was no way that the government had my trial ready so fast when the judgment was made only yesterday.

"There was a special case with this," One of the guards started, sounding unsure of himself. "I have a feeling that someone worked inside the system to speed it up. They wanted it now for some reason, for what, I'm not sure."

One of the guards aggressively clapped his hands and shouted, "I know who it is!"

The others glared at him as he lowered his face in blushing shame.

"It must be Jooheon that forced the trial to happen so soon," He muttered in a low tone.

The others nodded in agreement with his statement.

"Does he have that much power? I just thought that he was some scientist that helped them with that flower drug..." Another trailed.

"Of course he does," Another snapped. "You haven't seen him with the secretary yet, he can get anything he wants. He has everyone wrapped around his finger. It's no surprise that he's the one that's done it. The question is, why?"

"He's planning something I swear," The guard near my door said firmly. "They never should've let his friends out of prison; they're only gonna concoct another plan and cause more trouble. Everyone knows it. It's why everyone was outraged when they were let out. They're notorious they are. This trial's not just a random decision called by the government. I'm telling you, it's something much bigger."

The loud one from before simply laughed at this. "You're making this sound like a big conspiracy," He said. "They're just kids. How much trouble can they cause?"

"Jooheon's just a kid," One of them deadpanned. "Yet he holds a higher position than all of us."

At this, all of them fell silent. 

There was a harsh truth to his words.

"Well wake him up," One grunted after a while in the awkward silence. "We're not doing much just standing here. If the trial's really soon then he has to look ready doesn't he?"

Another scoffed, "Ready? Ready for what? It's not like he gets a chance to clean up or dress. We're taking him straight there."

My stomach fell at those words. The trial was happening now. It was real.

There was the sound of footsteps and shuffling and I tried to keep my breath as even as possible. Hopefully, they'll buy it.

There was a clicking noise as the door unlocked and a loud creak as they swung the door open. The sound of their boots echoed in a menacing way as they approached me. 

One of them kicked me lightly with their boot and grunted, "Wake up."

I pretended to sleepily roll over and slowly open my eyes as I stared at their threatening figures above me. They all seemed to believe for now that I wasn't eavesdropping because none of them looked suspiciously at me. At least I didn't think so.

"Get up kid. You're getting a second trial to prove your innocence again," The nearest one said, grasping my arm tightly and yanking me hard up onto my feet. 

I pretended to look shocked as they cuffed my hands behind my back and started to push me out of the dark cell.

When we stepped out, I could finally see some light, for the first time in months, and it was blinding, even though it was a small hall lamp. The hallway was narrow and bland; I couldn't see anything past a few cells down, as the dark passage deepened. It was intimidating, nonetheless.

We began to walk down the hall, or more like they walked while I was stumbling over my feet as they shoved me forwards. I resisted the urge to yell at them in frustration. This was my one chance and I couldn't ruin it with stupid actions.

A million thoughts running through my head didn't help with my coordination. 

What was I to say?

What was I supposed to do during this trial?

I wasn't sure.

But whatever I had to do, I knew that I couldn't fail.

This was my last chance and I wasn't going to waste it.

A/N

The timestamp is from 1:45-1:50.

Oops, this is like two weeks old but it's finally here and like barely on time I'm so sorry.

What's an aggressive clap? Even I don't know, use your imagination lmao.

Next update will be this Sunday, 8/12. Give a vote if you like this series!