Ishihara // ATEEZ ✔

23 Plan

"What time is it now?"

"Wooyoung, you literally just asked the time 1 second ago."

"That is why I'm asking again."

"Shut up and sit down. You're making me dizzy from all the pacing," Mingi chastises.

"Not until I see them coming from that entrance. And I better see Akira with them or I will chase them out even before they step foot in the compound."

Wooyoung, Mingi, San and Yeosang are all waiting for the return of the rest, hoping to see the one face they've been waiting for. Yeosang had spent all his time knocking on every door, asking every resident he came across on whether they had seen Akira, but he returned with negative results. Even Wooyoung and Mingi, who are pretty famous around town, couldn't get the residents there to pinpoint her exact location. They did turn up at the inn, surprising Mrs. Lee with their sudden appearance, asking her whether she could possibly have seen Akira. Why yes, she had replied, but the girl looked like she was in a rush to get out of here. That was the only clue they could get and now they are back at the palace, hoping that Jongho, Seonghwa and Hongjoong would have at least found her. If they didn't, it could be a disaster.

They have been waiting at the staircase in front of the main doors, hoping that they would catch the first glimpse of the returning troop. Wooyoung has been pacing back and forth continuously, San has been trying to read a book but it proves to be useless when his eyes keep returning to the arched entrance, Mingi has been checking his watch almost everytime while Yeosang prefers to stand, tapping his impatient foot on the floor. San sees them first; he squints in the distance and throws away his book almost immediately. They see sillhouettes approaching, and without being told to do so all of them count silently in their hearts - one, two, three - and four.

There are four human sillhouettes, which could only mean Akira is back with them.

The four of them emerge from the shadows with the horses behind them. Wooyoung runs to them, approaching Akira first. He doesn't say anything but goes straight to hugging her, to which he immediately releases her when she hisses in pain. "Are- are you okay?"

"We were attacked and Yeosang-" Jongho turns to look at Yeosang, who is approaching with the other two following closely behind. "-I think you have some work to do."

Yeosang closes his eyes, massages his temples and the bridge of his nose before muttering, "There's never been a day where I get to rest." He opens his eyes and scrutinizes her wound. "Did someone stab you?" When he receives a nod, he turns to the others. "You guys look like you are fine so don't expect me to tend to you. You can find whatever you need to put on those cuts in my room. Don't expect me to tend to you three babies, okay?" His statement receives a snort from San, but he quickly covers it by clearing his throat.

"Follow me, Akira. You're fine to walk, right?" He receives a nod again, and Akira allows him to lead the way.

Mingi acknowledges the horses first and he frowns. "What the hell have you guys been through?"

"All four of us just went to fight against 10 men. We punched-" Jongho does a punching motion. "-stabbed them-" He thrusts his hand forward. "-and Seonghwa... well... is Seonghwa. In a battle. You know how he is."

Wooyoung stares at him. "Did you slap the life out of someone with your bow?"

"No, he twisted the guy's neck and cracked another's skull. You should've seen his eyes - they were red," Hongjoong utters.

"You guys always make me sound like I'm the only crazy one. Wooyoung and San are even worse than me."

The night becomes filled with their laughter, masking the pain they've been through recently. They want to think that everything is fine, but surely this is only another part of what is seemingly an endless fight.