KING

一 09

Rina watched as Mark quietly conversed with Yuta and Ten, the two older men having contrasting expressions of utmost seriousness and complete boredom.

Jisung tugged on her hand, his skin rough and calloused compared to her own. "Where are we going?" he asked, his bright eyes staring at her curiously. She wondered how the youthful spark in them hadn't died yet, from being wrongly accused to nearly being taken to the harshest prison without a trial.

Rina gave him a pained smile, shrugging, before shifting her attention back to the surroundings, watching as the trees swayed in the soft, caressing breeze, dimly pathways buzzing with the noise of a thousand insects.

It had been a very long time since she had been out. The courtyard was the closest thing she had to being outside in eight years, and even then, it seemed to be a prison with no roof to her. She continued to stare in wonder, before Chenle broke her stupor by asking, "Who was that boy?"

Rina froze, knowing exactly who the mint haired boy was referring to. Donhyuck, the guard who let them go, who let her go. She turned to the younger, who stared at her expectantly. Clearly, he had found it suspicious that the guard had let them go without a fight or even a conversation. So she gave him an answer.

'My friend.' She mouthed.

"That's so cool," Jisung said in awe. "You have a soldier friend." Rina smiled, the feeling of an empty hole in her chest widening. She merely nodded, before noticing the approaching figures of Mark and Lucas.

She looked at Mark warily, knowing he had emerged from the secret tunnel that they had escaped from much later than them, with red eyes and the ring Donghyuck always wore glittering on his finger.

She had given him a questioning look, but all he had done was wrap his arms around her in a warm embrace, his breathing unstable and shaky, as if he had been crying.

Once he had let her go, he had pressed a beautiful silver clip into the palm of her hand. "From him." He whispered, blinking.

She wanted to cry when she had seen the item in her hand, one that came with a rush of memories of Jeno placing it beside her bed on her birthday, Donghyuck twisting the clip into her hair to uphold the elaborate styles he had lovingly put her hair into.

Mark hadn't said anything to her after that, promising an explanation when they were in safer territory.

Maybe she was a fool for wanting to turn and run back into the prison, just so that she could the golden hair and amber eyes she had grown to adore one more time, to throw her arms around a black haired, crescent eyed boy, the both of them having helped her through nightmarish days and lonely nights, the boring seconds that trickled away like sand within the cold walls of the hell she had just escaped with the help of strangers.

"I'll be back in about three weeks time, so don't go anywhere." Jeno's voice echoed in her head, the joke seeming so ironic. What would he say when he found out, having come back from guarding the worst criminals just to see his friend gone? What would Donghyuck tell him?

Oh god, she thought, dread beginning to settle like cement in the pits of her stomach. What would happen to Donghyuck, her only friend?

She was jerked back to reality when Mark spoke. "Do you have anywhere to go?" He asked, directing the question Jisung and Chenle, Rina noticing the taller sliding his hand into the shorter's hand, heart warming at how close the two were.

She slid smoothly to Lucas' side, the green eyed man offering her a soft smile, seemingly in a much better mood.

Jisung replied with a shake of his head, glancing at Chenle who stepped forward. "My mother was murdered, and she was the only family Jisung and I had." He said, voice and expression devoid of emotion. "We can't go back there, we have nowhere to hide."

Mark fell silent, allowing Lucas a chance to speak. "Where did you live?" He asked. "Neo City, third section." Jisung answered, before widening his eyes pleadingly. "We really can't go there, just direct us elsewhere and we'll be okay-"

"I'm taking you somewhere safer." Mark cut him off smoothly, glancing at Lucas, who shrugged uncaringly. "It's up to you whether you want to trust me or not, but I promise you," Mark said strongly, staring at the two youngsters in eye, "I won't let harm come to you to the best of my ability."

Chenle opened his mouth, and then closed it, looking surprised.

Hesitantly, he nodded, Mark looking satisfied. "See you at headquarters." He told Lucas, giving Rina one last look, a smile which she didn't return, before gesturing for Jisung and Chenle to follow him.

Rina watched their retreating backs as they slowly melted into the darkness, going farther and farther down the road, Yuta and Ten watching them as well.

"I think the reason Mark feels so strongly about them is because his own dad died." Lucas said thoughtfully, causing Rina to whip around with an incredulous look on her face. Lucas, however, paid no attention to her surprise, merely continuing to look thoughtful as he continued talking.

"I think he had a friend he lost too. Seeing the two of them must be really hard for him, because losing someone as close as partner for a Boss-" Lucas started, before giving Rina an apologetic look. "Sorry, you probably don't understand what I am saying." He glanced down the road, before turning back to her.

"Once we get to safety, I'll explain who we are, deal?" He cheerfully held out his hand to her, Rina raising an eyebrow as she shook it, before smiling.

The revving of an engine cut through the thick silence of the night, as a car as black as the darkness settling in pulled up, making Rina flinch, wanting to curse that the driver. They were still in the prison patrol guards range, so making noise and attracting attention was the last thing she wanted.

A blinding smile wormed its way onto Yuta's face, the red-haired man looking happier than Rina had even seen him in the past few hours she had known him, while Ten gave the car a look of contempt.

"Sicheng!" Yuta yelled, knocking on the window as the driver rolled it down, revealing a young man with blond hair, sharp chiseled features and an intense stare that could kill.

"Why is Ten here?" He snapped, Yuta ignoring the clear signs of the foul mood the man was in, continuing to smile cheerfully as he waved to Rina and Lucas.

Lucas sighed, making his way down the path as Rina followed close behind. "Jaehyun couldn't have come himself, no, he just had to send Sicheng." She heard Lucas mutter under his breath.

Catching his eye, he sighed as Rina looked at him in confusion. "Ten and Sicheng hate each other." Lucas said, groaning softly.

"On the contrary," Ten said loudly, Rina realizing that they had come within the range of the said black haired man, who looked rather hesitant to get into the car. "It's him who hates me."

"You're not exactly sunshine and butterflies with him." Lucas shot back. "Yeah, but I try." Ten shrugged, giving Rina a patronizing look. "Who wouldn't hate you after what you did?" Sicheng called out, before noticing Rina.

"Oh, hello." He said in surprise.

She waved, before Lucas opened the door for her to enter. She did, Ten and Lucas following suit, Yuta taking the seat beside the driver. The blond man started the car, Yuta turning around to look at Rina as the car started to move backwards.

"Thanks for coming," Yuta said happily, making Rina wonder just exactly what their relationship was.

"He's Yuta's Boss." Lucas said, as if he had read her mind. "Dong Sicheng, and his partner, Nakamoto Yuta."

She gave him a confused look, and he said nothing. She could see Sicheng throwing her curious looks through the rear view mirror, him and Yuta having a silent conversation with sharp eyes glancing at each other.

Ten was silent, eyes staring darkly out the window, hands clutched tightly in his hands.

He looked so achingly familiar, similar to a dear held boy of her childhood, but at the same time, not at all. His playful demeanor had faded away in something colder, face frozen in an impassive look, the type of look you'd never be able to tell if there was heat or ice behind, alluring and tempting to reach out and see for yourself, but she held herself backs, settling for merely picking out every detail of the numerous rings and bracelets decorating his hand and wrist.

It was going to be a long ride.