Hala Hala ||| Ateez

3

Hongjoong tapped on the desk in front of him nervously as he waiting for his fellow officers to come in. Yunho was beside him, his mouth in a hard line as his coffee cup shook in his hand, and Hongjoong didn't know if it was from nerves, or the fact that that was cup number six and it wasn't even ten o'clock in the morning yet.

But today was not a day to scold him for his addiction. Hongjoong knew that this was already hard enough for him since he had a hard time dealing with...

Hongjoong was grateful he was here though. He didn't think he could go through this without his best friend.

They had started interviews at eight that morning. He would have one criminal brought in at a time and ask them a series of questions to see if he and Yunho felt they would 'qualify' for the program.

Although he didn't fully know what he wanted the qualifications to be. Hongjoong was basing a lot of this off his gut, which his father had always taught him to trust.

The door opened and he heard Yunho sigh before taking a deep gulp of coffee. Two officers walked in with a man between them dressed in an orange jumpsuit with his hands chained together. They were also attached to a body chain that wrapped around his torso and also connected down to his ankles, limiting his overall movement.

Hongjoong opened the file in front of him and scanned it as the black haired boy sat in front of him. "Thank you." He said to the officers after they chained his hands to the table. They nodded and stepped outside the room.

The boy stared at them with a questioning look on his round face. "What's this about?"

"My name is Kim Hongjoong. I am the new chief and I want to ask you some questions. Is that ok?"

The boy smirked a little. "Do I have a choice?"

Hongjoong felt the corner of his mouth rise. "No, I supposed you don't. I'll try to make this quick. You are Choi Jongho?"

"Yes."

"And you were arrested for running an underground fighting ring and illegal gambling?"

"Yes."

At least he was honest. Hongjoong like that already. "Did you fight in these rings?"

Jongho arched an eyebrow. "Yes. Occasionally."

Hongjoong glanced at Yunho, who had been studying Jongho, looking for any off signs or tells. While Yunho was a damn good driver, he was also excellent at reading people. His eyes flicked to meet the older's and gave a single nod of approval.

"Thank you, Jongho. That's all for now."

"That's it?" The younger said, looking surprised.

"For now." Hongjoong repeated, pressing the button under the table to signal the officers to come back.

They quickly unchained Jongho and escorted him out of the room while Hongjoong placed his file off to the side.

"Five more." He said, looking at Yunho.

"I know, they get worse from here. I'm ok." The taller nodded, taking another sip. "I'm going to need another cup after this next one though."

Hongjoong smiled and patted his friend's knee as the next one was brought in.

"Kang Yeosang. Hacker, yes?" He asked, glancing up at the prisoner and taking in his square face, birthmark, and light brown hair.

"Yes, Sir." The boy said, his eyes darting around the room. His fingers shook as he played with them on the table. "And a damn good one too."