Hala Hala ||| Ateez

15

Jongho wiped his hands on his pants to clean off the cardboard dust as he looked around the room. He was very proud of it, having spent two days getting it set up to his standards.

Hongjoong had been true to his word and bought the building down the street from the precinct. The entire team had moved in there, including Yunho, and they were given their own rooms and own spaces.

Jongho took one of the larger rooms and turned it into a gym. The center had a ring where they could wrestle or box, there was one wall of mirrors, and there were various pieces of exercise equipment placed in other areas. A stack of mats was in the far corner and the far end of the room had a door that led to a room with a couple of showers in it.

And he had done all this by exploring the unused rooms in the precinct. So the ring in the center was just made out of metal poles and some rope he found, but it would work for now. The mirrors were technically the double sided ones used in the interrogation rooms, but he had been given permission to take them, so he did.

"Wow! This looks great!" Yunho's voice came from behind him. Jongho turned, feeling his pride rise even more as both Yunho and Hongjoong looked around the room.

"Thank you. It's no professional gym, but I think it'll for us for now. I would like to ask..." He said, rubbing his earlobe between his forefinger and thumb, "Would it be possible to get a couple of punching bags?"

"I don't see why not." Hongjoong said, flashing a smile. "This is amazing Jongho. And the fact that you did this without touching our budget, up until now, is impressive. Thank you."

The younger felt himself blush a little as he pursed his lips. "It's not that big of a deal. I've just learned to be resourceful."

"It is a big deal." Hongjoong walked forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Because the less we spend elsewhere, is more we have to put into other things we need. Specifically Yeosang. If we can get him the latest gear, then he will be an even bigger help to us."

"We actually wanted to talk to you about something to see how you felt." Yunho crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

Was he nervous about something? Jongho looked between the two of them and bit the inside of his cheek.

"With us being set up in this building, all of us, it increases the possibility of being discovered. Now that's a risk I'm willing to take," Hongjoong said, holding up his hands as Jongho opened his mouth to protest, "But it is still a risk. Yeosang is going to be here full time to watch us from the sky. He's already proven to be invaluable."

Yunho nodded in agreement. "If he hadn't been watching the hostage situation, there's no saying what would have happened to Wooyoung"

"So what does this have to do with me? I have no idea how to do any of that stuff, so I can't help him if that's what you're getting at."

Hongjoong shook his head quickly. "Not exactly. Yeosang is going to need someone to protect him. We'd like you to do that."

Jongho's forehead creased with confusion. They wanted to leave him behind to be a body guard? His heart sank a little at the thought of it. "But..."

"It may not be all the time." Yunho added, talking a little slower as a concerned look crossed his face. "But it would probably be most missions. He needs someone to watch his back just in case someone breaks in and tries to go after him. We don't want him here by himself."

"And we picked you because you are good at reading situations. Plus you are strong, but can still handle yourself when it comes to weapons." Hongjoong said.

"But why not the others?"

The oldest sighed and started to rub his eyebrow. "Honestly? It just seemed to fit in our mind. Seonghwa is another set of eyes in the sky with his sniper abilities. Mingi and Wooyoung, once his ankle heals, have the stealth down."