Hala Hala ||| Ateez

51

Seonghwa couldn't believe his eyes.

The ware house had been converted into some kind of giant... machine.

Large mechanical arms came from every side to hold a large glass orb in place in the center of the room. It appeared to be housing the mysterious particle his father had been after.

Which kept glowing brighter and brighter.

The machine whirred to life, stirring up the air and forcing it out to the walls.

All eight of them held up their arms to shield their faces from any flying debris.

Whatever his father was doing... It looked like it was almost done.

They started to march forward, leaning into the torrent trying to keep them at bay.

Seonghwa swallowed, trying to build up his nerves. He couldn't back down this time. He couldn't hesitate. He was going to put and end to this. Once and for all.

He could hear the man laughing as he stared up at the large ball. "I was wondering when you would get here!" He shouted, tilting his head over his shoulder.

Seonghwa faltered, then cried out as they were swarmed with other members of the Wolf Pack.

Everything had been a set up as an ambush. The men outside were just a distraction. A means to an end to give his father more time to complete his mission.

His arms were yanked behind his back and bound tight before he was forced forward.

Everything was happening so face, he had a hard time processing. The sound of the air whirling around his head started to drown out everything else.

Except for the screams from behind him.

Seonghwa turned and saw the rest of his team was fighting off their captors.

"Just bring them all!" His father growled, turning back to his machine. "I've worked too hard to let you ruin it now!"

The eight members were forced to their knees in front of the machine as it continued to get louder and louder.

"You walked right into my trap. Just as I expected you would." The man sneered. "It took you longer than I thought it would though, did my ambush outside give you guys problems?"

"You fucking bastard!" Hongjoong growled. "Do none of their lives matter to you?"

"No. They don't."

Seonghwa's jaw dropped at his father's words. He didn't remember the man being this heartless. He had always put his men first. For him to be so careless... He must be out of his mind.

"And none of you matter either. In fact, none of this matters anymore. You're finished. I've won." He started laughing again, bending back a little as he did. "I never thought this day would come. All that work. All that planning. It was all worth it. And now it will all be fixed."

"Making Seonghwa kill his own mother, was that worth it?" Wooyoung shouted, his face red with rage.

Seonghwa turned to him with wide eyes and tried to catch his attention, but a dark look had crossed the younger's face.

"That was woman was no mother." His father still had to speak up to be heard over the machine, but his tone changed and he looked almost sad. "Yes, killing an innocent is part of our training. That's how it's always been. But that bitch thought she had the right to come back and try to buy Seonghwa's love back after abandoning him right after birth."

His father turned away, giving Seonghwa a chance to look at the ground as he tried to process what was just said. He had wondered about his mom sometimes, but it had never been a concern. His father had always been attentive, caring, nurturing at times, and sure he was strict given his chosen profession... But Seonghwa had never felt the loss of not having a mom.