ATEEZ HEIST [18+ Yunho/Mingi Fanfic]

Chapter 31 - Power

All my life I had only wanted two things. I had wanted to graduate law school and I wanted to become a defense attorney. As far back as I can remember, those goals were the only important things in my life. I didn't go out or have many friends. I didn't date. I stayed home and studied until the early hours of the morning to get perfect grades. Often times, my classmates would ask me why I would work so hard. And to be completely honest, I never really knew. I didn't mind putting in the work but I also didn't know why I wanted it so much. I was just something that I did, and that defined me.

Since the heist, I hadn't given so much as a thought to university. It had suddenly become so unimportant. I didn't think about all the classes that I was missing, or how far behind I would be. The thought didn't even come to mind that I would never be able to go back there without the police finding me. And the fact that I really didn't miss it let me know that it wasn't the right place for me to be.

Yunho had gone to the kitchen to help Seonghwa prepare dinner. I promised to meet him there after I dried off and got dressed. As I blow dried my newly-shortened hair, I realized that he hadn't even been gone for five minutes. And yet, I wanted to see him again. I wanted to see him smile and laugh. I wanted him to hold me.

I missed him.

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Everyone sat around the table, as Seonghwa and Yunho finished serving up the plates. Well, almost everyone was there. Wooyoung was missing. Other than his empty seat, everyone was squished around the table, shoulder to shoulder. Overflowing bowls of soft tofu stew were scattered amongst various vegetable side dishes and rice.

I was eating better now than I had ever before. Growing up I was always reaching for the most convenient options: instant ramen, potato chips, frozen dinners. My parents were divorced, and my mom was always too busy to cook for me. It wasn't her fault, she had to work two jobs to support me. Still, it had been a very long time since I had eaten so much delicious foods.

"Hey Y/N?" I heard Mingi's incomparable voice from across the table. I looked up at him and nodded, since my mouth was full of soup.

"I was thinking that we should go to the beach tomorrow." He said nonchalantly, taking another bite of a piece of tofu. "It's supposed to be sunny out, and I figured that you would want to get out of the apartment."

"Really?" A smile emerged on my lips. "I'd love to go! I've only seen the beaches here in pictures before. Oh – but I don't have a swimsuit."

He chuckled, "It's still way too cold out to swim, but we can still go and walk around."

"No, you can't." Everyone turned to look at Hongjoong, who had been silent up to this point.

"Why not?" I asked.

He swallowed a mouthful of food and then continued, "Because the police know what you look like. You'll most likely get spotted. And if they find you, you could lead them to all of us as well."

I was getting a bit frustrated, "Isn't that why we all dyed our hair? So they wouldn't recognize us? Plus, even if they would recognize my face, we're still on the other side of the country. I doubt they're even looking here."

He sighed deeply, as if I was annoying him. "Look, we should only go out for essential outings, like grocery shopping, not silly dates. It's too big of a risk. You aren't going and that's final."

He looked back to his food, assuming the conversation was over. I decided otherwise. "I'm sorry but isn't the heist over? Who the hell still put you in charge? I'm not your hostage anymore and I'll do what I want."

He looked back up, a little surprised, but he didn't let it show. Instead he smiled and spoke calmly, "You really shouldn't have said that sweetheart. You may not be a hostage, but I'm still in charge here. What I say goes."

"Says who?" I raised my voice at him, "I'm not scared of you. I'm going to the beach tomorrow, whether you like it or not."

I could see that I hit a nerve. His smile faded into a scowl.

Suddenly Mingi pushed out his chair and stood up. Unsettled by argument, I could see his eyes darting between me and Hongjoong. He shuffled around the table and grabbed my hand. "Come with me."

He led me away from the table, and down the hall, until he was certain no one could hear.

"What the hell were you doing in there?" His voice hit an angry tone. I stared at him, wide eyed, not expecting him to be so upset.

"What do you mean?" I asked quietly. "Hongjoong is a jerk, and someone needed to tell him off. He can't just go around telling people what to do."

"That was really stupid Y/N. You can't talk to him like that." He sighed. "Look, you don't know any better. It's just that Hongjoong isn't like the rest of us."

"What do you mean?"

"None of us wanted to become criminals. We all had our reasons. Some might have been better than others, but none of us are really bad people." He explained. "But Hongjoong is different. He didn't need the money. He did the heist because he likes it. He's robbed places before. I think that he craves the high he gets from running from the police and stealing. And he doesn't care who he hurts in the process."

"Oh." I muttered, kicking at the floor with my sock.

"I've seen him hurt people before, and not out of necessity, but out of unreasonable vengeance. Even though I don't know him that well, I have learned one thing about him that is certain. He hates not being in power. And you just challenged his power back there."

I felt stupid. If Hongjoong decided that he didn't want me in the safe house anymore, I would have nowhere to go. Even if he was a jerk, he was a jerk who wasn't a threat to me before now. "You don't think he'll do anything, right?"

Mingi just shook his head and pulled me into a comforting hug. "I honestly don't know. But I'm going to be here, and I'll protect you. I promise it'll be fine."