TARGET

여섯

Minghao and Joshua left the cafe after putting the two victims back into their previous places and Joshua unfreezing time for them. They looked confused at first since when they were frozen, like any other, they went into a sleep-like state of paralysis and failed to remember anything during that time or minutes before. Because of this, one's mind pieces things together with that missing information and fills in the blanks, making the victim perceive that nothing abnormal happened. Nonetheless, that process takes a minute or two, so they stood there confused until their brains fixed it for them.

Now, the two went to find some recruits. They usually look for recruits that are young, preferably Starborn, and people that carry themselves well physically. Minghao knew that there are usually teens hanging around in the street corner behind their apartment complex. The teens had just recently emigrated to that place to hang out, so they haven't scouted any of them.

Joshua and Minghao arrived at the hangout, where roughly 6 boys lounged on the concrete against the old brick and on a thrown-out moldy couch, in a dead-end street corner. The boys were playing some type of card game and were extremely rowdy. But that's not what caught Minghao's eye

One of the boys, undoubtedly, was the boy that he saw on the footage. It was obvious, not everyone dyes their hair like that, plus his features were quite recognizable.

"Josh, the boy with the half-dyed blue hair. He's our culprit, for the robbery." Minghao whispered into the elder's ear. They steadily slowed their pace on the sidewalk in front of the building corner.

Joshua nodded, two birds with one stone, huh.  "I'm gonna chrono-freeze again but keep the culprit unfrozen, distract him first." Joshua walked to the edge of the entrance-like-space to the street corner, concealing himself behind a dumpster spot.

Minghao drew near the blue-haired and his features softened into a flirtatious one.

"Hey cutie, I don't see you around here often."

Minghao was able to take in his features better up close. And Minghao wasn't lying, he was cute. Attractive even. He had the face of someone who would be a trickster. All his features complimented the other, his bold eyebrows accentuating his big doe eyes, his slim but wide lips drawn into a smug smirk intrigued with Minghao's comment. He looked about as old as Minghao and was about as tall as him when he stood to greet Minghao, if not, he was unnoticeably shorter by a few centimeters.

"I could say the same, what's your name." The aforementioned got a bit closer, tilting his head as if he was studying Minghao's features.

"Kim Daeseok, you?" Minghao lied, but saying his alleged first name and last name would propel the other to say his full name, and that was essential information.

"Jaemin. Na Jaemin." The boy's smile got impossibly wider and so did Minghao's. It worked. Well assuming he didn't use a pseudonym as Minghao did.

Minghao continued to engage in aimless yet seemingly endless conversation with the other, his group paying little mind to Jaemin.

Joshua bent down in an action that would look similar to tying his shoes. Freezing time with the other five of the group, excluding Jaemin and Minghao, would be a bit difficult, emphasis on a bit. It would require a few extra seconds of concentration. At first, when discovering his Stargift, it would take hours of meditation to get a small item to slow down in time, but after years of practice, it takes 3 minutes in the most extreme case.

This was basically a cakewalk, it would only require a minute.

He performed the process and when he lifted his head, the rowdy bunch was frozen.