TARGET

여덟

"I think I'm gonna pass out." A blond boy, that hasn't said anything up until that point, remarked.

Soonyoung looked at the boys with a sharp gaze, daring them to negate his offer.

"Guys. It's free food, shelter, clothes and you work to make this shitty ass world a little better." Seungkwan put his pen and notepad aside on the coffee table and placed his head into his cupped hands, his arms balanced on his knees.

"How do we know your motives are authentic." The boy in the middle asked further.

"The thing is...you don't." Joshua shrugged, "You wait and see...Or would you rather be behind bars?" Joshua smirked towards the end of his sentence.

The boys, yet again, went silent due to this statement.

Just as the brunette in the middle opened his mouth, Jeonghan, Minghao, and Jaemin, completely free of any restraints walked into the living room.

"NANA!" The orange haired exclaimed. A look of relief spread across all the boy's faces as "Nana" smiled back at them.

"Looks like that went well," Wonwoo smirked at Jeonghan who shrugged,

"Hey, trust your hyung. I have my ways." Jeonghan smirked patting Jaemin's shoulder.

Jaemin kneeled in front of his friends and placed a hand on one of their laps in reassurance, after a while of exchanged looks, Jaemin spoke softly-

"Guys, I think we can trust them."

The brunette scoffed and looked at Jaemin in disbelief, "Did you hear them? They're from Ursula Minor for fucks sake!" He spat, the name Ursula Minor was said like a type of disease.

Minghao winced at the harshness of the aforementioned, definitely Chinese he mindlessly noted.

"I know Renjun-hyung but do you really believe what the government says about them. They stop countless robberies and murders and somehow their called the perpetrators? That doesn't make sense, your smart hyung, you would know." Jaemin's tone was soft, trying to console the latter.

Renjun looked around the room then met Jaemin's gaze, "I don't know..." He mumbled.

He reached out to hold Renjun's hand, "It's our only choice, hyung."

Renjun took this into consideration, looking down at the floor for a bit to consider the offer, then meeting Jaemin's pleading eyes once again.

He sighed looking to his other friends, who nodded their heads in approval.

"Just get us out of these damn ropes first."

Renjun dropped his cold front and gave in.

The captors smiled at each other, basking in their success.

The 6 ate well, obviously hungry, and the other 6 former captors watched as they ate along with them. They all sat around the dining table, spare chairs from the office room had to be brought in to accompany the enlarged group.

"So, care to introduce yourselves?" Jeonghan asked.

After swallowing his mouthful of rice with some water, the orange-haired pointed to himself his thumb-

"I'm Chenle and I'm 16!" He said with a bright smile, it was hard to fathom the fact he was one of the trembling boys on the couch about to shit there pants just 20 minutes ago.

"Jeno, 18." The blond sitting next to Chenle politely said with an eye smile.

Jaemin, beside Jeno, chuckled, "I think I'm pretty famous here but I'm Jaemin and 17."

"Hi I'm Haechan, 17, and I kinda don't wanna be her-" Before Haechan could finish his sentence, Jeno reached over and swatted his head earning a chuckle from the rest.

"J-Jisung, 16" A boy stumbles softly, still visibly rattled from the events prior. The elders coo at his cuteness and Jeonghan rubs his back in reassurance.

"I know that was quite frightening but we didn't mean it like that, we don't want to hurt you. Let's work together well!" Jeonghan reassured.

The brunette next to him, shot Jeonghan a skeptical look, "You all know my name and I'm 18." His demeanor was still cold and unwelcoming, but the boys understood and left him be.

Jeonghan cleared his throat, "I'm Jeonghan, the oldest here, 21 years old. This is Joshua, 21 as well; Soonyoung, 20; Wonwoo, 20; Seungkwan, 18; and Minghao, 19 years old." He pointed to each person he mentioned one-by-one and the younger ones nodded to greet them.

After a while of eating, the light-brown haired, Haechan, broke the slightly uncomfortable silence:

"I don't think you understand I nearly shitted my pants,"

"It's shat, Haechan," Jeno corrected immediately.

"Jeno- how bout you SHAT the fuck up-" Haechan teasingly snapped with a mouthful of rice.

"I'm your HYUNG-"

"Whatever, you no-fun-"

"I'M NOT-"

The two bickered back and forth, making the table erupt into a fit of laughter except for one. In the midst of chuckling, Minghao saw Renjun excuse himself from the corner of his eye, his smile fading as he went after him silently- the boisterous laughter fading behind him.

After a while, he found Renjun slouched against his wall on the floor with his knees to his chest, he was in the left-wing's corridor right in front of Minghao's room, ironically.

"Hey," Minghao called out in Chinese. Renjun lifted his head a bit and faced the source of the voice, his eyes dimming a bit when he saw Minghao.

"It was a bit loud there, I don't want trouble," He responded back in his native tongue. Minghao sighed and sat beside the boy, close, but not in proximity that would be uncomfortable.

"I know this is all a bit much. Jaemin told me about you guys," Minghao said, recalling Jaemin's broken voice when he said that they were all orphans. That part hit a particular place in Minghao's heart, previously buried deep within him. He knew what it felt like to lack parent-like figures, despite not being orphaned. His relationship with his family was...complicated, to say the least.

"There's strength in numbers though, I know you care deeply about your Didi's and only want the best for them, and banding together like this is the best option." Minghao turned to face the distraught boy, his facial features contorted in a way that indicated that he was trying to conceal his wounded heart.

Minghao tried to read his expression further before the latter slightly turned away, "It gives them purpose. Lounging around in the streets won't do them good. This will. Trust me, I would know." Minghao suspired in an exhale.

Silence. The sounds of the lively bunch rung through the walls of the basement, faint sound during their moment of silence.

Renjun sighed, "I just wanted the best for them, you know? They look up to me- I'm their hyung. I never wanted Jaemin to feel like he had to steal-" His voice wavered with the last word, his tone laced with despair, pulling at Minghao's heart as he watched the melancholic boy.

"I feel like I failed them, as their ge, their hyung." Renjun slid his legs down to lay straight in front of him.

"This was the right choice. You look out for them and you care, you definitely didn't fail them." Minghao whispered, his heart started to feel heavy. It's like the anguish Renjun felt contaminated Minghao's heart in means of empathy. He could hear Renjun gently sobbing next to him.

Minghao wrapped his arm around Renjun so he could rest his head on Minghao's shoulder. He let Renjun sob in his arms as the voices of their beloved friends, family, echoed faintly around them.

_____

Just in case you guys needed some clarification:

Didi- Chinese for Younger Brother

Ge- Chinese for Hyung, Older Brother

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