The Ace (Stray Kids Kim Seungmin)

8

Seungmin had always enjoyed a good adventure and unexpected events. Perhaps it was just a trait given to him along with the Ace title. He had memorised every part of the Pen in his years living there and everyday he longed to find a way out so he could explore the areas beyond its confinement.

And yet, now he was given the opportunity to and instead of perking up and strolling to the collapsed wall, he remained hidden in the shed. He had his thighs pressed against his chest and he hugged his legs to suppress his evident trembling.

A mixture of soft and loud snores invaded his ears, reminding him of his request of the boys: to sleep. When he had suggested it, it sounded like an excellent idea. After all, they had spent most of the day at work and exploring a new world while fatigued didn't seem like a good idea.

However, hours later, Seungmin found himself glancing outside the excuse of a window as shivers run continuously up and down his spine.

It felt wrong.

All of this felt so wrong. The Pen was his home. All his memories, good and bad, were made in this area. How could he just leave it? How could he desert it after all it had done for him?

Then again, this was what the creators wanted, wasn't it? I mean, why else would they just let this structure that they had spent so long building and maintaining just fall? And what even was the drawing?

He had seen it before, that was a granted. But when? He had no memories of seeing it or anything of the likes. It seemed so foreign whilst oddly familiar. And all of this was at the tip of his tongue. He could feel himself getting closer and closer to the answer everything he thought about it but right when he believed he figured it out, the thought was gone. Forgotten.

Seungmin glimpsed outside. There were no wolves tonight. Weird. There were never no wolves. A part of him urged him to go out and investigate but the more rational part of his brain knew better. It was a trap, a trick.

A temptation.

He liked that word because it was the closest he could get to what all of this truly was. He recalled his words: 'level two'. He knew it wasn't him speaking, someone had spoke through him. He didn't even know what that meant. Level two? The phrase made it seem like all of this was just some game. But this is was no game. Aren't games supposed to be fun? Enjoyable even?

Those were whole words Seungmin would never even consider when describing this place. Although he couldn't help but get the unsettling feeling that all of this was just a game for the creators.

He clenched his fists at that thought. Years of suffering and exhaustion, for it all to be seen as a joke. He felt like he had been screwed over and couldn't do anything about it.

A particularly loud snore brought him out of his thoughts, allowing his attention to be fixed on them. With a thick blanket draped over their bodies, he couldn't help but notice how comfortable they looked. He frowned at that.

How could they possibly be content with the situation at hand?

And perhaps it was just his frustration talking. Why were they able to sleep when he couldn't? It was unfair but as he leaned his back against the wall and sighed, he realised someone had to keep an eye out. Things were changing. The Pen was no longer the place he knew and being the Ace meant he had to sacrifice everything to keep his people safe. Even sleep.

A drink of water at sunrise did nothing to soothe his anxiety but maybe that was just because now the boys were awake. He couldn't hide anymore or show any hesitation. He had to be strong, to take the lead, to be their Ace.

So he did.

"Where exactly are we going? Any clue?" Jisung questioned as they approached the pile of rubble. To say Jisung was prepared was an understatement. A large bag was strapped onto his back with an assortment of items. There were pots and pans, shovels and swords, papers and charcoal pencils. Everything they would ever need, he had.

"No idea," Seungmin admitted.

"Well, maybe sleeping would have helped," the other remarked, motioning to the bags under his bloodshot eyes. "Not sure eif I mentioned this before but you look terrible."

The Ace chuckled, "well, you don't look like a model either, buddy. Besides, I tried to sleep. It just doesn't come as naturally to me as it does to you."

"I am really good at sleeping, aren't I?" he joked, nudging the latter's arm playfully.

Seungmin thanked the creators for Jisung. Not only was he always a optimistic and ready to cheer them a up, he was also an extraordinary fighter which he guessed was because he was their 'two' card.

Everyone in this world had a 'card'. It represented their character, position and skills. Aces were the most important of all since they were the natural leaders. They were gifted in every field, unlike the rest, and were also used the bridge between the creators and survivalists.

Minho was their King card which meant in Seungmin's absence, be was the leader. He was also the smartest of them all, with easily seeing patterns as one of his main strengths. Seungmin guessed that the King and Ace were picked at the same time because the fields where he lacked, Minho happened to master and vice versa.

Lastly, Jeongin was their Jack. This meant he was the glue. Whenever there were disputes, he was the first to solve them and no one ever dared to argue. And when the time came, his convincing nature can be used to manipulate people into doing whatever he wished. Jisung has fallen victim to this many, many times.

"I mean, if snoring loudly and waking everyone around you up counts as being good at it, then maybe you are," Seungmin rolled his eyes.

Jisung could only laugh as he glanced back at the rubble.

"Once we go out there," his demeanour suddenly changed to something more serious. "Will we ever be able to come back?"

"I don't know," Seungmin admitted.

Past the wall's remains were towering trees that seemed to pierce through the clouds. It made them gulp. It was a jungle and although they knew nothing about this new biome, something was screaming at Seungmin to dash far away from it. And for a moment he almost did. But then Minho made his presence known by acing a hand on his shoulder.

"Level two, huh?" the King card hummed. "Does this mean the difficulty level has changed? Whatever lies behind that pile of rubble is unknown to me and I cannot rely on my abilities only to defeat it. I hope you have a carefully thought out plan going forward with this."

Seungmin shrugged as he kept his gaze on the jungle that only seemed to get denser the closer they got to it. They stood in a single file on top of the rubble, eyes wandering around the view curiously before the Ace finally took the first step. And then so did the rest.

Once in the jungle, there was a loud, earsplitting screech that had them pressing their hands firmly against their ears.

To be honest, they expected something more grand. Maybe confetti or a loud announcement of their entrance. Being deafened was not how they expected to be greeted.

Turning around, Seungmin decided he didn't want this anymore and just wanted to live in the Pen until he died. Instead, he found the reason for the earsplitting sound: the wall was building itself, shutting them out.

"They are crazy!" Jeongin exclaimed, sprinting to the wall and punching it as though he believed that would make it fall again.

"What now?" Minho turned to the Ace. His tone was as harsh as his glare but Seungmin knew he was just terrified.

Seungmin never liked to shy away from the truth. He liked to state things as they were be it blunt or not. But staring at them and seeing their frightened gazes made something sink in him. How could he tell these people that he had no idea what to do? He was their only hope and as much as he abhorred the thought, he knew it was true.

"We march on," he stated, glancing back at the jungle ahead of them. "After all, it's not like we can go back."