The Chosen

Two-sided Tale

After a very delectable dinner, the Chosen Squad stayed in Monbebe's living room while they waited for Ex-Monster to finish cleaning the dishes. When they were done, Ex-Monster started to gather one by one in the living area to join the Chosen Squad.

"So, what are we going to talk about?" Joohoney said as the last one to arrive at the living room.

"Well, as we said, we have good news and a shocking news. Which one do you want to hear first?" Jisung gave Ex-Monster options.

"Well, let us start with the shocking news first." Shownu decided in behalf of his group.

"Ok, then." Jisung acknowledged their choice and then nodded to Sungwoon.

"What do you about the Twilight Triad?" Sungwoon started the news with a question.

"The Twilight Triad? Easy. The collective term used to refer to SVT, Mommymoo and Geefreend, the three groups with the distinction of being almost at par with the Five Pillars. Reports have it that they managed to defeat some members of the Five Pillars in battle." Minhyuk elaborated, "As far as we're concerned, they should be assisting you in this mission, right? What's so shocking about that?"

"That's the point. They are supposed to be assisting us. However, what if we told you, hyungs, that during our mission to reclaim Kyuub Province from Hitbig, Geefreend revealed themselves to be an ally to Bulletproof Scouts?" Jinyoung dropped the revelation.

"Geefreend, the member of Twilight Triad?" Shownu could not believe what he heard.

"Yes, that exact same Geefreend." Minhyun confirmed.

"How did that happen?" Shownu was still in disbelief.

"Well, it seemed that Sorz succumbed to Hitbig because of economic reasons. HItbig promised to stabilize their struggling economy and their ruler had no choice but to accept the offer." Woojin told Ex-Monster the facts.

"Wow. This is quite shocking." Kihyun exclaimed, "To think that a member of Twilight Triad fell under Hitbig's control. We were already having enough trouble with the Five Pillars and now, Geefreend joins the other side of the fence."

"How about SVT and Mommymoo?" I.M asked about the two other members of the Twilight Triad.

"Well, as far as we know, both Mommymoo and SVT are still allies." Jaehwan said.

"Thank goodness. We thought something happened to SVT. They have been calling us for the last few days, most especially S.Coups, and their tone of voice seemed kind of sad or full of worry." Shownu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Really? Do they usually call you?" Seongwu inquired.

"Well, yes. Our groups have always been really close. However, the frequency of their calls lately is strangely higher than usual." Hyungwon recalled while sipping his beverage.

"What did they talk about?" Jisung asked for more details.

"The usual topics we usually have. Though one time, during a group video call, they were really proud and enthusiastic on how fluent they are in a new language and we mocked them because they only kept repeating only a few words." Shownu remembered the events.

"What words, hyungs?" Daehwi was utterly curious.

"Well, there were the usual bonjour and merci. There were also baguettes, chateau, croquette, crème brulee and parfait." Minhyuk recollected his thoughts, "However, Dino was repeating sorbet over and over like some sort of spells while S.Coups kept on saying the word impasse like a mantra." The final sentence jolted the Chosen Squad once again and they looked at each other.

"Is anything wrong?" Shownu noticed their sudden unusual behavior.

"Ah, no. Nothing. We were just surprised by the foreign words." Jihoon dismissed Shownu's worry.

"So, that would be the shocking news." Kuanlin stealthily changed the topic, "As for the good news, hyungs, would any of you like to do the honors."

"Ok. Well, as for the missing persons' case, we believe we know the general location where they can be found. Unfortunately, we cannot tell you any information yet, but we need Wonho's story just in case." Sungwoon proceeded with the good news.

"Really? That is good to hear." I.M sighed in relief.

"Now, regarding this matter, we would like to ask you a few questions about Wonho." Seongwu informed Ex-Monster.

"Sure, go ahead." Shownu gave them permission.

"So, any unusual behavior for Wonho before he disappeared?" Minhyun queried.

"Not really. Though in the days leading to the disappearance, it seemed that he was frequently receiving a call from someone. What's strange was that he was usually in bad mood after he answered the call." Kihyun pointed out.

"Interesting." Jisung recorded the information.

"Now, another thing, does your province impose any rules specifically for your group or magical squads in general?" Minhyun threw another question.

"Actually, yes. If you want, we have a copy right here." Minhyuk responded.

The Chosen Squad read the rules thoroughly. They simply handed the document back to Ex-Monster.

"Well, it seems that our deduction is generally right." Daniel muttered as they nodded their heads, "The case is good as solved."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Ex-Monster. That would be all for tonight. Let us now sleep." Jisung thanked Ex-Monster.

"By the way, just to remind you, the walls of each room are soundproof." Shownu smirked as he said those words.

As they went to their respective rooms, the Chosen Squad noticed that Ex-Monster slept by pairs in each room. Shownu and Kihyun went to the same room while Joohoney and I.M entered the room on the opposite side of the corridor. The exception of this behavior are Hyungwon, who's roommate was the missing Wonho, and Minhyuk, who got a room of his own. Meanwhile, the Chosen Squad also followed suit. They slept with their roommates in Carat. Jisung, Sungwoon and Kuanlin got themselves a room each. After all, Monbebe had lots of room to spare.