𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄

5; 𝙙𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

"why the fuck did you two choose to join this good-for-nothing cult?!" jihoon almost roars. jeonghan chuckles and pats jihoon's head, trying to calm him down. "i'm not a fucking dog, jeonghan!"

"that's hyung for you, alright?" jeonghan cooed, still patting jihoon's head. "don't be too noisy, the guy on the bed might wake up." jeonghan points to the bed, where a head was poking out of the covers. he had a pretty face, but that's for another time.

"jihoon, you don't understand why we can't risk ourselves running around outside." wonwoo's gaze on chan, whose head was resting on wonwoo's lap, doesn't leave. wonwoo gently brushes chan's hair off his forehead. "the orphanage is not an orphanage, jihoon. the so-called nuns aren't nuns. the staff aren't social workers. the guards are..well, still guards, but all of the orphan thing is just a front."

"f-front?" chan croaked weakly. "what do you mean, hyung?"

"wow, you figured it out fast!" jeonghan claps. "are you a detective?!"

"what do you two know?" jihoon's posture straightens, alert and provoked. what did wonwoo and jeonghan know that jihoon didn't know?! jihoon always knew sneaky stuff that wonwoo or jeonghan knew, but why didn't he know of this? "hey! care to answer?"

"when you turn nineteen, they turn you into a beast, into someone you're not. a sadist, if you call it that. they teach you tricks on how to fight empty handed, with a knife, with a gun, or even experiment with grenades. also, how to kill people mercilessly, when they get in your way. if you finish the training, they take you somewhere else. i got one week of training." jeonghan's smile turns into a smirk, and his usual aura turns dangerous—even more so when he talked about guns and such. "they turn you into weapons. who will we work for? i don't know."

"we're going to work for a mafia once the training ends." chan gasped at wonwoo's confirmation, rising from his lap, before staring at his hyungs wide-eyed. "you see, they talk about smuggling weapons, like, 'when will the pieces be delivered? boss is getting impatient.' or, 'the latest goal is bananas. we got more in the bankbook for that.' pieces can mean guns. goal can mean missions, and 'bananas' is a slang term for 'success'. slang for whom? criminal organisations, mostly. bankbook? their paycheck. of course."

jeonghan smirked, before laughing at wonwoo's observations and statements. "jeon wonwoo, you're too good. you figured it out before i did, and you weren't even exposed to the training grounds! wow." jeonghan slow claps for wonwoo who had figured everything out already.

"all it took was observing, jeonghan." wonwoo turns to look at jihoon, who wasn't even a little shook. like he expected the orphanage to actually be a mafia base all along. "jihoon, when they find us lurking in dark alleyways or joining some lowly gang, we're getting dragged in that hellhole again."

"what if they're not a mafia?"

"they are." wonwoo reassures. chan was amazed at the boy's self confidence; pushing his conclusion to be the truth when he doesn't have material proof, just his words. "you see the little tattoo on their wrist, those chinese characters? that tattoo is probably their trademark. to distinguish themselves to each other. and to their enemies, possibly."

"so...do they know that we have abilities?" chan asked, raising a hand politely. jeonghan chuckled, scooting over to chan. he ruffles chan's hair because of his cuteness.

"i don't think so. they weren't prepared for an assault involving abilities when we attacked, so they most probably don't know about our abilities." wonwoo replied, and the room was enveloped with silence again.

until an unfamiliar voice spoke.

"my members took in potential fukuro mafia members?" shuffling sounds of sheets follow, then the head poking out of the bed reveals its body. "interesting."

"oh, great. another annoying member we have to deal with." jihoon huffed, looking at the direction of the unknown person. "you know about that orphanage?"

he smirks and stands up from the bed, approaching the four boys who sat on the carpeted floor. "you guys are in my bedroom, you know."

"uh, yeah, we figured." jeonghan rolls his eyes and blows a raspberry, before standing up and facing the unknown boy face to face. jeonghan smirks when he realises that he was taller than the unknown person. jeonghan steps closer, and the unknown man doesn't back up. 'he has guts, doesn't he?' jeonghan thought and almost laughed.

"i've never been looked down upon like this. embarrassing." chan silently remarked, before standing up awkwardly. wonwoo stood up, as well as jihoon.

"let's not pick a fight!" the tension drops, once jeonghan exclaims and takes a step backward. "you heard our conversation, right?"

"yeah, he obviously did. and we shouldn't pick a fight because we're trying to get protection by joining this team, picking a fight would just risk our chances." wonwoo adds. the man laughs, staring at the cat eyed boy.

"very blunt and observant. you found out fukuro mafia by yourself. you're a perfect fit." the unknown man now introduces himself. "i'm vernon, seventeen armed forces member. if you pick a fight with me, you lose. anything as simple as brushing of shoulders with me can kill you. i'm venomous." vernon raises his hand, stretching his arm after to reach for jihoon. jihoon scoffs and places his hands on his waist.

"i can win!" chan smiled, realizing that he didn't stutter. improvement! "i can negate your ability once we touch, vernon!"

"hey, don't be too excited about that. i won't fight you," vernon chuckles, grabbing an apple by the bedside table before opening his bedroom door. "you guys should come with me. we're going to crash the meeting. which, they didn't bother telling me about again!"

jihoon smiles for the very first time. "hell yeah. i'll find out how nasty they talk behind our backs." jeonghan laughed at jihoon's statement, before giving a little comment agreeing to jihoon.

the five boys entered the elevator, which, chan asks about. "hey, why do you guys have an elevator with 12 level buttons?! don't you guys only have two floors?!"

"that's what you see." vernon only remarked, leaving chan even more confused. when wonwoo picked up, he decides to explain it for the young, curious boy.

"the sign says 'seventeen guest house'. they're trying not to give away to the innocent people about supernatural stuff and abilities, so they use this guest house as a front. now, a typical guest house—i think, i've only seen guest houses in tv and books—only have two to three floors. if it is seen that a guest house has 12 floors, the innocent people will be suspicious. so, they hide the other floors. they're probably using an illusion or someone from their team can conceal the other floors to the naked eye." wonwoo makes hand gestures.

chan's mouth gaped, nodding while making an 'oh' sound. he understood perfectly now, thanks to wonwoo's deductions.

"he's right." vernon remarked, before the elevator dings and the doors open. vernon walked out, a smile was painted on his face.

this guy is smart. vernon thought. what is his ability? super deduction? something involving mysteries? vernon hadn't encountered and interacted with such a smart person before. his deductions could be of use for seventeen armed forces, and minghao could really use this guy's bluntness.

he wants them on the team.