𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐒

7; 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙚

"wine? really?!" jihoon complained, as minghao sets down the wine glass in front of him. "what are we, wine moms club in our weekly meeting?"

"i only have wine, so shut the fuck up, midget." minghao squinted at jihoon, making the latter roll his eyes. "don't forget that you're in my residency, and that i still have an ability."

"me too. i can kill you right now."

"ALRIGHT, let's calm down." joshua raises his voice. he turns the tv off, to present the information he found out about earlier. "here's everything that we know."

joshua walks to the front, beside him is the tv. "right now, mingyu just met wonwoo in hawaii. mingyu says that wonwoo was unable to recognise him, and it got a little messy in the hotel, the location where they had their first interaction. mingyu was kicked out.

"however, they spoke on the beach after that encounter. wonwoo approached mingyu, out of conscience or whatever, just hear it for yourself." joshua plays the recorded conversation of mingyu and wonwoo, sent just an hour ago.

seokmin was the first one to react to the audio. "wonwoo is definitely alive. what the fuck." seokmin chuckles, shaking his head. he was still as shell-shocked as he was an hour ago. who wouldn't be? "mingyu found him after just a nine hour flight. we tried to find him for months, but it led to nothing!"

"what can i say, that bitch is always curious," minghao comments, the room fills with laughter. "what's happening now?"

"apparently, vernon and seungkwan is our only hope. i saw them in the airport cctv footages, they even talked to mingyu." joshua uttered, biting his lip.

"why are they our only hope? is there a problem?"

"mingyu's phone is unattended, and recent reports say that there'd been a fight on an isolated part of a beach in hawaii. the last location mingyu was in happened to be similar to the description in the reports." jeonghan continued for joshua. "if anything, mingyu would update seungcheol or anyone else if he got in some trouble."

"so it happened again. tell me if my conclusion is wrong, but,"  jihoon raised an eyebrow, uncrossing his legs. "mingyu's missing?"

"sir, he's waking up."

"really?! it took fifteen hours!"

"yes, it seems so."

"well then, i'll explain everything to him. you may leave."

"understood, sir."

the incoherent voices only make mingyu's head hurt more. unfamiliar voices, at that. where was he? why is the bed he's lying on as hard as any bed can ever be? is it even a bed? why are there too many lights?

wonwoo knocked me out! mingyu sat up, looking at his surroundings. the tall man had an adamant insistence of knowing such details. why did wonwoo do that? where is wonwoo? did wonwoo bring mingyu to his boss, or something? highly likely. those things always happen in the movies.

mingyu looks around him. he was sitting on this flat bed that was placed in the middle of the room, while there were apparatuses beside him that looked akin to the ones that joshua keep in the eighth floor. there were blinding lights, which mingyu is still trying to adjust to. three walls were cement painted over with white, one wall was made of glass. beyond the glass wall, mingyu can see the people dressed in all-white walking around, typing away on their computers.

"ah!" mingyu flinches, finally noticing the other man in the room. "are you wonwoo's boss?! what did you do to him? to me?! you're a part of a mafia organization, aren't you?" mingyu pointed a finger at the tall stranger.

"you don't do that to your savior! much less label me with such terrible titles!" the stranger spoke, his smile unwavering. "i'm the president of the mafia named—just kidding. i'm not in a mafia." the stranger chuckled, his voice swirling with mischief.

mingyu didn't know if he should believe this guy. he looks too young (could even be younger than mingyu), too playful and mindless for a mafia boss. he could've atleast binded mingyu. letting mingyu inside his base, unrestricted, would be bad if this guy really is a mafia boss. mingyu doubts it.

he could also be a ceo, but a ceo at a young age without early symptoms of aging is a very rare sight to see. much less an attractive one—unless you live in the world of fiction. there are lots of that on the orange-themed app alone.

his face features were sharp. sharp jawline, uptilted eyes, slanted eyebrows, pointed nose, thin, reddish lips curved into a smile. his hair was somewhere between grey and blue, falling on his forehead—it had a middle parting that exposed some of his forehead. he wore a white dress shirt, white vest, white slacks, white dress shoes, and a blue coat.

(mingyu noticed that the only other colors in this place was mingyu's grey shirt and pants, and this stranger's sky blue coat.)

mingyu would mistake him for a wealthy mafia boss, or an attractive playboy who bathes in his parents' money.

"you were asleep for more than half a day. i was hoping the turbulence back in the jet would at least jerk you awake, but no," the stranger mused, walking closer to mingyu. "how do you feel, kim mingyu?"

"how do you know my name?!"

"i didn't ask you a question to get a question thrown right back at me," he pouts slightly. "anyway, i'll answer your question. we found your information registered on korea's database. you're one of my kind, an ability user! that's nice. we can relate to each other. okay, now answer my question."

"i feel okay." mingyu crosses his arms. "why did you take me here? what is this place, even? who are you?"

the stranger smiled wider. "our nemesis, w systems, involved you in one of their missions. their most skilled member, jeon wonwoo, tried to capture you. i was there to find him and kill him. i found him hitting your head with a baseball bat. by the way? don't believe anything that he said. just a pro tip.

"i helped you because i can't just beat up wonwoo and leave you there, it would make my conscience scream at me. what is this place? this is pyxis armed forces, based in los angeles. i'm the only ability user here," the stranger points to the employees outside.

so mingyu was brought in los angeles? but why is this man speaking in korean? he does not look korean too! plus, w systems? is wonwoo in an evil organization?! what the hell happened here?! "did you kill wonwoo?"

the stranger frowned, unable to introduce himself. "no, he escaped. i am still a little incapable of using my ability, after all. i bet he already reported to his boss that i showed up and fought him face to face, since i rarely show myself to them. hah!"

"so, who are you?"

the man smirks, crossing his arms and raising his chin up a little. "i am the president of pyxis armed forces. half swedish, half japanese, 27 years of age. i can speak korean, english, japanese, russian, swedish, chinese, cantonese and romanian. my name is koushi alexandersson. you can call me koushi."