TARGET

마흔 네

 - THE FIRST ARC : JOSHUA -

Twirling the limp marionette between his lanky fingers, Joshua absently sat in the placid enclosure of his room, engrossed in a discourse of introspection. He had grown accustomed to the doll's paradoxically ponderous presence; it wasn't necessarily comforting, but rather addictive to be in the company of.

He had gotten attached to that doll ever since it "unveiled" where the chip resided.

Just like its implications prior, the doll always happened to perch upon the locations of entities he was tasked to uncover. First, the briefcase, then the chip-

that was inside a case under an upturned splinter of wood,

that the doll lay on.

It was mind-boggling, in all actuality. Foremost, Joshua was certain he had seen the same splinter of lumber barren on both faces upon the last time he checked, second, the doll was the materialization of his opposition's aura, albeit mitigated, but nonetheless...

Why did it help him?

Rolling onto his stomach, he lay the figurine before his scrutiny, the mangled wooden body sprawled before him.

"What are you?" He muttered amidst the seam of pursed lips,

The doll remained silent, not in a practical manner, but as if to say "you already know."

What an enigma...

"Josh hyung? Are you busy?"

The aforementioned perked up, jarred from his immersion, discreetly sliding the doll under his pillow, "No, Wonwoo, do you need anything?"

The ravenette closed the door behind him, Josh inspected the other, who was composed in a rather disheveled manner:

Tousled midnight mane sweeping over his brow, a stark contrast to his pale, nearly translucent, skin. A cotton tee hanging over his slim frame, draped over his stature.

Joshua could tell Wonwoo had locked himself in the workroom for another round of consecutive hours, glued to the screen, and captivated in the terrain of cyberspace.

Joshua bit his lower lip, "You look..."

"Dead? Yeah I know, but I need you to do me a favor," Waving away Joshua's protest to his presumption, Wonwoo locked a stern gaze with the elder,

Out of apprehension, Joshua thinned his eyes. Wonwoo wasn't one to commonly ask for favors, he insisted upon being self-sufficient when he could afford to.

Taking Josh's inquisitive emote as a grant, Wonwoo continued, "It's not huge...but can you talk to Jeonghan about his ties to this 'Cheollie' figure?"

Joshua's eyes brightened in recognition. He was aware that the conversation would have to happen sooner or later, but he hadn't yet equipped himself, per se.

Wonwoo told him the details of the occurrence a day after the conclusion of the mission, the rationale being that Joshua would have to know before any type of briefing would be held.

All Joshua could say was it was quite the predicament. From his deduction and the timing of the plays, this "Cheollie" person was most likely an influential figure, if not the leader, of the 17th Circle Junior Squadron. This would set them in an adverse position for, perhaps, the rest of their pursuit of the Circle; solely because of the sheer fact that this emotional connection Jeonghan has is a hegemonic power to trump every single mission that Ursula would take upon themselves. In other words: