Answer ||| Ateez

27

Jongho didn't take his eyes of Seonghwa and Wooyoung the entire time Mingi retold his story.

Hongjoong had been placed behind the counter so they didn't need to worry about him right now, but Jongho could tell that Seonghwa was lethal.

Just the way he carried himself spoke a thousand words. His eyes were always narrowed in a glare, shoulders squared, and forehead creased with either concern or deep thought.

Wooyoung, on the other hand, couldn't seem to stay still. He was constantly shifting his weight from foot to foot and it was like he couldn't decide if he should look at Mingi while he spoke or at Seonghwa.

That was one thing Jongho knew had to be true from Mingi's story. It was obvious that Wooyoung was head over heels for Seonghwa. Jongho would be inclined to call it pathetic if he hadn't seen the soft twinkle in Yeosang's eyes at the sight. It made him instantly pull the older to him and kiss the side of his head.

Mingi somehow managed to get through the entire story without getting too emotional, but at the end his eyes lingered on Wooyoung and he looked liked he could break down again.

"And you all believe this story?" Seonghwa asked finally, looking between everyone gathered around Mingi.

"Yes." Yeosang said immediately. "Mingi has proven himself to all of us in one way for another." He gave Jongho a hard glance when the younger shifted in place a little. "And I can show you all the data to prove it. He took a lie detector test for me and passed with no issue."

"So you're still a hacker now?"

"Yes."

Seonghwa rubbed the back of his neck. "I just..."

"I know..." Mingi closed his eyes and bowed his head. "I know this is a lot to take in, and hearing about everything Mercer did. I'm sure you must be close in this life, and I don't want to invalidate that, but..."

"You already have," Seonghwa snapped. His eyes grew dark and his hand twitched at his side. "You honestly expect me to believe that my father would do something like th..." Even though he had started heated, Seonghwa suddenly stopped and his eyes fogged over.

Something was flashing across Seonghwa's mind, something bad...

Jongho watched as his mouth slowly opened and he turned his head to glance down at Wooyoung. Who, Jongho now realized, he had forgotten to check on for a few minutes.

The boy's eyes were swimming with tears and he was wringing his wrists in front of his stomach. J

Seonghwa turned to him fully and stooped down a little. "Woo?" He lifted his hands up to try and comfort Wooyoung, but the younger stepped back.

"It-t all makes s-sense." He said, trying to hold back his sobs while shaking his head. "Everything." A small hiccup escaped and Wooyoung turned away. "H-He always said he b-blamed me, that it-t was all my fault."

"What?" Mingi took a step forward.

"It's true." San added softly. Everyone turned to look at him where he was standing holding hands with Yunho. The couple glanced at each other before San stepped forward, making Wooyoung flinch and move back. San bit his lip and stopped before continuing. "Now that I'm starting to get a clearer head, I remember all the things I had witnessed... Mercer... and the things he did, are unforgivable." On the last word he glared at Seonghwa, who looked completely taken aback. "And he was always saying Wooyoung was at fault."

Wooyoung shifted in place and continued not to look at anyone. "Then why didn't you do anything?" His voice was barely above a whisper. "If you knew it was bad, why didn't you try to stop him?"