Empire | ATEEZ

008

Chan walked through the door before any of the eight men even got a chance to go near it, flanked by five other members of Nocturne's inner circle as he invited himself into the foyer and took a moment to look around before letting his gaze fall on Hongjoong, not even acknowledging Seonghwa who was standing next to him.

A heavy silence followed as the two groups studied each other, everyone reaching for their weapons only to halt as Hongjoong sent them a warning look.

"I believe we need to talk," Chan mused, straightening a little as he cracked his knuckles, "You see, clashing interests can lead to conflicts and I sense that we have one brewing right at this very moment because of one of your subordinates."

Seonghwa felt a flicker of anger flare to life within him as he glared at the smaller brunet, clenching his jaw and moving to stand next to Hongjoong, his leader, in his rightful place as the blue-haired man clicked his tongue.

"I agree, though I must admit that you coming here uninvited doesn't exactly play in your favor considering the circumstances," Hongjoong said, crossing his arms over his chest as the rest of Empire moved to stand behind him as well, "Those circumstances being that we bear the crown, that I bear the crown, and not you."

"I am not here to rob you of your power, Hongjoong," Chan chuckled, feigning innocence as he raised his hands, "All I want is for you to stay off my territory and I will make sure to uphold that promise as well after today."

"And how does this promise benefit me?" Hongjoong sighed, "The only ones imposing on territory here are you rascals, so I'm leaning towards a no here."

"I am older than you-" Chan growled only to be cut off by Hongjoong as the man took a step forward, "And I am more powerful than you," he sneered, "So listen closely when I say that you are either on my side, by my side or in my fucking way. So choose wisely."

"Seo Nari," the leader of Nocturne said, smirking as he watched Seonghwa's eyes darken, "Is our property."

"You can't claim someone who isn't marked, Chan," Hongjoong said, running a hand through his cerulean blue locks and glancing at his right-hand man through the corner of his eye, knowing him well enough by now to expect an explosion any minute now.

"Well, then I will just have to mark her," he purred. "If you touch her again, I will kill you," Seonghwa sneered as Chan turned to him with a smile, "No one said it had to be a tattoo, either. There are many ways you can-"

His words faltered as Seonghwa rushed forward, pulling his arm back before grabbing Hyunjin, who stood next to the leader, by the throat and punching him directly in the eye, earning a strangled cry of pain from the man as he quickly released him again and let him fall to the floor before returning to Hongjoong's right side.

"You missed," Jisung said but Chan shook his head, still smirking at the blond, "No, he wanted revenge."

Seonghwa stared the leader up and down before letting his gaze travel back to the blond man on the floor, clutching his throat as he gasped for air, the right side of his face already bruised in angry colours of purple and red. "I don't like to call it revenge," he said, "Returning the favor sounds nicer."

"You should learn to control your second," Chan hummed, his words laced with a tone of distaste as he turned back to Hongjoong, "I am willing to let it go but that wasn't exactly civil."

"And you should learn your place, Chan," Hongjoong said, putting his hand on Seonghwa's shoulder and giving it a squeeze of mixed warning and approval, "Because I don't tolerate attacks on my inner circle either."

"Speaking of second-in-commands," Yeosang said, speaking up from his place behind Hongjoong as he turned to look at Chan, "Where is yours?" he asked, counting the members of Nocturne again, eyes widening as he realized that they were missing two.