Missing in Action

39: Bombshell: Part 1

"Today's the day, huh?" Daniel exhaled slowly with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Do we really have to?" Kuanlin's statement came out like a whine.

"I agree with Kuanlin," Jihoon seconded with a pout.

"Kuanlinie, Jihoonie, we already talked about this," Sungwoon replied while running his right hand through his hair.

"I know. I know," Kuanlin could only sigh in defeat.

"But why?" Woojin argued. "Seriously, why?"

"We can still choose not to," Jinyoung honestly blurted out.

"Are we seriously going to debate about this again?" Minhyun closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I will if everyone will. My opinion still stands as is," Jaehwan rebutted.

"So does mine," Daehwi firmly claimed.

"But we really don't have a choice now, do we? We made a decision and it's final and irrevocable," Seongwu mumbled.

"It's also for the best," Jisung stated as a matter of fact. "Let's just go, guys. Our destiny awaits."

As the sun began to descend behind the horizon, magical squad members also began to walk down the red carpet aisle toward the Entente Cordiale assembly hall. Yes, it was the inauguration ceremony of the Eighteenth Supreme Six and Twilight Triad. Ever since the assembly hall has been established, it had been the location of the previous ceremonies starting from the fifth one. And for this glamourous formal event, everyone was wearing either tuxedoes or gowns as part of the tradition.

Everything felt like a normal Entente Cordiale meeting, only this time, the "outgoing" members of the Supreme Six and Twilight Triad were all seated in the midst of the other magical squads and the positions upfront were empty. By some coincidence though, Wanna One, Bulletproof Scouts, X-O and SVT were all huddled in one part of the hall; probably because their members were close friends with each other. Also, a long line of tables was in between the audience's seats and the official seats for the Supreme Six and Twilight Triad. There were also intimidating-looking people sitting along the tables; they were the representatives from each evaluating body. Additionally, the staff of Talk-A-Lot Media were there for the live broadcasting of the event.

"Ladies and gentlemen and to everyone watching this live event, good evening. I am Yoo Jaeseok and I will be your host for tonight's momentous event," a man prompted, signifying the start of the event. "Of course, as we start the program, I would like to recognize the presence of our kingdom's rulers, Wanna One, along with the rest of the outgoing members of the Seventeenth Supreme Six and Twilight Triad – Bulletproof Scouts, X-O, Two-Times, Plackbink, Velvety Red, SVT, Mommymoo and Geefreend. Also, I would like to recognize the Kingdom Seer, BoA. I heard this is your first time attending this ceremony. I hope you enjoy."

The mentioned people briefly stood as they were recognized.

"As we all know, the past year had been one for the history books. Wewent through an invasion attempt and then, we established an alliance withseveral other entities." Mr. Yoo spieled. "But tonight, as the first month of the year nears its end, anotherpage of our kingdom's history will unfold as we induct the Eighteenth SupremeSix and Twilight Triad."

"As such, we now invite the representative of the various evaluating bodies to convene and create a unified result which will determine the members of the Eighteenth generation," the MC cued.

The people sitting in front huddled and began calculating at some point. The representatives' discussion lasted for nearly an hour before they gave a list to the MC and returned to their seats.