It's Hee's Lift Now | An ENHA + TXT Fic

18: Escapism

Heeseung planted himself stiffly in front of the door. His eyes drifted across its surface, noting every little notch in the wood and chip in the paint.

"Hyung?" Sunoo placed a hand on his arm. "Are we gonna leave?"

"Um... yeah. In a minute."

He focused on the doorknob, lightly tapping its lock in a transfix. "It's a good door," he murmured.

Ni-ki leaned over, whispering to Daniel. "He's finally lost it."

Jay squeezed between them, making his way to the front of the group. "Heeseung hyung, if you don't want to go to practice, that's okay, just say so."

Heeseung let his bag slink to the ground. "I- it's not that. I really don't want to run into the CEO while we're there."

"Oh, thank god." Beomgyu threw his water bottle onto the couch, flopping down beside it. "I didn't want to say it out loud, but same."

"So we're skipping?" Daniel looked up hopefully.

"No." Heeseung took a determined breath. "Sorry, Gyu. Come on, let's go."

Beomgyu sighed, standing up again. "I mean, nobody said practice has to be at HYBE. Can't we have it somewhere else, just for today?"

"Like where?"

Taehyun stepped around Jake. "What about the old building? You said Soobin hyung was there, and by now, Yeonjun hyung should be too. It all works out."

"Sounds good to me," Jake shrugged.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Feeling much more energized, Heeseung picked up his bag and started scrounging the dorm for their Bluetooth speaker.

"Uh, guys?" Kai held up a flashlight from the hallway closet. "Batteries are missing. From all of them."

Jungwon looked up in disbelief. "Every single one?"

"Yep."

"Damn." Heeseung checked his watch.

It was only five-fifty; the sun wouldn't set for another two hours, but that still didn't give them enough daylight. He made a spur-of-the-moment decision.

"Drop whatever you don't need-Ni-ki, not your water bottle-and follow me."

He led them outside and started jogging down the street in the opposite direction of their agreed-upon destination.

Jungwon quickly caught up to him. "What are we doing?"

"Warm-up run," Heeseung explained. "We're stopping by the BTS dorm for some flashlights."

Beomgyu groaned. "That's like two miles away! Can't we drive?"

"No, cause Soobin hyung and Yeonjun hyung aren't here."

"I can do it."

"You don't have a license."

Beomgyu quieted for a moment before opening his mouth again. "Licenses are just a formality anyway."

Heeseung laughed, resisting the urge to make a pit stop at the convenience store for a roll for duct tape. "Still, I rather you not get arrested two weeks before our debut."

He let Beomgyu take the lead, falling to the back of the pack to keep a close watch over the others. Their run was awkwardly silent, save for the thudding footsteps and heavy panting. A sick feeling in the pit of his stomach had Heeseung wondering if they were in shape enough to sing while performing the rigorous choreography Yeonjun had created with Ni-ki's help and Hoseok's guidance.