we the cursed, nct dream ✔

part sixty-three

⇉ the one with a getaway.

part sixty-three

The guidance counselor keeps the gun trained on Juno and Haechan as she calmly descends the ladder down into the tunnel. The two step back slowly as Ms. Yu steps forward, her eyes narrowed. Finally the counselor stops, cocks her head to the side. "Who sent you?"

Juno, tongue-tied, just stares at the gun. It's very close.

"I won't ask again." Mrs. Yu's voice shatters the eerie silence of the tunnel. "Who sent you here?"

"We..." Haechan continues looking straight ahead, but his fingers find Juno's and he entwines them tightly, discreetly pulling her just behind him, should things go south. Juno is too preoccupied to realize what he's doing. "We don't understand-"

Ms. Yu rolls her eyes, gesturing with the barrel of the gun as she talks. "Someone told you to come here tonight. They knew the ferry would be here. And I bet you're probably all set to blow the whistle, huh? Tell the cops everything?" She shakes her head. "That can't happen."

"We swear not to tell anybody," Haechan lies through his teeth.

"Bless your heart, but I don't think even you believe that." Ms. Yu sighs. "Who gave you your information? And don't play coy; I have neither the time nor patience for it."

Juno finally speaks. "We're here because we found out what was going on - by ourselves - and we want to leave. That is all."

The guidance counselor considers them for a long moment. Then she sighs again. "Listen. I'm not trying to kill you. I don't want to kill you. It would actually be in our best interests to ensure that you both return home safe and sound, however, if I need to take drastic action to protect my life's work, I will. There is too much at stake here to let some kids set fire to it all."

"Ma'am-"

Ms. Yu advances forward again, backing the two young people into a corner of the tunnel. Then she leans over and pushes a button they'd never noticed before, and a door appears. The counselor herds the kids in through it with the gun at their backs.

Dr. Oh is leaning heavily on top of his cane against a wall as they enter the unfinished space. The smell of damp earth is pungent in the sparse, dimly-lit room. "You found them," he rasps.

"I did," Ms. Yu replies. "But they aren't talking. They said they figured out everything on their own."

Dr. Oh inclines his head in acknowledgement. "I see." His gaze is so dark that Juno visibly shivers. "Tie them up," he says to two random guards who'd been so stoic, they'd practically blended into the background.

Juno and Haechan exchange a panicked glance. And before she knows what she is doing, Juno takes a running leap at the old woman, knocking the gun from her hands. Mrs. Yu freezes, stunned. The guards quickly grab ahold of the girl, much stronger than her, and she squirms in their hold, but it's no use. Her satchel, camera inside, has dropped to the floor in a corner. Shawty stays mercifully hidden inside.

Haechan forces his brain to think rationally. He just needs the gun. Whether or not he has the courage to shoot it is another matter, but as everyone stays distracted by Juno, he inches closer toward it. But suddenly, it's plucked from his grasp.

Dr. Oh twirls the handle between his crooked fingers. "Somebody get the boy!" he snaps, and Haechan doesn't even bother fighting. He's pushed down to the floor by one guard, hands and feet bound. His mind whirls, dreaming up ways to get them out of this.

Juno knocks her elbow into the nose of the other goon restraining her, and he yelps, letting go. She lashes out, but soon the two of them are on her again, and she's overpowered. Juno thrusts her arms out, foolishly expecting them to be thrown back.