Shadows of desire : SVT

(69) Emptiness

The tension in the room hit its peak as Seokjin walked toward Yuri, his steps careful, but determined. Just as he reached her, Wonwoo took a step forward, intent on doing the same. But before he could get close, Enhypen members immediately moved into a defensive line, raising their guns and aiming at Seventeen.

Seventeen was outnumbered and low on ammunition. They knew they couldn’t take on nine groups all at once—BTS and their six allied groups stood united, while Ateez and EXO, though battered and weakened, were still lurking in the background. Seungcheol saw the gravity of the situation and motioned for Wonwoo to stop.

Jin gently reached out for Yuri, but she recoiled, her instincts screaming to get away. She didn’t know Jin; all she could think about were Mingyu, Wonwoo, and Seungcheol—the ones she trusted. Her eyes darted between the three Seventeen members, desperation written on her face as she silently begged them to help her. But they were pinned down by their enemies.

Namjoon’s voice broke through the chaos, cold and commanding. "Protect Yuri and Jin. Get them out of here safely," he ordered, his gaze sweeping over his group and their allies.

No one moved. Seventeen knew they couldn’t win a direct fight with so many forces against them. Seungcheol clenched his fists, anger and helplessness swirling in his chest. He wanted nothing more than to rush after Yuri, but he knew it was suicide. They couldn’t risk everything on a reckless move.

Taehyung stepped forward, taking hold of Yuri as Jin hesitated. "I’ll handle this," Taehyung muttered, pulling Yuri away from the others. She struggled, her body thrashing in his grip as she tried to break free, her eyes never leaving Mingyu, Wonwoo, and Seungcheol. But Taehyung held her tightly, dragging her toward the exit as she cried out in desperation.

Mingyu's instinct was to follow her, to tear her out of Taehyung’s grasp. He moved forward, but before he could take a step, Stray Kids raised their guns, blocking his path. Seungcheol quickly reached out and grabbed Mingyu’s arm, holding him back. "Not now," he whispered harshly, his heart breaking as they watched Yuri being dragged away.

They were outmatched and outnumbered. For now, they had no choice but to watch as BTS took Yuri and left, their helplessness burning in their chests. The fight wasn’t over, but this battle had been lost.

Namjoon stood there, anger etched on his face. "Someone tried to escape from us," he began, locking eyes with Scoups. He then shifted his gaze to Hongjoong, his voice hardening. "Someone hurt the person our family is." Finally, he turned to Suho. "And someone helped them, just for revenge."

Suho raised his hands defensively. "Namjoon, we just wanted revenge on Seventeen. We didn’t know she was your sister."

Namjoon glared at him. "It's too late. We have enough reasons to take you down, Suho."

Then, turning back to Scoups, Namjoon said, "We have no quarrel with you. You had Yuri, and now we have her back. I’ll forget that you escaped from our base this time. You can go."

To everyone’s shock, Scoups replied calmly, "We’ll leave," surprising Wonwoo and Mingyu, but he continued. "But give us ATEEZ and EXO."

JJ frowned. "Why?"

Scoups smirked. "We need them more than you do."

Namjoon raised an eyebrow, and Jin stepped in. "Fine. You can have them, but we’re leaving with Yuri."

Mingyu called the guards inside, and ATEEZ and EXO were quickly restrained. As Scoups watched Namjoon’s crew leave, Wonwoo and Mingyu asked, confused, "Hyung, why are you letting her go? We were here to take her back."