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JAEMIN POV
"Jaemin's here." Mark hyung said through his earpiece.
"W-what...?" Donghyuck's voice trembled. He dropped his gun. He dove for the bed and looked under.
I crawled out, keeping my eyes on him. It was happening, it was really happening. I was slowly starting to see all my friends again after three years. Tears started welling in my eyes. Oh, come on, I thought to myself. Here we go again with the waterworks.
"...Jaemin? You're alive?" He asked aloud. He said it in such a way that it seemed he thought I was dead and the 1:27 would fry me alive the day they disappeared.
"I'm...alive," I answered, my voice shaking. Saying those words almost felt like a blessing, like I could've been dead by now but someone helped me. I embraced him in a hug. I didn't hug Donghyuck often, but today, it was like I had to.
Donghyuck mumbled something as I hugged him. "What...?" I didn't hear what he said.
"You idiot..." His voice was pinched, as if he was trying not to cry. "You idiot, you're freaking alive!" He started crying, which was something I didn't see often.
Mark hyung came back from under the bed. He hugged both of us, and we started crying harder. I was trying to speak, but I couldn't because I was hiccuping so much. My heart swelled with so many emotions, happiness that I could see Donghyuck and Mark hyung again, sadness because they were killing and part of a terrorist action, and also since they'll be going to jail. I also felt a little bit of anger because I wanted to get back at the other members of the 1:27, for corrupting Mark and Donghyuck.
"Donghyuck...you still h-have to...go to...jail..." I told him through my uncontrollable tears.
Narae nodded. I could see small pinpricks of tears dotting her eyes. "It is true. You two may have been forced to kill, but you did kill, and with that, you both have to go to jail for at least a five to ten year sentence, if you are not found 'guilty' at court." She cuffed Donghyuck's wrists and spoke into he walkie-talkie. "Chief, I got another one of Jaemin's friends. He's not resisting or showing any methods of harm, over."
"Really? That's great. Stay in that room until the 1:27 are captured. We also caught around two. Over."
The four of us stayed in the room, numb, as if in a trance. I was still replaying what was going on. I reunited with Mark, then Donghyuck. I couldn't have been more happier.
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"Tell us every single thing that you know about the 1:27," Chief Rosewood started flipping through his notepad as he interrogated Mark and Donghyuck. Narae and I were watching from the back of the room, also taking notes, so that we can be ready to leave and end the 1:27 once and for all. "Don't leave out any details. I have a lie detector here."
Chief pulled out the lie detector and placed it on Mark's palm first. "What is the 1:27's motives?"
Mark took a deep breath, sweat dripping down his forehead, bloody scars still on his face and hands. "The 1:27 is a unit of a gang called NCT, which stands for Neo Culture Technology," he took another deep breath and continued. "NCT's purpose is to dominate the world and to show the earth that we are rulers. We're supposed to show our power and dominance."
Chief Rosewood nodded slowly, scribbling down everything. "Who is your leader? Tell me everything about him. Face, age, name, how much power he has."
"His name is Lee Taeyong. Age 24, has red hair, a slit through his eyebrow, and holds up NCT like a pillar. He has expertise in guns, swords, bombs, everything."
Chief wrote down everything while mumbling to himself. "Alright then, how many members do you have currently?"
"16," Mark answered right away. "There are four units: the 1:27, DREAM, U, and WayV. The 1:27 is the most threatening. DREAM is the unit for youngsters that the older units capture. They teach them how to shoot guns and kill, and if they're not proved useful, they are tossed into prison."
Chief clenched his jaw. "Alright then, what's U and WayV?"
"U is almost as threatening as the 1:27, but they are the bombers. They craft bombs with gunpowder and also make things like dynamite, stink bombs, smoke bombs, anything that explodes," Mark seemed less nervous as he spoke. "WayV is our foreign unit. They spread across the globe, typically in Asia."
My mouth opened, shocked. I didn't know that NCT was this organized and powerful. A foreign Asian unit? A bomb unit? The under-20 unit? And 1:27 itself? How were we going to uncover all of them?
Narae seemed to be thinking the same thing. She clenched her jaw and the muscles in her neck twitched. "How will we find the hideout, free the innocent prisoners, and imprison the terrorists before the time is up?"
"It won't be so difficult if you find the hideout," Donghyuck pointed out matter-of-factly.
"Ya, Lee Donghyuck!" Mark hyung buried his face in exasperation. "Are you kidding? Our hideout is like, deep into the forest, it's undiscovered territory! And the guards! They have poison-tipped crossbows and bulletproof vests! And don't let me get started on the interior!"
Chief Rosewood's eyebrows flew up like, ten metres. (lol nah) "Narae, Jaemin, I'm not sure if this mission will be for you," he started dialing a number on his phone. "We can call the senior cops and detectives instead..."
"No!" I stood up abruptly, not knowing of my actions. "I'm sorry, but I can't hold off this mission! My friends are waiting for me there! They'll die! They need someone that they can trust! They know me and Mark and Donghyuck better than anyone! Imagine how intimidated they'd be if a gang of seniors came to free them! And, I made a promise!" I rolled up my sleeve, and revealed the scars that I cut through my own skin. "I swore my life that I would free them and not let them die!"
The silence made everything else seem magnified, like the creak of a chair or the rustling of the wind.
Mark's eyes and Donghyuck's eyes watered. "Did you really self-harm, Jaemin?"
"...Yeah," I said quietly. "I did. To give myself a reminder. That I need to rescue you guys."
a/n OH MY GOSH IT'S BEEN LIKE A FREAKING TWO WEEKS IM SO SORRY I WAS SO WRITER'S BLOCKED AND THIS CHAPTER IS SO TRASH LIKE IM SO SORRY
