Healing Castle | TXT Fantasy Novel ft. BTS

28 - Huening Kai

"We have to rent out a small venue," Huening Kai says.

TXT is in a different hideout now. Near Hongdae, the room overlooking a steady stream of shoppers are tourists is barely big enough to fit the four of them. Yeonjun, Soobin, and Taehyun are sitting on the couch--practically attached at the hip--while Kai goes over the details of his plan.

"Topaz said that we're the strongest when we perform together," Kai continues. "So what's a better way to lure the Mage than putting on another performance?"

"It'll be dangerous, for the fans," Soobin says.

Kai is quiet for a while. Of course, he's also thought about how the fans could be injured in the process⁠—if they got caught up in a scuffle of the Black Mage's skills and their own. He'll be crushed if that happens. MOA is his world.

But he also believes that a performance is the only way. He'll have to convince his members before it's too late for Beomgyu. What if the Mage forces Beomgyu to join his side? Kai shivers at the thought of his friend's eyes going dark and his magic matching in the same shadowy tones.

"It may be a little dangerous," Kai goes on. "But it's our only option. We can't just go scouring the city again when we have no idea where Beomgyu is."

"Are we strong enough?" Taehyun asks. "With just the four of us, I don't know if we could go head on with the Mage."

"We'll have to," Huening Kai says. Then he turns to the eldest, who has a distant look in his eyes. "What do you think, Yeonjun?"

Yeonjun nods, coughing and coming back to reality. "I think Kai is right. We need to rock a stage in order for the Mage to reveal himself."

"That does it, then!" Kai says. He's grinning, ecstatic at the image of their team reuniting as five members. "I'll start looking at venues."

"I'll send out the tweets to our fans," Taehyun says. "They'll buy the tickets immediately, I hope."

"I'll choose the track list," Soobin says.

"I'll work on the choreography," Yeonjun finishes. "Since we're only a team of four, we have to adjust everything a little bit."

Huening Kai smiles. "Okay! Let's get on with it then."

Kai researches on his laptop and calls several small venues to ask if they can make an exception for a performance tonight. Most of them reject him in the first minute. Some of them are suspicious of whether a band called TOMORROW X TOGETHER even exists. Really? Is the Black Mage making Korea forget them too? One hangs up immediately⁠—maybe it's because Huening Kai's nerves--the crack in his voice--makes him suspicious.

An hour or so passes of searching before Kai finally finds a venue. It's a small cafe in Gangnam called A Palace. The place is big enough to seat at least fifty, and the owner of the venue says that they can hold a performance after closing hours. So, Kai sets an appointment for ten pm and releases a heavy sigh after the call is over.

"I got one!" Kai shouts.

Soobin comes over and gives Kai a hug. "I was beginning to get worried. We can always rely on you, Huening."

"Oh stop it," Kai says, struggling a bit to get free. "Someone was bound to be convinced by my charm."

"I sent out several tweets and replied to a few," Taehyun says. "How big is the venue?"

"Fifty people," Kai says.

"Okay." Taehyun sends out one more tweet and sets his phone face down on the couch. "Let's get to practicing."

"Soobin and I were thinking of performing five songs," Yeonjun says. "Our Summer, CROWN, Magic Island, Poppin' Star, and Eternally. What do you guys think?"

Slowly, their plan is coming together. Huening Kai is grinning so hard that his cheeks hurt. "I think that sounds awesome. Oh, I don't think the cafe is big enough for us to do choreography."

Yeonjun shakes his head, pouting a bit. "I've already laid out the plan for the dance for CROWN. We just have to stay in position instead of moving backward or forward."

Huening Kai nods. "Let's get to work, then!"

TXT, minus Beomgyu, goes to work on perfecting their vocals and dance moves for CROWN. Kai feels an emptiness beside him, like a cold gust of wind every time they move in formation. He's gotten so used to Beomgyu's presence that being without him feels more than abnormal. It feels as though someone has taken away a part of him, like he's missing a limb. And he's sure the members feel the same way.

"It's difficult to know where to stand," Yeonjun says. "But if you're ever in doubt, just keep an eye on the center and adjust."

Kai listens to the instructions of TXT's best dancer. Soon, they should be confident enough to perform CROWN even without one of the members. They'll rock the small stage and hopefully draw out the Mage. With their newfound powers, they'll put up a good fight and convince the evil being to reveal the location of Beomgyu.

On the train to Gangnam, Huening Kai gasps when the lights of the train go completely dark. He goes from being on guard to full-on panic mode when he can barely see the outlines of Yeonjun, Soobin, and Taehyun. They're above ground, so at least the moonlight gives them a bit of familiar security.

"Should be nothing to worry about," Soobin says, trying to comfort the team.

But then the train moves to a screeching halt.

"We're sorry, passengers," the English translation reads after the announcement. "But we're experiencing a power outage and are awaiting special assistance before we can start up again."

Huening Kai leans his head back and sighs. "You gotta be kidding me."

A/N: How will the boys get out of this one? Thank you for reading!