Profit Margin (Criminal AU) (WayV x Reader)

Tragic Flaws

Chapter warnings: mild language and violence

Word count: 1293

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Exactly three days passed before Ten came back. The others had told her that it was a sort of game for him. He hunted people like the rich hunted animals. It wasn't necessarily difficult, but he liked to take his time. Apparently, in the rare occasions when a catch escapes from them, Ten is the one to go retrieve it. Of course, hunting Hendery would be a bit different. With no way to track him and only the killings to follow, she wasn't sure exactly how he planned on accomplishing his promise. Still, each person she spoke to was completely unwavering in their certainty that he would pull through.

Two things remained constant that worried her across these days. First, the killing spree continued, each morning resulting in a new somber announcement regarding which large stadium or auditorium had been plagued with bodies. Second, Lucas had yet to wake up. While Xiaojun assured her that his vitals were still stable, he had not risen to consciousness. She could tell that the work was weighing on the medic, but all she could do was watch Lucas for small increments of time as he caught up on rest. They ended up in that same doctor's office together on multiple occasions, but both chose not to mention it.

On the evening of the third day, Ten returned. He walked in the door unannounced, not bothering to tell anyone he had come back or what he had found. He simply walked into the kitchen, putting a few pieces of bread in the toaster and waiting as they cooked. Y/N was the first to discover him as she came upstairs to grab Xiaojun something to eat. As acute as his senses were, he heard her walk in, even though she froze. Turning to look at her, he stayed silent.

"Hello." She spoke, trying to test the waters. She wasn't sure exactly where his head was at.

"Hello." He responded. Neither moved, both on the defensive. She stared into the darkness of his eyes, wondering what exactly he was thinking. Did he still want to make amends, or was he now furious, long past any sympathy? She had no way of knowing, no way of telling- until he answered for her.

"I'm sorry." That said it all. He didn't say for what, or explain himself, or try and make an excuse. He also didn't beg at her feet or make a long speech. That was it, he was sorry, take it or leave it. It summed up everything she had known about him into two simple words, a microcosm of his entire state of being.

"I'm sorry, too." She answered, realizing that she meant it. Things were too complicated now to worry about little things. he had no idea what he was going through, what had dragged him into this way of living, but she was in no place to judge him. His expression slowly changed from his regular, stone face to one filled with tears and regret. He strode around the counter as quickly as he could to wrap his arms around her, setting his chin on her shoulder so their heads were side by side. She could feel his body shaking a bit, but didn't mention it. After a few seconds, though, a new voice startled her.

"Am I... interrupting something?" Breaking away from Ten and looking to the other end of the room, she saw YangYang staring at them awkwardly. Ten quickly turned to clean up his face as Y/N spoke to the new arrival.

"No, you're fine. What's up?"

"Fun got a notification that the garage opened. He wanted me to come see if Ten was back or..."

"Or if I was trying to leave?" She finished.

"...Yeah. Anyway, we should probably go see him." Ten, now composed again, looked over.

"Oh. Should I bring Hendery?" YangYang's jaw practically dropped.

"You found him?!"

"Yeah, he's in the car."

"Just sitting there?"

"No, I have him tied up. Didn't want him slipping off, you know?" YangYang didn't even know what to make of that.

"You know what, on second thought, I'll tell everyone to meet in the conference room. You go and get him."

Ten took Y/N with him to retrieve their once-colleague. Whatever she had been expecting, this wasn't it. He brought her out to a parked black sedan, popping the trunk to reveal a very awake, very tied-up, very angry Hendery. As soon as his gaze fell on Y/N, his eyes shifted from annoyed and frustrated to completely crazy. His hands and feet were bound as one would normally see, but his knees, elbows, and mouth were all restrained as well. She looked to Ten with a bit of terror.

"What?" He shrugged. "I got tired of him cursing me out." Ten picked up his thin frame effortlessly despite his own seemingly fragile body. She could clearly tell who was the stronger of the two, which was surprising, considering that knife-fighting was likely more exerting. They brought him to the board room, where everyone was already waiting. Ten wasted no time shoving him into the room and against the table, slamming his hip into the edge. It clearly hurt, but not a sound escaped Hendery's throat.

"Oh my God!" WinWin stood to look at him, being the first to say anything. "You actually found him!"

"That's enough of that." Kun interrupted, a bit taken aback by Hendery's state. "Ten, if you'd be so kind as to untie him, he can take his seat." Eyes narrowing, Ten reluctantly complied in regards to most of the bonds. He undid the restraints on the man's feet, knees, elbows, and mouth, leaving his hands tied behind his back. Hendery shot him a glare as he moved to Kun's righthand chair, forced to kick it out from under the table in order to sit down. After swallowing a few times to get the feeling back in his mouth, he asked,

"So what exactly the fuck do you all think you're doing?"

"We might ask you the same thing." The leader cut in. "You make an attempt on the life of one of our own, steal half a million dollars in funds, take off on a killing spree with no contact or warning, and then expect us to treat you with the same civility and respect as we always have?" With this, his face turned to a sort of irritated confusion.

"Excuse me? I left to go find the person that tried to kill Lucas. He had broken into the building somehow and I watched him as he was leaving the stairwell. I didn't keep contact because I thought that if he had been able to breach our defenses, he could tap my phone as well."

"Why should we believe you?" Ten asked with a sneer. "You've never been the vigilante justice type."

"Because this person is clearly after us!" Hendery snarled, raising his voice. "Are you stupid? First they try and kill Lucas, and then they ruin the venue for our next concert! Someone knows what we're doing and is trying to fuck with us, maybe even kill all of us! How can you sit here with me tied up when that person is still out there?"

"And the money?" WinWin asked, stealing Ten's place in the hot seat.

"I don't know anything about the money, I've never been involved in that. We're wasting time." They all looked to Kun, silently summing up the situation. Would he believe Hendery? Would he throw the man in jail to rot, or worse? Not only that, bt she wasn't sure she'd be pleased with his retaliation to her and Ten should he be freed.

"Fine."