√ 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 // 𝐻𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝐻𝑦𝑢𝑛𝑗𝑖𝑛

thirty three.

     The boy's heart sped up to an alarming rate, the girl from his past bringing up long-buried emotions and memories, ones that he had wanted to bury entirely. His mind fluttered cautiously over her name, mouth catching up as his lips formed the word.

     "Hello Hana."

     Hana seemed delighted that he was still familiar with her, a little too delighted. She perked up and began to relax her stance more, though her finger never left the trigger of her gun.

     "How have you been? Minus all of this betrayal nonsense. In my opinion," she shared, glancing around and leaning foward as if she was sharing a secret, "you should just be put back on our team. You were the best partner I've ever had, you know."

     Chan voice pierced through her silky tone, the firmness in it surprising her. "He is a member of Stray Kids. He can never be and will never be part of anything else, without his unbiased consent, that is."

     Grateful for his hyung's defence, Hyunjin fingered the handle of one of his knives, debating on what he should say to his old... friend.

     "Are you going to kill us?"

     Hana was shocked by this suggestion, letting out a highly amused laugh. "What? Of course not, silly! Not right now, at least. Think of this as a... an invitation for you to turn yourself in. To spare all the casualties," she said, eyeing the other boys with a pitiful gaze.

     Hyunjin bristled, wanting to defend his brother's skills in combat. The Sicarius may have been talented, but there was no way that Stray Kids would go down without a fight.

     But Chan spoke before he could, asking what they were all thinking. "How long before you come again?"

     Hana leisurely ran her tongue over her lip, appraising Chan as she mulled over her answer.

     "A week."

     She raised a brow, silently daring anyone to question the deadline. When no one did, although steam was practically coming out of Hyunjin's ears, she smiled brightly, tapping her fingers happily on her rifle.

     "Wonderful! If I don't hear from you by then, I'm sure I can assume what that means," Hana purred, tossing a slip of paper at Hyunjin's feet. "See you later, gorgeous."

     The boy stooped to snatch up the paper, finding a phone number elegantly scrawled on it, Hana's name and a few hearts drawn at the bottom. Angrily, Hyunjin crumpled the paper and shoved it in his pocket.
 
     Hana rolled her eyes and turned to walk out of the door, and the boys saw a small device in her ear blink on. She paused, listening to whatever the person on her line was saying, and her lips stretched into a devious grin. As she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes half-closed, giving her the appearance of a sly panther.

     "Well now you have even more reason to come in. Don't you keep track of all your members? Tsk, tsk," she cackled, slamming the door behind her.

     Silence enveloped the boys, and Hyunjin's mind went completely quiet, only filled with white hot static.

     What... did that... mean?

     His surroundings were a complete blur as he sprinted through the house, eyes trying to catch on any signs of a struggle, a break in. An abduction.

     As he scanned the living room, his foot crunched down on something. "What the... "

     Hyunjin kneeled to inspect it, fingers gently brushing the floor. The pad of one finger touched something sharp, and he caught it up in his hand, bringing it close to his eyes.