√ 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 // 𝐻𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝐻𝑦𝑢𝑛𝑗𝑖𝑛

thirty eight.

Hyunjin's p.o.v.

     "So just how long is this tunnel? Will it take long for us to reach the building? Will it be hard to go unnoticed when we enter? Will... "

     Hyunjin barely stopped his eye roll as the youngest in the group doled out his questions, blissfully unaware of how his talkative nature was irritating his elder.

     "It should only take about thirty minutes to walk it. We should be fine as long as the others keep the attention off of us. Are all eighteen of yours ready to go?" Hyunjin addressed Taeyong, projecting his voice over his shoulder while eyeing the damp tunnel floor.

     "Twenty, actually," the man corrected, bracing a hand on the wall next to him as they walked along the slightly dangerous ground.

     Hyunjin and Chan raised their brows; Taeyong was building quite the little empire for himself. Before long, NCT might be the biggest gang in their respective area.

     "Oh really?" Minho hummed to keep the conversation going. The leader nodded to himself, a soft smile spreading across his lips as he pictured his group.

     "Sungchan and Shotaro. They joined just a little while ago. Brilliant kids, those two," he commented, stifling a curse as his footing slipped for a moment.

     Chenle chimed in, his bright expression practically illuminating the musty tunnel as he smiled. "They're the best! Although Jisung and I are still the youngest out of everyone," he begrudgingly pouted, kicking a pebble lightly.

     "That's a lot of members to keep up with," Minho noted absently. "Where will we all go to lie low after we succeed here? Is your base big enough?"

     Taeyong took his time answering, preoccupied with keeping himself from slipping on the slimy concrete floor. "We recently established another base that's completely off the records, about an hour from here - Sicarius won't be able to find us there."

     The entire conversation, focusing entirely on what was to happen after the mission, was putting Hyunjin on edge. No matter the amount of confidence they all had, it was impossible to know the outcome of tonight's events, and he wanted his mindset to stay as practical as possible. Which meant expecting the worst.

     Hyunjin wasn't expecting everyone to make it out.

     Whether that meant that he was a bad person or not, Hyunjin didn't know. At this point he didn't think it mattered - all he wanted was to get to her.

     "Watch your step," he warned the others, shining his flashlight beam further down the tunnel, throwing shadows across the walls. "It's about to get slippery up ahead."

° ° °

Nari's p.o.v.

     "W-woojin, please."

     She was helpless, there was nothing to be done. She couldn't save herself or her other member, who was probably sitting in a chair just like hers a few rooms down, sweating and fearful as he awaited the return of his current torment.

     She couldn't even get her friend to explain why he had betrayed his family.

     Woojin's eyes stayed cast toward the ground, unrelenting hardness encasing his gaze. "I'm... I'm sorry. I can't help you."

     Smugly, Hana raised an elbow to settle on his tall shoulder, only for Woojin to roughly shrug it off a few moments later. She made a face at him and rolled her eyes, lips smirking once again as she looked down at Nari.