Chapter 16: cards on the table

The air of awkwardness that soured the atmosphere around the silent gathered trio was like a swirling cloud of foul-smelling fog. Though one was not as affected by the unspoken alienation that plagued the opposite pair, that didn't mean he wasn't aware of it.

Jongho shuffled his weight back and forth next to the tall bluenette who was scrolling on his phone absentmindedly. The varying sounds that would play at random moments as Yunho scrolled didn't do much to distract him from the ongoing awkwardness that exuded from Jongho and the blond opposite of them.

Wooyoung was leaning against the bricks near them, his gaze turned away and down the sidewalk for the next few blocks. He seemed to be carefully observing the far-off crowds of wandering people, waiting patiently for the others to join them and passing time by people watching.

Jongho didn't dare keep his eyes on the blond for long, still unsure how to fix the awkward divide they had dug between their understandings. Instead, he pocketed his chilled hands and turned his own gaze up to the sky. He picked apart the lumped cloud formations like he was a child once more, chasing them across the sky internally.

They had been waiting for just over ten minutes just to the side of Wonderland's front doors. Each passing moment made his inner urge to take action twitch with impatience, and his shifting every now and again was surely a sign to the other two about his desire to get going.

To make matters worse on his flickering conscience, since his 'almost-kiss' with Wooyoung they hadn't really been able to hold a conversation without things descending into awkwardness. Wooyoung had made more of an effort to bring it up, but Jongho had been the one to disappear into the guest bedroom almost immediately after the movie finished. The pizza was fine, but Jongho had mostly used it as an excuse not to talk.

Thankfully, after light prodding and dusting around the topic, Wooyoung had picked up on Jongho's reluctance to acknowledge the event. So the next morning, leading up to now where they were waiting at Wonderland, neither of them had addressed the elephant between them. They only spoke in small acknowledgements now and again when talking was necessary, but otherwise, things were silent between them. It made for an awkward start to the day considering they were now technically roommates.

It set a bitter taste on Jongho's tongue every time he made a move to avoid Wooyoung's confrontation. All he wanted to do was scream out what he was feeling, and how if the chance was possible he would greedily surrender to a future with Wooyoung without thinking about the consequences.

His heart also ached to know that Wooyoung may have gotten the wrong idea in concern to his silence. There were probably a hundred explanations he could give, but none of them would be true.

'I'm scared of getting you hurt,' Was what Jongho really wanted to say, 'And I'm terrified that San's worries are valid.'

He hated that his mind could only mull over the negatives. What if, after all this, Wooyoung didn't come out unscathed because of a connection Jongho had accepted?

Would Jongho be able to live knowing that he'd been the partial cause of his death? He didn't think he could handle the pressure of losing a pet fish let alone a whole other person because of something that boiled down to his fault.

The answer was that he couldn't. He wasn't a stranger to loss, but it was different when it involved people he had just met and was just starting to genuinely care for. He wouldn't be able to bear it.

So all he was left to do was continue to shift nervously at Yunho's side. His gaze remained glued to the ground, wrenched away from the tempting blond.

Yunho slipped his phone into his side pocket and kicked off the wall next to him, snapping him free of his worrying thoughts. The elder bluenette was standing at attention, staring at the approaching figures of the other Elites with warm eyes. They all were set with determination, and Jongho inhaled deeply to calm himself and mentally prepare for what was to come.

The eldest pair of the Elites, Seonghwa and Hongjoong strode forward nearly in sync. Their confidence made others on the sidewalk scramble out of their way, glancing after them with stunned awe.

Hongjoong's legs were dressed in loose distressed denim, while sewn on flower decals were pressed onto unripped spaces in a nonsensical pattern. His jeans fell to his snowy Pumo shoes, and his top half was adorned with a looser black shirt with a strange design filling the front. His auburn hair liked to shine especially in the low morning sun, but Hongjoong had pushed it more out of his face today.

On the contrary to Hongjoong's streetwear, Seonghwa didn't seem like the person to understand casual . . . and it showed in his attire.

His midnight blazer was buttoned over a pristine ivory button-up, while his pale hands rested loosely in his matching dark, pleated slacks. The elder man wore his usual dress shoes, but they seemed to shine more than usual. Finally, as Jongho raked his gaze past the man's stony expression, he took note of sterling earrings that dangled below both ears, surrounded by curls of hair shaded like dark ink.

Both didn't even flinch at the attention they could gather in the blink of an eye, only focused on reaching the patient trio at Wonderland's doors.

Jongho had to admit, albeit internally, that if he had been one of those passing strangers he would have been equally terrified of them. Just with a glance at how they carried themselves, even outsiders would think twice about falling on their radar, especially for negative reasons.

San followed a few paces behind Seonghwa and Hongjoong, sometimes smirking at some of the whispering pedestrians who quickly glanced away from his gaze. Though his eyes carried hints of playfulness, the slower, almost hesitant way he walked revealed his regrets on agreeing to join them for this small mission.

Those regrets were washed clean when San's attention fell on Wooyoung, just as Hongjoong and Seonghwa also came to a stop in front of the other waiting trio. San naturally gravitated to Wooyoung, like a floating moon being dragged back towards its colourful home planet. The rosy-haired man leaned into the blond's arms, taking careful note of the other's irregular silence. Wooyoung returned a weak smile and tightened his arms in a reassuring hug, though San wasn't about to accept Wooyoung's nonchalance so easily.

Jongho had to tear his gaze away, feeling as if he had no right to want to comfort Wooyoung after making things estranged between them. He forced himself to give Hongjoong his full attention, just as the other opened his mouth to speak.

"Are we ready?" Hongjoong's calculating amber gaze surveyed the group, "From what Yunho gathered, we should be meeting this informant at a building near Tashotun Station. Yunho will be leading us in the first car with Jongho and me. Seonghwa will follow in the second car with San and Wooyoung."

Jongho released a silent breath of relief, mutely thankful that he would be riding in a separate car than Wooyoung. He had noticed Hongjoong glancing between them curiously already, and knew that the others were beginning to sense the suddenly tense atmosphere between them.

San seemed like he knew about the almost-kiss, though Jongho could only speculate with how kept glancing at Jongho with narrowed eyes. He may just have a hunch or he could just be willing to blame it on Jongho because he wasn't fond of him; either way, San wasn't pleased.

Jongho shouldn't have been surprised that Wooyoung would inform San, whether he had meant to seek out his boyfriend or vent to his best friend Jongho still wasn't certain. Whatever it was, San looked like he had a few choice words he was barely refraining from letting loose.

With the two separate groups settled, Jongho piled into one of the designated 'company' cars that were parked just to the side in the nearby parking lot. As a club, Wonderland didn't have a need for vehicles as a part of the business, however, Seonghwa had made a point that he had intentionally purchased them to serve in these rare instances anyway.

Yunho and Hongjoong were moments behind him. Yunho slid into the driver's seat, just as Hongjoong settled into the passenger side. Jongho had already settled in the back, having no reason to fight for the front seat and instead content where he could hum along quietly to the radio.

The anticipation that was growing in him for answers managed to drown out his previous thoughts about Wooyoung. Hongjoong and Yunho seemed to share the impatience, as both would glance out the window every now and again to check if Seonghwa was following. Yunho in particular appeared extra energized, and Jongho was willing to bet money that the older one was thinking of Mingi.

Yunho tapped the steering wheel with anxious fingers while they were stopped at a red light. It was becoming more and more obvious that his mind wasn't fully on the road in front of him. So considering that Jongho would rather arrive at their destination in one piece, he thought he could distract the others with a question he'd been meaning to ask since the start of the trip.

"Why do we take two cars?" Jongho wondered, glancing between the two in the front who also glanced back at him at his interruption. "There are enough seats in here to fit all of us."

Yunho hummed, "It's Hongjoong-hyung's idea, something to do with backup or whatever."

Hongjoong turned on Yunho incredulously at his horrible explanation, but his hard gaze lessened when he faced Jongho as well as he could from his seat.

"When I was a lot younger, I had a teacher who taught me a couple of tricks about getting out of or handling potentially dangerous situations. Basically, if our first car is ambushed in any way when we pull up, then the second car has time to provide back up without being fooled or trapped as well." Hongjoong turned back to observe the road in front of them, "Sometimes it can also be a subtle way to trick people into thinking there are more people than there actually are. In this case, we are just using the separate cars for emergency backup."

Yunho distracted him when he turned the wheel in full rotations as they pulled into the underground parking lot of an ashy-coloured building across from the Tashotun Metro Station entrance.

"Since this informant works by collecting any information he can and selling it to the highest bidder, we can never be too careful," Hongjoong mumbled distractedly as a small group of people wearing surgical masks exited the nearby elevator and moved in a synchronized fashion towards where a single man was waiting against a white Range Roover, his face shaded from view.

A second black SUV pulled into the free spot next to them, effectively blocking their view of the strangely suspicious sight. Jongho peered through the gap in his seat and saw Seonghwa nod at Hongjoong through the window before swinging his door open.

Hongjoong glanced back over his shoulder at the other occupants of the car, "Let's go."

------◎▼◎------

Once the elevator had reached its main floor, the room that greeted them was unlike any lobby Jongho had seen.

He felt as if he had walked straight into a Victorian-era home, every item of decor individualized to stand out to visitors in a stunningly virtuous display. The high ceilings and beams that arched across the width of the room felt as if they had stepped back in time.

The receptionist had greeted them nonchalantly behind a looming mahogany greeting desk, the radiant lobby clearly a regular sight for her. Jongho was sure she must get a kick out of the stunned faces of those she was meant to greet but her face didn't slip beyond her passive smile and neutral eyes.

The hallway that she eventually directed them to, after she was done making some moves on Hongjoong who fired some flirty remarks right back at her (much to San's dismay, for some reason), was just as vast.

The high ceilings in this hall were dimly lit by warm red lights that ran in strings along the walls and suspended from above. These lights fit nothing in the 'Victorian-era' style that matched the rest of the peculiar building, instead, they seemed to illuminate the path to a certain room down the hall which also happened to be their destination.

The lights curved around through the top of the doorway that was void of an actual door, flowing straight into the strange room. The Elites paused in front of Jongho, while Seonghwa and Hongjoong exchanged a split-second glance before leading the way through the arched doorway.

The room was packed with computers and flashing screens. A few mounted on the walls ran through repeating patterns of code, each no doubt paired to something Jongho would never understand. Separate monitors rested on tables and desks, all alight with washed white and black recordings on their elevated screens. The room itself was dim, but at the same time seemed strangely bright from all the illuminated screens that were constantly running.

Some displayed the recordings from street cameras that were located all over the city, while others flickered between unfamiliar hallways and buildings with internal cameras. Jongho thought his eyes were playing tricks with him at first. He was sure that he had just seen one flash to a view of the street in front of Wonderland from Wonderland's own cameras. He blinked in confusion and paused behind the others while they continued further into the dim room, their caution made more goosebumps rise over his skin than the room itself.

It felt like your traditional futuristic movie hacker's paradise.

Wires ran along the floor like twisted snakes, winding around and underneath tables as if to intentionally trip up those who weren't careful. Jongho almost had to wonder how much this guy was paying for electricity every month.

And in the center of it all was exactly him. A man leaning back in one of those red and black chairs you would sometimes see online streamers own, a black cell phone to his ear.

The unfamiliar man was talking animatedly. His eyebrows were pinched in annoyance and the tone of his voice emitted displeasure although the few words Jongho was able to catch were worded politely.

As soon as he saw them, well more like Yunho who was leading the pack, he mumbled something like a farewell and hung up immediately. Forgetting all about the device after sweeping his gaze over his visitors, he tossed it carelessly onto the nearby desk. Jongho nearly winced at the loud smack that occurred when the phone was abandoned, taking a step further behind Seonghwa.

The man approached them with a knowing smirk.

"Yunho!" The man then grinned, "I haven't seen you since graduation. You dyed your hair." The man moved to fist bump Yunho with the same mysterious grin and a wink, "Apparently you have some business you need my help with."

Yunho shared the man's enthusiasm, "It's been a year, Mark. I guess you are still a whiz with computers?"

Mark motioned around them with swinging arms, and truly the atmosphere of the room was enough of an answer.

Finally, as if remembering that they were not alone for their reunion, Yunho faced his companions with a smile, "Before I met Mark he was a member of NCT, the famous gang that parted ways after there were rumours of fighting amongst their ranks. I'm sure you've heard of them before. They split up into smaller gangs each with their own leaders and rules, but Mark was inactive at the time so he never had to pick sides."

Jongho noticed Hongjoong's now curious gaze glancing over the newly introduced man with a strange intensity.

"Technically, he holds a place in each new gang," Yunho continued, almost blind to Hongjoong's peculiar reaction, "though he isn't as active as he used to be. He was with them all through high school up until our graduation, so he's well versed with how the underworld works. I found out a few months ago that he's been working for a lot of underground organizations by feeding and selling them information."

Mark didn't seem bothered by the sudden attention as the other Elites, plus Jongho, sized him up incredulously. The sudden info dump on the stranger they had just been introduced to felt like classified information, and Mark was surely someone who knew full well the price of well-sought information. San shuffled a bit nervously from Wooyoung's side, not going unnoticed by Jongho or Mark, who glanced at him for what may have started out as a quick glance but then lingered for longer.

Mark ran careful digits over his nails passively, his eyes were twin spheres of roasted hickory nuts each burning with some unreadable emotion. When he noticed that Yunho was no longer talking, he quickly butted in before Yunho could interrupt.

"They've heard enough about me, introduce me to your friends," Mark waved off Yunho's long-winded story, turning his curious gaze between each of the Elites, missing Jongho who was still ducked behind Seonghwa.

Yunho grinned with an underlying understanding that Jongho failed to pinpoint from where he was standing.

The bluenette cleared his throat. "This is Seonghwa-hyung and Hongjoong-hyung," he gestured to the pair in question. "They're kind of like our unofficial leaders."

Mark hummed pensively. He had taken a few steps backwards to lean on a nearby desk, his face now illuminated by the screen nearest to him. The path of the light made the informant look more sinister than his personality portrayed. Jongho felt a little unease crawl over his skin but didn't voice anything for fear the others closest to him would claim he was overreacting.

There was something that didn't sit quite right about Mark, in Jongho's opinion. Though he was used to jumping to conclusions so he calmed his erratic heart with a steady exhale.

"This is Wooyoung," Yunho addressed the blond, "We call him our sunshine, and I'm sure if we stayed too long you'd find out why."

Wooyoung waved politely, easily grinning in greeting curse his extroverted nature. San peeked out from behind the blond's shoulder, and Jongho was curious when the older had discretely slipped behind Wooyoung.

Yunho coaxed the pink-et forward with encouraging eyes, and Mark's gaze followed him as he stepped out from behind his human shield.

"San is more like our mood maker," Yunho exclaimed brightly, though San only smiled weakly in return. Wooyoung was forced to shift to the side when Mark ventured a little closer, pushing away from the desk he was leaning against.

Mark flashed San a flirtatious smile, holding a hand to collect San's into his own. The informant swung the other's hand up to his face to kiss the back of it with a flourish. The Elites were each frozen in stunned silence, and even Jongho watched with stone legs and wide eyes.

San's hand shook lightly in his grasp, but Mark didn't let go.

"Already brightened my mood," Mark's eyes remained unfaltering, never straying from San's nervous expression. Jongho watched San flush a bright pink with surprise.

It wasn't uncommon to see San at the bar counter flirting casually with customers who were willing to fall all over him. San was always the confident one in the work setting. He managed to flirt with nearly anyone, and always seemed to win them over easily with his natural charms. Contrary to Hongjoong however, who was the major casanova of the group in Jongho's opinion, San didn't seem to enjoy the attention and mainly did it for the convenience and the benefits.

The majority of San's flirting act was to convince others to spend more money on him, whether to impress him with their money or to keep his attention on them versus other patrons. Jongho had seen San slip multiple notes with phone numbers scrawled on them into a specific drawer at the bar counter that was already overflowing with folded notes.

Jongho had always been amazed at how easily San could keep his cool and his confidence in front of the people he flirted with, especially with initially difficult customers.

That's why it was so strange to see San this shy. Let alone flustered and left practically speechless. San froze up completely under Mark's weighted stare and not even a second later, Hongjoong pushed between them, effectively shielding the pink-et.

Hongjoong's eyes were narrowed in fierce displeasure and protectiveness for his dongsaeng, and he focused that gaze on Mark's now fake innocent smile. Mark's own eyes gave away his intention of mischief, but he smiled as he was an angel who could do no wrong.

Jongho saw San turn an even brighter pink when Hongjoong stepped in, stealing his hand away from Mark's and tucking it behind his back with the rest of San. Though Jongho didn't think much of it, he figured the other was probably embarrassed for needing saving.

Yunho took note of the tension that was beginning to brew in the room, and he too seemed slightly taken aback by Mark's forwardness. He cleared his throat once more to gain the attention of their 'host', before motioning towards where Jongho was supposed to be.

Seonghwa discovered the gap where Jongho had been previously standing, but with a glance over his shoulder, his unanswered question already had its solution. The elder businessman stepped to the side to reveal the younger, and Jongho also couldn't help freezing at the sudden exposure.

Mark locked his eyes on Jongho, recognizing that there was a new face revealed among them. He began to take steady steps forward with an approaching face of stone. His demeanour composed of playful but dangerous mischief falling away.

"And finally, our youngest-"

"Choi Jongho," Mark came to a dead stop in front of him, sizing him up with an unreadable expression, "I know."

With his feet still rooted in place, Jongho furrowed his eyebrows, just slightly, in confusion. He'd never met this strange man before in his entire life, he was certain he would remember such an experience. But the Elites didn't know that.

Yunho was the first to react. The other had discretely side-stepped away from Mark until he was standing at Seonghwa's side once more. He appeared suddenly taken aback by Mark's interruption, but now was just eyeing Jongho behind a mask of cool intrigue.

The others were a different story and wore their reactions more openly.

Seonghwa, San, and Hongjoong peered at Jongho as if seeing him in a new light, sharp eyes narrowed in suspicion and confusion. They didn't make any moves, but Jongho knew that they were running through the situation internally. Perhaps already questioning if they had made a mistake in trusting Jongho.

Wooyoung seemed just as surprised as the rest, but instead of focusing on suspicion he seemed almost . . . worried? Betrayed, maybe was a better word? He continuously shifted his glances between Mark and Jongho with curious intent.

Jongho didn't allow himself to back down in front of Mark's scrutinizing stare. He'd lived through Yeosang's, Wooseok's, and his father's intimidating glares before and this felt nothing like the fear he felt when the previous three were angered. Both Yeosang and Wooseok had taught him to stand his ground, so Jongho knew he had to show that he wasn't afraid of Mark in any way he could. Even if everything about the man made him nervous, he used the nerves to strengthen his stance and focus his eyes.

The kind of nervous this man made Jongho feel wasn't the 'butterflies fluttering in your stomach' kind of nervous. Instead, it was the kind of nervous that made him want to throw up the contents of his stomach and put a good couple of feet between them.

"We'll talk later," Mark mumbled under his breath, before turning away from the younger with a final unreadable look.

Jongho's bones felt like ice had crawled up every limb to his spine. His skin prickled as if small needles of ice were settled on every surface of exposed skin. The cherry-sized drop of dread in his belly that had been present since they'd entered the building felt like it was swelling to the size of a baseball with only those few words.

None of the others were close enough to catch Mark's hushed promise, but their eyes were almost as sharp as the icy needles Jongho had already described.

"Anyways, you needed me?" Mark tilted his head at Yunho expectantly, but Jongho sucked in a breath of bravery and answered instead.

"We need to find where this came from," Jongho untucked the small wrapped bag that was enclosing the strange black substance from the inner pocket of his oversized jacket. Mark's eyes lit up almost immediately at the sight of it.

The sudden intrigue that struck the informant's face had every one of the Elites clenching their fists in unease. San looked as if he was barely able to hold his tongue when Mark reached out to take the precious package from Jongho's open hand, watching as he turned it over with a strangely gleeful grin.

Mark spun on his feet and approached one of the nearest computers that actually had a keyboard. He flicked a switch on the side of a nearby projector Jongho hadn't noticed earlier and began typing as the other machine whirred to life.

"CTBB-2 is its formal term, but the more obvious nickname is black blood." Mark whistled over the state of the sample, as moving pictures began to appear on the adjacent wall. "CTBB-2 is practically liquid code. Set with microscopic nanobots galore and enough electrical potential to power a mega city for years, it's no wonder it's in high demand for robotics all over the world."

The projected screen began displaying articles and strings of English that none of them could understand, except for Mark who skimmed past the words easily. Mark enlarged one of the display images and it began showing a short recording of microorganisms moving beneath a microscope image. Jongho watched them squirm with wide eyes, understanding that they were meant to be the microscopic nanobots that lived in the collected sample.

Mark stared up at the projection with an air of pride, "It's extremely expensive and usually only accessible to governments or large industries. Despite its potential and extraordinary ability, the creator is still unknown and few people actually know of its existence."

Mark sent an easy grin in the direction of the Elites, "Lucky for you though, I have some experience with it already."

Hongjoong and Seonghwa exchanged an unreadable glance in front of Jongho, while San and Wooyoung huddled slightly closer as if suddenly more uncomfortable.

The informant pushed away from the desk just to land back in the office chair from before, twisting around to type furiously on a separate monitor behind him. He began pulling up maps and scanners that appeared like hacked police radars; several flashing icons pinpointed key locations around the city with a range of colours to match a separate legend.

"The nanobots leave behind signals that ping up their previous locations if you know the right frequency. Thankfully I do, so this one was pretty easy to locate." Mark hummed. "This particular specimen came from one of the privately-owned warehouses by the port."

He clicked on an isolated pop-up, pulling up a satellite mapping system with a brilliant scarlet glowing icon nearest to the port. Mark pointed at it simply, as if to say 'tada', "That's where you'll find traces of wherever this sample came from, or maybe even where it was activated initially."

Hongjoong, with San now being pulled at his side, approached the map to get an outlook on the surrounding area. He swept his gaze over the images with a thoughtful expression, turning back to Mark after a few moments of silence held the room in stillness.

"This warehouse you mentioned . . . you said it's privately owned. Will we run into anyone there?" Hongjoong donned his leadership role quite easily as if it was as simple as slipping into another skin. Jongho commended him for already thinking ahead. The man was probably running through potential scenarios already if he was this serious.

Mark paused for a moment from where his back was turned. He tilted his head back listlessly over his shoulder like it was a bag of sand, a seemingly harmless twinkle was gleaming within his gaze. "What?" The other man teased, "Scared you'll run into some gang or something?"

Their auburn-et leader faced the map once again, "Not exactly, but I'd still like to know."

Mark's lips slid into an easy smile, one that was becoming almost familiar at this point. "There shouldn't be anything there you need to worry about. The company that owns it hasn't received any new shipments in months, so no one will be hanging around." Mark locked eyes with Jongho just then, and a shiver travelled down the youngest's spine. Mark continued as if nothing had occurred, "But it wouldn't hurt to be careful. You never know what lies in the shadows."

Jongho felt as if the words were directed at him in particular, but he couldn't pinpoint why.

Mark stood from the black office chair, and began walking towards the open doorway to the hall, "Jongho, can I talk to you for a moment?" He called the question over his shoulder in passing, as if already expecting Jongho to follow. His tone itself left no room for argument, and Jongho could only return a small nod, even if the other was already past him and hadn't seen the small action.

Jongho tried to ignore the burning stares from the Elites, trying not to let their suspicion and concern make him any tenser than he already was.

The hallway which had been alight with burning candles and clouded with the welcoming aura of an old English hotel was now a dull grey. No one was in sight of the two lonely figures, despite the many other doors that lined the hall and were no doubt the homes of even stranger personas.

The lights had been put out, but the dull silver of an ambient moon-like glow from the ceiling was enough for Jongho to still see Mark's expressions clearly.

Jongho tried to loosen the tenseness that encapsulated his limbs, but his survival instincts refused to be overridden. The dangerous aura that exuded from this man that accompanied him made him feel as if he'd been left alone with a cunning lion, a large predator with its claws at the ready and a hiss of warning pressed from its gaping maw.

"How well do you think you know your allies?" Mark began like some intimidating villain from some old nursery tale, his intensely burning eyes stroke chords of similarity to a red star about to turn supernova. His intent was searching, trying to pick apart something unknown from Jongho's expression.

Confusion clouded the younger's eyes and whatever answer he searched for was caught on his tongue. The Elites had become familiar to him, but had they become trusting? They were still walking the somewhat fine line between friends and strangers, and Jongho liked to call them allies only for the sake of convenience. He wasn't sure how they considered him in turn, he was only able to hope that at the very least they didn't just tolerate him.

Sure he'd had tastes of their loyalty and protection in the past, but some things were already expected from basic human decency and travelled no further than a sense of duty.

In the end, he didn't really know them well enough to say, but he wanted to trust them and had thought that was enough.

Mark took his silence a different way, "Being an informant, having access to radio signals, and being able to tap into phone lines has a lot of perks when you want to learn something about anyone or anything. This can include overhearing important conversations between underground parties just because you happened to stumble upon some encoded frequency, which I experienced not that long ago. Earlier this month on some rarely used, heavily coded channel, a conversation was sparked between two distant factions about you. From what they were saying, it was obvious they had been keeping a close eye on you, however, one thing stuck out,"

Jongho felt unease begin to broil uncomfortably beneath his skin, knowing exactly who would be discussing and keeping an eye on him. The Creators of the same android creations that haunted his waking dreams and had stolen away his best friend were aware that he was a major player in the game of keeping secrets. They had made it obvious they had it out for him with the very explicit messenger that had grasped his neck as if it was just a limp spaghetti noodle.

Mark's warning was only a confirmation of his fears, but his next sentence had Jongho wrenching his head towards him with a mouthful of invisible sand.

"Someone in your team is a spy."

------

hellloooo

it's been a while *sweats nervously*

if you've ever had that thing where you suddenly become insanely insecure of your own writing after reading someone else's, thennnn yeah. that's pretty much what it's been for the past three months in my world. 

however, I still feel like I have a duty to this book so we fought through the lack of motivation and now we're back!

I could have published this chapter far earlier, but I wanted to get ahead with edited chapters, so currently I have three chapters ready for today :) I call it a 'sorry for literally vanishing for three months' and a 'thanks for 800 reads woot woot'

anyways

♡ thanks for reading  ♡