Chapter 9: planted seeds of doubt

Every now and then, Jongho let his mind wander to far off memories of Yeosang and him sharing the simplest of moments.

Like when they used to share coffee over their language homework when they were still new friends. Or when they decided to share a dorm and apply for the same college. Or even when they did the most domestic things around their shared living space.

Yeosang's constant presence in Jongho's daily life was a fundamental part of his routine. With that vital piece missing, it felt like there was a deep void in the welcoming air of the apartment.

There were no sarcastic remarks that were funny enough to make Jongho almost spit out his cereal from laughter. No laundry wars followed him through the hallways, and no echoes of laughter from Yeosang's hidden corners or hiding spaces where he would wait sometimes just to scare the living daylights of Jongho.

There were many things he missed.

But it was mainly their ringleader and root cause that he missed the most.

This wasn't a usual vacation where Yeosang would drop everything to visit family out in the country or pay a visit to his father in the next city over. Or when exam season hit and Jongho and Yeosang would barely see each other between studying at other locations or outstanding classes.

Instead Yeosang was far away, contained in a place that Jongho simply couldn't get to. So many unknowns came into play with the undisclosed location of the missing civilians.

It would take more time than Jongho was willing to give up to find the exact location of the hatching prison. And with the slow paced crawl their investigation and search was still on, Jongho's biggest fear was that Yeosang's time may be running out.

What really happened to the real people behind the robotic fakes? He'd barely caught a glimpse of that new life from the short message Yeosang had left behind.

All those people were already being replaced with someone else who lived their life for them, who knows what would happen when the real people returned to their old lives?

Jongho didn't think he would be too pleased to return from however long, to find that an artificial being made in your place had built up its own artificial life from the foundations of your past one. The robots were all working for the Creator's agenda, without a doubt not caring for the repercussions some of their choices made on others' perception of the human they thought they were interacting with.

Everything would be different.

What was to stop the "Creators" from killing off their robots' organic models? Was Yeosang still alive? What about Mingi? He'd been there a lot longer than Yeosang had.

What if when the Elites finally showed up to break them out and 'save the day', there was no one left to save?

Jongho hated to think about what would become of his life then. He had to hold together the cracked stone walls that were built around his emotions, even when they threatened to buckle underneath the pressure. He was meant to be strong, if not only for his own sake, but Yeosang's and the Elites' also.

They each handled the presentation of their emotions differently.

Seonghwa often erected massive walls around how he was truly feeling, preferring a more neutral approach and perhaps fearing someone may turn any emotional vulnerability against him. But there were fleeting moments where Seonghwa treated the Elites with such care that it was impossible not to see how much Seonghwa loved each of them dearly. Just the thought of Mingi never coming back was enough for Seonghwa to close himself off entirely. If it were to become reality, the negative feedback would be damaging to not only Seonghwa's ability to share emotions, but also his attachment to the other Elites.

Hongjoong was the one who most often took responsibility over the group. His actions sometimes reminded Jongho of an overprotective father that wanted desperately to shield his loved ones from the world and its evil clutches. It was an admirable trait for someone as young as Hongjoong. If they weren't able to get Mingi back, Hongjoong would most likely lose himself in self doubt, with nonstop thinking of all the things he could have done.

San had already made it very clear that he wasn't fond of putting himself or his family in the way of danger. If Jongho were to voice his thoughts, it would only reinforce San's doubts and worries. San was terrified of losing the Elites, who were practically family to him. Jongho felt that under that overwhelming blanket of hostility San had for Jongho, there was someone who was afraid of being hurt. Of being left behind. A fragile man who needed someone to direct his frustration onto. Jongho didn't mind being that person that was faced with San's unfriendly side more often than not, because it helped San ease his worries, even if just a little.

Jongho winced at the thought of Yunho's reaction.

Yunho's unhindering love for Mingi was present in his every action and word. There was even a photo of all the Elites together (including Mingi) that was posted in the Brig behind the bar counter that Jongho had caught Yunho staring at forlornly more than once. Plus, whenever there was something that reminded Yunho of Mingi, he would jump into telling the story to whoever was listening. It was both sweet and poignant.

If Mingi never came back. . . Yunho would be devastated.

And Wooyoung. Hell, Wooyoung and Yeosang were like two peas in a pod when they were younger. Despite it seeming like their personalities were polar opposites, Jongho knew that they shared a lot of common ground after fighting through their childhoods together. Even when they had drifted somewhat apart at the end of high school, they had never stopped being friends. For Wooyoung to suddenly be without the person he'd spent most of his life with. . . well, the transition wouldn't be easy. Not only that but Wooyoung was also friends with Mingi. If there was a loss to be felt when this was all over, Wooyoung would feel it twice as hard as anyone else.

It was strange. These people, Jongho had come to realize, were the farthest from the expectations others painted for them than what should have been realistic. Another example that rumours were never to be assumed as truth.

Jongho felt thinking back to before he'd met them. Like with his opinion of hatchings, he used to follow along blindly with the views of the public. He was ashamed to admit his mindset had been much like the mindless lawful citizen, mostly because he had always had other things to do with school to concern himself with. His not-so-much-younger self had never bothered to rethink that maybe everyone he surrounded himself with was wrong.

If it was possible for Jongho to travel back in time he would slap himself upside the head, and scold his past self for not thinking for himself.

Those rumours pegged them as heartless businessmen, only looking to make another pretty penny. Others claimed they were a crew of misfits that didn't care for the well-being of their staff and the ringleaders of a massive underground operation running under the police's radar.

Jongho was sure that he'd heard it all.

Others said they ran drug syndicates, sold illegal weaponry, or operated other criminal gatherings from directly out of Wonderland. Jongho had to admit that running a night club while being as mysterious and attention grabbing as the Elites was bound to cook up something in the eyes of the public.

The craziest ones claimed that the Elites were a part of a mafia or even ran their own.

Jongho pictured one time recently where he'd walked in on the Elites playing mafia, and tried to imagine them as some cruel villains straight out of a cliche novel. However, being able to see beyond the version of the Elites that others claimed were real was making it very difficult.

The memory of the scene flashed before his eyes.

Yunho and Wooyoung were simply laughing in the face of the others' accusations, while Seonghwa only looked on with an inkling of fondness in his obsidian gaze. San would clap excitedly whenever the rest made a mistake, whether in their words or in their expressions. Finally, Hongjoong had a flawless straight face and lied his way out of everything easily. It earned a few disappointed remarks from either Wooyoung or San. Though as a spectator, Jongho did manage to catch Hongjoong slipping sometimes, whenever the others weren't paying attention.

This was just one example that had happened over the past week of the times Jongho found himself stunned that these playful dorks were the same ones that starred in rumours claiming they were heartless alcoholics and drug dealers.

There were only two who showed some potential characteristics in rare moments that reminded him of the rumours. San and Seonghwa.

Maybe he found them less trustworthy or something because he had yet to form a legitimate bond with either, but some things didn't add up. Seonghwa at least seemed to be trying to warm up to Jongho's presence, but San was a lot less pliant.

Seonghwa had a lot of secrets hidden behind the closed doors of his locked office, if his mysterious phone call was any indication of something going on behind the scenes.

It seemed that Seonghwa didn't want the others involved in whatever strange 'deal' he was in on. It made Jongho both suspicious and concerned that, whatever it was, was not being shared with the others. However at the same time, Jongho decided to keep Seonghwa's secret to himself. He may be able to make good use of the info later, or he could just wait to tell the others when the time was right.

He could understand if it was personal business that Jongho had no right knowing, but to keep it from the others? Something about it just didn't add up.

And while San hadn't done anything suspicious, he had been his typical distant self around Jongho. He closed up entirely whenever he registered that Jongho was near. (He was beginning to think it was a talent at this point.) Like a clam shutting out treasure hunters to prevent them from stealing its precious pearls.

He obviously had no problem with the Elites, but Jongho was a different story.

He would turn all hostile and even snap sometimes if Jongho were to sneak up on him accidently.

There was one specific time when San was fully invested on his phone screen with an iron grip around his case. He hadn't heard Jongho approaching to ask where he'd left one of the washcloths, and immediately switched to defensive mode. He flattened his phone screen against his chest while he glared at Jongho, like a cornered alley cat about to swing with a full set of claws.

They were both hiding something, he figured.

I mean, it's not like Jongho could do much about it anyway. Let them have their secrets, it's not as if Hongjoong, Wooyoung, or Yunho would believe him over their much more reliable friends.

That didn't mean that Jongho wasn't uneasy around either of them. It was like he was a small helpless bunny in the presence of a pair of regal tigers that weren't afraid to snap him up for lunch without second thought if provoked.

He was forced to work alongside them though.

In the eyes of the public, no matter what negative energy or burning grudge you carried outside of work, it must seem like they are one. Like they all worked as one big well-oiled machine. It was one of Seonghwa's policies. So thus, he couldn't let his uneasiness around San and Seonghwa affect the quality of his work.

Jongho rolled over from where he was laying on his unmade bed, the place he'd been situated throughout his long thinking session.

He shrugged on one of his dark red sweatshirts, choosing to pair it with ripped jeans and white sneakers.

A lot of his worried thoughts had stemmed from his stress about his first official night as a server, which was only hours away. By now his thorough training sessions with Wooyoung had taught him exactly what to do and how to do it, but still he was incredibly nervous.

Most of his fears were pointless, but it was almost in Jongho's nature to be worried.

Hopefully, with Wooyoung as backup to make sure Jongho doesn't almost set the whole place on fire or something, things would run smoothly. (Oh, and about that fire thing, yeah, it's happened a lot more often than Jongho would probably admit.)

That same silence echoed through the apartment around him, and without Yeosang's voice to fill the void, all Jongho could hear was his empty footsteps as he searched the kitchen.

He made himself a small cup of coffee just to help him stay awake for the long night ahead. Usually he wouldn't need it, but he'd been so nervous about tonight that he hadn't had the greatest of sleeps. Hopefully it would be exactly the thing he needed to carry him through his first shift.

He unlocked his phone with absentminded swipes, and stared at his open messages app. Praying and willing that a notification would pop up with Yeosang's listed name in Jongho's phone, asking him to order chicken for when he got home from his usual late vocal classes.

If he had actually received a text from his best friend right then, he would have bought Yeosang all the chicken in the world.

But alas, there was nothing.

Even though he'd been expecting it, Jongho still sighed forlornly.

The sudden alert of an incoming text startled Jongho enough that he had to juggle his phone precariously to not drop it. Thankfully his hand-eye coordination was in a lot better shape than his coffee-fueled consciousness.

He didn't allow himself to hope though, and his face did break into a small smile when he saw that Yunho had texted. It was just to ask what time Jongho would be showing up, but the cute little emote at the end was so Yunho it was hilarious.

He texted back that he'd come in around an hour, which left Jongho enough time to pick up a take out dinner and to stop by the bookstore to eat with Yeonjun. Just to hang out.

It was nice to take a break from the stress of being strong in front of the Elites, and to not think about Yeosang's fate. Even if it wasn't for long.

Of course Jongho had talked to Yeonjun before he'd made the not-so-graceful dive into the store last week, but he'd never taken the time to actually fully acquaint himself with Yeosang's friendly co-worker.

Yeonjun didn't deserve to be dragged into the trouble that Jongho had found himself in. He was thankful that Yeonjun hadn't been seen with him last week as that robot would no doubt report the incident straight to her superiors. And then, Yeonjun would be in trouble too.

Jongho wanted to take any precaution he could to make sure that nothing would happen, even if this was just a simple meeting for food. The enemy wouldn't shy away from any tidbit of information they could come across.

That's why Jongho wore sunglasses, a mask, and a cap pulled down low over his forehead. It wasn't foolproof, but most people wouldn't look twice in some dusty bookstore.

Jongho had already thrust the Elites into the danger zone, he didn't want Yeonjun to get hurt because of him.

They had small conversations over their steaming food, laughing about trivial things as the only ones in the store. The elderly owner had already left to her home for the evening, so other than the odd customer here and there that Yeonjun would always offer help to, they were alone.

There was only one sketchy situation the entire time Jongho was there. A person in darker clothes came into the bookstore with their head down. They didn't even flinch when Yeonjun let them know that he was there if they needed any help.

Jongho was at first worried that the figure would try to snatch a book and run with the way they carried themself, but when they lingered for longer, a different fear blossomed in his stomach.

Jongho kept his eye on the figure the entire time they were in the store. Yeonjun didn't seem to notice how tense Jongho was when the person drew closer.

But the person didn't stay for much longer, instead disappearing through the door once more. The bell above the door still ringing was the only indicator that someone had even been there in the first place.

It was suspicious that they didn't buy anything, Jongho thought to himself. They had flipped through some of the different stacks of books, and even picked up a few to read the backs. However, they never brought any up to the counter where Jongho and Yeonjun were sitting .

When the mysterious figure left, Jongho didn't appear physically concerned, but deep in the back of his mind he was terrified.

They were surrounded on all sides by enemies that hid among innocents. Anyone that walked through those doors could be an impostor of titanium and energy. The robots were cleverly disguised behind human personalities, ready to snatch up their next prey with their greedy, guilt stained talons.

And with no idea who was next on the chopping block, how could Jongho ensure any one person's safety.

How long before someone else Jongho knew became their newest victim?

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this is like the only 'filler' chapter

i've written so far in this story,

so i didn't really want to post it by itself

after i haven't posted in so long t-t

hehe

♡ thanks for reading ♡

it means the world to me ♡