-•☆•-

Upon waking up, Daeseong’s mind replayed the synopsis from last night— splinters of glasses, blood, possession, and delirium everywhere. Daeseong, however, pertained to being perched on one of the stairs, his nape perspiring and veered heartbeats reverberating. 

After tidying the place the previous night, when did Daeseong pass out on those very stairs, he could not recollect. There were yet traces of blood at random. Daeseong precisely did offer Minhyuk first aid, but the other rebuffed. 

"Where is Minnie?" The black locks rummaged the hall with his eyes, alarmed, "Up- upstairs? He must be upstairs," muttering to himself, awhile later Daeseong hared off between the distance. 

There stood that aperture— Daeseong’s skin felt ashened at any thought appertaining to the episode behind that door. Even though, with a numbing hand he got ahead to knock on the door, "Huh? It's open?" Inhaling in a deep air, making a creak, he pushed through. 

"Minnie, have you seen my–" A bewilderment adhering to that abrupt halt brought at Daeseong’s voice, the young boy scanned the room, "Minnie what are you doing?? What is all these, Minnie?" Trundling in, he felt indignated, "Let all these be a joke, uh?"

Zipping the satchel he was holding steadfast Minhyuk uttered, "Huh? Oh Daeseong. Good morning!" His eyes gummed to his task. "Did you have a good sleep?"

"What is all these, Minnie?"

"Oh hey Daeseong, I think I lend you my deodorant, can you please return it to me now?" Alternating his prior crouched posture, he brought out another portmanteau from beneath their cot, "Had your breakfast?" 

It came to the black barnets' notice, the right palm of Minhyuk swaddling in antiseptic and bandages, "Did you treat the wound yourself, Minnie?" 

Minhyuk did not appraise Daeseong’s worries, or did not consider his perplexity to be answered. He was relatively in a rush, busy footsteps occasionally scurrying all across the hithers and thithers of that room. 

"Minnie, I'm asking you something!!!" Daeseong ran out of breath, "You must be joking me right now!!! What is all these? Why are packing your luggages, are we going on a vacation in the midst of an objective, huh?" 

Minhyuk disregarded Daeseong’s chiding again, "Where did I keep my stockings? Oh God, how I'm gonna live without them?" Buzzes of Minhyuk's continuous mumbles rang in the youth's ears, 

"Minnie! I'm talking to you," intonating a frustration, he exhaled a desolate sigh. 

"On my way, I'll get my breakfast, so tell Joon hyung that he does not need to prepare any for me, okay?" He forged through the cough, "I clearly remember I kept my stockings here, ugh! Why is it always the times of hurry that I cannot find anything?"

Daeseong’s psyche was trembling, "Minnie…" he huffed, "I'm talking to you!" He whispered, his teeth being grit.

Minhyuk smiled away from the younger, "And all the best for your whatever objective that is, I whole heartedly wish you all the luck! Hm?"

"Minnie…"

"The footages are all in Sir's database, I've forwarded them. The suspect list is with you, and the folders for the locations, I've copied them to your laptop. Apart from those, the payment details and the pendrive is with Sir. Even then if you…"

"Minnie…" Daeseong’s teeth pertained to being clenched, he squeezed his eyes shut, "Minnie…please, please, please…"

"You shall call me if you need assitance regarding any file, I'll clear it up to you. And since I've not contributed at all to this project, I will refrain from taking any payment. I'm gonna miss you all, so," Minhyuk held Daeseong’s timid shoulders, "So work very hard without me, okay!!?"

Daesong felt crestfallen, "Minnie, Minnie, Minnie…please!!!"

"Here is my leave letter, convey it to-"

"CHOI MINHYUK!!" Daeseong slapped him.

That harsh slap cut the elder short of his words, Minhyuk's cheek stung, a red patch following on his not-so-floccose cheek, he looked at Daeseong with tear filled eyes— he looked at Daeseong hissing, his eyes wide and lips devoid of any patch of smile or empathy on them.

"Daeseong…"

"This is what you indeed deserve, Choi Minhyuk!! Just this!!" Minhyuk had never seen Daeseong to be so Infuriated, never, "Coward!!"

A tear escaped the blue strands, "C-coward?" Minhyuk's inner demons were as if claiming the hold of his sanity, "Why would you call me a coward?"

"Minnie, have you thought it through? Do you really want to leave us all behind and leave, leave like a coward??" Daeseong flicked off Minhyuk's left arm from his shoulder, "You heartless bastard!"

Words of Minhyuk were trapped at his choke, he parted his lips to convey nothing— and eerie silence scattered. 

Daesong chuckled, "No justification?"

Minhyuk's canines bit his rough lower lip, "Then what do you want, Daeseong? For days after days to get humiliated by Lee Wooshik? And see- see the one I love with my everything becoming someone else's?" At that last phrase, his words quivered, "Daeseong, I have…I have never loved anyone like I am loving him. I'm- I'm not just loving him, I am…experiencing love, Daeseong. I can't let it go…"

Daeseong’s heart ached, but a little less than before, "What about Eve? Your Eve? If you care for him so much, would you really leave him behind? With Captain?" 

"NO!" The brawny man seized Daeseong’s throat, to precisely choke with his eyes speaking volumes about his discontent, but he withdrew, "Eve…Eve will leave with me. I'm taking him with me, he doesn't need to live under this cursed, unsafe roof anymore. I, myself will make sure of his security and comfort…I, I promise!!" Unable to retain his sentiments any longer, he broke down. 

Daeseong let out a satirical smile, "We mean nothing to you, anymore? Our safety, our security doesn't matter anymore, leader?"

"It is not like that, Daeseong! But Eve…I…I brought him here, I traded him for the safety of his peers. His security is my responsibility!!" He heaved a sigh, "And…"

"Shut up!" The youth slapped away Minhyuk's hands nearing his throat, "In simple words, you are running away!" A tear sprawled on Daeseong’s cheek.

"Run- running away?" The brows of Minhyuk were knitted together, "What do you mean by that?"

"Yes! You are running away like a coward, a selfish bastard! You want to be unfettered from the shackles of leadership, do not you? And you want an utopia all by yourself? Have you considered what Eve wants?"

".........."

"If this is not running away, what is?"

-

All children are thus born with innocence— that was the only thing that plagued Wooshik's mind, when lying on Sehun's lap, he pictured Sehun's dormant face.

Wooshik was afraid— afraid of opening his eyes, afraid that the reverie he was living currently in would all just be a dream. His stomach throbbed faster at the thought that he might have again imagined to be on Sehun's lap, and that the chimaera could never be the real Sehun.

Before falling asleep, at the end of an otherwise awful, grim night, he remembered those alluring, kissable lips of Sehun that lured Wooshik into them— but Wooshik could not kiss them, not until Sehun wants so. 

"Is it reality? Or…just a fairytale?" 

Smashing the mirror of Wooshik's fairytale, he heard knocks on the door. Vexed, he opened his eyes although that was the last thing he wanted to do on that morning. 

With a palpitating heart, he looked behind him, ascertaining to his own mind that Sehun was not there, he could not be— but much to his awe, Sehun was indeed there!! 

Sehun was crafting a paper heart, "Captain, you're awake? Good morning! I found this lying beside me, so," he shrugged 

Wooshik verified the materiality, "Sehun…you…lap…"

"Oh, that!! Uhm you seemed uncomfortable on the floor with all those injuries and alongside, the floor wasn't any more warm for a biting night like yesterday."

Wooshik wanted to say so many things to the younger, but all he could concoct was a gruntled smile—and that was it.

"Captain, I think someone is knocking," after they had heard the pair of knockz a few more times, Sehun said, "Shall I go and check?"

Although in his mind, he registered who it could be, Wooshik was not definite, "No. Stay here. I will check who it is." 

He approached nearer to the ingress and unlatched ; only to be met with the vision of the two drunk men, Joon and Chris appear before his eyes— "Bullshit!" He cursed and pulled his head to meet with another— "Minnie?"

Picking nails, Minnie bowed his head down, "Sir, I'm sorry! I know I did no right thing yesterday, I deeply regret my actions and I apologise for it. You can punish me however you want, Sir!" 

Minhyuk's apologies lacked sincerity but Wooshik thought he might never get a better chance than this one, "Alright then! Just one condition!" Wooshik took his lips to Minhyuk's ear, "Forget about your Eve, and my Sehun."

He walked away insensibly blurting the words.

Minhyuk looked inside the room, Sehun staring at him with depleted admiration. 

Minhyuk's gaze then following their superior, he smirked to himself— the very smirk Lee Wooshik directed at him prior.

"Eve or Sehun, I'll never let his any part be yours. He is mine, all of himself is only mine, all mine!!"

-•☆•-