#8makes1teamnet

✁ pairing: soulmate!san x g.n reader

✁ genre: soulmate au, reincarnation au, forbidden love au from their first life, semi-angst, fluff and happy ending! warnings:mentions of death from their first life from San k wording them, language rated pg-16

✁ wc: 1897

✁ plot: maybe you’ve met one another from a past life; at least that’s what you wanted to tell yourself. there was something about his alarming presence that wasn’t all red flags in your head, but you wondered why you felt so safe around him. the only thing, however, you were absolutely sure of was that you must’ve gone absolutely insane over this one handsome stranger who claims to be your soulmate.

✁ a/n: finally back this weekend to get some stuff out for the time being!! i hope you guys like this next installment of the rewritten series as it’s my favorite soulmate trope of all time!! let me know what you all think of it!

desire [rewritten] navi|ateez masterlist|main navi

✁ gina is listening to: [ dusk till dawn by zayn & sia ]

It was almost like clockwork where you’ve woken up in a sweat because of a vivid dream that you had. 

Your heart was palpitating so hard you felt as though it could’ve fallen out of your chest, sweat slightly forming at the edge of your forehead. You glanced at your alarm clock to see the illuminated clock mocking you, the time showing that it was 5:53 in the morning. It was supposed to be your day off from work, yet your body had woken you up at this specific time almost everyday in fear that you had been forgetting about something.

Getting up to at least shake off your nerves, you thought back to your dreams as you tried to make sense of what it meant. You were confused considering it was a recurring dream, or at least the setting was, and you recall being a royal in each one of them. It made you wonder if it was actually a sign of your past life just flashing behind your eyes, or if it was showing you what you must’ve done in an alternative universe.

Short to say that it never ended well as you recalled tonight’s events with a churned stomach.

“Your royal highness!”

Your head towards a familiar voice in the midst of your frantic movements, the sight of them making you even more stressed given the last couple moments. Today was supposed to be your coronation, in which you were meant to be crowned queen of your kingdom after years of training for etiquette decorum; it was finally paying off.

“Seonghwa-“

“Something is happening outside, we have to get you to safety, now.” He says, gently taking your hands into his and your eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his words.

“What are you talking about? What’s going on?” You asked him, briskly walking down the corridors of the castle with a million thoughts on your mind, but your first priority came to a specific person. 

“Where is he?”

The mention of the individual makes him freeze up for a moment, making you realize that it involved him. There’s a look in his eyes that you couldn’t identify but the screaming sounds of fear makes you think that this must’ve been what the latter was trying to talk to you about the other day, when he claimed that they were all hypothetical. He had been scheming this the entire time for every moonlit walk that he took you on that cost you your life because you would’ve snuck out just for him; everything was for him.

“Y/N, we have to get you somewhere safe…” He says tugging on your hand a bit, but tears pool into your eyes the moment that you hear the footsteps trail behind you and watch as Seonghwa freezes in his spot. 

You turn around in your spot to see him, making your stomach drop at his stained sword that he so proudly holds in his hand, his tattered clothing proving that he had gone through all the other security guards to get to you. Chills run down your spine as your blood runs cold at the sight of him; he was no longer the lover that you were forbidden to be with, but instead the enemy that held your fate in his hands because he stood in front of you, the ruler of the land that he was damned on. 

Your dream would always end with him driving his sword into your abdomen and his final words whispered into your ear, making you consistently wake up in a gasp with your hands on your stomach. You didn’t know who this man was, but you knew that if you were to see him in real life that it would’ve been a curse come true. 

Getting up to go wash your face and grab a glass of water to cool your nerves, you feel your phone go off in your pocket from when you had pocketed it earlier to see that you were getting a text from your friend, San. Looking at his text at this moment sent chills down your spine, the same ones that you felt in your dreams, but you were confused as to why you had felt them in the first place. 

There’s a comb at the corner of the counter that you recognized to be San’s, having to have left it from when he came over the other day for you to help him dye his hair. A smile creeps its way onto your lips as the fond memory of you both enjoying your night, and it was as if you both were almost lovers; almost was a way to put it as there was something on the inside telling you to not date him for some reason. 

“Y/N!” 

The very voice on the other end of the line was from him, an incoming call that you chose to pick up while you were grabbing your keys to allow yourself to take a walk to clear your mind for a bit. Your mind seems to be troubled for a moment as you spoke to him, the calm and comforting voice that you were always adorned to suddenly became uncomfortable, or unsettling at least as you spoke to him ever since you woke up from the dream. 

“Why are you up so early, San? It’s only six thirty, and you’re not opening.” You point out while you could see the sun slowly peek out from behind the buildings that you were passing by, mixtures of warm colors painting the sky and you suddenly feel calmer.

“Would it be weird if I said that I woke up, because of you?” 

Your heart freezes up for a moment as his words made you feel as though they struck a nerve, and it was almost as if there was a strange pull that was telling you to turn around. There right behind you stood him in all his glory, a warm smile on his face as he gives you a small wave just seconds before the line cuts and he walks over to you in long strides with his sun glowed proportions almost knocking the wind out of you. 

Since when was he already out at this hour?

It was almost as if time had slowed down unknowingly in your favor, watching as different parallel universes cross over and suddenly you see him in all of the recurring dreams that you’ve been haunted with. It was him that answered every missing piece of the puzzles that you’ve been presented with, and you could feel yourself wanting to leave if it weren’t for the fact that your legs felt paralyzed at the sight of him heading over towards you.

Color leaves your face the moment that he touches your hands and no longer was the smile on his face, instead rather replaced with a frown as he wonders why you weren’t happy at the sight of him. You looked scared, terrified almost, as if you were no longer sending him the signals that you had been giving him since last night, and if he could, he would confess to you on the very spot if he wasn’t worried about what had been going on.

“S-San… What if I told you that I’ve seen you before? Like not in this universe, but instead another.” You finally spoke up and looked him in the eyes, seeing concern written in them but nothing indicating what you had just found out on your own. 

You remembered him from a past life.

He doesn’t say anything as his eyebrows furrow at your words, unsure as to what he should respond with while he thinks about what you had meant by that. Eyes avoiding yours for a moment, he wonders if he had done anything wrong until he feels your fingers gently pull his chin back so that he was looking at you in the eyes and suddenly you’re placing your lips against his, hoping that all the fairytale books were right while the same surge that you went through when you had found out. 

The two of you kiss under the rising sun, the familiar blue sky pouring in past the warm colors that were painting it earlier as time suddenly stops being frozen, and the moment you pull away is when you feel tears stream down your face. He looks at you worriedly, unsure of what to say because he realizes that you two were meant to meet once again since then, as if you were soulmates, however you were sure of what was supposed to be next in your story. 

“I can’t be with you, again.” 

The six words easily break his heart as he watches you cry because of him, something that he dealt the consequences for, and he would forever have to learn and deal with them because he was the one that enacted those same decisions. You were going to be hurt because of him constantly, but he doesn’t want that to happen again, especially not now when he had just found you again after vowing that he would. 

There wasn’t any way for you to hear what he had said after he promised that he would find you again, because the moment that he said that he would promise to love you better in your next life and give you both a different ending was left out. You weren’t aware of the weeks of tears he shed unknowingly behind the closed doors of the kingdom he took over from you, and he would never let you know that he had done so.

“But I love you.” He whispers softly, moving his hands from where they were previously holding onto yours and onto the apples of your cheeks. 

You shake your head in response because as much as you would’ve loved to be in his arms again, you were scared; the thought of being with him when he could hold your vulnerability, your everything in the palm of his hands to crush was evident. However, you weren’t ready to come home to him yet and maybe in another life you could be with him 

“Maybe you did then, but right now… I need time to process the fact that we’re soulmates,” You reply, making him nod in response as you pull away from his touch, making chills run down your spine once more again today.

“I still can’t forgive you for what you did, San. You need to show me that you changed, if you want to take me home with you.”

He knows why you had asked him to do that, and he is going to do it. He wants to be with you in this lifetime, because he doesn’t want to lose you again due to his own selfish actions. You were the one that had always loved him for more than who he was back then and even in this life that you somehow made up for yourselves, and with the lingering thoughts of your past life slowly blending in up to the events of last night when you had dyed his hair with him, he knows that you were it for him. 

It was always you that was his home.

“I promise that I will show you… And when I do, I’ll take you home.”

permanent taglist:@allyg-onz@viastro@bbanghoonie@wooyoung-a@pwttychannie@sunwoahkim@karsohn@escapewriter@wooyeouu@0710khj@awfullytiredbuthealing@fylithia@myluv-yeonjun@allorysayshi@nlnkm@jannine00742@yvessaintmingi@jay-scenarios@rebsmoonn@jjhmk@beomgyugyu​@ja4hyvn​@noempathyy​@wccycc​@kurosism​ (add yourself to the series taglist here!)

cannot tag: @soobin-chois @ineedaherosavemenow @cowboyjaehyun @kpoploverforever27

✁ pairing: fire king!wooyoung x g.n!reader

✁ genre: dystopian au, elemental au, angst, fluff, soulmate au, slight strangers/enemies to lovers warnings: lots of fire mentioned, semi-major character death, fires, attempted major character death, temporary amnesia rating: 16+

✁ wc: 8.7k

✁ plot: you were constantly on fire under  his burning gaze, ironically while being in a fire kingdom. behind his intense gaze, however, was someone that you used to know, the same person that was supposed to be your soulmate that the universe had gifted you with; but instead stood a person filled with ashes and hatred for you.

✁ a/n: hii guys!! here i present the wooyoung version of my fic (babylon)’s sequel!! again i hope you guys liked this as much as i did, and if you would like to read the original/sunwoo version of this fic, it’ll be linked under this very text box!! thank you again~

ateez masterlist |main navi|previous part |tbz sunwoo version

✁ [ gina is listening to: this playlist :)]

He was the fire that was able to ignite an entire kingdom full of ashes; one touch and everybody would crumble to his feet. At least that was how you remembered him. 

“Wooyoung’s alive. He’s been hidden for a while now, but he’s alive. We have to go find him now.” 

San’s words have echoed in your ear for days on end since then, up until this very moment where you had been sitting in front of the television facing towards you. Your eyes never tore away from the screen, creating a burning sensation that stung the corners of your vision as you struggled to blink because of how restless you’d been feeling.

It was the middle of January that you found yourself somehow in the middle of a kingdom that produced nothing but heat, making you wonder how it was even remotely possible in the first place. The entire idea of it seemed unrealistic, but the longer that you’d been in this fiery environment with nothing to do, you were hit with the harsh truth as you realized that you hadn’t planned to find him. 

You remember your first day entering what you have learned to be named, Ignatius, the kingdom that was built from the ground up by a man wielding fire powers. The rumors of him coming from the heavens; to his origins from hell were constantly spread, but no one had ever seen what he had looked like because of his hidden identity; only his name. 

“Y/N, are you okay? You haven’t blinked in a while.” You hear someone call out to you, making you do the said action as you turned your head over to where San had been staring at you worriedly. 

The poor boy had been with you all this time, watching as you had been beating yourself over the fact that you had lost Wooyoung for years now, only to learn that he had been alive all this time. He felt guilty towards himself, in a way, for withholding that information from you, but it was better that way due to the promise that he made to the younger before everything had gone downhill. 

“Yeah, I’m okay. How long have I been zoning out?” You mumbled, raising your hand towards your eyes to ease the burning sensation. The sound of San clearing his throat before speaking up again made you feel uneasy for some reason, but you disregarded it as you were out of it at the moment.   

“Don’t worry about how long you’ve been zoning out. Can you turn the tv volume up a bit?” He asks quietly and you nod in response as you grab the remote to do so, feeling his presence beside you as he decides to sit on the couch to see what had been on the tv while you were spacing out. 

‘Breaking news. Our ruler, Jung Wooyoung, has called for an emergency meeting in the Ignatius Fire Palace with his right-hand man and chamber. We have no information on what was discussed at the meeting, but we do have a public statement from the fire king for the first time since the beginnings of the kingdom itself, as this is his first official sighting. Here is what he has stated.’

Your heart drops at the sight of Wooyoung suddenly appearing on the television screen, all color from your face draining as your throat becomes dry just looking at him and his matured looks. It hits you all at once with the realization that he was still alive, but there was something different in his eyes as the camera panned over to his stern face that can only show nothing but a solemn and powerful presence.

It was as though he was a robot, rather than the same human that you had fallen in love with years ago.

“Good evening, everyone. I’m your fire king, Jung Wooyoung. As you may have known, this is my first public appearance. I have called this public announcement to be aired soon to inform you all that something will be planned soon for the future of the kingdom, and whether or not you will join me is entirely up to you,” He says into the microphone with such poise, that you couldn’t even recognize who this new Wooyoung was. 

It felt foreign to you. 

“There are consequences for actions, as our motto may state, as there are eyes everywhere to watch your every move. You’ll find out soon, in time, who I truly am with my actions. And with that, goodnight everyone.”

The tv shuts off as the last image of his slight smirk at the end of his sentence haunts your brain as you were trying to process what had happened in the last five minutes of your time. He was alive and he was out there somehow still doing something that you had yet to know of, along with the potential of him remembering anything before the big accident that must’ve caused his powers to happen in the first place.

Tears brim at the corner of your eyes just thinking about the incident from years ago, making you wonder what things would’ve been like if it never happened in the first place. You were supposed to be with your soulmate, living happily as normal individuals, but instead of that you had to live in the tragedy that the rough reality was giving you now. There weren’t any more status rankings in class, but there was still the unsettling feeling of loss and heartache that resided in your heart the longer that you weren’t with him. 

“I talked to him today, as they mentioned earlier,” San speaks up once again, making you veer around to look at him with a small smile as you motioned for him to go on, but you couldn’t help but feel as though life had been unfair to you right now. 

“He has had selective amnesia, Y/N… for years now. When I asked him about you, he didn’t remember anything about you, but somehow he still remembers the others and me since I first found him again.”

Nodding in response, there’s a small breath that escapes your lips as you try not to feel emotional or irrational because of what he had just informed you. Wooyoung has no recollection of who you were, which meant that he doesn’t even remember the fact that you were both bonded as soulmates. 

“Then why am I here, San? Why did you bring me here, if not to suffer by not being with him, if he doesn’t even remember anything about me at all?” You ask him, wanting to know the answers to all the questions that you have been holding back out of fear of what those answers will be and how much more hurt you’d be from them.

“He, I think, would want to meet you, or at least is willing to get to know you again,” He points out, trying to at least be hopeful in the situation and you give him a small smile as he tries to comfort you by pulling you into a warm hug. 

“The two of you can rebuild what you had back then, and we can start that by going to the fire palace tomorrow.”

You raise your eyebrows at him wondering where he had this idea in the first place, or how long he must’ve conspired the plan, knowing that despite his position in Wooyoung’s inner circle, you were going to be the talk of the kingdom. You were simply a stranger to all of them, and no one, but San, knew who you were. You were about to walk into what seemed like another world, a world in which you had no place being.

It was practically like walking into a lion’s den with meat rung around your neck, but worse because everything and everywhere was somehow connected to fire.

“Fine. Let’s go in the morning after our market run, but any funny business and I’m going back here to pass away.” You say with a sarcastic tone as you look at him, feeling a small flick against your forehead as a small laugh escapes your lips.

“Yeah, yeah, you dramatic baby. It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

Everything was absolutely notokay.

You stood outside of the Ignatius Palace with sweaty palms, your blood running cold as reality was slowly hitting you and your stomach churns at the thoughts of what might possibly happen today. The next few moments felt as though it was unfolding right in front of you in slow motion, and you didn’t want anything to start yet. Were you even ready to face what you had been desiring to see these last few years of being away from the world?

“You ready, Y/N? He’s inside waiting.” 

Your hand was unknowingly hovering over the door knob, mind unsure as to why you were hesitating when you have been waiting all these years to see him again. Were you scared of the fact that something bad was going to happen, or that you were setting yourself up for an outcome so bad that you should have never been here in the first place? 

Turning around to look at San, who had been giving you a small smile this whole time to reassure your emotions, you could feel everything weighing down on your hand as you weren’t sure where to even begin to place everything together. All because of the barrier between you and whatever was behind this door.

Would he be the same person that you knew?

Once you opened the door, you quietly stepped in to see a more grand version of a castle that you never could’ve imagined creating. In contrast to the actual environment that was outside, you were greeted with cool air, like air conditioning, as you took every small step closer to what you assumed was the foyer. 

Eyes scanning across the walls and decor, there was another path from the entrance that you noticed had led to another room. The moment you step in, however, causes you to feel regret that you did so; tears were pricking your eyes and your heart seemed to beat out of your chest, unsure as to how you were going to keep your composure now.

Every single emotion that you have concealed overtime suddenly began to spill out for you to expose, making your breathing heavier and wavering the more that you kept your eyes on the portraits that were openly displayed on the walls. Each and every frame held a pristine name in a plaque of the boys that you were once friends with; the very same ones that had sacrificed their lives the day that you had been taken in by the soldiers back home and given the chance to win at survival at the expense of theirs. 

“They’re realistic, aren’t they?” 

The sudden voice that enters the room sends shivers down your spine, the smoothness of it allowing for goosebumps to prick your skin, but you refuse to turn around. You could already feel his warm presence standing beside you as the two of you had been standing in front of one of the portraits, one that you recognized as Hongjoong’s while all the memories you had with him had also resurfaced into your mind. 

“It was hard to get these painted, since there weren’t many printed pictures of them all,” He remarks before turning to you and you notice how the moment that you both had locked eyes, everything felt different. 

You knew that you jinxed yourself the moment that you started to walk through the doors. 

“The painter was talented, weren’t they? If only they were all here to see these for themselves.”

All the words fell past your lips and instead were stomped on as you were at a loss for the syllables and phonetics to explain what had been going on in your mind. Instead, you take in all his beauty that was in front of you, the feeling of taking something for granted settling in your chest as you wondered how he became like this in the first place. 

But to be fair, you had also contributed to this as well.

“So you’re the king, huh?” You mumbled quietly, finally making eye contact with him as you could feel his gaze burn into your soul, trying to see what your true intentions were as you, personally, had been struggling to keep a simple composure. 

“You must be special then, if you’ve never heard about me. San didn’t tell you?” He muses, crossing his arms in front of his chest. You could feel the unsettling feeling in your own lungs the moment that he had said them. 

Of course you have heard about him, you knew him.

It was evident that he didn’t recognize you, making you realize that he had never remembered you the moment that he must’ve been alive again. The realization makes your heart weigh heavy in your chest as tears slightly prick the corners of your eyes once again, but you disregarded them by clearing your throat before continuing once again, hoping that maybe this time around you could be more sure about yourself… or him. 

“He told me what I needed to know, don’t worry about me-”

“Then there must be a reason why you came here in the first place,” He says, smirking before heading out of the room first with his hands before his back and with the way that he walks away first makes you want to gravitate to follow him. 

“Aren’t you going to come along, sweetheart?”  

His words make your face flush at the pet name before you slowly trail behind him, unsure of where he would be leading you in the castle. You looked around your surroundings as he had directed you to who knows where, but it wasn’t until the two of you had started going up stairs that brought your attention back to realize that he was taking you upstairs and you wondered where he wanted you to go with him. 

The door that he suddenly opens leads to the rooftop, or at least some part of the roof that was part of the castle and he motions for you to sit down beside him, close to the ledge. Your feet stay grounded as you look out towards the view to see what he sees everyday; flaming red fire that never seems to burn out or disintegrate from its own fumes. 

It’s quiet as the two of you stare out at the kingdom, neither of you deciding to say anything but instead letting the loud silence overtake you both. You weren’t sure what to say in the first place, trying to take in the fact that he was still alive and well in front of you. The only thing that was different was the fact that he didn’t remember you, and this time he was a fire wielding individual that held power in his own kingdom, in which he had built from the ground up. 

You didn’t know this Jung Wooyoung.

“Those people on the wall that you were looking at earlier… How did you know them?” He suddenly asks you quietly, finally breaking the silence that was looming over the both of you, as if you both weren’t sitting on the roof of the castle that was overseeing the rest of the kingdom. 

Your eyes glance between him and the buildings in front of you as everything slowly settles into your mind. It seemed as though he had everything he could even ask for in the first place as you knew that you couldn’t take that away from him, not when he seems to be content with what he has in his hands now; which was why you decided that maybe you should start to let go the ghost memory that you had of him… slowly.

“They meant everything to me, the same way they were everything to you.”

You decided to stay, at least for the sake of San’s convenience. 

After that first day of seeing him again, the idea of running away was more appealing to you. It was up until nightfall that San had found you on the rooftop still about an hour after Wooyoung went back inside. The argument he made about you possibly being able to help him regain his memories was a possibility that could happen, and you think that it’s pathetic of you to use that as your excuse as you had been in the fiery kingdom for these last two weeks. 

However that must not have been the case if you weren’t in a room full of people who’s gazes could cut through a knife. 

Today was a meeting that was meant to be between Wooyoung and San with a new group that was rising within the kingdom itself, wanting to hear out their demands as they heard from insiders about a possible rebellion. You knew that San was relieved about the fact that they had sought them out quickly, but to what extent were they safe, given the fact that the demands the groups had asked were a lot to even wish for. 

“There’s no way I can do that.”

His words were cold enough to send shivers down your spine, recognizing that tone as one where he wanted to cut to the chase. You experienced this side of Wooyoung more than enough, considering he had been nothing but cold to you the entire time that you’ve been staying and you wouldn’t have been here either; it was because of San’s faith and hope that made you stay. 

“Why? Are you scared that even you, the most powerful king, can’t handle a little fire?” The leader of the group tauned, smirking as the toothpick in between their teeth ever-so-slightly moved to the corner of their lips whilst pressing their hands to the table, looming close to Wooyoung, “How cute-“

“Don’t test me right now, Kyungmin. You know damn well that it’s not safe, considering power is harder to wield for the wrong purposes.” Wooyoung threatens, shooting daggers at the younger but neither of them decided to stand down from their stare off in the tension filled room. 

He was right though. 

The plan that Kyungmin and his crew had supposedly come in to ask Wooyoung to create was a subsidiary fire environment that would rule under another leader, one that wouldn’t have to abide by the rules of Ignatius. It would’ve required a lot of power and strength that you all know Wooyoung was able to wield considering he built his kingdom from the ground up, but he knew that by listening to Kyungmin’s wishes would only create more chaos than it should have been. 

“Afraid of embarrassing yourself in front of your precious angel-”

“Get out of here, Yang Kyungmin, before I make you leave right now.”  

There’s a louder silence as you could feel your face heat up from what was just exchanged, unsure as to what had just happened. You turned to make eye contact with San, who was just as confused as you were, until his face became more stern, getting ready to immediately press his walkie to call the guards outside of the room for standby to get rid of the group out of the secluded meeting room. 

Before you could even blink, they suddenly all disappeared from your line of sight, leaving you alone with Wooyoung in the room as you watched him try to collect his thoughts from the side. You weren’t sure what to do at the moment, considering you didn’t have the right to even comfort him since he was still cold to you, but maybe… 

“Do you want to go take a walk?” 

Your small offer made him snap out of whatever trance he was in, making him turn his head over to where you had been standing with your hands behind your back awkwardly and he let out a breath. However he seems to take in your offer, for once, as he motions for you to head out first, until he shuts the door behind you the moment that you leave past the door frame. The sound of it slamming behind makes you jump in surprise before you’re turning to face the door with a frown on your face. 

So much for turning things around. 

A breath escapes your lips as you turn to head back to the room that you had been staying in these days, walking past the servants that looked at you with a grim look on their faces knowing the history you had with the boy earlier. You couldn’t help but remember your first night here, knowing that it was a rocky start and that was when everyone had pieced it together from then. 

It was a quiet dinner when San had called you down to eat with him and Wooyoung, the thought of it seeming harmless as you walked out of your room after showering. You were wearing clothes that one of the maids had left out for you to wear after grabbing some from the shops within the kingdom, luckily fitting you as you walked into the dining hall with ease as though you had been living here your entire life. 

To be quite fair, it was built exactly the way that you both had talked about before in the past. 

The memory of you and Wooyoung spending countless nights talking about your future together was nothing but an empty promise, you remembered planning each distinct detail of the building. If only he had remembered you instead of the architecture, you thought to yourself, taking a seat on the opposite side of Wooyoung, as the only seat open seemed to be beside San.

From what you remember, the dinner was quiet as the three of you had not spoken with all of the servants surrounding you guys. Nobody had spared a single thought out loud and instead were sounds of each of you quietly eating your dinner in peace. It wasn’t until you slightly turned your head to lock eyes with San that he made a small motion with his eyes to make some small talk, as if that were going to help make the dinner less awkward. 

However, it seems as though Wooyoung had seen through your little exchange as he shot daggers at you both through his gaze before setting his utensils from his grip. He lets out an exasperated, but also exaggerated sigh in which you could tell was dripping with sarcasm before he decides to break the long awaited silence that was just meant to be broken. 

“Are you two going to do this all night, or do you want to tell me what’s going on?” He breathes out, making you freeze in your spot considering you didn’t think that he would directly call you both out on it. 

“Damn, what’s up your ass?” You mumbled before stuffing your food-filled fork into your mouth. For a split second you could hear San stifle his laughter, just as you can hear Wooyoung silently grumbling to himself before standing up and taking his dinner to where you presumed was his workroom.

And from there on out, it had been nothing but coldness from him this whole entirety of your stay. 

You shut the door quietly once you had finally made it back to the room, letting out a breath that you unknowingly had been holding in before sliding down against the door. Being around him felt like it was asking for too much of your energy, your mental one, to even bear with his now newfound disruptive and cold aura, because you could only hold onto the idea that he might remember for so long… 

It was at this point where you were pretty sure that at this point, the old Wooyoung wasn’t going to come back. 

Your eyes trailed over to where you had some of your stuff on the nightstand, away from wandering eyes because only you had decided to keep it there out of reach. A picture frame, as easy and cliche as it sounds, had rest upon the nightstand as you walked over to hold it in your hands, looking at the image itself to reminisce how easy it was back then; it was easy enough to be around him, to even tolerate the fact that his presence was something that you had been looking for all your life because you were meant to be soulmates. 

The universe had a really cruel way of playing with your heart at this moment, and you wondered what you must’ve done in your past life to end up this way with the burning feeling of emptiness in your heart. Rather than an inflation of love spewing in it, replace one that you could only identify as bitterness, envy, as you wondered why you couldn’t be with your soulmate like everyone else could, and why you lived through what you did. 

It was to the point where those thoughts had drained your energy, forgetting when you had fallen asleep in the middle of the night on your bed with the picture of both you and Wooyoung on your first anniversary in your hands.

Something felt off. 

There was an overwhelming silence as you were currently walking around the palace, finding yourself wandering into the room that you went to when you first arrived here about a month ago. The portraits of the other boys stared back at you with a sense of familiarity, making you wish that they were still around to also help you and San guide in helping Wooyoung regain his memories from back then. So far in a span of a month, nothing had progressed in gaining them back except for the fact that something shifted in your relationship. 

Since the day that he had shut the door on you after the meeting with Kyungmin, his demeanor seemed to have changed as he was awkwardly not cold to you anymore. There were many attempts in which you assumed was trying to make peace with you, but you weren’t sure considering he had only left after giving or telling you something that would’ve caught you off guard; assuming that he must’ve felt embarrassed to. 

The silence in the room feels comforting, for a moment, as you scanned the portraits the same way that you did then and tears fill your eyes with the overwhelming emotion of remorse; the consequences to save not only you from dying back home and himself was the cost of other peoples’ lives. 

Was it not selfish of you both to go through Wooyoung’s plan? What if-

“Happy birthday, Y/N.”

The soft voice of someone entering the room breaks you out of your trance as you quickly turn around in your spot to face both Wooyoung and San with smiles on their faces. Your eyes looked down to see the red frosted cake that was in the elder’s hands and a bouquet of white roses in the latter’s, making you wonder why they took it upon themselves to have this celebration for you in the first place. 

“What did you both do?” You hinted, crossing your arms in front of your chest as you raise an eyebrow at their antics and you notice the quick exchange of eye glances between them. 

They were definitely hiding something. 

“Can’t we celebrate your birthday in peace?” San jokes before motioning towards the cake that was still in his hands, making you realize that they were lit up for a moment as you stared at the flickering flames.

“Make a wish, Y/N!” 

You hesitate for a moment to think about what you wanted to wish for this year, but there was only one that came to mind as you looked between the boys and the cake in front of you. I wish that Wooyoung would come back, you thought to yourself, locking eyes with the boy himself as you blew out the candles with a heartbroken smile. 

As much as you had wanted your wish to come true, it couldn’t. Amidst the warm smiles, you locked eyes with Wooyoung as he handed you the bouquet of roses while San went off to grab a knife to cut proper slices of cake for the three of you. 

Silence filled the room like it always had whenever it was just the two of you.You felt something shift as his fingers brushed against yours in the exchange, and what you always felt from his cold touches happened to be more warm. His eyes gazing into your own, an unfamiliar feeling settles in your chest as you try to maintain the eye contact that he had initiated in the first place until he breaks the short lived tension. 

“We got you strawberry cake. It’s your favorite right?” He muses, butterflies erupting in your stomach. You don’t remember telling him such a small detail about yourself, making you think that San had told him.

“I had a hunch, so I went along with it.”

His words answered your thoughts as you looked up at him curiously, unsure how he knew that you were questioning him. Once San came back into the room with three slices of the aforementioned strawberry cake. The tension in the atmosphere dissipates as you take the slice from his hand and bite into it, savoring its sweetness and the slight bitterness of the strawberry on your tastebuds. 

“This is actually really good.” You muttered to yourself in awe, turning to face them, small smiles lingered on their faces between bites.

“Wooyoung actually made it-.”

The four words nearly made you slightly hiccup as you nearly choked on the cake, but the two of them had helped you stop choking as Wooyoung instantly offered you a glass of water which had been brought in by one of his servants. The two of you exchanged a look, considering you were very weary of his kind actions, but nothing else was said as you took a gulp. 

“Was my baking really that bad, that you started to choke?” He joked, making you look at him in confusion and you wonder who this new Wooyoung was. 

“No, it’s fine,” You mumbled as you set the water back to where it had originally come from, taking the cake back to your bedroom in silence. 

When you were out of both their sights, both Wooyoung and San exchanged spare glances before the younger let out a soft sigh before slowly following you back to your room. As he walked down the familiar path, thinking about everything that had happened in a span of a month. Today he had made it his mission to get you to forgive him for everything he had done to you since then, considering he was nothing but cold and closed off. 

He’s faced with your door as he hears small sniffles from the other side, making his eyebrows furrow at the sound before staring down at the roses he happened to still have in his grasp. Raising his hand, he knocks on your door gently, hoping that maybe he wasn’t intruding on what must’ve been a vulnerable moment for you until he hears slight shuffles to where the door was as it opened to the sight of you. 

“What do you want, Wooyoung?” You mumbled, looking at him in confusion.He  had seen the way your eyes were rimmed with red; indicating that you must’ve been crying as soon as you had gotten back to your room. 

Was he the cause of it?

“Want to take a small walk with me?” He asks you softly, offering you the bouquet of roses as he watches you contemplate for a moment before nodding your head in response. 

You open the door wider so that you could take the bouquet from him and he takes a few steps away from your door, motioning for you to go first when suddenly you slam the door shut in front of his face. He was baffled for a moment, unsure as to why you had shut the door on him in the first place, but he remembers the day that he had done that very same thing to you after the meeting.

“Karma’s a bitch, Wooyoung. Thanks for the roses, though.” He hears you voice out from the other side of the door. Silent once more as a small smile  blossoms on his face. 

He can’t bring himself to admit that you’ve been plaguing his mind, your presence alone making him less concentrated on his duties and instead understand why you still continued to stay when he has only been cold to you. However, the past few weeks have been filled with blurred dreams of him with someone’s voice who had seemed so distant, yet their presence felt familiar to him. 

He wasn’t sure who it was, but one thing for sure was that somehow it all went back to you. He pondered as he walked back down the corridors to his workroom. 

Why were you still there waiting on him?

You woke up to chaos erupting outside your window. 

Your comforter was immediately thrown to the side of your bed as you scrambled to your window, seeing a group of people attempting to barge into the palace, visible anger emitting from the crowd. Your blood runs cold as you could see their leader, Kyungmin, standing at the center, his shouts louder than anyone else’s. You could hear him demand to see Wooyoung from inside. 

At the same time, you could hear people pacing around the palace to help prepare for what might be a massacre, but you didn’t want to think about that. Instead you left your room to head towards San’s quarters, knocking on his door loudly, hoping that he could spare some answers but when the doors had finally opened, you were instead greeted by the sight of Wooyoung. 

“Why is Kyungmin here?” You immediately asked, concerned about the safety of your best friend and the latter in front of you. You noticed he was dressed in protective gear, and that’s when you had realized that this must’ve been serious. 

“He wants to charge the palace and take my powers for himself. Y/N, go back to your room where it’s safer. Let us handle this.” He says, starting to stalk past you until the moment that you quickly grab his wrist to stop him, turning his figure back around to face you. 

“No, let me help you guys-”

“Y/N, it’s too dangerous for you to be here, just go back.” He argues and for a moment it feels like deja vu all over again from the last time you were both here in this situation; the one that had cost the lives of all your friends for the sake of your own. 

A loud beat of silence overtook you both as he waited for you to back down, hoping that maybe you would actually go back so that you wouldn’t get hurt from what was yet to come. This specific scene playing out in front of him felt familiar as well, making him unsure as to why it did when he looked into the pained expression behind your eyes. However before he could say anything, your fingers brush away from his wrist and he watches as you turn away to leave him back down the corridor without another word. 

You were going to show him that you were more than capable of handling yourself. 

Not wanting to sit back this time, you went back to your room with intent in your mind as you looked through your stuff to find protective gear yourself along with some sort of staff that could help defend you later on. You weren’t sure what you were getting yourself into, but you were absolutely sure that you were going to be ready for anything when you faced the crowd later. 

The moment that you were graced with the view of the crowd was almost too anxiety-inducing, considering there were so many rebels under Kyungmin’s leadership that filled the foyer. They were fighting against the guards that had been doing nothing but trying to safely stop them without physically hurting them, but it only became worse as you noticed someone being crowded in the corner of your eye. 

With every strength that you could manifest, you reeled your arm back before reeling the staff over your shoulder to where the crowd suddenly scattered the moment that you launched it, watching as all eyes were now on you. Smoke erupts from the tip of the staff you’d just thrown, leaving everyone else to rush out of the palace to retreat from the scene except for two rebels who had been left behind. 

Your eyes scan for both Wooyoung and San, realizing that they were both on opposite ends of the spectrum as Wooyoung had been defending himself against two of the rebels from the leftover crowd. Unfortunately for you, you felt as though time had slowed down the moment that you finally were able to find Kyungmin, remembering his presence as you notice him slowly creeping up on San, who had been distracted with regaining his vision from the smoke. 

“San, look out!”

Your words seemed to come out hoarse, because the moment that they escaped your lips was when you let out heavy coughs from the smoke slowly coming up to where you were. Everything unfolded in front of you as you watched San quickly turn to shoot Kyungmin in the stomach, watching as the latter cripples in front of him as he stood in front of the now dead corpse. 

You rushed over to where San had been standing, but it wasn’t until you watched him turn around to see that he had been clutching his stomach as there was a large gash bleeding through his shirt. A gasp escapes your lips as you catch him the moment that his knees give out on him, not wanting to touch the dagger that had been stabbed into his stomach but you were afraid. 

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help you get Wooyoung to remember…” He mumbles quietly, labored breaths escaping his lips as you shake your head in response,tears haphazardly escaping your eyes. 

“No no no… you weren’t supposed to get hurt this time, San-”

“Hey, it’s okay, Y/N,” He says while wiping the strands of hair away from your eyes and you couldn’t help but let sobs escape just as the sounds of someone’s rushed footsteps run over to where you were, “Wooyoung-”

“San, you’re not dying on me now,” The younger states almost immediately, but the moment that Wooyoung had touched San’s wrist to at least help fasten the healing process there was nothing that came out of him, making him realize what it had meant. 

“It doesn’t hurt, I promise. You don’t have to take my pain away anymore… ” 

He lets out a weak smile and looks at the both of you, two cursed soulmates, with fondness in his eyes and you couldn’t help but think that it was your fault because you didn’t warn him fast enough. Reaching out to hold both of your hands, he gives you a small look before motioning for you to move in closer so that he could whisper something to you in secret as his last wish. 

Wooyoung notices how your eyes widen in surprise, but you were silent the entire time throughout the exchange between you both. 

“I… I can’t-”

“Trust me, Y/N… You’ll be happy again.” He weakly smiled before his eyes had finally grown heavy, fluttering shut slowly as neither of you had said anything. 

You felt as if your world had finally crumbled down, the only person that had been there to support you throughout the last few years had left for good. Now that he was gone, you weren’t sure what else you were meant to be doing at the fire palace that you had grown to adjust to when the person who ruled the kingdom in the first place was giving you mixed signals. 

“He’s going to be taken to a friend of mine, Taehyun the ice king. His ice palace is far away from here, but they’re going to see if they can turn his ashes to ice after the funeral… You should go to sleep, Y/N. We’ve suffered enough, after today.” Wooyoung breathes out quietly, glancing over to see you still frozen in your spot where you were still looking down at San’s now still body on the blood-stained palace floor. 

But the moment when he reaches out to you is when you turn around and leave him; not a single word leaves your lips as he watches you disappear back into depths of the hallways without realizing that he never asked if you were okay in the first place.

The room ironically felt cold, despite being in the palace of fire.

With your knees up to your chest, you could only stare at the ground in front of you blankly as the last couple hours of the previous night were catching up to you. You felt lost and empty as you wondered where everything had gone wrong. Ever since the moment that you had stepped foot into the cursed place, you could only blame yourself for the passing of your best friend. While everyone else was at the funeral that was currently being held, you were alone in your room.

You shouldn’t have been there in the first place, but the same could’ve been said about him, if the both of you weren’t there, he could’ve been beside you right now. You remember how cold San had felt in your touch as you heard about how Wooyoung’s men took him to another kingdom made of ice, to try to help sustain his supposedly faint heartbeat, but you were pretty sure that he was long gone now. 

There was no way San would have survived the incident or the trip to the ice palace, and it was all your fault.

Tears pricked the corners of your eyes as you thought to yourself that you should’ve never come here in the first place, despite San’s wish for you to try and convince Wooyoung to remember his past. Was the entire trip worth it, when it came with the cost of not your life, but the one person that held your reality with a sense of hope? San was dead, and you didn’t know what  you were supposed to do. There wasn’t anyone else in the world that you could live with, especially not if your own soulmate couldn’t even remember who you were. 

You tear your eyes away from whatever you had been dozing off to and turn toward the newly placed vase of white roses in your room, remembering how both San and Wooyoung had gifted it to you for your birthday prior to everything. Taking strides toward the elegant vase, you could feel the tears stream down the apples of your cheeks as you picked up one of the rose stems, noticing the thorns had been cut off prior to avoiding you from getting pricked by them. 

How considerate. 

The rose in your hand felt heavier than it looked. You knew this was the last memory you had of San, and what was a better way of remembering him than finding him in the afterlife? The window was ajar, giving you an opportunity to light the rose with the flames covering the sides of the palace, waiting a moment for a flicker of light to set the rose aflame before pulling it back inside. 

Taking the small flame on the white rose that was in your hand, you slowly let it roll out of your hands as you watched vibrant colors waver in front of your eyes. The fire igniting from the small flower was the only thing you kept your eyes on as the innocent white color began to churn, slowly burning from the intensity of the fire’s magic. Streaks of fire slowly enveloping the entire room you were in.

A small breath escapes your lips as you let out a weak chuckle, thinking that this might be the last thing you remember. The heat was slowly getting to you, the ashes and smoke that were filling the room clouding your thoughts. The last thing you remember before blacking out were flashes of your life flashing before your eyes momentarily, reminding you of your tragic love story that you had set alight. 

The smell of smoke, however, fills Wooyoung’s nose as he walks down the hallway to greet you for dinner, but something feels off. He could see smoke slowly filling his gaze, his eyes darting over to the origins of it as he recognized it to be your room. It was as if his feet had carried him on their own before his brain could even process it, because almost instantly he arrived at your door in a split second. 

It was locked, he tried to jiggle it open, but the moment that he felt the extensive heat on the palm of his hands, it was as if he had been shocked by not lighting, but new memories that had surged from the back of his mind. His hand burned slightly as he let out a yelp, making him pull away from the doorknob, until suddenly his head began to hurt; the more that his blurred dreams from the last few weeks became more apparent, the clearer the memory became . 

It was you. 

You who had been with him years before, being with the rest of the team and by his side. It was you who he had made promises to and never intended to break, the person that he knew was supposed to be with him for his life because he knew that the two of you were meant to be; soulmates. You were his soulmate, and here he was, finally remembering you after so long when you must’ve been suffering this without him. 

“Y/N!”

His shouts blocked out the loud thuds of him attempting to break open the door, and if it weren’t for his aching shoulder, he would’ve given up. However, the fires that were slowly engulfing the room that made the door even hotter and after one more big shove, the door finally burst open as he darted into the room, bringing you out of the burning death trap. 

You were unconscious in his arms as he tried to get you out as far away as possible from the flames that he had diffused with a quick movement of his hand, bringing you to his bedroom where he knew he had spare equipment. There was soot covering your body from head to toe, but Wooyoung’s only concern was to make sure that you were still alive as he delicately placed you on his bed. 

He immediately checks your pulse, feeling the light beats of your heart still pulsing in your veins and he instantly feels relieved that you were still with him. Resorting to giving you CPR, he continues to attempt to resuscitate you as he mentally prays to himself that you would be okay until your eyes finally shot open. Grabbing out a glass of water for you to drink, you slowly take it from his hold but your eyes were on his shaking body as he had tried to process what had just happened. 

“What were you thinking, Y/N? You could have died!”

“And you should have let me.”

“Why should I, when I had just gotten you back?” He argues back and there’s a silence that engulfs the both of you as he can sense that you were frustrated with him. 

However, he was just as frustrated considering he had regained all his memories, and right when he did, he had almost lost you again; just like he did during the time loop in the past.  

His words felt as though they were twisting both your heart and your thoughts as you couldn’t help but let tears stream down your face. You wanted to believe him in this moment, that he suddenly had gained all his memories and that this was the Wooyoung that you loved, the one that was your soulmate until the very end. However, you couldn’t bring yourself to believe him as you stared at the man in front of you in disbelief while you felt yourself being brought into his chest to console. 

You didn’t stop him from doing so, because you were still confused. You wanted to hate him, for putting you through so much and for the endless heartbreaks you suffered through. But at the same time, you wanted to feel relieved. You wanted to believe in the fact that he had finally remembered you and your entire past together, but you were still uncertain…

“You don’t remember me, there was nothing that would have worked. You can’t be serious right now, Wooyoung, of all times. San’s dead, and just when I was going to go find him, you saved me from that. Why would you save me, when you should’ve just let me go?” You cried, feeling yourself hiccupping in between your words but you could feel him gently wipe your tears as he had slowly rubbed your back comfortingly.

“I burned an entire world for you, and I’ll do it a million times again if I have to. You might think that I’ve forgotten, but I finally remember… I remember when I first loved you, and I remember nearly dying loving you.” He declares, still holding you close into his chest as you found comfort into his fast heartbeats that were thumping in your ear. 

You felt as if your heart would explode, chills raising the hairs on your arms as you suddenly felt teardrops into your hair. You instantly looked up to see that he started crying, an instinctive feeling in which you moved your hand up to wipe the tears away from the apples of his cheeks, but you still felt weary of this moment as you couldn’t understand why it was when you were on the brink of death, that he finally regained all memories and saved you from dying again. 

“If you really remember everything about us… what’s one thing that we both did before we broke the time loop that we were stuck in?” You whispered quietly, refusing to meet his eyes as you knew that he was racking his brain for answers. 

“I held you one last time, hearing you say that you had loved me and were willing to trust my plan to make sure that you wouldn’t die again on my watch.”

It was as if the universe had finally healed as you could only feel warmth from him and everything was finally coming together with the right pieces. He tenderly took your hand into his and placed a gentle kiss on each of your knuckles, making you feel as though you were rejuvenated once again now that he was finally back. 

“Are you really back, Wooyoung? After the last month of hell, and losing our best friend because of everything… is our soulmate bond actually rebuilt just like that, because you saved me again?” You whispered softly, clasping onto his hand and squeezing it slightly. 

You could see the corners of his lips curl into a beautiful drawing that could paint your mind forever. 

“You’re the only one for me, Y/N. It was always you, and it always will be.” He smiles gently, leaning in to kiss you and within the kiss, you could feel a familiar burning passion that you recognized to be only from him as you kissed him back; this was where you were meant to be.

In his arms and only with him.

He was a fire that was able to ignite an entire kingdom with one touch, yet with you, he was the one that finally crumbled to his own feet. He had set fire to a world around him, ready to bring everyone to their horrible downfalls if they were to ever deceive him, but never had he once let a flame touch you; his one and only untouchable blue flame.

permanent taglist: @allyg-onz​@viastro​@bbanghoonie​@wooyoung-a​ @pwttychannie​@sunwoahkim​@karsohn​@escapewriter​@wooyeouu​@0710khj​@awfullytiredbuthealing​@fylithia​@myluv-yeonjun​@allorysayshi​@nlnkm​@jannine00742​@rebsmoonn​@jjhmk​@beomgyugyu​  @ja4hyvn​@noempathyy​@wccycc​ (add yourself to my permanent taglist here!)

cannot tag: @cowboyjaehyun @soobin-chois

❀Pairing: Yeosang x San, Background OT8

❀Genre: Smut, Humor

❀AU:Night Shift Verse, Office Au, Established Poly Relationship

❀Rating: 18+

❀WC: 1.6k

❀Tw: Swearing

❀Sw: Nude Massage, Prostate Massage, Handjob, Temperature Play, Blowjob, Sex Toy, Cum Swallowing, Slight Exhibitionism, Body Worship Undertones, Hair Pulling

©atiny-piratequeen/nocturne-overtures 2022. do not repost, translate, or use my works.

❀AO3 |  Taglist Form  |   Commissions

❀Network Pings: @kdiarynet@kwritersworld@8makes1teamnet@k-vanity 

“I should thank Seonghwa-hyung for teaching me how to do this, shouldn’t I?”

San’s voice is a deep hum as he slowly kneaded and worked out the tension knots in Yeosang’s back. The only verbal response he got was a muffled whimper into a pillow. Slowly, a smile came to his face as he kissed between his shoulder blades.

“You’re hiding your voice again. I think it’s really cute when you do that.”

San pressed down on a particular spot, and a pop followed by a surprised noise came from Yeosang’s body before a deep rumble followed it. San’s eyes turned into crescents as his smile grew, tossing one leg over Yeosang’s hips. He lifted his body and moved with a near methodical slowness, settling himself on Yeosang’s ass as he continued to massage him, thumbs pressing into the muscle, rolling in small circles that gradually got wider.

“C-can you move a bit lower, please?”

San’s hands drifted down to the small of Yeosang’s back, kneading the small of his back. Once more, he was met with a muffled moan as he worked and a thought came to his mind.

“Turn around.”

Yeosang lifted his head in confusion.

“You’re sitting on-”

San silently lifted his hips, smiling sweetly as Yeosang got the hint, turning around and repositioning himself, holding San’s hips out of instinct. San sat down, noticing the way Yeosang squeezed his hips before not so subtly trying to shift him upwards to sit on his pelvis.

San tightened his thighs around his waist and sent him a devilishly sweet smile at the deer in headlights look on Yeosang’s face.

“Ah. What do you think you’re doing? I have to give you a massage. You’ve had a longandhardday in the office today, and on your birthday, no less. The least I can do is help you unwind my love~”

Yeosang glanced down at San’s hips before meeting his eyes.

“I really appreciate the massage, I do, but my-”

“-cock is rock hard, yes. Don’t worry. I’ll get to that.”

The tips of his ears went red and Yeosang promptly zipped his lips, moving his hands away from San’s hips and watching as the slightly younger man continued kneading and massaging him, admiring his body silently. Yeosang’s eyes never left San’s face, pulling his lip between his teeth.

“You’re staring.”

“I am. You working out with Jongho and Hoseok is paying off. Even if it is making you all tense and tight.” San met his gaze and booped his nose before moving back to his arms, tracing his fingers over the stretch marks the new muscle had created. Yeosang shuddered but relaxed into the pillow, nearly falling asleep from San’s talented hands until he shifted off of his lap and moved one of his oiled-up hands down to his cock.

The blonde’s eyes shot open-when the hell had he even closed them?-and he looked down, watching San slowly stroke him as he leaned forward, kissing the shell of his ear.

“The others should be back with your birthday cake and dinner in about half an hour or something like that. Are you ready for the fun part of this massage?”

“It’s my birthday, that’s part of the gift, right?”

A spark of chaos crossed San’s expression before he smiled and leaned in once more.

“You’re lucky your birthday is in the middle of the week or I’d ride you into the sunset but then we’d both have to miss work. Stay here.” He got up and darted out of the room, leaving Yeosang staring at his retreating form.

When he came back, he had a toy in his hand and two small bowls. Yeosang lifted his head to see better, realizing one bowl had ice, and the other had more warm oil. The toy was a small massager.

He watched San pop an ice cube into his mouth, blowing a kiss in his direction before he slicked his fingers up with the oil, slowly easing one into Yeosang as he held the vibrator onto the underside of his cock.

“Fuck-”

“Ah, don’t cover your mouth.”

Yeosang caught himself mid-motion, spreading his legs and bunching the sheets under his hand instead. San smiled and kissed his hip teasingly, cold tongue tracing i love you’s and little hearts along Yeosang’s skin every now and again.

“You’re t-teasing me on my birthday?”

“Ah, no. I’m massagingyou on your birthday. You can’t rush these things, Sangie. I thought you were one of the more patient ones~” San teased, slowly working his finger in and out of Yeosang, bringing the vibrator down towards the base of his cock. Yeosang whined and twitched again, his cock brushing against San’s cheek.

San let out a faux sigh and turned his head, blowing cool air onto Yeosang’s cock and smiling as he pulled the sheets.

“You’re lucky it’s your birthday. I’ll be nice even if you’re impatient.” He wrapped his lips around the crown of Yeosang’s cock, pressing what was left of his ice cube against his cock with his tongue as he added a second finger. He moved the massager down to Yeosang’s balls, humming around his cock as the birthday boy’s hand found its way into his hair, slowly guiding him up and down.

His lips fell open while his eyes slipped closed, the quiet, restrained moans from before growing in volume as San took him all the way, settling and stilling with Yeosang fully down his throat. He ignored the slight pull to his hair, watching Yeosang’s face.

His eyes remained closed, his chest rising and falling harshly as his thighs twitched at either side of San’s head. He didn’t pull his hair anymore, realizing San had no intention of rushing, despite the fact that Yeosang could feel his orgasm creeping up, especially after the man began curling his fingers up in come hither motions.

“F-fuck! San wait-”

San swallowed around him, rolling the pads of his fingers over Yeosang’s prostate, the vibrator still buzzing against his balls. To his credit, Yeosang still kept himself from bucking and thrusting down San’s throat, but it was becoming incredibly evident he wouldn’t last much longer.

San could hear the distant sound of voices in the house, and a small glance at the bedside clock brought a hum from him that made Yeosang twitch and whimper.

“-aybe upstairs?”

San purred and began moving his head, curling and massaging Yeosang faster than before, watching as his muscles flexed and trembled. Yeosang was a bit too polite for his own good, San thought. He could fuck his throat raw right here and San would probably thank him for it, but for now, he focused on this cock humming and swallowing around Yeosang.

“S-San pull up, I’m gonna cum.”

A huff left San’s nose, akin to a laugh as he doubled down his efforts, pressing his fingers hard against his prostate, eyes narrowing at Yeosang in offense even though the other man’s eyes were still tightly closed.

“Happy birth-”

“San!”

San felt Yeosang’s cock throb as he came down his throat, with Hongjoong stopping short, wide-eyed as he held a cake in his hands. Wooyoung and Yunho nearly knocked him over as they struggled to stop their walking, bumping into him as they watched San slowly pull off of Yeosang’s cock. Jongho and Mingi peeked around Yunho’s frame and Seonghwa leaned against the doorframe, head tilted to the side as San made a show of showing them the load he had in his mouth before swallowing, pulling his fingers out of Yeosang.

“Um…make a wish?” Hongjoong blinked, a bit flustered himself as Yeosang hid his face, beet red.

“S-sorry!”

Seonghwa laughed and slowly began removing his watch and rings.

“Oh, don’t apologize. I’m sure we can find fun things to do for the birthday boy after we eat cake. Or should we eat you instead?” The mocha-haired man raised a brow and Wooyoung grinned.

“San already got started.”

“Give him a few minutes, I’m sure he’ll be ready for a few more.” Mingi chimed in and Yeosang blushed and sat up, looking at San in concern.

“Did I hurt your throat?”

“No, actually you could fuck my face till I cry and I’d appreciate that just as much. Maybe more, actually.”

Seonghwa clapped and sent them a smile as Hongjoong looked from the cake to the bed, unsure if he should come closer or let Yeosang recover.

“As much as I love hearing San talk about being a cock hungry pain slut, we have candles to blow out before blowing Yeosang’s back out. San’s birthday is right around the corner for that.”

Yeosang hid his face once more, groaning as Wooyoung, Mingi, and San burst into laughter. Hongjoong smiled and came closer, holding the cake up. Yeosang peeked from between his fingers, looking at the cake. He noticed the small white chocolate mascot in the center with the flower on his head and smiled, looking up at them all despite the blush on his face and his state of undress.

“We love you, Yeosang. Happy birthday, baby.”

Yeosang smiled and lifted his head, accepting kisses from each of his boyfriends before Jongho handed him his slice of cake. His nose scrunched as Wooyoung smudged cake icing on his cheek.

He could feel at least two pairs of eyes on him as he ate, patiently waiting.

It may only be on a Wednesday this year, but they don’t call it hump day for nothing, he supposed.

Maybe he could turn up a bit late tomorrow.

Just a bit.

————————–Taglist———

@kimnamshiks@atiny-dazzlinglight@angel0taiyo@jacksons-goddess-gaia@gettin-a-lil-hanse@daniblogs164@daisyhwa@yunhofingers@stormiestories@billboard-singer@xlilehx@alliecoady98@jess-1404@perfectlysane24@babiebumm@skmoonchild@netcookie@seomisaho@bangteezbaby@yungiland@serialee@asyamonet22@drunk-on-hwa@shingisimp@phoenixcode21@justatiredhuman@dreamyinception-world@soluvcore@twistedsiren@xuxibelle 

• Fandom(s):ATEEZ
• AU:Treasure Hunters
• Genre:Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
• Relationship:Everyone x Everyone, Established Hongjoong x Yunho
• Language:English
• Status:Ongoing
• Chapter WC: 4,129 words
• Warnings:Character Death, Stabbing, Fighting, Blood, Aliens, War, Funerals, Kidnapping, Attempted Kidnapping, Mentions of Child Abuse / Child Work, Explosions, Murder Attempt, Robbery, Homeless/Runaway Character, Torture, Mentions of Slavery more will be added.
• Chapter Warnings: Murder Attempt
• Summary:

Hongjoong looked at the people who had protected him on his mission to look for the treasure, and then looked at those who he could only call his soulmates now. “All aboard the Crescent, it’s time to go!”

• AO3

<< Previous Chapter|Masterlist|Epilogues >>

Tagged:@angel0taiyo​

There was a moment of heavy silence in the room as San made his way in with Yijoong’s hands firmly held behind his back. The Emperor’s eyes were so firmly placed on his middle son that he didn’t even realize when Hongjoong walked in until the latter cleared his throat. Emperor Kim looked slightly surprised that his plan had failed, but that surprise was quickly reigned in and hidden under a perfectly serious face.

“Emperor Kim,” Hongjoong said. His voice was ice cold, and he managed to look imposing despite the fact that he was still leaning on Yeosang for support. 

“Hongjoong, my son-” The Emperor began, trying to soften his expression, but he was quickly interrupted.

“Don’t even try,” Hongjoong hissed. “Not after Yijoong chased me down in my own castle, trying to kill me.”

“Fair enough,” The Emperor’s gaze hardened. “I suppose it’s much too late to try to cover everything up.” He looked at the sword pointed at his neck with disdain.

“Why?” Hongjoong asked, limping closer to his father. “Yijoong explained but I cannot wrap my head around the fact that you’d do this to me and to Taejoong. We were your family. Did you do this to our mother as well?”

“Don’t you dare speak of her!” His father lunged forward, stopping only when he felt the sword brush against his neck. It was a reminder that he no longer had the upper hand in the situation.

“Dare? She was my mother.” Hongjoong spit out, enraged. “She loved me, something that you clearly weren’t able to do.”

“Her death is your fault, even Taejoong’s death is your fault.” The Emperor snarled, clearly uncaring about the position he was in anymore. “The Empire has fallen in disgrace and it’s all your fault.”

Hongjoong didn’t even think of it. He let go of Yeosang and swiped his father’s sword from the ground, ignoring the pain in his ankle to stride forward towards his father. The Emperor closed his eyes tightly, aware of what was coming, but the sword never quite came. As Hongjoong raised it, preparing himself to put an end to it all, he saw something on his father’s desk.

Among the mess that the Emperor’s fight with Yunho had caused, his eyes managed to find the compass Taejoong had given him. He could make out the glint of his initials carved in gold on the cover. That compass had always kept him safe during his explorations, guiding him home just like Taejoong had promised it would on his 16th birthday. Even when it wasn’t about guiding him on a physical plane, the compass had always been there to remind him to make the right decisions.

Killing his father and brother was not the right decision. He hated them quite a lot at that moment, but he couldn’t erase the years upon years that he had considered them family. Even if they had stopped considering him family long ago, he didn’t want to hold the weight of their deaths in his hands. It wasn’t worth it. They couldn’t just let them go, though.

“Hongjoong?” Yunho asked, where he was still holding his sword against the Emperor. He hadn’t stopped, even though his arms were starting to hurt.

“I won’t do it.” Hongjoong stated, lowering the sword and passing it to Yeosang, who put it away before offering him his support again. “I won’t step down to their level. Plus, I think the Resistance would like to have some fun with them.” He shrugged, trying to keep his face void of expression and as indifferent as possible. “Seonghwa, do me a favor and go look for Chan, let him know that the Emperor and Prince Yijoong have been apprehended.”

“Of course, Captain,” Seonghwa nodded, leaving the room not a moment after.

Relief flooded Hongjoong after Seonghwa’s words. Everything had changed between all of them in just a few days, but in essence, they were the same, and Seonghwa understood the importance of separating him from his royal upbringing. The Empire had finally fallen, the only thing left was to make an official declaration, but as for himself, he was no longer a Prince.

It didn’t take long for Chan to arrive with a handful of armed soldiers from the Resistance, and finally, Yunho and San could rest. The Emperor and the Second Prince were put under arrest immediately and taken away from there, and once they were gone, Hongjoong could finally let his defenses fall. His shoulders sagged and he let out a big sigh he had been holding back.

Yeosang was the first to embrace him, being the closest to him as he was offering him support, and soon enough the others had joined as well, enveloping Hongjoong into a hug he hadn’t known he needed so desperately. Chan decided to leave and give them space, knowing he’d be able to catch up with the Captain of the Crescent soon enough.

When they finally let go of each other, San put Hongjoong’s compass in his hand, returning it to its rightful owner. Hongjoong smiled, the realization that everything had ended and that he could start looking for a new place to call home finally sinking in. Though maybe, home was much closer than he had expected it to be.

“Come on, we should go back to Wooyoung and Mingi, they’re waiting for us.” Jongho reminded them, aware that the two of them were probably worried sick about them.

They all agreed that it was time to put those things behind them. Hongjoong couldn’t help but take one last look at what was left of his father’s study, before turning back to look at the people waiting on the door for him and following them outside. This was no longer his home, it probably hadn’t been for a long time, and it felt right to leave it behind now.

–

There were still a few fights going around, but most of the Empire’s army had been subdued and the war had boiled down considerably. The true victory had been apprehending the Emperor and the Prince, though, because once the leaders were captured, most followers gave up fighting, and so it was over.

Chan marched down the halls of the castle toward the balcony that extended over its front. One of his soldiers approached him with a flag portraying the Resistance’s coat of arms. It was time to announce the end of the battle on the Home Planet. He stood on the balcony and used the flare gun once again, gathering the attention of as many people as he could. With his right hand he raised the flag and with the left one he held a megaphone to his mouth.

“The Emperor and Prince Yijoong have been successfully captured!” His voice boomed through the fields that extended in front of the castle, littered with the bodies of the injured and the deceased. “Our first battle against the Empire has been successful, and we have uprooted the source of unfairness and sickness in the Empire!”

The members of the Resistance clamored in celebration, filling up the air with the roar of their victory, which could probably be heard throughout the entire planet. So many people had been preparing for this battle for months. It was the most important part of their plan, and to have succeeded despite the unexpected occurrences, meant that they had a high chance of liberating the rest of the Empire from the rule of a system that had stopped working long ago.

“We still have a long journey ahead of us, the war isn’t over until we’ve seen every planet freed from the claws of the ruling class,” Chan continued. He had thought of this speech for so long, because failing that battle had never been an option. “It will take some time, but today marks the beginning of the end of the Kim Empire! Rise up and celebrate everyone, for we have won today’s battle!”

The crowd became undone in a strident roar of celebration, and the ground trembled as people stomped their feet or jumped in excitement. History had been made, and it would continue to be made until everyone was free.

–

While the crowd celebrated their victory, what was left from the crew of the Crescent made their way back to the ship slowly. The halls of the castle were turned upside down, and a cloud of dust lingered in the air from the battle that had taken place. Hongjoong allowed himself to take it all in one last time, and though it hurt a little bit to see the place he had grown up in shattered and in ruins, he was at peace with the knowledge that he had helped put an end to the suffering his family had caused.

Furthermore, he found peace in the fact that while being away from his childhood home, he had found a new place he could call home. Knowing his job in the war was over filled him with relief. And though he didn’t want to openly admit it, it was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. The Empire had burned down, and Hongjoong hoped the remains of it would be lost to the ashes soon enough.

The trip back to the Crescent was long, but thankfully they found the slider Jongho and Yeosang had brought with them before. Carefully, everyone got in the trunk and Yunho drove them all back to the ship. Just seeing its silhouette against the rising sun filled them all with relief and calm. The ship had survived the battle, and they could just about make the silhouettes of Wooyoung, Mingi and Handong, the only ones who had stayed back to wait for them.

They weren’t the only ones there though. Most of the soldiers that had served Hongjoong as part of the crew had also managed to make it back alive and well to the ship. As soon as they arrived they were surrounded and welcomed by the crew, who celebrated that they had managed to rescue Hongjoong and make it back alive, together. Wooyoung, especially, almost threw himself into Hongjoong’s arms.

“I’m sorry!” Wooyoung exclaimed, holding on to Hongjoong like his life depended on it. 

“Woo-”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you and that I didn’t prepare you better for what was going to happen,” he continued, not giving Hongjoong an opportunity to intervene. “I should have told you something, I’m so sorry you had to go through all that blindly-”

Hongjoong grabbed Wooyoung by the face and kissed him quiet, to everyone’s surprise, even himself. Hongjoong was bold, but he didn’t think he had it in himself to be that bold. Still, it felt nice, because Wooyoung immediately melted into the kiss, almost like he had been waiting for it forever. He probably had. Hongjoong allowed himself to linger there for just enough time, if anything, he at least wanted to convey to Wooyoung that he had been long forgiven. They separated after a moment, and Wooyoung exhaled. Hongjoong couldn’t help but dissolve in laughter as the people around them cheered.

“Is this what it takes to make you quiet?” Hongjoong teased. He was still holding Wooyoung’s face between his two palms, and found himself not wanting to let go.

“I’m sorry,” Wooyoung apologized again, to which Hongjoong pressed his face softly, causing his lips to pucker.

“If I hear one more sorry from you, I’ll be mad.” Hongjoong scoffed. “I’m not mad, Wooyoung. I’m not mad at you, at least, for what happened. You did what needed to be done to ensure things would be successful, and I don’t blame you for that.”

“But…”

“No buts,” Hongjoong shook his head, caressing Wooyoung’s cheeks softly. “However, we can talk about this later if you want, just not here, okay?”

Wooyoung nodded, pressing one hand to Hongjoong’s on his face. He had dreamed of being able to touch him, all of them, for so long, that it almost didn’t feel real. The fact that he wasn’t alone anymore didn’t feel real. He was grateful, because every sacrifice he had made along the way had been absolutely worth it.

“Excuse me, Captain Hongjoong?” An unknown voice interrupted their celebrations.

Hongjoong let go of Wooyoung as he turned around and met eyes with one of Chan’s closest allies. He vaguely remembered him from when they had been rescued and taken to the caves where the resistance had been hiding. The crew quieted down as Hongjoong nodded, letting the other man know that he had all of his attention.

“Chan would like to speak to you,” he explained, looking a bit sheepish about being surrounded by a bunch of strangers.

“Right, of course,” with the excitement of finally being reunited with his ship and his crew, Hongjoong had completely forgotten his promise for a moment. It was time he fulfilled it. “Yunho, Hwanwoong, Siyeon, should we go?” He asked, turning to them. Despite everything that had happened, they were still the people he trusted the most. They were a small part that had been left of what he had once called home.

The others looked like they were going to protest for a moment, but upon seeing Hongjoong’s tired face and his limp, they decided against it. They didn’t want to be separated anymore, but they also understood that, once everything was all said and done, they would hopefully have the rest of their lives together. That was far more valuable than following him to a meeting where they didn’t really have anything to do.

“We’ll be back in a moment,” Yunho reassured the crew, noticing the anxious movements and the exchange of whispers.

The man of the Resistance guided them through the ships still anchored there to what Hongjoong recognized to be Chan’s ship. The Resistance’s leader was standing in front of it, talking to other members of his crew, until he spotted them walking towards their ship.

“Hyunjin, you found them! Thank you.” Chan thanked the man who had guided them there, and Hyunjin simply shook his head, smiling softly at Chan before walking away to join the rest of the crew.

“Captain Chan,” Hongjoong greeted, walking towards him with Hwanwoong’s support.

“Captain Hongjoong,” Chan greeted back, nodding his head once. “It’s been a long battle, I’m glad to see you got out well.”

“In part thanks to your people who fought bravely,” Hongjoong smiled. “Thank you, but I assume you didn’t ask for me just to check on me?”

“Straight to the point I see,” Chan scoffed. “We said this to Yunho before, but I think it’s important to tell you as well. You’re no longer a prince, but the significance of the status you once held is unavoidable, we would like it if you left the Empire, for good.”

Hongjoong hadn’t been expecting those words to come from Chan, but it made sense. Despite his sentence and the fact that everyone had voted in favor of his death, he didn’t doubt there would be people trying to gain his favor and convince him of being a leader to fight back the Resistance. 

“Of course,” Hongjoong turned to look towards the castle before looking back at Chan. “I personally don’t wish to associate with the Empire anymore as well, so I suppose leaving would be beneficial for all of us.”

Chan’s expression softened as he nodded. He didn’t like being harsh on others, but it was often necessary in order to be taken seriously. He could almost sympathize with Hongjoong as well, understanding of the fact that they were basically stripping him of what he had once called home. However, it was a necessary step for the liberation of the people.

“I’m glad you understand.”

“As for the treasure,” Hongjoong continued. He had already chosen to commit to his promise. “We will be giving it to the Resistance, as economical support to continue with the revolution in the colonized planets.”

“We appreciate that,” Chan smiled, grateful. “Though I do think you should at least keep some of it, so you can start anew.”

Hongjoong looked at him with a little bit of surprise. To be fair, he hadn’t even thought about what they would do to earn money themselves. Chan brought a good point to the discussion, and he nodded.

“Right, of course, thank you.” Hongjoong chuckled. “That’ll certainly be helpful. We should probably start with it now, actually. You can send someone from your side, tell them to look for Seonghwa, he’s the one with the brains for money management.”

“Sure enough,” Chan laughed as well. “Seungmin!” He turned around, calling towards one of the men who were speaking behind them, in a circle. “Would you please go to the Crescent and look for a man named Seonghwa? Tell him it’s about the division of the treasure.”

“Yessir!” Seungmin, who had perked up upon being called, immediately ran off in the direction of the Crescent.

“Yunho, you should go with him, to inform Seonghwa.” Hongjoong suggested.

“Of course,” Yunho nodded. “I’ll see you there.”

“It’s been a pleasure working alongside you,” Hongjoong said, taking a step forward and extending a hand.

“Not at all, the pleasure was mine.” Chan shook his hand firmly. “Take care out there.”

“Good luck with the revolution.”

They began their walk back to the ship, slowly, when suddenly Hwanwoong stopped them and asked Siyeon if she could give them some space to talk. She looked understanding as she nodded, giving Hwanwoong an encouraging pat on the back before walking off by herself. Hongjoong looked at Hwanwoong with some confusion, but waited patiently until the other was ready to call.

“I think I’m going to join the Resistance,” Hwanwoong finally said. Hongjoong’s eyes opened wide but he waited until the other was done talking. “I love you, you’re my family, but… I think I found my call when we were fighting alongside the members of the Resistance.

“I learned so much while we were out there, about the unfairness of the regiment I was a part of, and I want to change that.” Hwanwoong smiled, sheepish. “I know your part in the war is over but, I don’t think mine is.”

“Hwanwoong…” Hongjoong muttered.

“Plus, I kinda need to find my family and try to convince them to join the cause, you know?” Hwanwoong shrugged, almost like he was trying to make excuses.

Hongjoong, with some difficulty, hugged him tightly, bringing him close. Hwanwoong and him had been together most of their lives, and he was as much of a brother to him as Taejoong and Yijoong had been. He was, in fact, the only brother he had left now. But if he understood anything in life, it was that pursuing your convictions was important. It hurt, but he wouldn’t stop him.

“I’m sorry.” Hwanwoong muttered, hugging him back.

“Don’t be,” Hongjoong smiled. “I support you. And I know we’ll see each other again.”

“Of course,” Hwanwoong laughed as well. “Neither of us is sappy enough to say goodbye.”

“You kinda are,” Hongjoong teased.

“Am not,” Hwanwoong rolled his eyes.

They hugged for a little longer, before letting each other go. Hongjoong put his hand on Hwanwoong’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, before gesturing with his head towards where Chan and his crew were. Hwanwoong looked at him in confusion.

“Go, now.” Hongjoong explained.

“But- your leg-”

“Is still complete and pretty functional, I’ll deal.” Hongjoong interrupted him, giving him a light push towards Chan’s ship.

“Right,” Hwanwoong let go of him slowly, nodding resolutely. “I’ll see you later, Hongjoong.”

“See you soon,” Hongjoong agreed, watching him go.

It took him a little longer to make it to the Crescent, but when he did, Chan’s people had already begun transferring the treasure, and his own crew was waiting for him. The conversation with Hwanwoong had made him realize that these people had been following him so far because of his status as a prince, but he wasn’t one anymore. He wanted to give them the chance to make their own lives.

“Everyone, listen please,” Hongjoong commanded, and the crowd quieted to hear him out. “Hwanwoong is no longer part of our crew, he’s decided to join the Resistance and help them out with what’s left. As you must know, I’m no longer a prince, and none of you owe me anything. I want you all to be able to make your own lives.

“If you wish to go, I won’t stop you, and if you wish to stay a part of the Crescent’s crew, I’ll welcome you with open arms, just… Let me know, I’ll be here.” He explained, knowing that some people would need time to make up their minds.

Siyeon and Handong were the first to approach him, which was certainly a bit unexpected. Handong immediately made him sit down as she started to clean and wrap up the injury on his ankle. Hongjoong didn’t even complain about the pain, grateful that she was helping him at all.

“We’re staying,” Siyeon said, helping support Hongjoong.

“Wait, really?” He turned to look at each of them. “You too, Handong?”

“Of course,” she scoffed. “No offense, but you’d be lost without me to treat your wounds.”

“That’s… fair,” Hongjoong laughed. “Thank you.”

Little by little, the people who had once been his soldiers approached him. To his surprise, a lot of them decided to stay a part of the crew. To the ones who didn’t, he made sure to give them their payment and even offer them a lift to other planets in case they had some specific plans in mind. By the time the treasure had been divided, everyone had made their decision, so he spoke again.

“Thank you so much to everyone who’s decided to part ways, and also to the ones staying. You served me well, but I think it’s time we start our next adventure.” He looked at the people who had protected him on his mission to look for the treasure, and then looked at those who he could only call his soulmates now. “All aboard the Crescent, it’s time to go!”

“Yes, sir!” Their voices echoed together as they began boarding the ship, ready to start anew.

–

The eight of them were huddled in the Captain’s quarters. Hongjoong had brought extra sheets and pillows to accommodate them all. It wasn’t the most comfortable arrangement, but none of them thought they could stay apart anymore, at least for the time being. It was finally all of them, together, and they would stick close until they got tired of each other.

Seonghwa was sitting with his legs crossed, Mingi’s head resting on his lap as the oldest massaged his head. Yeosang’s own head was resting on Mingi’s stomach, while San sat next to him with Hongjoong to his side. Wooyoung was on Hongjoong’s others side, and then Yunho and Jongho had sat together, a little bit separated from the rest so that they could all look at each other while they spoke.

“So you have a lot of siblings?” Yeosang asked, prompting Mingi to speak more about his hometown.

“Kind of? They’re all adopted.” Mingi hummed. “But I love them very much, I hope we can go visit them.”

“Of course, we need the family stamp of approval,” Hongjoong joked slightly, though he meant it when he said he wanted to go visit and know more about each of them.

“Sure, though I don’t know how much a bunch of kids can approve,” Mingi chuckled.

While they talked, Wooyoung was looking at all of them with a sort of daze to his eyes. Jongho was quick to catch on though, and he leaned forward slightly to get his attention.

“Are you okay?” Jongho’s question prompted everyone to grow quiet. Wooyoung looked at them with a bit of embarrassment and nodded.

“Yeah, I just… still can’t believe this is real, I guess?” Wooyoung raised his shoulders, almost trying to disappear between them.

“That we’re here together?” San asked, gently. They had never seen him be so gentle before.

“Yeah,” Wooyoung nodded. Hongjoong hummed slightly before turning to the rest of them.

“Hey everyone,” he called, making them turn towards him. “We’re staying together now, right?”

“Of course,” Seonghwa was quick to reassure, catching up on what Hongjoong was trying to do.”

“As if you could get rid of any of us,” Yunho mocked.

“We’re together now, Wooyoung,” Hongjoong reassured him, looking at him with a softened gaze. “It’s a promise.”

Wooyoung’s face broke into a smile and he nodded.

“Of course, a promise.” And he meant it, all of them did. They were a family now, and nothing would pull them apart ever again.

• Fandom(s):ATEEZ
• AU:Treasure Hunters
• Genre:Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
• Relationship:Everyone x Everyone, Established Hongjoong x Yunho
• Language:English
• Status:Ongoing
• Chapter WC: 3,734 words
• Warnings: Character Death, Stabbing, Fighting, Blood, Aliens, War, Funerals, Kidnapping, Attempted Kidnapping, Mentions of Child Abuse / Child Work, Explosions, Murder Attempt, Robbery, Homeless/Runaway Character, Torture, Mentions of Slavery more will be added.
• Chapter Warnings: Fighting, Stabbing, Blood, War, Murder Attempt, Explosions.
• Summary:

“Yijoong, come on, you’re my blood,” Hongjoong pleaded one last time, though he knew it was futile, given the way he kept walking backwards.

“Yeah, and it’s a real shame, good thing it won’t be for long,” Yijoong lowered the sword once more and smiled. “Run.”

• AO3

<< Previous Chapter|Masterlist|Next Chapter >>

Tagged:@angel0taiyo​

“Is the bomb in position?” Chan radioed the people he had put in charge for dealing with the bomb. Mingi had prepared it, but Jongho and Yeosang definitely didn’t know how to handle it.

“Yessir,” a staticy voice replied, letting them know it was all ready.

Chan looked towards Yunho to confirm one more time that everyone was in position and that this was really what he wanted to do. Yunho nodded curtly. The tension in his body was visible only in the way he held his sword like he wanted to break it in half. It was obvious that he was desperate to get to Hongjoong. Chan could sympathize. He had had many of his people and his crew captured by the Empire, and rescuing had not been easy, or even possible, a lot of the time.

“Go ahead,” Chan gave the order.

There was a brief spark, bright against the night sky, and then the two people in charge of the bomb came running back towards them. There were a few seconds of complete silence before the ground shook under the roar of the explosion. They were far from the castle’s entrance, but the earth under their feet still moved and slid off as the castle’s doors were completely destroyed and blown off their hinges.

Everyone stood with their mouths agape. Was it even possible for such an explosion to occur from a comparatively small recipient like the one Mingi had sent them? It was inevitable when they felt pride bloom in their chests. They hadn’t known Mingi was capable of creating something so powerful and mortal, but it was a good fit for the otherwise sweet miner. They would have to let them know how proud they were of him once they made it back with their Captain.

Once the ground had stopped shaking, Chan gave the signal with a flare gun, and the ground began shaking again under the strength of his army. The Empire’s soldiers met them on the entrance, but the members of the Resistance couldn’t be stopped as they barreled through the confused and disorganized army. The ground had sunken under the force of the explosion, so it was difficult to cross, but eventually the castle was overpowered by the force of the Resistance.

Yunho waited a little before joining the rest of the Resistance in the castle’s invasion. Seonghwa and San followed suit, and unfortunately, so did Jongho and Yeosang, but there was no time to fight them on it. The Empire’s army was quickly recovering, and though they hadn’t been able to avoid their entrance, they had managed to hold them back at the entrance hall. They needed to get to Hongjoong.

“Stay between me and Seonghwa!” San yelled at Yeosang and Jongho, who quickly did as told as San parried the attack of a soldier, hitting them on the head with the hilt of his sword before kicking them away.

Yunho was fighting his own battle next to them, trying to keep the soldier at bay from reaching his people. Yeosang and Jongho held their own weapons tightly, they didn’t know how to fight, but if it came to it, they would do it with their lives. In fact, Yeosang wasn’t even thinking when he saw a soldier running towards Seonghwa, who was already busy fighting someone else. He ran forward and stabbed them with his sword on the side.

The man fell, and San was already retrieving the sword and pulling a frozen Yeosang back, who looked horrified at his own hands. He pushed Yeosang back between the three of them, but the damage was done, so Jongho took over, because San needed to continue protecting them.

“I stabbed a man,” Yeosang’s strained voice barely came through as Jongho grabbed his hands and pulled them down.

“He would have hurt Seonghwa, you did nothing wrong,” Jongho reassured him. “We can’t stay here Yeosang, you need to get it together right now.”

Yeosang nodded, there was a hint of tears in his eyes, but he pushed it back and they moved forward through the path the other three opened during the fight. He could panic about his own actions later, but right now, they needed to get out of there alive and safe, for the sake of Hongjoong, and of Mingi and Wooyoung waiting for them back at The Crescent.

–

Hongjoong took a step back as Yijoong took a step forward. There was dust in the air from the explosion, and it was hard both to breathe and see, but there was no mistaking the sword in Yijoong’s hand. What was even more concerning though, was the quiet fury with which Yijoong held himself. He was tense and his face had acquired a reddish tone to it. Clearly, he wasn’t in the mood for arguing, but Hongjoong had to at least try, right? His brother wouldn’t kill him by his own hand.

“Yijoong?” Hongjoong’s voice came out way more shaky than he would’ve liked.

“You know, Hongjoong,  I never should have given this job to anyone else,” Yijoong held the sword up and looked at it with interest, almost like he was examining the sharpness of it. “I should’ve just done it myself.”

“You can’t be serious,” Hongjoong laughed nervously.

“We already went through this, or are you that stupid?” Yijoong scoffed. “You’re not my brother, Hongjoong, you’re not part of this family anymore. Your stupid little hero complex and your drive to do good are a problem, a threat. I’m going to put an end to that.”

“Yijoong, come on, you’re my blood,” Hongjoong pleaded one last time, though he knew it was futile, given the way he kept walking backwards.

“Yeah, and it’s a real shame, good thing it won’t be for long,” Yijoong lowered the sword once more and smiled. “Run.”

Hongjoong didn’t even think twice as he turned around and began running. He wouldn’t have played into Yijoong’s little fucked up game if he had had a weapon, but as it was, his best chance at surviving was simply to run. The dungeons were relatively large, so if he played it correctly, he might be able to make it to the exit and find help outside.

Yijoong was a relatively fast runner, so Hongjoong couldn’t find a moment of rest. He found himself turning corners and trying to make it back to the exit, but every time it seemed like Yijoong would read his mind and be waiting for him back in the main hallway. The dungeons were big, however, so maybe if he ran away far enough, Yijoong would be forced to follow him.

Just as he encountered Yijoong once again in front of the exit, he took an aggressive turn and began running towards the back of the dungeons, hoping that his plan would work, or that it would at least give him some more time. It took a moment, but Yijoong finally realized he wasn’t turning and began to follow him, face contorted in a snare. Hongjoong couldn’t see it though, as he was too focused on running.

He looked back and slowed down when he didn’t see his brother, trying to find him and see if it was safe to run back to the entrance. Just as he turned around once again, he saw Yijoong stepping forward and trying to stab him with the sword. Hongjoong managed to move to the side just in time to avoid a fatal injury, but he didn’t come out unscathed. Yijoong had silently approached him against all his expectations, but this was his chance.

Hongjoong stumbled back a little before regaining his footing and running straight towards the exit, this time with Yijoong following behind and no chance of him overcoming him in the race. Or that was how it was supposed to be, but as a member of the royal family, Yijoong also owned a chimera. Hongjoong didn’t remember this until the spiked whip curled around his ankle and pulled him down.

He screamed in pain as the spikes drew blood and his body hit the ground. He turned to try and untangle it but every little move caused the spikes to sink further and hurt him even more. Eventually, when Yijoong was close enough to hold him down without the need of the whip, it uncurled and transformed back into a sword. Hongjoong tried to move, but Yijoong was quick to step on his injured ankle, causing him to yelp in pain once again. It was futile.

“Any last words, Hongjoong?” Yijoong asked, a smug smile on his face after finally trapping him at the end of his little cat and mouse game.

Hongjoong simply looked at him with anger. He knew Yijoong’s words were empty. There was nothing he could say or do that would convince him not to kill him, and Hongjoong didn’t want to waste all the things he wished he could’ve said to his crew on ears that didn’t care. If he was to die, then he would die with his love and weaknesses buried deep in his chest. His brother didn’t deserve the satisfaction of knowing that side of him.

“Very well then,” Yijoong’s smile fell slightly as he lifted the sword. And despite his intentions, Hongjoong closed his eyes.

–

“This is no good,” Yunho groaned. “We don’t know that Hongjoong is still in the dungeons, they might have taken him out to finish the work themselves.”

The five of them were sitting behind the throne in the throne room, having managed to make their way out of the main fight and find a place to plan out their next movements. They were all covered in sweat and blood, but they were making their best effort not to pay attention to that. Yunho was right, however, they had no clue about Hongjoong’s whereabouts.

“We should split, then,” Seonghwa suggested, against his own wishes. He didn’t want to say goodbye and then never be able to see them again, but they would cover more ground like that.

“Terrible idea, but what choice do we have?” San huffed. “The faster we find Hongjoong, the sooner we can get out of here.”

“In that case, Seonghwa, San, you two take Yeosang with you and go to the dungeons to check.” Yunho pointed to a hallway a little ways from them. “If you go down that hallway and down the staircase at the end of it, you should be directly at the dungeons.”

“What about you?” Yeosang asked. He was frowning, convinced that Yunho was going to do something dangerous. He was absolutely right.

“I’ll take Jongho with me and we’ll go looking for the Emperor’s quarters, I haven’t seen him in battle so he must be staying hidden just in case. His quarters are hard to reach.” Yunho explained as he looked at Jongho for confirmation that he was okay with that. Jongho nodded.

“Are you sure? Isn’t he a very skilled fighter?” Seonghwa frowned, looking unconvinced. Everything he had heard from the Kim Empire’s family was that they were all amazingly skilled fighters and strategists.

“Yes, but out of all of us, I’m the only one who has ever seen him fight, so I have better chances.” Yunho shrugged. “He might not be there anyway, remember our main objective is to find Hongjoong.”

“Very well, let’s get going then,” San stood up, agreeing with Yunho’s reasoning, but Yunho stopped him before he could go.

“Don’t be reckless,” Yunho said, looking at all of them seriously. “Stay safe. We’ll see you when this is over.” San held his gaze and nodded.

“You too.”

Yunho and Jongho watched as the other three disappeared through the hallway Yunho had pointed out earlier before they began moving. Carefully, and as quietly as they could, Yunho guided them both through sets of stairs and hallways that were almost completely deserted, as the main battle was being fought downstairs. Occasionally they would find staff members that Yunho recognized, but they had no fighting experience, so Yunho would let them continue hiding and taking shelter from the atrocities going on elsewhere in the castle.

Eventually, they arrived at the private chambers, which they checked first. The four of them were empty and pristine clean, almost as if no one had touched them in a while, not even time. Yunho took them both to the war room, just in case, but this one too was empty. The only place left he could think of was the Emperor’s study. 

The study was a small room at the end of one of the side corridors. It was the Emperor’s favorite room, and no one was allowed into it without his permission, not even his own sons. It was almost sacred for him, and offered him far more privacy than his own room did, which was perhaps the reason why he preferred it. It was positioned in such an obscure part of the castle that probably only its inhabitants would be able to find it, which meant it was the perfect hiding place.

Yunho instructed Jongho to keep absolutely quiet as they approached the room, since they didn’t want to alert the Emperor. They waited outside the room for a moment, listening carefully to check how many people were inside. Yunho could make out the crackling of a fireplace, but other than that, the room was completely silent. He took a deep breath, and pushed the door open slowly. He wasn’t surprised to hear it creak, as it had probably been done on purpose so the Emperor could tell when someone was coming in.

“Ah, Yijoong, are you done with…” The Emperor’s voice went silent as he turned around and found Yunho and Jongho standing in the place where he had expected his son to be. “You.”

His eyes were placed firmly on Yunho. The Emperor recognized him. Of course he did, Yunho was dating one of his sons, even if he was trying to kill said son. Emperor Kim had never approved of Yunho and Hongjoong’s relationship, because in his eyes Yunho was nothing more than a soldier, a pawn. Of course, he never interfered. Hongjoong was barely in the public eye and he had been planning to get rid of him anyway. No wonder their relationship had always worked so well despite the lack of approval.

“Emperor Kim,” Yunho nodded. He was holding his sword in a defensive position, ready to jump into battle at the smallest sign. “I see Hongjoong isn’t here.” He noted, giving a quick look around the room.

“Oh,” the Emperor smiled, his lips curling into something twisted. “So you haven’t found him, too bad. Yijoong is probably finishing the job right now.” He laughed lightly. “My poor son, if only he had been more malleable.”

Yunho’s mouth was closed tightly. He wanted to pretend like the words of the Emperor didn’t affect him, but they did. He was worried for Hongjoong. Even if he knew how to defend himself, how much could he really do when he was weaponless and battered up? He felt Jongho press a hand to the back of his armor and it snapped back to focus. Yunho couldn’t lose himself like that at the moment, he had to trust the others would find Hongjoong in time. Right now, however, he had the perfect opportunity of defeating the Emperor himself, after all the harm he had caused Hongjoong.

“Don’t speak about him like that, you poor excuse of a person,” Yunho growled, stepping forward into the room.

“I, a poor excuse of a person? Please, Hongjoong, you and the rest of your pathetic crew was working with criminals against the Empire, if anything, you are the ones who have failed.” The Emperor grinned, stepping back and swiftly grabbing his sword from where it was resting against the fireplace.

“You failed the entirety of your Empire, everyone out there is suffering from your mismanagement.” Yunho retorted, walking more confidently into the room. The Emperor followed his steps, keeping an equal amount of distance at all times.

“What’s the life of a few people in exchange for greatness?” The Emperor shrugged. “Sacrifices had to be made.”

“I’m going to stop you.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

Without hesitation, Yunho threw himself forward, against the Emperor.

–

San, Seonghwa and Yeosang followed the path Yunho had instructed with quick precision. They were running against time. The dungeons were bigger than they had thought, but it wasn’t hard to find Hongjoong when he was lying close to the entrance with his brother on top of him, already raising his sword to kill him.

Seonghwa didn’t even think about it and threw himself in front, parrying Yijoong’s sword with his own and pushing him back off of Hongjoong’s ankle. He briefly heard Hongjoong’s exhaling in relief at the weight being lifted, before he was being completely thrown into battle. Yijoong was visibly enraged, but Seonghwa kept his composure as he parried and evaded attack after attack, focusing on keeping his balance since his leg was still a bit sore from his incident in the treasure’s chambers.

Yijoong’s attacks were furious and erratic, making it hard for Seonghwa to keep them under control. He was forced to play entirely on the defensive side, until eventually his leg gave in and he fell to his knees. He braced himself for the impact of the sword, but instead he was greeted by the sound of metal clashing against metal, as San jumped right in the middle of the battle with his own sword raised high.

He immediately forced Yijoong to step back, using the momentum and the surprise to interrupt his attack streak and force him into a defensive stance. Yijoong was soon forced to step back as San attacked him relentlessly, using his sword with a mastery he had never seen among his own soldiers. He couldn’t keep up with the assassin, and soon he found himself on the floor as his sword was flung several feet away from him. He immediately tried to turn around and grab it, but the sword against his throat stopped him.

“Give me a reason to not put an end to your life right now,” San muttered, poison lacing his voice. He didn’t think he had ever been so angry in someone else’s behalf, but he had just walked in to this low life trying to kill Hongjoong of all people, so of course he was enraged.

“Don’t.” Hongjoong’s voice immediately interrupted his train of thought.

San didn’t turn around, knowing better than to take his attention away from someone who very clearly was looking for a chance to escape. Yeosang helped Hongjoong stand up, holding his weight without complaint. Hongjoong’s ankle was battered and bleeding, but he tried to pay it no mind as he asked Yeosang to lean him against the wall so he could help Seonghwa as well.

“It’s not worth it, San,” Hongjoong spoke. There was a hint of pain in his voice, but he was firm. “Let the Resistance deal with him, there’s no need for you to do this anymore.”

San’s eyes were firmly trained on Yijoong, who had moved enough to cause the sword to nick him on the neck. Hongjoong’s words tasted of the sweet pain of liberation, and yet, he almost wanted to cling to those chains because in front of him was the man who had tasked him to murder who was now his love. But Hongjoong was right. There was no reason for him to carry more blood in his hands than he did already.

He put his sword down and kicked Yijoong straight on the chest, forcing him down. Without words, he forced him to turn around and held his arms tightly against his back, before helping him stand up. Yijoong struggled against his hold, but San simply tightened it. He might look small, but he was probably stronger than anyone currently in the room. 

“Where is f-… Where is Emperor Kim?” Hongjoong asked, trying to erase all traces of hesitation from his face.

“You really think I’d tell you?” Yijoong’s snarl turned into a whimper as San held him tighter and pressed the hilt of his sword against his back.

“I might have forgiven your life, but I will not hesitate to make you suffer if you don’t cooperate,” San hissed from behind him. Yijoong swallowed but nodded quickly.

“Fine,” he nodded towards the exit. “He’s in his study.”

–

Yunho parried an attack before immediately following with one of his own, but the Emperor was light on his feet as he avoided it. They were neck to neck, neither of them giving in to the other. The study was in complete disarray from them throwing things to try and distract or  hurt the other. The air in the room was suffocating, damp with their exhales and sweat, and the heat of the fireplace didn’t help at all.

For a moment, he wondered if he would make it out of this fight at all, but then he thought of Jongho watching him fight, and he knew he couldn’t fail in front of him. So he pushed forward, crossing swords with the Emperor again and again as they went around the room. He knew there was nothing much he could do other than win. The others didn’t know where they were, and it would probably be a long time before the Resistance eventually found this room. It was all or nothing.

The Emperor gave a quick flick of his sword to Yunho’s wrist and he hissed, stepping back as he tried to regain the grip on his sword. The Emperor used the opportunity to lunge forward, and Yunho barely had the opportunity to stop the sword right in front of his face. He groaned, supporting the Emperor’s weight as he pushed forward to try and overpower him. Yunho was about to give in when the weight lifted off of him for just a second as the Emperor looked forward past him.

“Yijoong?”

Yunho quickly deflected the sword and disarmed the Emperor by hitting his hand with the hilt of his own sword, and immediately swiping under him to force him onto his knees. The Emperor yelped, falling forward, and when he raised his head, Yunho’s sword was pointed straight at it, ready to end his life

• Fandom(s):ATEEZ
• AU: Treasure Hunters
• Genre: Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
• Relationship: Everyone x Everyone, Established Hongjoong x Yunho
• Language:English
• Status: Ongoing
• Chapter WC: 4,255 words
• Warnings: Character Death, Stabbing, Fighting, Blood, Aliens, War, Funerals, Kidnapping, Attempted Kidnapping, Mentions of Child Abuse / Child Work, Explosions, Murder Attempt, Robbery, Homeless/Runaway Character, Torture, Mentions of Slavery more will be added.
• Chapter Warnings: Fighting, Stabbing, Blood, War.
• Summary:

“Today is the day you abandon the Kim Empire, which has betrayed you and your mission to protect the Prince, and join me to fight your last battle under the command of Prince Hongjoong.” Yunho’s voice was loud even in the midst of the battle. It was clear he had been trained to lead. “I will not force you to give your life for this cause, for your duties have become null from today and moving forward, but I will ask you, will you join us?”

• AO3

<< Previous Chapter|Masterlist|Next Chapter >>

Tagged:@angel0taiyo​

Hongjoong trashed around with all his might, flailing his limbs as much as he could to see if he could free himself and make a run for it. It was useless. He looked frantically around, his eyes meeting with the people from the press and the witnesses who probably thought he was out of his mind. People who probably thought he had actually murdered his own brother. Some people in the crowd looked horrified, others confused, others were satisfied with the knowledge that justice had been apparently served. No one stepped forward to help.

He was dragged outside with brute force and the last thing he saw before the doors closed was his brother’s satisfied smile and his father’s impassive rictus. Hongjoong wanted to go right back in and erase those expressions from their faces. Something stopped him though. It was the sound of an alarm, a sound he had grown up with as a member of one of the biggest royal families in the universe. It was a sound of war, but to him, it was now a sound of hope.

He couldn’t help but smile, relief flowing through his veins. For a moment he stopped fighting and the guards stopped dragging him as they looked up to the sky and saw the hundreds of vessels descending towards the castle. Hongjoong let out an exhilarating laugh and it was like that snapped the guards back into action, because they began dragging him again. He struggled but his eyes were glued to the sky.

It dawned on him there that this was the end of the Empire he was once a Prince of. One of the biggest battles in the Kim Empire was about to happen and the crown his family had carried for generations was going to be destroyed. He regretted, deeply, the fact that he had taken too long to realize the wrongdoings of his own blood. Maybe things could have been different.

He tried to escape even though there was no point, because he didn’t have the strength to escape the guards he had helped train. Hongjoong turned towards the sky one more time, looking for a sign. Right before they pulled him into the castle once again through one of the many entrances, he saw The Crescent, shooting through the sky at its maximum speed. His heart swelled in his chest with a mix of pride and hope, and then the sky was covered by the castle’s ceiling.

–

“Prepare for a forced landing!” One of the men yelled.

Yunho made certain everyone was tightly holding onto something as Hwanwoong directed the ship to the best of his skills. The earth was littered with ships and people from the Resistance trying to move forward against the Empire’s army, and they had to navigate around them. The ship shook and threw them around a bit as they landed, but they managed to make it safely onto land as the legs extended and stabilized the vessel.

“We have landed!” The same soldier yelled, letting them know it was safe to move around.

“Attention, soldiers!” Yunho ordered. 

He was standing on the quarterdeck, next to Hwanwoong who was on the steering wheel. The soldiers gathered on the deck, wearing their full armor and weaponry, as they prepared for their last battle serving the Prince of an Empire that was about to fall. The ship was bubbling with unshed energy, and it seemed full to the brim even though this was the least amount of tripulation they have had in the past few months. 

“Today is the day you abandon the Kim Empire, which has betrayed you and your mission to protect the Prince, and join me to fight your last battle under the command of Prince Hongjoong.” Yunho’s voice was loud even in the midst of the battle. It was clear he had been trained to lead. “I will not force you to give your life for this cause, for your duties have become null from today and moving forward, but I will ask you, will you join us?”

“Yes!” The soldiers clamored, hitting swords against shields and filling up the battlefield with noise.

“Remember then that everyone out there who isn’t part of this crew or who isn’t wearing the Resistance’s arm band is your enemy!” Yunho raised his sword. “It doesn’t matter if you fought alongside them in the past, today you’ll face each other in battle. Let’s do this! For Prince Hongjoong!”

“For Prince Hongjoong!” The soldiers echoed.

“For the cause!” Yunho exclaimed, brandishing his sword once more.

“For the cause!” The soldiers repeated once again, their voices raising even louder as they raised their swords in salutation.

“March forward now! May nothing stop your path!” Yunho gave his final order.

The soldiers descended from the ship among screams of war and support for each other. Hwanwoong and Siyeon led them, but Yunho stayed behind, making sure the few non-fighters they still had wouldn’t leave the ship. Thankfully, San and Seonghwa seemed to have a similar idea, because they let none of them slip past them.

“We’re going too!” Yeosang was the first to protest, unsurprisingly for everyone else there.

“No you’re not,” Yunho’s voice was firm. In that moment, he wasn’t their friend nor a destined lover. He was commanding a small battalion, and he would not let civilians get hurt.

“We can help you,” Mingi added, looking the most defiant he had looked in the entire voyage. A part of Yunho was proud.

“This is like nothing we’ve done before, not even the fight with the slave ship comes close to the battle that we’re fighting today.” Yunho explained. “You’ll stay here, safe. You’ll help us more if we don’t have to worry about you.”

Yunho’s gaze was so unfamiliar and cold that they couldn’t even protest. They knew he was doing it for their safety, but it was strange having that gaze directed at them. Wooyoung touched Yeosang’s shoulder and Mingi’s arm, and they both relented. If anyone knew for certain what was best for them, it was him.

“Thank you,” Yunho’s gaze softened slightly, before hardening once again. There was no room for weaknesses in the battlefield. “San, you’re coming with me. Seonghwa, how is your leg doing?”

“Wait, me?” San asked, incredulous. Yunho scoffed, but he smiled slightly.

“We’ve already done a dangerous mission together before,” Yunho explained, shrugging slightly. “I know you’ll have my back.”

San looked at him with stars in his eyes, and that was perhaps the most emotion Yunho had ever seen in those eyes besides the moment he had revealed his truth to them. To San, those words were the glorious forgiveness he had been waiting for. He was speechless, so he simply nodded and stepped back, carefully reining in his expression to focus on the task at hand. Finally his mission was not to kill, but to save someone.

“Seonghwa?” Yunho turned once more towards the merchant, who was observing the exchange with a smile, as were the others. 

“My leg should be no impediment when slaying some traitors,” Seonghwa nodded once, hand already resting on the hilt of his sword.

“Perfect then,” Yunho smiled back before turning towards the others. “Please stay safe, we’ve made it so far as the eight of us, we need to make it until the end.”

“Don’t worry,” Wooyoung reassured him. “Everything will go well.”

Yunho nodded, making the conscious decision to trust him. He needed to focus his energy on saving Hongjoong rather than on worrying about the possible outcomes. Whatever was meant to happen would happen, and he believed that they would make it out alive and well despite everything. He tried, especially, to not think about the consequences of turning against the Empire that had raised him once and betrayed him now. He tried not to think of the implications of the truth behind the Empire. Instead, he focused all of his thoughts on Hongjoong and on the people fighting with him now. That was all that mattered.

“Let’s go, we need to catch up.” Yunho ordered, but didn’t leave without saying goodbye to the others and promising their return. 

When they left the ship, the ground was already littered with the bodies of the fallen, and it seemed like the Resistance had already made good progress, even though they were still a good ways from the castle. They jogged forward, their small battalion fighting a battle just at the edge of their vision. They felt nervous. Yunho hadn’t fought in a war for months, and the other two had never been in one to begin with, but they were also full of conviction.

As they approached the battle, the sounds of swords clashing against other swords and shields became louder, and it was almost impossible to distinguish any other sounds besides it. They ran right into the heart of the battle. Yunho yelled at them to keep their shields up before everything devolved into chaos, and suddenly they were fighting not only to rescue Hongjoong, but also for their lives. And it was a battle they intended to win.

–

Wooyoung waited with a baited breath for a moment until he was sure that Yunho, Seonghwa and San had left before letting out a loud exhale and allowing his shoulders to slump. It had been extremely hard to act convincingly at that moment, but he knew it needed to be done. Yunho would have never let them out of that ship, even if his life depended on it. Wooyoung did feel a little guilty for tricking him, but he was sure that they would thank him later.

“Wooyoung?” Jongho asked. There was a certain uncertainty in his voice that told him he had already caught up to his plans. “We’re not staying here, are we?”

“Of course not,” Wooyoung chuckled. “I feel so bad for lying but we still need to do one more thing before we can even think of resting.”

“Yes!” Yeosang celebrated, being the most restless among them. “I can’t believe they actually wanted to keep us here.”

“What are we doing then?” Mingi asked, perking up at the knowledge that they would be doing something.

“The castle is extremely fortified so we’re gonna need to help them break through,” Wooyoung explained.

“More explosions?” Jongho raised an eyebrow, smiling ever so slightly when he saw Mingi moving in the corner of his eye.

“More explosions,” Wooyoung nodded, mirroring Mingi’s bright smile.

Mingi’s knowledge on explosives had been essential throughout their whole trip, and it had clearly affected him positively, because he even looked excited to lend his knowledge and services again. They were on the final stretch of their journey. Naturally, they couldn’t stay still. If there was anything they could do to help, they would.

“I’m not sure how much dynamite we have left after the treasure, but I’m sure I can improvise something strong.” Mingi explained, holding his hands together to keep them still against his chest.

“Let’s go then,” Wooyoung grabbed Mingi’s hand and gave it a soft squeeze. “I know we’re gonna take a while, so we need to start working now.”

They went to the hold and helped carry out the materials together. Mingi wanted to work outside in case something went wrong and the explosives went off inside the ship. They were all pretty confident Mingi could never mess up like that, but followed him anyway for his peace of mind. After all, he would need as much concentration as possible to manipulate the explosives.

Mingi directed them so they manipulated the materials correctly, and they were very careful under his guidance, to help him work even faster than he would by himself. It still took them quite a few hours, but they ended up with a powerful enough explosive, capable of blowing off a good chunk of the castle’s walls in order to let the Resistance in. All they needed to do was take it there.

“What do we do now?” Yeosang asked. They were all keeping a respectful distance from the explosive.

“You and Jongho will take it using one of the sliders.” Wooyoung explained. His arms were crossed over his chest and he seemed to be pondering something.

“Only the two of us? What about you?” Jongho asked, eyes opened a little wide after hearing the instructions.

“I’m still pretty weak from overusing my power,” Wooyoung chuckled, trying to shrug off their worried glances. “And I’m afraid Mingi could injure himself because of the state of his prosthetics.”

“Sorry,” Mingi mumbled quickly, but the others were quick to reassure him.

“It’s not your fault, we just want you to stay safe.” Yeosang reassured him, grabbing his hands and swinging them softly between them.

“Where do we need to go?” Jongho asked, redirecting the conversation.

“Towards the castle’s doors.” Wooyoung pointed towards the horizon. The castle was visible in the distance, though it looked much smaller than it actually was. “The explosive might be strong enough to go directly through the walls, but we can’t risk it failing.”

“Let’s load it up right now then,” Mingi urged them. “The Resistance’s line has advanced a lot, we need to be there in time.”

“He’s right, let’s go for the slider Yeosang.” Jongho grabbed him by the arm and gave him a slight tug so Yeosang would let go of Mingi’s hands.

They brought a slider onto the deck, carefully maneuvering it around the ship, since it was a bit big. The vehicle whirred gently as it hovered on top of the deck, almost like it was waiting for their command. With some help from Jongho, Mingi loaded the bomb on the slider’s cart. Yeosang sat on the driver’s seat because he remembered how to drive it from the expedition, and Jongho sat next to him. Wooyoung had gotten them a couple of weapons for their protection that he had found in the ship’s armory.

“Remember you’re not soldiers or fighters, okay? Try to stay away from conflict as much as possible and focus on getting to the doors.” Wooyoung reminded them, standing on Yeosang’s side.

“The bomb is powerful but also quite volatile, be careful, okay?” Mingi added as well, leaning towards Jongho.

“We’ll stay safe and be back before you even notice, alright?” Jongho reassured them. Wooyoung and Mingi both nodded, although Mingi looked much less convinced than the Somnum. “Let’s go Yeosang.”

And off they went, ready to complete their part of the mission.

–

Yunho retrieved his sword as he kicked the man he had just stabbed away. He had lost his helmet at some point and was completely covered in sweat, but so far, none of the blood on him was his. The rush of battle felt extremely familiar to him as his chameleon shifted forms between swords, throwing daggers and spears, but the anxiety of not having Hongjoong by his side was overwhelming. He had only fought without his Prince by his side a few times, and all those times he had been certain that he wasn’t incarcerated by people who wanted to kill him so desperately.

He knew he wasn’t alone though. Yunho could feel and see San and Seonghwa fighting by his side, protecting his back as well as each others’. And damn were they good fighters. Seonghwa moved with a grace that was characteristic to him, almost like he was performing an art rather than fighting in the middle of a war. San’s movements were lethal on the other hand; precise and quick, always aiming at the right spot to subdue his adversaries. It was amazing to catch glimpses of their fights amongst his own. 

Despite everything, he felt very alive at that moment. Yunho decided he was grateful for having met them all, despite the circumstances that had led them to their meeting. Whether he chose to believe in destiny or not, he couldn’t deny that they all fit well together. He allowed himself to think, for just a moment, what it would be like to spar against them on the ship’s deck, far away from the war and the danger. Yunho felt his chest swell with conviction. He was determined to get them all back home, to start a new life together.

“Careful!” Seonghwa’s voice broke through the noise of the battle.

Yunho felt weight on his side as Seonghwa was pushed against him by a soldier from the Empire. Seonghwa parried an attack and kicked the person on the stomach, sending them toppling over another body. San finished them off with a stab to the neck, the only spot that wasn’t covered by the armor. Yunho nodded at them, thankful that they were covering his back.

“Have you seen Chan?” Yunho asked, taking a breath now that they had finished off the group that had approached them. They had a bit of time.

“The Resistance’s leader? I saw him a moment ago, he was ahead of us, why?” Seonghwa leaned back, trying to stretch. His body hurt, as he had never had to fight like this before.

“I want to talk to him about rescuing Hongjoong,” Yunho’s face was carefully devoid of expression. He had been thinking about it for a while, but if Chan wanted to get rid of the imperial family, would that include Hongjoong as well? And what about Hwanwoong, who was also fighting alongside him?

“Oh… You don’t think he’ll want to let him go?” San breathed out, realization hitting him.

“I’m hoping he will.” Yunho sighed. “Follow me.”

He began walking ahead, roughly in the direction where Seonghwa had pointed towards before. It didn’t take them long to arrive at a tent that the Resistance had set up. They worked fast. The tent was noisy with the moans of the injured and the strong voices of the commanders as they planned how to move forward. Night was about to fall, and no one wanted to be caught alone in the middle of the darkness, so both sides were retreating.

“Chan,” Yunho greeted as soon as he found the Resistance’s leader. Chan approached him and accepted his hand in greeting, pulling him in to pat his back.

“Yunho, I see you’ve found one of our posts. How is your crew fairing so far?” Chan had a nasty cut on his cheek, but other than that he seemed untouched. The blood on his uniform told a different story about those who had crossed his path.

“We’re doing well, no losses so far,” Yunho nodded.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Chan nodded back, smiling. “What brings you here?”

“It’s about Hongjoong…” Yunho looked around carefully. He wasn’t sure what the rest of the Resistance thought of the Prince.

“Right, of course,” Chan’s smile tightened as he raised an arm and pointed to another part of the tent. “Let’s go over there.”

They followed him in silence, shuffling through the pallets and putting their best effort into not upsetting the injured. The space was decorated with a table covered in maps and a few chairs; it seemed like they had been examining the terrain. The spot was abandoned now, which gave them the opportunity to talk in private.

“So… Hongjoong is the prince, right?” Chan asked, breaking the silence first.

“Yes, we’re sorry for lying.” Yunho admitted without hesitation. They needed to be honest if they wanted things to work out.

“Are you part of the royal family too?” Chan tilted his head, looking at the three of them.

“No, I was a soldier from the Empire and they just happened to work on our ship,” Yunho was quick to explain. “We need to save Hongjoong.”

“You’re aware that we need to successfully get rid of the entire imperial family if we want to achieve a true revolution, right?” Chan crossed his arms, his brow furrowing.

“I understand your mission, but Hongjoong means so much to us, he means everything to me…” Yunho kept his voice low as he tried to make his case. He felt desperate, but he didn’t want to claim anyone’s attention. “He never wanted or cared about power, and you know he is on your side.”

“He said that while lying to me about his identity, why wouldn’t that be a lie as well?” Chan sighed, leaning away from them. He had been thinking about that a lot. Had he trusted the wrong people?

“There must have been a reason why you trusted us at that moment, and a reason why you trusted Wooyoung, right?” Yunho pressed further. “I’m asking you to trust us again.”

And Yunho was right. Chan had felt something at that moment. He had known they were telling the truth and had felt a sense of allyship he had never felt before with government agents. Despite the lies, his gut had never told him they were the enemy, and he always tried to trust his intuition. At that moment, his intuition was telling him to trust Yunho.

“Very well, I’ll make sure no one gets in your way of rescuing Hongjoong,” Chan conceded. “In exchange, however, you’ll have to get out of here. The Imperial Family has to be gone, he’ll be exiled.”

Yunho nodded, and accepted the hand Chan was offering, as if closing the deal. The Empire had nothing else for them anymore, if anything, he was certain that Hongjoong would want out of there as soon as possible.

“Deal,” he agreed.

“Very well,” Chan clapped his hands, a friendly smile returning to his face. “You’re welcome to stay here until the morning. We’re not that far away from the castle anymore, we should be able to arrive there tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Yunho nodded, and they watched him leave.

“Can we go outside for a moment? It feels clamped in here.” Seonghwa asked after a moment. He could still feel the tension from the conversation clinging onto his skin, and wanted nothing to do with it.

“Let’s go,” Yunho agreed, following them outside the tent.

San let out a big sigh as they breathed in the cold night air. They could see the castle’s lights from there, silhouetting the imposing figure in the dark sky. It was so weird for Yunho to think that he was now fighting against the place he had called home for so many years, even if ultimately, he had his suspicions that it had been that same government the one to put him in that situation to begin with.

They stayed there in silence for a few minutes. Yunho had the feeling that both San and Seonghwa wanted to comment about his conversation with Chan, but he was grateful that they were keeping silent instead. There was nothing more to be said, and Chan was right in wanting Hongjoong exiled. Yunho doubted Hongjoong would want to take control of the Empire anyway.

“Is that one of our gliders?” San’s voice broke through his thoughts and Yunho looked up to find that, indeed, one of their ship’s gliders was moving towards them.

“Wh-,” he didn’t even finish, because the faces of the culprits came into view soon enough.

“Oh god, are those Yeosang and Jongho?” Seonghwa asked with a gaping mouth.

And yes, certainly, Yeosang and Jongho were driving towards them with big smiles on their faces, glad to have found them after so long and when it was so dark out already. Yunho felt relieved to see they were okay, but he also felt a little murderous. Why were they there?

“What in heaven’s sake are you doing here?” He tried to keep his voice level.

“Wooyoung said you’d need this.” Jongho  said as Yeosang  parked next to them and directed their attention to the back of the glider, where the potent explosive Mingi had crafted for them was resting.

“What for…?” San’s eyes were open wide. 

“We’re gonna blow the castle’s doors up,” Yeosang grinned.

“Right,” Yunho sighed, he hadn’t even thought of that. Wooyoung was truly a step ahead of them. “Seonghwa? Go find Chan please, tell him we need to change the plans.”

“Roger that.”

—

Hongjoong was pacing around his cell, impatiently waiting for things to happen. He wasn’t certain how much time had passed. His body hurt from the tension and the bruises of the beating he had gotten from the guards as they had pushed him into the cell, but he couldn’t feel much with how full of adrenaline his body was. He knew the others were fighting outside, but the uncertainty of their condition was killing him.

Almost on command, as if the universe had listened to him, the castle began to shake all around him under a powerful explosion that sent him toppling to the ground. A chunk of the ceiling fell next to him, and he grabbed it quickly, an idea forming in his head. As soon as the shaking calmed down, he ran towards the cell’s door and began hitting the lock with the rock, hoping it would break it. 

It took a moment, since the angle was uncomfortable and difficult, but eventually the lock fell to the floor. Hongjoong dropped the rock immediately. His hand was red, raw and bleeding, but he didn’t care. He pushed the door open and made a break towards the exit, but he was stopped by the silhouette of his brother standing at the end of the corridor.

“Oh, Hongjoong, just the person I wanted to see.” Yijeong smiled, but Hongjoong’s eyes were trained on the glistening sword Yijeong was holding.

• Fandom(s):ATEEZ
• AU: Treasure Hunters
• Genre:Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
• Relationship:Everyone x Everyone, Established Hongjoong x Yunho
• Language:English
• Status:Ongoing
• Chapter WC: 3,445 words
• Warnings:Character Death, Stabbing, Fighting, Blood, Aliens, War, Funerals, Kidnapping, Attempted Kidnapping, Mentions of Child Abuse / Child Work, Explosions, Murder Attempt, Robbery, Homeless/Runaway Character, Torture, Mentions of Slavery more will be added.
• Chapter Warnings: Fighting, Mentions of Child Work, Mentions of Slavery.
• Summary:

“How do you plead?” The Emperor asked, barely blinking as he held Hongjoong’s gaze.

“Not guilty, Your Highness.”

• AO3

<< Previous Chapter|Masterlist|Next Chapter >>

Tagged:@angel0taiyo​

Hongjoong opened his eyes to the dark ceiling of the prison cell. He hadn’t been sleeping, not quite, but had instead focused on remaining calm and thinking about escape plans. He wasn’t entirely sure how many hours it had been already, but was almost certain that it was probably the dawn of the next day already. No one had come to see him ever since he had been dropped in that cell. 

He patted the inside of his coat subconsciously only to find his compass was gone. He sat up, aware this time, and deliberately patted himself down to confirm the compass wasn’t on him. Hongjoong cursed under his breath. The guards must have taken it while he was out in the ship, or maybe even when they had taken him to the cell. He couldn’t help but wonder if he would be able to get it back, even though there were more important things at stake.

“Are you looking for this, brother?” The venom-filled voice made him instantly turn around.

“Yijoong…” Hongjoong breathed out when he met eyes with his brother. The compass was in his hand.

“Hongjoong,” Yijoon nodded as a form of greeting, thought his voice was full with contempt.

“Why?” Hongjoong swallowed, feeling his mouth and throat dry up.

“Oh, well, one of the soldiers gave it to me, I guess he recognized it.” Yijoong shrugged, and Hongjoong couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh.

Yijoong and him had never had the best of relationships to begin with, but he had loved him like family nonetheless. He was starting to see his true colors now. And somehow, the worst part was that the knowledge of the betrayal still welcomed a familiar sting into his eyes, and it was hard to keep it at bay.

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Hongjoong sighed, walking closer to the bars to face his brother.

“Oh, you mean, this?” Yijoong made a wide gesture, encompassing all of the cell. “Well, you’re too much of a threat to the crown, measures had to be taken, I’m sure you understand.”

“How am I a threat? I’m your family!” Hongjoong yelled, grabbing the bars with force. Yijoong looked at him like he was some sort of wild animal and took a step back.

“The same way Taejoong was a threat,” Yijoong spat. “Your stupid ideals will get in the way of the kingdom’s expansion! You were even allying with a rebel group!”

“There are people being harmed directly by our actions as royalty! Are you really going to step that low?” Hongjoong felt like the air had been punched out of his gut. He couldn’t believe the words his brother was speaking were real.

“Power and status require sacrifice, you have everything here, why would you worry about… people like them?“ Yijoong frowned, seeming genuinely confused about Hongjoong’s inability to understand his point of view. 

Hongjoong thought of the mines at Mingi’s planet, about the ship that had kidnapped Seonghwa and many others, about Yeosang’s dream of escaping his planet, about Jongho working as a child in order to survive. He realized how blind he had been to the reality that the mere existence of his family had brought upon others, and he felt ashamed. He felt ashamed of his brother in front of him, who seemed to think that the status quo they had established was right.

“Taejoong was like that, and he made dad angry.” Yijoong continued at his lack of response. “He was constantly talking about stopping the empire’s expansion and focusing on the colonies we already have, almost like he wanted to put the family’s name to shame. He was stupid, and he paid the price for treason.”

“He was our brother.”

“Hewas a traitor.” Yijoong scoffed. “And so are you, so I hope you remember all the classes we took on law, because you’ll be facing trial later today, and you’ll be defending yourself.”

“You can’t be serious,” Hongjoong’s eyes widened. The grip on the bars tightened as he leaned closer.

“Unfortunately no one wanted to take your case,” Yijoong shrugged, a knowing smirk on his face. “We tried, really, for like five minutes anyway. You’re good with words, I’m sure you’ll at least put up a fight, give everyone a good show!”

“You’ve lost your mind,” Hongjoong whispered, mostly to himself. “You’re going to murder me like Taejoong.”

“Oh no, no, Taejoong got the honor of being backstabbed in the battlefield, the people loved him too much for us to make a successful case against him.” Yijoong shook his head. “But no one knows you Hongjoong, and I’m sure when the people hear you murdered their favorite prince, everyone’s going to be very mad. Your name will be tainted, you’ll fall in disgrace and face The Depths all on your own.”

Hongjoong froze for a moment. Just the thought of it felt so cruel.

“What did I ever do to you?” Hongjoong asked. His eyes were glazed with tears, he couldn’t help it.

“Nothing much, but someone has to take the fall for the Empire to be able to rise, Hongjoong.” Yijoong shrugged again. “You’re the Battleground’s Devil, you more than anyone should be aware of the sacrifices that must be made in battle.”

“You won’t get away with it.” There were people who knew the truth. The others were looking for him, Hongjoong was certain.

“Oh, are you referring to your little boyfriend?” Yijoong smirked. “That thing about you always disappointed dad so much, but it wasn’t worth the hassle when you were going to be sentenced anyway. I’m sure the soldiers can take care of him anyway, after all, his weakness is here.

“Besides, whether I get away with it or not… well, you won’t be here to see it, will you?” Yijoong smiled. “Prepare a good defense brother, I want a good show!” 

“Yijoong come back!” Hongjoong shouted at his brother’s back as he walked away. “Yijoong!” However, his cries went unheard.

–

“Is the connection stable now?” Yunho asked, looking at the camera that showed Chan, the leader of the Interplanetary Resistance, sitting in his own vessel.

“Ah, The Crescent’s crew, it’s been a while,” Chan greeted, his own way of letting them know he could hear them loud and clear.

“Captain Chan,” Yunho nodded in recognition.

“I see Wooyoung made it safely with you?” Chan smiled slightly, nodding towards Wooyoung, who nodded enthusiastically.

“Safe and sound, thanks to you.” Wooyoung nodded.

“We received your signal, as you mentioned, though we weren’t expecting it to be Hongjoong of all people, especially not Prince Kim Hongjoong.” Chan looked at them pointedly, especially at Yunho who looked uncomfortable.

“In the defense of the crew, only a few of them knew, before the disaster a couple days ago.” Yunho sighed. Among all the possible developments, he had never thought this would happen. “I’m sorry we lied to you.”

“Why are you calling?” Chan cut to the chase.

“We wanted to join you in battle and rescue Hongjoong.” Seonghwa explained. He was a natural negotiator and knew how to speak concisely. “We will put all of our resources on the line to aid you in battle.”

“How do I know you’re actually on our side?” Chan frowned. Seonghwa opened his mouth to speak, but Yeosang was faster.

“Hongjoong wanted to help. He wanted to keep his promise of aiding you with the treasure, even after learning his family had turned against him.” He spoke with passion, like with everything else he did, and the others couldn’t help but smile a little.

“His family turned against him?” Chan leaned forward. 

“We have evidence that they hired a hitman to kill Hongjoong, plus, Wooyoung has access to the memories and dreams that prove what happened.” Seonghwa explained, taking back control of the conversation.

Chan seemed to consider it a moment. He exchanged glances with the members of his crew that were also there, and some of them even shared their opinions on the issue. Finally, Chan nodded. 

“Very well, we’ll let you participate, are you anywhere close to the Home Planet?” Chan asked, leaning back into his seat.

“We’ll arrive very soon,” Jongho confirmed from his place next to the navigation map.

“Excellent then, Wooyoung-” Chan smiled as the younger man turned to look at him. “You’re in charge of giving us the signal of when to attack. We’ll be watching the trial meanwhile.”

“Yes,” Wooyoung nodded immediately. “We’ll be watching too.”

“Very well, it’s been a pleasure making business with you. We’ll leave the line open in case there’s any urgent messages to relay, but we must get back to work for now.” Chan stood up. “Preparing for a war is tough work.”

“You tell me,” Yunho smiled. “We’ll see you soon.”

Chan waved goodbye and the call ended.

Silence settled among them for a moment before Yunho sighed and placed a hand on Seonghwa’s shoulder. The latter immediately tensed up, wondering if he had stepped too far when speaking in Yunho’s place.

“You have quite the way with words, has anyone ever told you that?” Yunho explained, looking completely serious as he tugged on his collar slightly.

“Uhm,” Seonghwa swallowed, his eyes slipping a little too far down to Yunho’s neck before shooting straight up to his eyes. “No. Thank you.”

Yunho chuckled before patting his shoulder and walking off.

“I’ll go check on the soldiers, Yeosang?” He explained.

“Yes?” Yeosang perked up, closing his mouth where it had fallen open after witnessing the interaction.

“Make sure we stay en route, alright? We need to arrive there as soon as possible.” Yunho smiled.

“Yes, right!” He scrambled next to Jongho, eyes glued to the map.

As soon as Yunho left the room, everyone let out a collective sigh.

“What was that?” Mingi’s voice was quiet and confused.

“Seonghwa is blushing,” Jongho noted out of nowhere, making everyone’s attention turn back to Seonghwa.

“I’m not!” He tried to defend himself, but his voice came out strangled.

“Oh, god, he is.” Yeosang muttered. Wooyoung chuckled softly from in front of him.

“You’re all menaces,” Seonghwa grumbled under his breath, but maybe he was blushing just a bit.

–

The sound of footsteps brought him back from his quiet meditation, and Hongjoong sat up facing the cell’s bars as the guards rounded the corner. He knew it was time, his brother had warned him after all. Still, he didn’t feel prepared. There was dread in the certainty that nothing he could say or do would stop him from getting convicted. Facing The Depths was a given if the others didn’t find him first. He couldn’t let his faith falter though. It was the only thing keeping him sane.

“Put your hands forward and don’t try anything funny,” one of the guards ordered.

Hongjoong complied, keeping to himself. There was nothing he could say or do down there that would save him. In fact, it was probably the opposite. If he couldn’t save himself, he needed to at least make time for the others to find and rescue him. He remembered Wooyoung’s glazed eyes as he told him to turn himself in and knew that the worst was still yet to come. But he couldn’t let go of hope. Wooyoung had seen them all happy in his visions, that had to mean something

.

The walk to the courtroom is sped up by the beating of his heart, despite the fact that they have to walk through the gardens that had witnessed his late-night practice countless times. Hongjoong realized, at that moment, that no matter how that trial went down, he could never call this place home again. He wasn’t safe there, and the Empire had simply fallen off of the pedestal he had once put it in. There was no room left for him.

The doors to the courtroom opened and he was guided inside to the small podium in the center. One of the guards retired the cuffs, and Hongjoong mentally sighed for it. Chains and cuffs would do no good for his image. His gaze looked over the room, taking in the serious-looking jury and the hungry gazes of the media. He felt his gut twist and turn inside him. Hongjoong had never been one to give great speeches to the masses, and he wondered if Taejoong had ever felt like that in the presence of the media. 

“We’re now starting the trial of Prince Kim Hongjoong, please read his indictment.” The Emperor’s voice echoed through the courtroom. Hongjoong looked him in the eyes and his father held his gaze. It was not his father preceding the trial, but the Emperor himself. Hongjoong felt cold inside.

“Kim Hongjoong, you’ve been charged with high-treason for ordering the murder of your brother, late Prince Kim Taejoong, as well as aiding in the plotting of an insurgent movement agains the crown.” 

There was a deafening silence in the room as his charges were read, which erupted into murmurs at the mention of his brother. His heart jumped at the accusation. Yijoong had warned him about it, but he still couldn’t believe they were charging him with it. It felt unreal that the adventure that had started with the death of his brother would end in this, and yet here he was. 

“How do you plead?” The Emperor asked, barely blinking as he held Hongjoong’s gaze.

Hongjoong looked at Yijoong, sitting to the left of his father, for just a moment, and upon catching the knowing smirk of his brother, he knew that the game was on. If this is what they wanted, then he would play. He couldn’t just allow them to win, not after everything they had done.

“Not guilty, Your Highness.”

–

Yunho was sitting at the edge of his seat, hands turned into tight fists. Siyeon was sitting right by his side while the others stood behind him. The silence in the Captain’s quarters was deafening and painful. None of them could believe what they had just heard. Not only that, but the fact that the Emperor himself was presiding over the trial meant no sane lawyer would want to defend Hongjoong. They probably hadn’t even tried to get him that. 

“Wooyoung?” Yunho turned to look at the Somnum, but the latter shook his head.

“Not yet, he needs to make it out of that room,” Wooyoung explained.

There was a collective sigh but they observed with aching hearts as Hongjoong declared himself innocent and began giving his defense. Yunho wanted to get him out of there so badly… But they needed to follow through with their plan, as there was no way they could deal with the Home Planet on their own. He had to put trust in Wooyoung’s words.

The communication line with Chan’s ship came back to life as the Captain himself opened the camera and sat down to give them a status report. For a brief moment, they looked away from the trial and heard what he had to say.

“The Interplanetary Resistance is ready to engage as soon as you give us the signal.” Chan clarified. Wooyoung simply shook his head again.

“Not yet.”

–

“Very well, you may begin your defense,” The Emperor sat back as he spoke, almost relaxing into his seat.

Hongjoong didn’t move from his place in case the guards took it as a threat, but he made a point to look as many people as he could in the eye. Among the unfriendly gazes, there were some genuinely confused or curious one, and Hongjoong thought that maybe he could appeal to them. And even if not, he just had to make time.

“I loved my brother more than anyone in the entire Universe,” he began, choosing his words carefully. “He taught me everything I know, raised me and took care of me more than His Highness ever did.” And it was true. For all those years, Taejoong had been the only constant presence in his life.

“I adored my brother, I would’ve never hurt him, I-” He couldn’t bring himself to say that there was proof about the crimes of his father and brother. Weren’t they still family, despite everything? Maybe he was being a fool, but inside him there was still a bit of affection left in him for them. “I’ve been set up.”

“What about the charges for cooperating with a terrorist group?” The Emperor seemed amused enough to want to hear what he had to say.

“I encountered them once when my ship when my ship was unfairly taken by my own men for attacking and rescuing the hostages of a human trafficking ship,” Hongjoong explained easily, not letting himself be intimidated. “Ship which was, by the way, registered under our government.” He turned towards the cameras. “It is clear that the Empire is corrupted to the bone, but it doesn’t have to be like that!” He turned back towards the Emperor. “I agreed to talk to you on their behalf.”

“You agreed to talk on the behalf of a terrorist group?!” Yijoong exclaimed from his place next to the Emperor, seeming scandalized.

“They’re worried for the people in the colonized planets,” Hongjoong kept his voice level, aware that they were trying to turn the trial against him. “There are people starving and dying from the lack of medicines, the overworking and the economical crisis! We can’t keep living like this at the cost of others’ lives.”

“Bring in the witness,” the Emperor sighed, dismissing Hongjoong’s words with a movement of his hand.

Hongjoong felt the blood drain from his face. He hadn’t been prepared for them to have a witness, it hadn’t even crossed his mind before. The guards brought in the man from the vision Wooyoung had shown him of the death of his brother. He looked disheveled and his hair had grown quite a lot, but he was still very recognizable.

Almost immediately, the man rushed towards Hongjoong and knelt in front of him. He rubbed his hand together, muttering incoherences as he grabbed Hongjoong by the hem of his clothes. Hongjoong was staring at him with wide eyes.

“You…” The sentencing word escaped his lips without him even realizing.

“Ah, so you know his man, the one who wielded the sword that killed Prince Taejoong.” The Emperor said with a smug smile on his lips.

“Please forgive me, please forgive me sir, I tried not to tell them,” the man’s words became clearer as he raised his voice, and Hongjoong stepped away from him.

“This is the man you paid to kill our brother,” Yijoong said, and oh, Hongjoong loathed the way those words had come out of his mind.

“I didn’t-”

“Enough is enough.” The Emperor raised his hand to silence him. “Jury, what is your verdict?”

One after the other, the members of the jury sealed his faith. Hongjoong felt the room close in on him as each one of them pronounced ‘guilty’ again and again until the word stopped feeling like a concept at all to Hongjoong. He felt guards grab his arms and drag him back. He yelled and kicked and tried to reach towards the family that had abandoned him but he had already lost.

–

Yunho watched as Hongjoong was forcefully dragged out of the courtroom, heart stuck in his throat as Hongjoong struggled with all his might and yelled at his father and brother. He was aware that his Prince was in no immediate danger since his execution had been scheduled for three days later, but it was still devastating. Knowing it was meant to happen that way didn’t make it any better.

“Wooyoung,” he turned to look at the Somnum with pleading eyes as soon as the doors had closed behind Hongjoong.

Wooyoung’s eyes were completely fixed to the screen, and he looked close to tears. There was a certain familiarity in his gaze that reminded the others he had already seen everything, and had had to carry that knowledge on his own. Not anymore, though. They were ready to fight together in order to get Hongjoong back and finish off the corrupted Kim family.

“Go ahead,” Wooyoung nodded after taking a deep breath.

“Chan?” Yunho immediately turned to the screen that was showing them the Captain’s quarters of the other ship.

“Heard you loud and clear,” Chan grinned. He pressed a button next to himself and there was a brief sound of interference before the line cleared. “This is Chan from Silmerion, one of the leaders from the Interplanetary Resistance.” He explained briefly, and Yunho noticed that he was speaking to the other ships. “It’s time to burn everything down.”

• Fandom(s):ATEEZ
• AU: Treasure Hunters
• Genre:Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
• Relationship: Everyone x Everyone, Established Hongjoong x Yunho
• Language:English
• Status:Ongoing
• Chapter WC: 4,282 words
• Warnings: Character Death, Stabbing, Fighting, Blood, Aliens, War, Funerals, Kidnapping, Attempted Kidnapping, Mentions of Child Abuse / Child Work, Explosions, Murder Attempt, Robbery, Homeless/Runaway Character, Torture, Mentions of Slavery more will be added.
• Chapter Warnings: Fighting, Stabbing, Blood
• Summary:

“Prince Kim Hongjoong from the Kim Empire, you are now under arrest for high treason to the crown, surrender.”

• AO3

<< Previous Chapter|Masterlist|Next Chapter >>

Tagged:@angel0taiyo​

“Prince Kim Hongjoong from the Kim Empire, you are now under arrest for high treason to the crown, surrender.” The alarms blared.

For a moment, Hongjoong felt as though he had been submerged in ice cold water. He couldn’t hear or feel anything, and everything was moving around him slowly. In just a few seconds, his plans, his hopes, had been shattered. It was the second announcement that finally brought him back to reality.

“Prince Kim Hongjoong, we demand that you immediately surrender to the Imperial Army.”

His eyes immediately snapped up, locking with the eyes of the ship’s commander. He knew the man, having worked with him before, although he couldn’t quite recall his name at the moment. That was probably for the best. For a brief second, he wondered if his brother had known the name of the man who had stabbed him on the back. The thought made him angry.

“I want everyone who isn’t part of my army to retire from the deck, NOW!” His voice broke through the blare of the alarms, and he managed to hear the footsteps of people running from cover.

Hongjoong remained composed. He was an expert at not cracking under the pressure of a threat, as his training had prepared him for scenarios like this one. He could feel the stress radiating from his crew as his soldiers prepared for a fight breaking out. Through the corners of his eyes, Hongjoong saw how they surrounded him in the shape of a crescent, ready to throw their lives on the line.

He turned, briefly, putting himself at risk to confirm if the others had left for cover. As expected, they hadn’t. He pleaded with his eyes for them to leave, but Seonghwa’s stubborn shake of his head told him there was nothing that would get them to move. He took in their wide-open eyes and their tense stances, the way they kept looking at him like he was a new discovery. His secret was up, and he wished he could explain it to them. He wished he had the time.

“What am I being charged for?” He asked, voice level and contained. He couldn’t allow himself to crack under the pressure.

“You have been accused of high treason to the crown, for supporting a disruptive movement that seeks to destroy the Empire.” The commander explained.

Hongjoong frowned. Had the soldiers at Silmerion recognized him and his crew after taking the ship? Unless someone in the ship had betrayed him, that was the only way the Empire had of knowing that Hongjoong had been involved with the Interplanetary Resistance at all. 

“I think there must be some sort of misunderstanding-” Hongjoong began calmly, trying to explain himself. Surely not everyone under the Empire was against him, were they?

“Save your arguments for the trial,” the commander interrupted. “If you do not surrender peacefully, we will blow up your ship with everyone on board.”

There was a strangled noise coming from behind him, and Hongjoong turned to face his crew. Something told him they wouldn’t kill him, no, because his family would probably like to make a show of him. His eyes scanned through the crew, and he stopped on Wooyoung. The man was slouched over, there were bags under his eyes and he looked painfully fragile. He had gone through so much to see his destiny unraveled, if there was someone who could provide him guidance, it was him.

They looked at each other for a couple of seconds that felt longer than they really were. But when Wooyoung’s eyes glazed over and he nodded towards the Empire’s ship, Hongjoong knew there was no way around it. He smiled and mouthed a quick ‘I forgive you’, because even if there was nothing to forgive, he knew Wooyoung was probably carrying an unmeasurable amount of guilt. 

He didn’t see it, but just heard the moment Wooyoung broke down. He heard Mingi and Yeosang asking him what was wrong. He almost felt the realization hit San and Yunho as he unstrapped his chamaleon’s sheet and dropped it on the floor with the weapon in it. Hongjoong raised his arms and the soldiers immediately stepped into the ship to arrest him. Mingi managed to hold onto San, but Yunho got to take a step forward.

There was the piercing sound of the air being cut in half before Yunho let out a grunt and fell to his knees, an arrow sticking through his shoulder. 

“No!” Hongjoong trashed against the soldiers as they pulled him onto the ship, forcing him to his knees.

“I said peacefully, didn’t I?” The commander questioned, signaling to the archer to recharge his crossbow.

Hongjoong immediately settled, breathing heavily as the few soldiers on his side closed around his boys, offering them protection as they realized the threats were not empty. The Empire was actually betraying their Prince, and they had no idea why. All anyone could do was observe as the Empire’s vessel slowly separated, breaking the connection between both ships and then disappearing into nothingness with the use of warp-speed, taking their Prince with it.

–

The infirmary was packed with people, bustling with the rushed murmurs and questions about what had just happened. Hongjoong was a prince, and there were actual members of the Imperial Army in the ship, and no one had been any wiser. Handong was finishing up Yunho’s bandages, while Hwanwoong was trying to calm down the crew, to no avail.

“Silence!” Siyeon finally yelled, at the brink of her patience.

The infirmary quieted down and everyone turned to look at Siyeon. The crowd was a mix of wide eyes and cold glares, but she took them in without blinking. Handong finished Yunho’s bandages and he thanked her, before turning to look at Siyeon. She had always been a strong presence in the army, capable of keeping Hongjoong more level headed than Yunho himself. 

“We owe you an explanation, and it will be given to you,” she pulled out a tablet, in order to show everyone the recording. “For those of you who aren’t part of the army, we were sent on an undercover mission to retrieve the treasure. Prince Hongjoong himself was given the honor of commanding it, however, we have figured out it was a trap, and we have proof.”

She played the recording, holding the tablet up so everyone could see. There were audible gasps and murmurs going around as they received the new information. Of course, the most visible reactions were from the guards themselves, who Hwanwoong was observing carefully. They had yet to figure out if they were all on their side. Once the video was over, Siyeon put it away.

“Our Prince has been wrongly accused, so we will go rescue him. As civilians, you’re not part of this mission anymore, and we’ll distribute payment as agreed and drop you off at the closest crossroad planet so that you may make your way home. We apologize for the inconveniences.” Siyeon bowed, Hwanwoong following right by her side.

Yunho sighed before leaving the room, having heard enough. His head was full of swimming thoughts, spinning around and around, though it might have partially been the blood loss. Unsurprisingly, the rest of them followed him. He knew he had as much leadership as Hongjoong, but it was weird being followed.

“What?” He asked once they were a good way away from the infirmary.

“I’m following you before you do something stupid,” Seonghwa said, much to the surprise of everyone else. “Not sure about them.”

“Unnecessarily rude,” Yunho muttered.

“You have a bit of a track record right now,” Seonghwa huffed. Yunho smiled bitterly but nodded, that much was true.

“I think we should go to the main quarters, we’ll have more privacy,” Jongho suggested, already redirecting them with a gesture of his arms.

They all shuffled over there in silence, knowing they had some time to talk while Siyeon and Hwanwoong solved the other million issues they were probably dealing with. Yunho felt bad for not helping them, but he knew he would only slow them down if he tried. Instead, this was a good moment to solve all the loose threads there were between the eight of them.

“So… Hongjoong is a prince?” Yeosang asked, before the stuttering in his chest gave way to his heart jumping out his throat. Yunho sighed.

“Yes, and I am a Lieutenant General in the Empire’s army.” Yunho confirmed. “Our relationship was known, but since Hongjoong is the youngest, they didn’t care too much.”

“Were you never planning to tell us?” Mingi asked, his honest voice coming out a little too high.

“I don’t know… We both felt guilty about it, but it’s not like any of this was ever in our plans? We thought it was a normal mission. I simply thought this would help Hongjoong heal about what happened to his brother… When things started to shift, we didn’t know what to do.” Yunho shrugged, remembering the countless conversations he had had with Hongjoong about it.

“I imagine it was especially difficult when Wooyoung revealed that to you, right?” San muttered. He looked so exhausted and so defeated. In a moment, it was like suddenly everyone had remembered how he had gotten into the ship to begin with.

“Oh, San…” Jongho sighed, shifting closer to him and passing an arm around his shoulders. “I’m so sorry, it must have been really hard.”

“I’m sorry…” Words spilled out of Wooyoung’s mouth. “I knew everything, and I didn’t handle it well.”

“Wooyoung?” Yeosang asked, a little confused.

“I knew they were going to take him, I knew of everything that was going to happen and I-” he took a sharp breath. “I kept it all to myself because I didn’t know if I could trust you with the weight of that knowledge.” His voice breaks, eyes turning red as he tries to hold the tears. “I know I did what I was supposed to, but it still hurt, so much, to see him being taken like that…”

No one expected it when Yunho stood up from his place and went to wrap Wooyoung in a hug, uncaring of his injured shoulder. If anyone understood duty out of them, it was him, because he had just failed his promise to keep Hongjoong safe. And truly, he couldn’t blame Wooyoung when he had worked himself to the bone just to reunite them all. He was tired of blaming others, in fact. Yunho was ready to let them in.

“You’re not alone anymore,” Yunho reminded him. Thinking of how hard it must have been to see them all only through dreams. He couldn’t quite help himself when he pressed soft lips against the crown of Wooyoung’s head, who immediately broke down in his arms, a testament to his pain. “I don’t quite know where we stand, but we’ll get Hongjoong back and we’ll figure it out.”

–

The night passed by quietly, and the next day was filled with noise and chatter as the crew mobilized to get things done. Hwanwoong was left in charge of the ship as Yunho took the temporary role of the Captain and began planning how to rescue Hongjoong. All of them were huddled in the main quarters, except for Seonghwa, who had been asked to help distribute the payment as they made their way to the closest planet to drop everyone off.

“Hwanwoong and I interrogated every single person on the ship,” Siyeon explained in a low tone. Her voice was well hidden by the walls that surrounded them and the bustling noise from outside. “There are no traitors, though someone did report to Yijoong recently thinking it was an innocent call.”

Yunho sighed. He hadn’t actually expected there to be any traitors on the ship, Hongjoong had only chosen the closest of his friends, but there had been a hint of doubt at some point. After all, they had chosen San to work at the ship themselves, although he supposed that had been destiny’s play. In any case, they couldn’t be too careful.

“How are we going to get to Hongjoong? They left with warp speed and we’ve already wasted a day,” Yeosang asked, looking a bit impatient.

“Fret not, tiny one,” Seonghwa walked into the room right at that moment, his elegant steps completely overshadowing Yeosang’s complaints as he took the room by surprise.

“Aren’t you supposed to be doing something else?” Yeosang crossed his arms, face scrunching into a pout. Seonghwa rolled his eyes.

“Just say you missed me and go,” he scoffed, dismissing Yeosang’s sputters with a wave of his hand as the others laughed. “But seriously, I have a solution to our predicament. I’ve managed to contact some associates at Certh B068, we’ll be able to buy enough fuel to get us to the Home Planet at warp speed for a special price.”

“Is that where we’re dropping everyone?” Mingi asked with curiosity. 

“Yeah, it was the closest crossroad planet we could find,” Siyeon nodded. “That’s great news, thank you so much Seonghwa.”

“My pleasure,” he bowed slightly. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go back now.”

They all wished him luck. Yeosang was about to just let it pass, when he felt a harsh nudge on his side. He turned to Jongho, who was giving him a warning look. Yeosang crossed his arms again and grumbled, but Jongho was not having any of it as he nudged him again, hard enough to nearly push him off his chair.

“Fine,” he muttered, only loud enough for Jongho to hear him. He stood up and headed towards the door. “I’m gonna go see if he needs help.” He lamely excused himself as he left the room, leaving everyone behind him confused.

“What was that?” Yunho asked, frowning slightly. Jongho shrugged.

“It was about time he stopped acting like a jealous kid with a crush around Seonghwa,” he explained, smiling as the others broke into laughter around him.

Jongho managed to catch Wooyoung’s appreciative smile before it vanished under the rest of his worries. He leaned closer and grabbed Wooyoung’s hand, squeezing it softly. Wooyoung smiled. They would work things out.

–

Yeosang followed Seonghwa in complete silence, but if he had thought he had been slick, then he was very wrong, since Seonghwa had noticed his presence long ago. He stopped abruptly, causing Yeosang to collide with his back. He turned around, leveling him with an exceptic glare. Yeosang looked up at him and huffed.

“What are you doing?” Seonghwa asked, words deliberate and careful.

“Just…” Yeosang vaguely gestured towards the corridor, realizing that he didn’t actually have an excuse that wasn’t immediately suspicious.

“Did you want to talk about something?” Seonghwa raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. 

“We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to, I’ll just go.” Yeosang immediately turned around, already cursing himself for doing something so stupid.

“You’re unbearable,” Seonghwa sighed, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him back.

Yeosang stumbled into Seonghwa’s chest, who carefully helped him stand upright and turned him around so they were facing each other. Yeosang was looking up at Seonghwa with a red face, trying to process whatever that had been.

“I’ll hear you out, don’t leave,” Seonghwa’s expression had softened, and he was holding Yeosang by the shoulders firmly so he wouldn’t try to run away again.

“I don’t hate you!” Yeosang blurted out.

“Huh?” Seonghwa’s eyes widened, clearly not on the same page as Yeosang.

“I know what it looks like, but I don’t hate you.” Yeosang cleared his throat. “I mean, I kind of did when you first arrived on the ship, but I don’t actually hate you anymore.”

“Oh Yeosang, you know I’m not here to replace you, we talked about-”

“It’s not about that.” Yeosang huffed, pushing Seonghwa’s hands off his shoulders. “I just don’t know how to behave around you.”

“What is that even supposed to mean?” Seonghwa tilted his head.

“Well, just look at us! We’re so different. You come from a rich family and you’re so proper and pretty and hold yourself so differently to everyone else. I don’t know what to do.” Yeosang explained, holding his fists tightly by his sides and looking at the floor.

“You think I’m pretty?” Seonghwa’s smirk was evident in his voice.

“Is that all you got from what I just said?” Yeosang frowned, insecurity quickly replaced by annoyance. Seonghwa smiled and sighed.

“You’re not that different from me, Yeosang.” Seonghwa shrugged, gently extending a hand to grab Yeosang’s. When the youngest didn’t pry it away, he held it with a bit more confidence. “We’re both in this ship, maybe running away from something, or towards something, about to risk our lives to save the Prince of one of the biggest empires in the Universe, a Prince we barely know, mind you. I think we have at least a little bit in common.”

“But you’re-!”

“I,” Seonghwa interrupted him, squeezing his hand, “am a person before anything else, and so are you. I’m relieved you don’t hate me.”

“Why would you care?” Yeosang retracted his hand a little, but Seonghwa didn’t let him go. It hurt to see that he wasn’t entirely ready to put his barriers down yet, but they would work through it.

“A very beautiful alien told me I was supposed to date you so I would hope we would at least get along, you know.” Seonghwa chuckled, his face mirroring the blush in Yeosang’s face.

“I guess Wooyoung is very beautiful.” Yeosang conceded. The tension in his body disappeared little by little, and Seonghwa was able to hold his hand more comfortably.

“Want to help me with the payments?” Seonghwa asked.

Yeosang considered it for a moment before nodding and letting Seonghwa guide him there by the hand. Even if it was hard to believe, it would be okay.

–

Wooyoung was leaning against the rail of the ship, watching over the port as they loaded all of the fuel onto the ship. He was tired. Sleep hadn’t come easily even though he had finally reunited with everyone, and he knew it was because Hongjoong was in danger. He had played all his cards and now all there was left was to wait for things to unravel the way they were meant to.

There was a part of him that was scared of having fucked up without realizing. The other part of him was blindly trusting his ability and his destiny as a Sognum. The window for things going wrong was small but never zero, and he just hoped that all his efforts wouldn’t be in vain. 

At least he was feeling better physically. Handong had been making sure he ate properly and had kept him monitored all throughout the procedures. Plus, since he didn’t have a need for the visions or dream travelling for the time being, he had had time to recover a bit and he no longer felt so weak and nauseous. 

“Wooyoung,” San’s quiet voice startled him, and Wooyoung turned around. San was standing behind him, hands up and just as startled as Wooyoung himself. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay,” Wooyoung sighed. “I was just too deep in my thoughts.”

“Do you mind if I join you?” San leaned on the rail next to him, relaxing only when Wooyoung nodded.

They stood side by side in silence for what felt like hours but could have only been a few minutes. Wooyoung thought about how much trust San had put in him. He had reassured him time and time again that things would be okay once he said the truth, but it had only been half truths. There was nothing San could’ve done that would’ve kept Hongjoong safe even if he had been hired as his executor. Wooyoung had given him false hopes, and he felt guilty for it.

“I don’t blame you,” San said after a while.

Wooyoung turned to look at him only to discover he was already being observed.

“I’ll admit I was a little angry, that you didn’t tell me something like that,” San sighed. “But you had as much of a motive to keep that a secret as I did regarding my situation.”

“If it means anything,” Wooyoung turned away. “I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell everyone but I was afraid it would put everything at risk… There’s so many things I wish I could’ve done differently, better, to save us all this pain… And I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” San scooted closer, timidly passing an arm around Wooyoung’s shoulders. He wasn’t very good at physical contact, but it seemed to be Wooyoung’s main source of comfort. “I was so focused on my own situation that I never stopped to think about everything you were dealing with.”

“I guess we could’ve all done things differently,” Wooyoung shrugged and leaned closer to San. “No use dwelling on it now.”

“You’re right,” San nodded. They both observed as the crew began boarding the ship again, Yunho following last. “It appears it’s time to go.”

San removed his arm but immediately grabbed Wooyoung’s left hand and pulled him along.

“Let’s go, we have a prince in distress to save.”

–

Hongjoong woke up to the orders being passed along to the crew. His neck and shoulders were stiff from sleeping on a cot on the floor, but that was the last of his worries. They had been travelling for about three days at warp speed, and it seemed like they were about to make it to the Home planet. 

He’s had enough time to think and process everything during the trip, and he’d tried to come up with a plan to escape. There was no point to it though, as he was powerless and terribly outnumbered. Even the Battleground’s Devil knew when it was a losing fight. This had not deterred him from being loud and annoying though, demanding to talk to his brother and father at every chance he took.

He felt the change in his body when the ship entered the atmosphere and approached the dock. Hongjoong had run out of options the moment he had been captured. He had to keep himself alive for the others to come get him, so he couldn’t fight too much. If anything, he would try to negotiate. Maybe if he could get an audience with his father, he could fix things.

It probably took them about an hour to get him, but when they did, Hongjoong was already standing and waiting for them. He immediately asked to see his family as they grabbed and pulled him out of the cell, guiding him through the vessel toward the deck. They paid him no mind, treating him almost like he wasn’t even there.

He didn’t stop until they were leaving the ship and a flash startled him into silence. The dock was full of reporters and photographers, who immediately started taking pictures and yelling questions upon his arrival. Hongjoong’s eyes opened wide for a fraction of a second before he regained his composure. He couldn’t show him his weak side.

As the third son, he had never received so much attention from the media, to the point where his face was barely known because he was always out in battle. Now, probably millions upon millions of eyes were on him as he was taken prisoner by his own empire. He knew better than to make a scene, though, so he stayed quiet until they were inside the castle.

“Let me talk to my father,” he demanded, struggling a bit against their hold now that the doors had closed behind them.

“Quiet,” one of the soldiers demanded as they steered him towards the dungeon.

Hongjoong struggled harder against their hold, knowing fully well that it would be over for him if they put him in one of the cells. The guard to his right stopped and punched him on the stomach, causing Hongjoong to double over in pain. They moved faster, basically dragging him into one of the cells and leaving as soon as it had been properly locked. 

He nursed the bruise on his stomach, leaning against the bars and trying to come up with an alternative. He hoped that the others had a plan.

–

According to the official report from the Imperial Army, Prince Kim Hongjoong has been put under arrest under the accusations of high treason to the Empire, for ordering the murder of the eldest Prince, as well as plotting the murders of the second Prince and the Emperor himself. He is also accused of cooperating with the Interplanetary Resistance against the Empire. The trial will be held soon, and it is expected that he will receive the highest punishment of all, death by The Depths.

In a small bar in Silmerion, the crowd stirred at the news, the familiar face of the Captain whose ship they had helped rescue, breaking havoc across their lines. Chan smiled bitterly. Hongjoong had lied right to his face, although he supposed that he couldn’t blame him. There were more important things to do now though, as he still remembered Wooyoung’s words. This was the sign they had been waiting for.

Chan stood up and put a closed fist in the air. The bar immediately became silent. He turned to Hyunjin, one of his closest friends in the Resistance, and nodded.

“Send the message to the rest of the Resistance,” he grinned. “It’s time for Revolution!” He raised his arm again, and the entire bar followed, yelling and cheering, for their time had finally come.

• Fandom(s):ATEEZ
• AU: Treasure Hunters
• Genre: Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
• Relationship: Everyone x Everyone, Established Hongjoong x Yunho
• Language: English
• Status:Ongoing
• Chapter WC: 3,377 words
• Warnings: Character Death, Stabbing, Fighting, Blood, Aliens, War, Funerals, Kidnapping, Attempted Kidnapping, Mentions of Child Abuse / Child Work, Explosions, Murder Attempt, Robbery, Homeless/Runaway Character, Torture, Mentions of Slavery more will be added.
• Chapter Warnings: No warnings apply.
• Summary:

Hongjoong couldn’t hear the gasps and exclamations from his crew. In just a few seconds, his whole world had come crashing down onto him.

• AO3

<< Previous Chapter|Masterlist|Next Chapter >>

Tagged:@angel0taiyo​

The silence was deafening as everyone stared at San with open wide eyes and mouths. There was not a single hint of hesitation in his eyes, and perhaps that was what set Yunho off the most. He wasn’t the most loyal person to the crown, and in fact he barely cared about anyone that wasn’t Hongjoong. But claiming that Hongjoong’s own family was after his life was an entirely different thing. It was something not even him would joke about.

“That can’t be true.” Yunho’s mouth felt dry, and he struggled to swallow.

“I wish I was wrong, I really do but,” San shook his head. “When I heard I knew I wouldn’t be able to take the secret to my grave, as much as I would have liked… We’re flying straight to the wolf’s mouth.”

“That’s why you confessed, even if you knew it could end badly,” Yeosang concluded, pulling away enough to look San in the eyes. San immediately missed the warmth.

“No.” Yunho’s voice was final. “No, I refuse to believe it.”

How could Hongjoong’s own family ever betray him, when he shone so brightly with his own strength? Everyone loved Hongjoong. He was a great leader, fun and compassionate and willing to risk everything for those he loved. He was willing to risk anything for the Emperor and Prince Yijeong, it could not be true. It would mean that Yunho had failed at protecting him, at making sure he was always safe.

“Yunho, you have to believe me,” San spoke, tone bordering on desperate. He felt Mingi’s arm tighten around him. “I wish it wasn’t true but we’re putting him at risk by returning…”

Yunho put his head between his hands and Jongho immediately approached him again to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. His thoughts were swimming around in his head, like shark-infested waters. He wanted to continue denying San, but in his eyes there was nothing but the sincerity that was starting to become familiar to him.

“Do you have proof?” Seonghwa asked, breaking the tense silence. 

“I do.”

–

To Hongjoong, waking up for the vision was like being punched in the stomach. He shot up and gasped for air, coughing roughly as he choked on his own saliva. His face was covered in tear tracks, and he couldn’t tell up from down. To Wooyoung, waking up felt like being turned apart, as the reality around him disappeared before he could leave it. His body jolted him awake as pain cursed all through it, but he managed to push it down and incorporate to look at Honjoong.

“Deep breaths, come on,” he instructed gently, grabbing one of Hongjoong’s hands and pressing it against his chest so Hongjoong could emulate his breathing.

Hongjoong held onto his hand with a painful grip.

“It’s not true, it can’t be true.” His voice was rough, and he quickly cleared his throat and tried again. “They wouldn’t do that to me. I know the empire’s ideals are tainted but they’re good people. They’re my family.”

The desperation in his pleas chipped at Wooyoung’s already broken heart even more. Not even a thousand visions about this moment could have prepared him for the pain he was feeling. He knew, however, that Hongjoong’s suffering was ten times worse.

“Hongjoong, please, breathe.” Wooyoung begged again, scooting closer and keeping one hand over Hongjoong’s hand in his chest while he used the other one to caress his cheek.

“Wooyoung you’re lying,” Hongjoong’s eyes were frantically looking between Wooyoung’s, hoping for his confession. “You have to be lying. Tell me it is all a lie. Tell me that you’re wrong.”

Wooyoung wished he could. He wished he could save Hongjoong all of this pain and suffering. He wanted to hold him tightly and never let anything hurt him again. But he couldn’t. Wooyoung couldn’t lie and couldn’t take back his words, because a Sognum’s vision was never wrong. These things were supposed to happen, and he hated himself for not being able to protect Hongjoong better.

“I can’t…” Wooyoung whispered, unable to do anything but watch as Hongjoong’s eyebrows creased and new tears fell from his face. “I want to be wrong too but you know I’m not.”

It was like having front row tickets to the worst play in existence: the breaking of Hongjoong’s heart. Wooyoung wished there were enough pieces of his own heart that he could use to patch him up again, but his chest hurt with a pain that was becoming all too familiar. Wooyoung would rather die than see his soulmates hurting like this. Especially when he was the one delivering the pain on a silver plate.

He caught Hongjoong when the other collapsed on his arms and brought him close to his chest. Wooyoung pressed his lips to the top of his head, hoping to be able to transmit something other than pain and bad news. He loved Hongjoong so much, but all he was able to grant him at that moment was suffering. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, and repeated it over and over again into Hongjoong’s hair, as if the mantra could heal every wound he had caused so far.

“You’re lying,” Hongjoong claimed in return, holding onto Wooyoung like a lifeline.

–

Gently, San removed himself from Mingi and Yeosang’s hold, already missing their warmth. However, their comfort and Yunho’s willingness to trust him had given him new energy to deal with the situation. If he could convince everyone of his truth, then maybe they would find a way to protect Hongjoong.

Hongjoong, who was being told the truth by Wooyoung… San felt a pit on his stomach begin to form. He hadn’t been able to save Hongjoong the heartbreak. There were more important things to focus on though, so he pushed the feeling aside and focused on the task at hand.

“All the meetings are saved for record purposes,” San explained as he pulled out the device he was always carrying with him. “I think it’s stupid, but overconfident people tend to make poor choices, and people in power tend to be overconfident.”

He opened the last file and let the hologram play, extending it towards the others so they could see without problem. It had been quite a few days since that conversation, but San could still perfectly evoke the feeling of hearing the truth for the first time. It was weird, in a way, what it had made him feel. In the past, San would have perhaps been a bit surprised and felt a bit sorry that the Prince was being betrayed by his own family.

But what San had actually felt upon hearing the truth had been nothing short of heartbreak. Somehow, he had fallen in love, at the cost of the life he had known so far. And yet, he realized, he would do it all over again, if it meant meeting Hongjoong and Yunho, if it meant being held by Mingi and Yeosang, exploring alongside Seonghwa and Jongho, being comforted by Wooyoung. He had hated his old life anyway, so what was a little bit of sacrifice if it meant he could protect this?

His thoughts were shattered when Yunho turned around and stormed off. Everyone seemed a bit shocked by his reaction, and Seonghwa was the first to snap out of it and follow him. Everyone else followed after that. They all knew what Yunho was probably thinking: if he was taking it that badly, then it could only mean that Hongjoong was doing much worse. Maybe they should’ve waited outside, ready to console their Captain, but there was no way they could’ve known.

When they got there, Hongjoong was still talking to Wooyoung. The tear tracks on his face were obvious, but now he looked more angry than anything as he gripped the Somnum tightly by the arms. They stopped suddenly when the door opened, and Yunho immediately gathered Hongjoong in his arms, prying his hands away from Wooyoung, who seemed grateful, if a bit shaken.

“Yunho, you have to tell them,” Hongjoong insisted immediately, not even given them a second to breathe. “You’re a knight of the Kim Empire, you have to defend the imperial family, tell them it’s a lie.”

And Yunho really wished he could. Maybe if the circumstances were different, if there wasn’t so much evidence, he would have sided with Hongjoong. God knew he was willing to bend backwards for his Prince. But he couldn’t lie. The truth was evident and he couldn’t deny it, especially not if it could endanger Hongjoong’s life. 

“Wooyoung is right, Hongjoong,” Yunho sighed, putting his hands on Hongjoong’s shoulders so they could see eye to eye. “San showed us a recording from his boss that confirms it… You should show it to him too.” Yunho had turned towards San, making a signal with his head.

“Of course,” San agreed immediately, pulling out his device again. He looked like he was in pain, and at this point they could all relate.

San played the recording again once he had found it, and they all waited with bated breaths for Hongjoong’s reaction. It wasn’t at all what they had expected. Hongjoong disentangled himself from Yunho’s arms and pushed San back, causing him to drop the device.

“You’re lying.” Hongjoong pushed San once again, and he looked up at the Prince with wide eyes. “I don’t know what you want from me, Lee San, if money or fame or whatever, but don’t you fucking dare mess with the Empire.” 

Hongjoong immediately regretted it when he saw the raw hurt in San’s eyes 

“Stop it, Hongjoong,” Yunho intervened immediately, standing between them, but this time it was to shield San.

That was enough to make Hongjoong realize his mistake.

“I didn’t-” His shoulders fell and he looked around, taking in the almost frightened stares of the rest of his crew, who obviously never expected to see him like that.

“You’re saying a lot of things you don’t mean,” Yunho softly pushed him away from San, creating space between them. “I know it hurts, because you’ve given your life to the Empire, but San has done nothing to you.”

Hongjoong looked past Yunho at San, who was looking at him as well with a mix of hurt and something else so deep that Hongjoong was afraid to name. He felt undeserving of it. 

“I need a break,” he stated, prying Yunho’s hands away from him and leaving the room without saying anything else.

Yunho stayed where he stood and sighed, rubbing his temples with both hands. He wanted nothing more than to be with Hongjoong, but if a bounty had been placed over his head for so long, then they probably didn’t have enough time to craft a plan. Jongho must have seen the conflict in his face, because he immediately stepped forward.

“We’ll take care of Hongjoong, you make sure we can protect him.“ He made his way to the door, signaling for Mingi, Yeosang and Wooyeong to follow him.

“Wait-” Yunho turned towards their expectant gazes. “Please find Hwanwoong and Siyeon and tell them to come meet me immediately, say it’s an emergency.”

Jongho nodded once and got to work.

–

As soon as Hwanwoong and Siyeon arrived, Yunho filled them in with all that had happened in the short amount of time. They were both absolutely scandalized, and though they looked at San with distrust, Yunho’s defensive posture left it very clear that he was not to be messed with, so they didn’t try a thing. The news about the betrayal from the Empire, on the other hand…

“We can’t go back there,” Siyeon stated like it was final. “It’s obvious that Hongjoong’s plan to calmly negotiate with the Empire is done with.”

“We must still help Chan and his people, though, Hongjoong was dead set on it.” Hwanwoong intervened, reminding them of why they were doing this in the first place.

“If I may,” Seonghwa raised an arm, trying to get the attention of the rest. “I have many contacts in the Universe and I myself come from a government not related to the Empire. I’m certain I could find Hongjoong a place to stay in with a refugee status.”

“And then we could contact the Interplanetary Resistance and deliver our part of the deal while Hongjoong stays safe somewhere,” Yunho concludes for him. “I like the idea but Hongjoong might oppose it.”

“Then we let him know it’s not an option,” San mumbled. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise. “I know Hongjoong is stubborn, but he wouldn’t be putting only himself in danger. He needs to be safe so everyone else can stay safe.”

“I suppose that’s true…” Siyeon sighs. “I’ll convince him if necessary.”

“Should I start reaching out to see where we can put Hongjoong then?” Seonghwa asked, already heading towards the door.

“Wait.” Yunho stopped him, leveling them with a tense look. “We don’t know whose loyalties lie with us… We need to check the rest of the ship to make sure no one else came here with ulterior motives.”

Yunho made it a point to not look at San, not wanting to be faced with his hurt expression. However, San kept his face carefully devoid of any emotions. He knew why he had joined the ship in the first place and the invisible charges against him, and he was not about to shy from them. It hurt, but pain was a small problem compared to making sure Hongjoong stayed alive. He was certain that at this point, his boss would have reported him as a runaway.

“We’ll do it,” Hwanwoong declared, taking a step forward. “Siyeon and I will investigate the crew, you focus on convincing Hongjoong of doing his part.”

“Alright then, let’s get going.”

–

Hongjoong hung his arms on the railing of the starboard side of the ship, using it as support. His mind felt clouded with a million different thoughts, and his chest screamed with the pain of heartbreak. Hongjoong knew his relationship with his father and with Yijoong wasn’t as strong as with Taejoong, who had basically raised him, but he had never thought… He didn’t want to believe it. But even though he could deny Wooyoung and San as much as he wanted, he knew Yunho would never lie to him. His own family had put a bounty on his head.

“Hongjoong?”

He turned around abruptly, hand quickly darting to the hilt of his sword before realizing it was just Jongho, reaching towards him. His shoulders sagged as he relaxed a little and he let Jongho place a hand on his arm as he gestured for the others to come closer. Mingi was immediately wrapping their Captain into a hug, just like he had with San earlier. No one in the crew had ever seen him act so brave, but it was a welcomed change.

“Thank you,” Hongjoong muttered, wrapping his arms around Mingi as well. The hug felt like the forgiveness he had yet to earn, both for the lies but also for how he acted earlier.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Yeosang asked shyly, probably a bit scared about making Hongjoong angry again, and the eldest mentally reprimands himself for making them feel unsafe.

“I don’t know what to say,” Hongjoong admitted. His head felt too full.

“Maybe try explaining to us what made you react like that first?” Jongho suggested, always the voice of reason.

Hongjoong looked at Wooyoung and there’s fear in his eyes. He knew that his secret wouldn’t be kept together, and it had never been closer to being discovered than at that moment. Maybe it would be easier if he simply confessed. Wooyoung smiled and nodded at him, and Hongjoong knew it was the sign of his approval. His lips parted to say the words, and he hesitated.

“I dedicated my whole life to the Empire,” he started, but he couldn’t finish. The fear of rejection was too great, even for him. “I’m a close friend of the family so I never thought…”

He looked away, unable to bear the disappointment that was sure to surface on Wooyoung’s face for his insistence on keeping up the lie. Instead, he missed his soft gaze, full of understanding and acceptance, that ended up as one more of Wooyoung’s own secrets. 

“Betrayal hurts the most when it comes from people we love.” Yeosang said knowingly. “But you believe Yunho, San and Wooyoung.”

“I do,” Hongjoong sighed. It hadn’t been a question, but he had felt the need to answer. “The eldest prince, Prince Taejoong, was my best friend. I don’t think San or Yunho knew about this but Wooyoung showed me that they were behind his death as well. I’m angry, and sad, and I hate it.”

“And it’s important that you let yourself feel these things,” Mingi hummed, hugging him tightly. “You’re grieving, Hongjoong. No matter what, this is still a form of loss.”

“Thank you,” Hongjoong sighed again. “I’m sorry for scaring you earlier.”

“You’re forgiven,” Yeosang smiled, patting his arm softly.

“We should get back,” Hongjoong pulled away from Mingi, squeezing his arms a bit before separating completely. “Every second we wait, I put you all in danger even more, let’s head back and figure out a plan.”

They followed Hongjoong back to his quarters. Yunho, San and Seonghwa were all there, talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers, until the five of them entered the room. Hongjoong looked worse for wear, they could all tell, but he had calmed down, and that was a start.

“I’m sorry,” San immediately blurted out, without thinking. “I’m sorry for lying to you, and for putting everyone in danger because I was too scared to confess.”

Hongjoong’s eyes softened and he let out a deep sigh.

“What else were you supposed to do, really?” Hongjoong smiled bitterly. “I don’t blame you San, not one bit, and I hope you can forgive yourself too.”

San looked a bit choked up when he thanked him, but he didn’t cry. He didn’t think he could allow himself to be so open in front of everyone yet. Honestly, he was not sure they would ever fully recover from this, but he has decided to unpack that later. For that moment, they had to trust each other in order to be able to overcome this hurdle.

“We have a plan,” Seonghwa intervened, before the silence had time to settle and make them stew in awkwardness. “You might not like it, but I’ve found a planet that’s willing to take you as a refugee while the Interplanetary Resistance wages war on the Empire, so that they won’t be able to reach you.”

“I’ll do it,” Hongjoong accepted immediately, to everyone’s surprise. “What?”

“Nothing but…” Yeosang mumbled.

“Let’s be honest Hongjoong, you’re very stubborn, we didn’t think you would want to stay put,” Seonghwa raised an eyebrow, unapologetically blunt.

“Well now, that’s a bit mean,” Hongjoong grumbled, but he couldn’t deny it. “Still… I don’t want to endanger anyone, so it’s for the best, isn’t it? I do have one condition though, I want to hand the treasure to Chan personally.”

Yunho considered it for a moment before nodding.

“I’m sure we can arrange that,” he looked at San, who nodded in agreement.

In the corner of the room, Wooyoung stood very still. He felt like he was going to be sick. With his eyes closed, he reminded himself what his mission was, but he couldn’t help the regret that invaded him as the alarms blared around the room. He wished he wasn’t carrying the weight of the secret by himself, but what was done, was done. 

They all felt it, the moment The Crescent’s atmosphere merged with that of another ship, and they all hurried out of the cabin. The rest of the crew was already there, looking wide-eyed at the enormous Empire vessel that floated next to them. 

“Prince Kim Hongjoong from the Kim Empire, you are now under arrest for high treason to the crown, surrender.” The alarms blared.

Hongjoong couldn’t hear the gasps and exclamations from his crew. In just a few seconds, his whole world had come crashing down onto him.

• Fandom(s):ATEEZ
• AU: Treasure Hunters
• Genre:Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
• Relationship:Everyone x Everyone, Established Hongjoong x Yunho
• Language:English
• Status:Ongoing
• Chapter WC: 3,698 words
• Warnings: Character Death, Stabbing, Fighting, Blood, Aliens, War, Funerals, Kidnapping, Attempted Kidnapping, Mentions of Child Abuse / Child Work, Explosions, Murder Attempt, Robbery, Homeless/Runaway Character, Torture, Mentions of Slavery more will be added.
• Chapter Warnings: Character Death, Stabbing, Blood, Implied Child Abuse.
• Summary:

“Can I ask you something?” Hongjoong muttered after long minutes of silence.

“Of course,” Wooyoung nodded.

“What was it like when you had your first vision about us?”

• AO3

<< Previous Chapter|Masterlist|Next Chapter >>

Tagged:@angel0taiyo

They all left them alone in the Captain’s quarters after Wooyoung insisted this was for Hongjoong and Hongjoong only. They struggled to get Yunho especially to leave, but once they were left alone, Wooyoung did his best to help him calm down as they lay on the bed, facing each other.

It felt so strange to see each other in real life when they had only met through dreams before. Wooyoung’s heart had not stopped beating fast since he had landed on The Crescent, but he still wished the circumstances were different. He wished that his arrival didn’t mean bad news and that he was oblivious to what was going to happen after. He wanted nothing more but to shield them all, especially Hongjoong, who looked exhausted as if the weight of the universe had suddenly fallen on his shoulders.

A careful hand brushed Hongjoong’s hair back. Wooyoung’s heart almost burst into a million pieces when Hongjoong closed his eyes and exhaled faintly, the crease in his eyebrows softening until it was barely there. He wanted nothing more than to press a firm hand to his cheek, cradle his face and press promises to his lips over and over. He wanted to whisper praises and love and comfort. But it was too soon, and not what Hongjoong needed of him, so he reigned it in and placated himself with the knowledge that it would all be over soon.

“I promise to show you nothing but the truth, Hongjoong,” Wooyoung said, taking off his necklace and putting it on Hongjoong’s left hand before putting his right hand on top of it. “However, the truth might hurt you.”

“I am okay with that,” Hongjoong breathed out slowly, focusing on the cold stone on his hand the warmth of Wooyoung’s hand on top of his. “What is this?”

“It’s something that will help us fall asleep,” Wooyoung reassured him. “Now close your eyes.”

–

After leaving the quarters, Yunho took them all to the Hold. It was the most private space they could muster, as they couldn’t let anyone else in the crew know what was happening. Telling Hwanwoong and Siyeon might have been a wise choice, but he didn’t know if he could trust them. He didn’t know if he could trust anyone at all, and while he wanted to believe that none of them would harm Hongjoong, he simply couldn’t trust them.

Once they were out of curious eyes and ears, Yunho grabbed San by the collar and hoisted him. San’s eyes grew panicked as he grabbed Yunho’s hand, trying to understand what he was doing. The gasps that came from behind them told him he wasn’t the only one surprised about his actions.

“Tell me who is behind this,” he demanded, his voice low enough to be a growl.

“Yunho, stop this right now,” Seonghwa demanded, grabbing Yunho by the shoulder. His voice was cold and authoritative, and it threw everyone off. Seonghwa was always cool and collected, and he had never once spoken up to them, knowing his place in the crew well. “You’re behaving like an animal.”

The First Mate turned to look at him, realizing he was truly behaving like a monster. He carefully let go of San and walked away. Yunho felt so lost, confused and tired. He had always been more straightforward and tactless than Hongjoong, but he was showing all of them his worst sides that day, and he felt ashamed.

“I’m sorry,” Yunho sighed, covering his face with both hands.

“It’s okay,” Jongho placed a hand on his back, firm and grounding. “We know you must be very stressed, Hongjoong is important to you. But you’re both also important to us, and we don’t want you to do something you’ll regret.”

We are here if you’ll have us.

Those had been Jongho’s words back when he lashed out at the Captain’s quarters. They were a testament of how much the voyage had changed all of them, because he’s certain, from having observed Jongho before, that those weren’t words he had ever used with anyone else. Yunho knew that the love budding among them was real, because he’d seen the way they looked at Hongjoong (and maybe, he realized now, at him too), but he was too scared to open up and accept it. He knew deep down that they would never dare hurt Hongjoong, but it was hard to accept it was no longer only the two of them, that he no longer had to clutch onto Hongjoong for dear life.

“Thank you,” he nodded, knowing that they only meant well. It felt dry, and lacking, but he didn’t have more words. His throat was closing on him painfully.

“San…” Mingi interrupted, talking for the first time in a while. “Who are you?”

San couldn’t help but feel hurt at the look in Mingi’s eyes. It looked close to betrayal. Mingi had never been anything but kind to him, even when he had been afraid of approaching him before. He didn’t want to hurt someone like him. He didn’t want to hurt him, or any of them, for that matter. San wondered if it was too selfish of him to wish to be embraced when he had kept such a secret from them.

“Mingi, I don’t think-” Yeosang began, but he was stopped by San’s raised hand.

“It’s okay, I’ll tell you, about me. It’s the least I can do…” San sighed. “My real name is code CS-710-28, I come from a planet named Lyria 38.”

“Your name is not San?” Seonghwa raised an eyebrow, seeming a little disturbed.

“Not quite, we usually keep the name we’re given at our first mission,” San explained. “Mine was San, but for the most part, we’re just… labelled with a code, like a product.” They all looked horrified, and he made a point to not look at their faces. “Lee is fake though, it is not the surname I was first given, I don’t have one. A lot of the time, my name wasn’t even San, because it could end up being traced back to me.”

–

When Wooyoung opened his eyes in Hongjoong’s dreams, there was nothing but pitch black darkness. Hongjoong was standing in the middle of it all. He looked so incredibly tired, and Wooyoung felt his very soul break in two, wishing he could spare Hongjoong of what was about to be revealed to him. However, history was meant to continue its course, and for that to happen, the Prince needed to know the truth.

“How are you going to show me?” Hongjoong asked, meeting Wooyoung in the middle of the nothingness.

“I can conjure up other memories, dreams and visions I’ve witnessed,” Wooyoung explained, offering Hongjoong his hand to hold. He smiled a little when the Prince accepted it almost unconsciously, interlocking their fingers and swaying their hands slightly. “I don’t really know where to start with this, though.”

“Why don’t we start from the beginning?” Hongjoong looked Wooyoung in the eyes, trying to see if he could figure out the truth just from that.

“That would be…” Wooyoung sighed. “You were told that your brother died in the hands of the enemy, right?”

“So you mean he didn’t…” Hongjoong muttered, closing his eyes.  A pained expression flashed across his face as he reminisced of that day he had left behind. Wooyoung squeezed his hand softly, hoping to bring him some comfort.

“I can show you what truly happened that day,” Wooyoung explained, “but only if you’re ready.”

“I don’t think I can be more prepared than I am right now,” Hongjoong opened his eyes again and squeezed Wooyoung’s hand. “I’m ready, show me.”

Wooyoung nodded and then closed his eyes, bringing forward the vision he had had months ago about Taejoong’s death. He hadn’t thought of that dream as prophetic, back then, because it hadn’t shown him his destiny outright, but once he had learned Yunho and Hongjoong were real people, he had hated that vision quite a lot. Even then, before developing feelings for them, he hadn’t wanted them to go through such a situation.

When he opened his eyes, they were both back at the battlefield, where Taejoong had fought his last battle. He was there, fighting courageously against the last soldier that remained there, because the enemy troops had ordered a retreat as the night came upon them and the desert became too cold. When the enemy fell on his knees, too injured to continue, Taejoong put his weapon down and spared his life, like he had always taught Hongjoong to do.

“This feels…” Hongjoong muttered, tightly holding Wooyoung’s hand while keeping his other hand over his chest.

“Strange, I know,” Wooyoung smiled, softly squeezing Hongjoong’s hand again to let him know he was there for him. 

Taejoong was a bit far away from his soldiers, and they observed a soldier from the empire walking towards him while Taejoong tried to pick the fallen Elgen up and carry him to their camp, to safety. Taejoong spoke to the guard, but the sound of the vision was muffled, so it was hard to make the words out. Hongjoong didn’t need to hear the words to understand what was happening, though.

Hongjoong didn’t make a sound as he saw his brother’s own soldier stab him in the back, but the hand that held Wooyoung’s was almost turning white from how hard he was squeezing it. He watched his brother fall, betrayal in his eyes. He observed the soldier kill the Elgen and then yell for help, as if he hadn’t just committed the greatest crime. He watched, in horror, before the vision vanished right in front of him, stopped by Wooyoung.

“I’m sorry,” Wooyoung muttered. “I should have stopped it sooner.”

“It’s okay,” Hongjoong took a big gulp of air, realizing that he had been holding his breath before. “I just need a moment.”

He let go of Wooyoung’s hand and crouched on the floor, holding a hand tightly to his chest, almost like he was trying to keep his heart inside. Wooyoung was by his side in seconds, kneeling next to him and rubbing his back soothingly. 

“Take all the time you need,” he whispered, wiping Hongjoong’s tears with a gentle hand.

It felt horrible, having to be the one to show Hongjoong the truth, but he knew it was nothing compared to the pain the other was feeling.

–

“The planet has basically no resources, so we were raised and trained to complete all sorts of missions that no one else would want to do.” San continued explaining, trying to spare them the more gruesome details. “I don’t exactly know how our planet even got the technology to do it, but one day the Life Architects Organization simply came and took over, it’s been like this since way before I was created.”

“So you’re not…” Yeosang began but then his voice grew quiet, like he couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

“Human,” San supplied for him, understanding how Yeosang felt. “No, not entirely. I’m an artificially created being, I was made to imitate humans, but there’s many artificial forms that were made to imitate other species.”

“But you look so young, how did you complete all those missions you talk about?” Seonghwa questioned, a little less reserved than the others, because he was still somewhat new to the crew.

“Oh, I am young,” San shook his head. “I was made to age like normal humans, so I am probably around the same age as the rest of you, from the looks of it.” He shrugged. “The thing is that we are made better. All of my senses were artificially improved, and I heal very fast as well.”

“That would explain some things,” Yunho sighed. “Why did you accept the mission to kill Hongjoong if you didn’t intend on completing it?" 

Everyone grimaced at the lack of tact behind the words, even Yunho himself. San didn’t let that affect him though. Yunho was in his right to ask the question, and San wanted to come clean once and for all.

"Oh, believe me, I didn’t know I wouldn’t be completing it either,” San scoffed. “That was a surprise to me as much as it was for everyone else.” He cleared his throat as he noticed the serious looks in the others’ eyes. Maybe joking like that wasn’t appropriate at the moment. “But to answer your question, I had no choice in the matter.

My… boss managed all of my missions, I had no say in the matter. Way before this mission I was already tired, but I didn’t expect it to go like this.” San worried his lower lip, trying to come up with the words. “The day I received the mission, I was told it was a very important one and that the client was someone very relevant, but I wasn’t told much more.”

“Why didn’t you kill Hongjoong?” Yunho asked again, wanting to hear the real reason behind it. He knew now that San had put so much at risk by not completing his mission, given how scared he had looked back at the quarters and how carefully he had threaded the whole journey.

Deep down, he already knew the reason, of course he did. San was transparent when he wanted to be, which was the reason Hongjoong and Wooyoung had so easily stopped him from hurting San before. If he didn’t already believe in San’s innocence deep down, he wouldn’t have stopped at anything.

“I fell in love with him,” San’s voice was small, almost like he was trying to make himself disappear.

Despite himself, Yunho closed his eyes and felt warmth spread on his chest. He knew, in the way San closed in on himself like he was trying to protect something valuable, that he wasn’t lying. He found himself feeling for San, because he could phantom the pain it would bring him if he had to bring harm to his Prince. It would be unbearable.

Yeosang took a step forward hesitantly before throwing his doubts away and crossing the distance between him and San. The mercenary visibly flinched, stepping back as he thought he was going to get attacked again. Instead, Yeosang threw his arms around San’s neck and embraced him tightly.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, and it was true. He was sorry that San had had to experience all that by himself, that he barely had a name to call his own, that he had been so utterly alone and trapped.

Mingi, encouraged by Yeosang’s actions, also closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around both of them. San’s breath got caught in his throat and his eyes became glassy. A knot in his chest unraveled, and suddenly all the words he had ached to say were gushing out his mouth. Slowly, his arms wrapped around Yeosang and he allowed himself to be selfish for once, to enjoy the touch he had been craving.

“I realized it when we were saving you,” San looked Seonghwa in the eyes. “It had probably been coming for a long time, to be fair, but I realized there was a point of no return in that ship.” He chuckled wetly. “He saved my life and I saved his, because I couldn’t let him get hurt.”

Yunho remembered that battle vividly, because he had saved both Hongjoong and San’s lives right after they had gotten distracted. He hadn’t known how much of a moral dilemma San had been in. 

“And it just became worse from there,” San sighed. “I’m so tired.”

Mingi’s arms secured tighter around him, and San allowed his head to roll back onto Mingi’s chest, who leaned his head on top of San’s. Yeosang simply hid his own face in San’s chest. He could feel how fast San’s heart was beating in his chest, probably a mix of fear and relief at finally letting it all out.

“I believe you,” Yunho finally said. It was like the tension suddenly dissipated. “I believe you, and I’m sorry.” There were many things he was sorry about, but he didn’t think he could fit them all in one go. “There is one more thing I want to know though, and it’s really important… Who hired you?”

San closed his eyes and took a deep breath, wishing he wasn’t the one relaying this news. His lips parted open and the whole room froze in surprise.

–

Wooyoung had materialized a wall to lean on and had gathered Hongjoong in his arms until the Prince had finally calmed down. His heart was beating fast, having the Captain of the Crescent so close to him and so vulnerable in his hold. He had known, even without a vision, that revealing the truth would be one of the hardest parts of the journey. The worst part was that there were still a lot of things left to say.

“Can I ask you something?” Hongjoong muttered after long minutes of silence.

“Of course,” Wooyoung nodded, squeezing Hongjoong just a little tighter when he spotted the exhaustion in his voice.

Hongjoong shifted, and Wooyoung softened his hold enough to let him move until they were facing each other, Hongjoong kneeling between his legs. Wooyoung’s heart rate picked up as his mind processed how close they were, but it was Hongjoong’s words that finally pushed him to some sort of desperate state, and he felt his face engulfed by flames.

“What was it like when you had your first vision about us?”

His breath caught on his throat as he remembered his first true prophetic dream, where he had met them all for the first time, his brain filling with information about them. He remembered every little detail of that dream vividly. He remembered the emotions swirling through his chest, the yearning filling up his lungs until he couldn’t breathe, the way he had known they were meant to be together.

“It was the most overwhelming feeling I had ever felt,” Wooyoung explained, eyes shifting between Hongjoong’s eyes. “I saw The Crescent first, and then when I landed on deck, I saw the seven of you, talking and smiling, and Hongjoong-”

His eyes had wandered elsewhere, but when they returned to Hongjoong’s face, his words caught in his chest, as he noticed how the other was hanging onto his every word. 

“I yearned for it so much…” his voice had lowered into a whisper without him noticing. “I didn’t know anything about any of you but I had never craved anything so badly like how I craved being by your side, smiling with you.”

Hongjoong craddled his face with one hand, wiping tears away with a gentle thumb. Wooyoung let out a watery laugh before putting a hand on top of Hongjoong’s and leaning into the touch.

“I woke up crying, pretty much like I’m doing right now,” he laughs again, and Hongjoong smiles at him sympathetically.

“Do you think it will work out?” Hongjoong whispered. “Do you think they’ll still want me when they learn the truth? In love with me or not, they’re my family now, I don’t want them to hate me…”

“They could never,” Wooyoung reassured him, squeezing his hand softly. “It will work out, I promise.”

And despite himself, Hongjoong believed him, because Wooyoung had been truthful so far. Hongjoong could see the devotion in his eyes when he talked about the rest of them, and while it made him feel vulnerable, it also made him feel loved so completely. He couldn’t do anything but believe him.

“It’s all an inside job, isn’t it?” Hongjoong sighed, brushing his thumb over Wooyoung’s cheek once more before grabbing the other’s hand and pulling him up with him. “The people who killed my brother and sent San after me.”

“Are you sure you’re ready?” Wooyoung asked, brows creasing in worry.

Hongjoong nodded.

“Okay,” Wooyoung let out a deep breath, closing his eyes as he held onto Hongjoong’s hand tightly, refusing to let go.

He brought forward a different vision this time, one he had had a while ago and that had shaken him with the realization of the truth. They were in a room that was all too familiar to Hongjoong: his father’s office. The Emperor and Prince Yijoong were sitting facing each other, drinking in silence while mulling over their words.

“How have you seen Hongjoong?” The Emperor broke the silence first, bringing the wine glass to his lips.

“He’s heartbroken, and that keeps him distracted and clueless,” Yijoong shrugged, taking a sip from his glass as well.

Wooyoung felt Hongjoong’s hand tighten around his and he risked looking, finding Hongjoong pale like a sheet of paper. He could almost see the pieces lining in his head.

“That’s good, for now, but he’s a pretty clever boy,” his father continued.

“He is, which is why I’ve come up with a plan to make sure he never finds out.” Yijoong grinned, and Hongjoong could no longer recognize the brother he had grown up with. “I’m gonna tempt him with a journey he would never be able to reject on the next meeting he goes to, and if he just so happens to never come back from it, well, it was a dangerous voyage anyway.”

“Unfortunate, but…” his father smiled, and Wooyoung was able to pinpoint the exact moment Honjoong’s heart broke in a way he wasn’t sure could be repaired anymore. “It’s for the good of the Empire, isn’t it? Taejoong’s ideals were going to destroy everything we had worked so hard for, and Hongjoong admired him too much. My son, you’re the only one who sees the right path.”

“Of course father, I would never wish to disappoint you.”

“How do you plan for his disappearance to go?” The Emperor asked, eyes crinkled in a smile.

“I’ve already hired a very good hitsman, and will be meeting with them soon,” Yijeong hummed. “We just need to get Hongjoong going on that trip and it’ll be settled.”

“Well done, my son.” The Emperor leaned forward, extending a hand towards Yijoong that the prince eagerly took. “I’m so proud of you.”

• Fandom(s):ATEEZ
• AU:Treasure Hunters
• Genre:Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
• Relationship: Everyone x Everyone, Established Hongjoong x Yunho
• Language:English
• Status:Ongoing
• Chapter WC: 3,050 words
• Warnings: Character Death, Stabbing, Fighting, Blood, Aliens, War, Funerals, Kidnapping, Attempted Kidnapping, Mentions of Child Abuse / Child Work, Explosions, Murder Attempt, Robbery, Homeless/Runaway Character, Torture, Mentions of Slavery more will be added.
• Chapter Warnings: No warnings apply
• Summary:

San wished he could make someone else responsible for the pain they were experiencing, but he had no one else to blame but himself.

• AO3

<< Previous Chapter|Masterlist|Next Chapter >>

Tagged:@angel0taiyo

“Explain yourself,” Yunho ordered.

His hand had gone white from how tightly he was holding the sword. San was surprised to spot the slightest tremor to it, which would have probably gone unnoticed to anyone else but him. Yunho cared about him, and the knowledge hurt him as much as everything else did at that moment. He wished he could make someone else responsible for the pain they were experiencing, but he had no one else to blame but himself.

“The planet I come from is incredibly poor, and it doesn’t belong to any government that could help us out,” San explained, although he knew that the conditions in which he had grown were not an excuse for his actions. “Others like me are artificially created, and then we undergo special training to turn us into the best fighters and hunters, so that we can complete special missions for money.”

“With special you mean…” Hongjoong spoke from behind Yunho. His hands were holding Yunho’s arm tightly, but he had stopped trying to move past him.

“Yes,” San let out a bitter laugh. “I murder for a living.”

“But why-” Hongjoong seemed to consider his words, not even certain of what he wanted to know anymore. He felt dizzy with the newly acquired knowledge, and he couldn’t fully finish processing that San, their San, would actually do something like that.

San had helped the crew so much since the beginning. He had supported Mingi many times when he had been insecure. He had protected the ship without hesitation when Yeosang had tried to sneak in. He had saved Honjoong’s life during the battle with the slave ship, when he could have easily left him for death if that were his mission. Why had San left him alive? So many weeks had passed already, so why was he only coming clean now?

“Why me?” Hongjoong chose to ask instead, because he wasn’t sure if he was ready to hear the reason behind San leaving him alive.

“I don’t…” San bit his lip. Of course he knew, or at the very least, he had an idea of why his own family wanted his head.

His research showed him that Emperor Kim and Prince Yijoong were power-thirsty. Emperor Kim was constantly leading battles to conquer other planets and expand his territory even though he was vastly incapable of taking care of what he already had. Prince Yijoong was simply jealous, of his older brother who had achieved so much, and of his younger brother who was heading towards the same route.

And Hongjoong wasn’t like that. Hongjoong didn’t care about power or money, he cared about his people and about life and justice. Hongjoong had learned from his brother that there was more to their position as Princes than simply owning and taking. And even though Taejoong liked fighting a little too much, he had taught Hongjoong well, and now he had learned for himself that there were things far more important than taking revenge. There were people suffering and grieving more than him, and he wanted to help.

“I don’t know for certain,” he said instead, because he didn’t want to continue lying, but he didn’t want to break Hongjoong’s heart even more. “I know there are some political motives behind it, there always are.”

“What do you mean?” Yunho asked, frowning.

“You know it better than me Yunho, you’ve been trying to protect him for so many years,” San looked away when Yunho’s eyes became ice cold. After all, he was one of those things Yunho had always tried his best to shield Hongjoong from. “The people who pay for our services are always power hungry, it’s the only thing they care about.

"The reason they want you dead, Hongjoong, is because that would give them more power.” San muttered. He wanted to answer their questions, but he didn’t want to reveal everything that he knew.

“Who is behind this?” Hongjoong asked, finally. San could see that he was dying to ask, but he would have preferred it a lot more to not be faced by that dreaded question.

“I don’t-”

“You do know,” Yunho interrupted, his tone was aggressive and laced with impatience.

“You don’t want to know,” San shook his head. He didn’t want to say it, he didn’t want to be responsible for breaking Hongjoong’s heart even more.

“Tell me-”

Noise erupted from outside the quarters, drowning Hongjoong’s voice for a moment as they all turned to look at the door, confused at whatever was happening outside. Hongjoong tried to move towards the door, but Yunho stopped him, not wanting him to go any closer to San. He himself couldn’t bring himself to move, afraid that any wrong movement would have Yunho come for his neck. He just hoped it wasn’t the people that wanted Hongjoong’s head.

–

The captain of the ship informed him that they were coming close to the ship, and that they had already made contact with The Crescent. Wooyoung smiled, leaning on the railing and waiting for the ship to come into view. His heart was beating extremely fast. He was excited to finally be meeting them, but also nervous, because he knew he needed to find San as soon as he boarded the ship.

Wooyoung had told them that as soon as he boarded they could simply leave, since Chan would need as many men as possible for the battle on the home planet. He had promised that Hongjoong would be fulfilling his end of the deal, but that they needed to solve other matters before, some that were vital for things to work out. He wasn’t sure himself if things would work seamlessly, but even if they did, there were a lot of things to worry about.

“Approaching destination, prepare for the atmospheres to merge,” the Captain ordered, and Wooyoung made sure to have all of his things ready.

The Crescent was even more beautiful in person than whatever he had built through the dreams he had visited. It was gorgeous, and seemed to glow in the darkness of space with its own soul. To Wooyoung, it felt like home. He had dreamed about it so many times, and he couldn’t believe he was finally there. A couple of crewmembers helped him descend onto The Crescent’s deck with his luggage, and soon enough, Chan’s ship was leaving him behind.

“Who are you?!” Someone yelled behind him, and Wooyoung turned to find quite a few swords pointing at him.

He was completely surrounded by soldiers, which he had already been expecting. Wooyoung put his luggage on the ground and raised his arms, trying to appear peaceful and harmless, but the soldiers were not convinced. He knew they wouldn’t hurt him though, because he had already seen all of this develop in his dreams. He simply needed to be found…

“Wooyoung?” A voice called for him from behind, and he smiled.

He barely had time to turn as he was occupied with an armful of Mingi, who had done his best to run to his encounter. Wooyoung let out a breathy laugh, exhilarated with the fact that he could finally hug the real Mingi. It felt so much more different than dreams. Mingi was tall and firm under his touch, he was warm and he trembled with excitement as much as Wooyoung did.

“Mingi? What are you doing?” More familiar voices.

Wooyoung pulled away from Mingi just enough to allow the others to see him. Jongho, Yeosang and Seonghwa were there, with their mouths wide open like they had just seen some sort of ghost. Wooyoung laughed, and convinced Mingi to let him go just for long enough to greet the others as well. He had been yearning for them, and they had clearly been waiting for him as well.

Yeosang hesitated a little when Wooyoung stood in front of him with open arms, but once he realized Wooyoung was indeed real, he squeezed the daylights out of him, mumbling incoherences. Jongho’s hug was a lot more gentle, a lot more comforting, and Wooyoung basked in the differences between all of them. And then there was Seonghwa, who stood a little to the side, looking at Wooyoung like he was experiencing a miracle. They didn’t hug, but Seonghwa grabbed Wooyoung’s hand and kissed the back of it, a mix of admiration and gratitude that made Wooyoung blush.

“You’re finally here,” Jongho affirmed. Finally, the eight of them were about to be reunited.

“Yep, all thanks to your good friend Chan,” Wooyoung chuckled, finding himself in Mingi’s arms again.

“You met him?” Yeosang asked, wide eyed.

“I’ve always been a metaphysical step or two ahead of you,” Wooyoung smiled, allowing himself to enjoy the moment he had been waiting for for so long.

“We’ve been waiting for you,” Seonghwa explains. He still looked like he was out of himself, almost shocked to discover that Wooyoung was indeed real, like he had feared he wasn’t.

“And I’ve been looking for you,” Wooyoung took a deep breath, willing his heart to calm down. “For all of you.”

The soldiers around them were making a ruckus, confused at his appearance at the ship. Of course, they all recognized Chan’s name upon being mentioned, but they had never seen Wooyoung before, so they couldn’t begin to understand how he was related to anything. It made him happy, though, because it meant that the others had kept his secret safe, only to themselves. They were running out of time now, though, so Wooyoung squeezed Mingi’s arms and got out of his grasp again.

“I need to find San,” he explained.

“I saw him walk into the Captain’s quarters before,” Seonghwa hummed. “Captain Hongjoong summoned some of the crew for a meeting, but I think only him and First Mate Yunho remain there now.”

“Then we better hurry up.” Wooyoung turned around with no hesitation and began walking towards Hongjoong and Yunho’s quarters, already knowing by heart where they were. The others followed him, compelled by the way he had said those words, even though they clearly had no idea what was happening.

–

“Yunho, please lower your sword,” Hongjoong asked him, feeling anxiety crawl in his stomach as they wasted time in there when something else was happening out on deck.

“No,” Yunho’s demeanor was firm.

San was still kneeling on the floor with his arms raised. He didn’t even feel the strain on his muscles with how much his stomach kept turning with nausea and anxiety. It would’ve been a lot more merciful to be killed than to be subjected to Yunho’s betrayed gaze. He wished Wooyoung was there to intervene for him, to explain things and to convince him. San wanted so badly to be redeemed.

Yunho clicked his tongue, getting antsy about the noises coming from outside. He moved forward to hurt San. He didn’t want to kill him. In fact, he couldn’t kill him, because as much as he felt betrayed he still cared about him. But he needed to render him defenseless so that he couldn’t hurt anyone else. Yunho wasn’t certain how artificial life functioned, and he couldn’t risk the apologetic San in front of them being a lie.

“Stop right there.”

The door opened wide and five men walked in. Yunho stopped mid motion, and the three of them turned towards the door as they heard the gasps of surprise and confusion. Everyone was there. Wooyoung made sure to close the door behind them before he walked towards San and pulled him up until he was standing. He didn’t even wait for San to say anything before enveloping him in a tight hug. San broke down in his arms.

“I did it,” San sobbed, and Wooyoung hugged him tighter.

“You did, and I’m so proud of you,” Wooyoung whispered, turning to look at Hongjoong and Yunho.

Yunho, who was looking at all of them like they had stabbed him in the back and left him to die. He raised his sword higher, pushed Hongjoong to the wall behind them and stood in front of him, ready to give his life protecting him. The tears threatened his eyes but he kept them at bay, because they would only be a nuisance. He felt betrayed and confused, and could no longer distinguish friend from foe.

“What is happening here?” Yeosang demanded, confused and hurt at how Yunho was acting towards them, already ready to step up first. “What the fuck are you doing Yunho?”

“You’re all behind this, aren’t you?!” Yunho barked back. His voice was shaky but he focused on keeping his hand steady. There were so many of them, and the realization that he didn’t actually know anything about any of them had just hit him.

“Behind what?” Seonghwa intervened this time, clearly fed up with how little things make sense.

“I’ll explain,” Wooyoung spoke up, making everyone else go silent.

He carefully passed San onto Mingi, who very quickly wrapped his arms around the shorter male. He fussed over him, whispering some questions simply to make sure that San wasn’t hurt. San simply nodded or shook his head as an answer, too focused on stopping himself from crying. He thought that if he spoke another word, he would fuck everything up.

“San has been keeping a very important secret in order to survive,” Wooyoung explained, taking his time to look everyone in the eyes. “All of you here probably know what it’s like to keep a secret, I know I do.

"He comes from a very unkind planet, his whole life he was trained in the arts of assassination,” he didn’t miss the way they all seemed horrified, or how Mingi hugged San tighter instead of casting him aside. He was with the right people. “He was sent here to kill Hongjoong-”

“I couldn’t do it,” San intervened with a broken voice. “From the moment I met Hongjoong and Yunho I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

“Then why didn’t you-”

“Yunho,” Hongjoong interrupted him, placing a hand on the arm that was handling the sword and slowly lowering it.

“Because he is afraid,” Wooyoung continued. “The same fear you’re feeling right now, he’s felt it this whole time. Despite how angry you are now, you haven’t hurt him because you care… What would have happened before?”

Yunho knows they are right. If San had told them this way before, he wouldn’t have been able to forgive him, he wouldn’t have stopped himself. San had been trying to protect himself as much as Yunho had been trying to protect Hongjoong. He couldn’t blame him for that. He let the sword drop to the floor as Hongjoong wrapped his arms around him, trying to comfort him.

“You’re all I have,” Yunho muttered to Hongjoong, hugging him as well. He felt numb and tired, confused, lost.

“That is not true,” Jongho spoke for the first time.

He had been standing behind everyone, taking the situation in and weighting it in his mind. He wasn’t surprised to find that he didn’t feel anything but sympathy towards San, who had been simply trying to keep himself alive. Weren’t all of them doing that at the end of the day? Even Yunho’s actions at that moment had occurred under that same basis: survival.

“Hongjoong is not all you have,” Jongho repeated, as he noticed the confused looks on everyone but Wooyoung. “In the end, we all reunited like Wooyoung predicted. We are also here, including San, if you’ll have us.”

Yunho nodded, closing his eyes and hiding his face on Hongoong’s collarbone. Jongho didn’t mind, knowing fully well that they all needed some time to process what was happening, but at least now everyone’s feelings were clearly on the table. They could all feel the shift in the tension, like it had suddenly become easier to breathe. Only one of them remained antsy. Hongjoong was staring at Wooyoung, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

“Wooyoung, you know who is behind it…” It wasn’t a question. Hongjoong was very aware of Wooyoung’s nature, and the Somnum had told him before that he was many steps ahead, knowing more than any of them could even fathom.

Wooyoung smiled gently at him, and he looked sorry. That look was more than enough confirmation to Honjoong, who had already known but had hoped it wasn’t true. He could understand why San would keep something like that from him, but not Wooyoung. It just didn’t make sense to him. He would have told any of them if he had known they were in danger.

“I do know who it is,” Wooyoung nodded. “I didn’t figure it out until recently though…”

“But I thought-”

“Yes, I do know many things,” Wooyoung interrupted him, not wanting to be misunderstood even more. “However, I have no control of when they are revealed to me, because feelings may cause me to mess things up.”

Hongjoong blushed slightly, feeling like Wooyoung had seen right through what he had been thinking before. Of course, Wooyoung himself had a mission that he couldn’t ruin, much like he and Yunho did with the treasure. He almost wished he wasn’t part of that mission, but that would mean to never have met the people he’s with now, and ignorance about the reward on his head seems like a good enough price for that. He got lucky.

“I can tell you if you want, Hongjoong.” Wooyoung explained. Hongjoong ignored the alarmed look that San directed at the Somnum, it was obvious the assassin didn’t want him to know. What could be so bad that San wanted to protect him from it? “Better yet, I can show you. But only if you’re ready to learn about it.”

The prince looked at San, who looked incredibly mortified, mouthing with his lips at Hongjoong not to do it. And then he looked at the rest, who were put in danger so many times because of him, who seemed confused and lost just like him. And then he looked at Wooyoung, who was still smiling and waiting for him, and he knew that the right thing was to learn about it, because otherwise Wooyoung wouldn’t be offering him that knowledge.

“I want to know.”