[june 11, 20××, third day. 2 A.M.]

       AS they started on packing up their weapons and ammos, Yeosang looked at the dark-haired male which seems to be not in the mood. He wanted to talk to him, just like before as they try to make Wooyoung show that glorious smile of his- but Wooyoung wouldn't smile for him. Not anymore.

Maybe it's actually Yeosang's fault why the dark-haired boy changed the way he's treating him and Yeosang accepted it. After all, he's the one to blame for this. Wooyoung was attached to him so much that his departure broke the younger male and Wooyoung didn't even gave up on trying to contact him yet because of unwanted circumstances, he wasn't able to respond to any of it. In which the younger male probably thought that he left him in spite, turning the loneliness that he feels into spite as well.

“Wooyoung,” he called the black-haired male as Wooyoung looks at him as if he was already annoyed, “Let’s do our best.”

“Of course, I will. Unlike you..” Wooyoung scoffed as he turned his back at him.

“I will do my best,” Yeosang said softly as he walked beside the younger male then held his arm.

“Don’t tou—” Wooyoung was about to snarl at the brunette as he faced him but froze when he saw a small smile on Yeosang’s lips.

“I’ll do my best so I wouldn’t be a hindrance to you, Youngie.” Yeosang smiled wider as his eyes crinkled, “I might look like a fool because I’m trying my best to express something but for you, I’ll do anything.”

“Cute~” Hongjoong silently squeals beside Seonghwa which giggled at the sight.

“Aw, look at Yeosang!” San coo-ed, grinning widely when he saw the smile on Yeosang's face. He knew it was a forced one because of a certain reason— yet Yeosang did it for Wooyoung. It made his blood boil towards the dark-haired male in front of him, imagining how he shred him in pieces after this incident.

“H-Hey!” Wooyoung was flustered as he removed Yeosang's grip on his arm while glaring at the older male, “Who gave you the right to hold me like that?”

“Eh?” Yeosang tilted his head in confusion, “We used to do this a lot before, Youngie. I just want to do it again because we’ve finally met each other after a long time.”

“Y-You..!” Wooyoung’s face kept on getting redder as the others watched the amusing scenario in front of them.

“Wooyoungie?” Yeosang leaned in front of the male to check him yet Wooyoung took a step backward, “Why?”

“A-Are you doing this in purpose?!” the black-haired male screeched in annoyance.

“I meant no harm,” Yeosang stated casually which made Wooyoung screech once again.

“Are you gonna answer me as if you’re an airhead?! For fuck's sake!” Wooyoung gripped his hair tightly as he shut his eyes close.

“Hey. I haven’t done something wrong, Youngie.” Yeosang stated as he smiled apologetically, “And if I did, sorry.”

“You know what?” Wooyoung did his best to regain his composure as he glared at Yeosang again, “Stop doing this. If you’re here to be friends then fuck off, I knew that you’re going to leave again. Stop acting as if you didn't left and made me wait for nothing!”

“Ah, you're mad again.” Yeosang looked down, “Sorry.”

“You’re always apologizing yet you’re not doing anything so you couldn’t make mistakes and shit! You’re always like that! What? You haven't changed at all?” Wooyoung said, clenching his fists “You act as if you’re still your younger self! Selfless and naïve! As if you’ve been confined in a room for all the years that you've been gone!”

Yeosang froze at the statement as he looked up to face Wooyoung in which the black-haired male flinched, the brunette's eyes widening in fear as if his words hurts him a lot. Seonghwa immediately looked at the two with worried gaze as he tried to step in to calm them while the half-demon, San, acted as if he was surprised but deep inside, he was cackling at Wooyoung's wrong move. Yeosang will leave him alone for that statement, the half-demon thought.

“Hey. Stop it,” Seonghwa interfered.

“Wooyoung, that was just a dick move.” Mingi's remark made Wooyoung flinch as he looked at everyone, they're disappointed in him and he immediately looked away.

“As much as we can sympathize with you and your loneliness for years, it’s not right for you to spat those words to Yeosang. He's still your friend and he’s doing his best to reconcile with you,” Hongjoong calmly stated as he tapped Wooyoung's shoulder.

“The last thing that he said was that he hates me! He hates me and he left the next day after that incident! I was scared and lonely! He hates me and now, he's coming back to apologize? What the fuck is wrong with him?” Wooyoung tried to defend himself as he pointed at Yeosang, “I hate him, Hongjoong-hyung! I hate Yeosang!”

Yeosang's eyes widened on the black-haired male’s response as he immediately looked down, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to remember everything. I made you feel bad for a long time and all I can do is apologize.”

“Hey! Stop!” Everyone looked at Yunho which was fuming in anger as he crossed his arms, “Enough of this drama! I thought that we’re here to prepare for our ambush later?!”

“Well.. yeah.” Jongho mutters as he looked at Wooyoung, “But from the looks of it, our teamwork isn’t that stable for now. We still have a few minutes so we should let these two dumbasses to calm down. Honestly, I might be the youngest but all of you are so immature.”

“It can’t be helped,” Mingi chuckled nervously, “Wooyoung, calm down. Before saying such stuff, think about it. Do you really hate Yeosang?”

“Stop this conversation already,” San muttered in such a grumpy way, “Issues like these shouldn’t even be our priority. We only have thirty minutes to finish this mission so as much as you hate Yeosang, you have to coordinate with him so we can get our info already!”

“San's right. Let’s talk about it after the mission, okay?” Seonghwa agrees as he patted both of the boys, “Calm down, you two. I want both of you to talk about it later, alright?”

Yeosang nodded as he immediately walked away while getting the axe that he brought when they scavenged for medicines two days ago. Wooyoung huffed as he hugged Seonghwa, looking at him with apologetic eyes in which the eldest hugged him back. The whole preparation was quiet as they immediately left the weapon room and proceed to the gate.

“Remember what I've said last night?” Hongjoong asked in which everyone nodded, “Our safety is everyone’s priority. If everything gets too risky then we’ll retreat, I’ll be blowing the whistle once if we’ll be retreating so listen carefully.”

“Hey.” They all looked at Yunho which raised his hand, “C-Can we make a cheer for us?”

“Oh.” San immediately nodded, being the hype man of everyone, “That’s great! It’ll lighten up the mood!”

“Let’s get it!” Mingi agrees.

“But ‘fighting!’ is too plain. Can someone think of something?” Jongho stated.

“Oh! I have one!” Everyone looked at Mingi which raised his hand as he grins cheerfully, “Since we are united! How about.. ‘One us! Fighting!’?”

“For a certain reason, I wanted to beat you into a pulp for saying that and I don’t even know why.” Yunho deadpans but the glare that he gave towards Mingi was so intense.

“I second the motion,” Hongjoong agrees.

“Why do I feel like I want to murder Mingi right now?” San asked as he smiled in such an eerie way that Mingi screeched. San added some dark aura in himself in which Mingi can only see it though, scaring him in purpose.

“Wait! I think I've got it? How about..” Hongjoong looked at them one by one as he started counting from one to eight, “Eight! Eight makes one team?”

“That sounds neat!” Seonghwa agrees, smiling giddily as his arms are wrapped around Wooyoung- still comforting him from the incident a while ago.

“But isn't mine cooler though?” Mingi whined.

“Shut up, bitchstick.” Yunho hissed, still glaring at him.

“Hey! What’s with y’all being mean?! It’s not like I've done something bad or abandoned y'all!” Mingi defended himself and pouted.

For the first time after the incident, Wooyoung chuckles, “Maybe but if your other self probably said that in a parallel universe then you probably made them mad with that.”

“I don’t get it,” Mingi said, scratching his head.

“That’s because your last two braincells are currently on vacation so you couldn’t really find any intellegence on yourself.” Yunho said, still glaring at the second tallest.

“Let’s chant it altogether, okay?!” Hongjoong said as he looked at them for approval in which everyone nodded.

“Eight makes one team! Fighting!”

Yunho and Mingi kept on jumping around as the others kept on smiling except for Yeosang yet he can feel his chest being weird because of the sight that he’s seeing. His friends smiling ss if they’re happy, they made him feel the same warmth that he has only been feeling towards San. He closed his eyes and this time, a small yet genuine smile was seen on his face.

“Let’s get it, guys!” Jongho said, grinning as he opened the doors.

•°•°•°•°•°•

SEONGHWA looked at the factory once again but decided to turn his back as Jongho closed the gates once that everyone has been outside, all of them walked beside each other as they kept on being alert in case that a blackened one might attack them out of nowhere especially when it’s quite foggy. But Seonghwa sensed an energy from behind and glanced, he saw one of them was left behind as if he was talking to something while crouching on the ground.

Seonghwa saw a cat. A black cat. It seems to be fond of Mingi and he saw something coming out from Mingi’s palm, a trinklet that he put in the cat’s neck as if it’s a necklace before muttering something as the energy kept on flowing outside Mingi’s soul.

Seonghwa smiled. He’s like Mingi but in a better way. He wasn’t able to imagine the loud and cheerful lad to be something like that, he was so bright that it made him surprised when the truth is... Mingi is a creature of the night.

He tried to imagine Mingi wearing the same clothes as his kind while riding on a broomstick as he imitated the infamous laugh of his kind. And it took all of Seonghwa’s composure not to laugh out loud and attract the blackened ones.

“Mingi?” Hongjoong called the second tallest, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Oh? Nothing.” Mingi immediately rsn to their direction as he grins sheepishly, “Sorry.”

“Pay attention,” Hongjoong reminded him in which Mingi nods.

“Hey, guys. As we're walking right now, I'd like to ask you something.” Seonghwa mutters, keeping his voice as quiet as possible.

“Go ahead,” San stated as he kept his eyes on the road.

“Do you believe on supernatural creatures?” Seonghwa asked and everyone aside from Yeosang, Wooyoung and San seems to flinch or react in such a way that Seonghwa is trying his best not to laugh, “You know? Like valkyries, witches, elemental users and perhaps, faeries?”

He heard someone gasped, probably Yunho in which Seonghwa smirks in triumph while Mingi laughs nervously, “Dunno ‘bout that. Are they even real?”

“I think they exist.” Seonghwa added as he looked at them, “They’re probably around us, don’t you think?”

“M-Maybe..” Jongho immediately averted his gaze on the eldest, “I don't know about that.”

“V-Valkyries? But there aren’t any females here,” Hongjoong said as if he was trying to avert the topic.

“But what if there's a male valkyrie? Like a rare case? There are possibilities,” Seonghwa stated, holding his sniper tightly as he try to detect any blackened ones nearby, “Also the reason why I said that witches might exist is because I think I heard a 'meow' a while ago? But there hasn’t been a sight of any animals ever since this incident started to happen.”

Mingi gulped, “You’re probably imagining stuff, Seonghwa-hyung.”

“I second the motion. You’ve been tired lately,” Hongjoong immediately agreed, nodding furiously.

“Maybe,” Seonghwa hummed as he rests his chin on his left hand, “I’m fine with those creatures but if there’s something that is incorrigible then it’s probably demons.”

“D-Demons?” Mingi stuttered as he looked around, afraid of the whole surroundings.

“Yes. I think demons are incorrigible. Making pacts and ruining the mortals’ lives for their entertainment,” Seonghwa said as he looked around them, “There’s probably one around here.”

“Who knows?” San said as he looked at Seonghwa while smiling brightly, “Maybe there is a demon around here.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Seonghwa shrugged as he tried to check their reactions as he sighed, “Nevermind. Maybe it’s because I've been lacking sleep lately that it made me think about these.”

Seonghwa can hear someone sighing in relief, most likely it’s Mingi again since he’s definitely bad at pretending. The eldest just kept his eyes on the road, there’s no way that the other three are normal at all. They can see through this fog, this fog that the mortals couldn’t even see a thing. He tried asking the survivors about it but all that they can say is that they couldn’t see a thing through all of the fog.

He shouldn’t suspect but it’s for his own safety. But as long as no one meant harm, he wouldn’t even dare to use violence against someone. He's a pacifist, he’ll keep on thinking every single possibility in order to save everyone without hurting anyone that he loves.

They stopped and hid behind an alley near the town’s library, Hongjoong used the binoculars and Seonghwa tried not to laugh at this valkyrie’s act. He can see clearly even from afar yet he tries his best to act like a normal person. How amusing, Seonghwa thought.

“I think I can see something five blackened ones in the front door,” Hongjoong mutters as he looked around, “There’s no blackened ones in sight, they’re probably having an another meeting so this is our chance.”

“We must attack them silently,” Jongho said as he looked at Seonghwa, “Hyung, can you shoot them with your sniper? It has a silencer so they wouldn’t be able to hear it.”

“Good idea, Jongho.” He ruffled the youngest male’s hair.

One shot. Only one shot. Seonghwa took a deep breath as he focused on his aim, immediately firing one and hit the head of a blackened one which made the four looked at it. He immediately signaled everyone to attack in which they ran towards the front door and attacked.

Jongho punched one of them so hard that its face exploded, much to Mingi’s dismay because of his fear towards gore and bloody stuff. Hongjoong slashed one of the blackened one's head using both of his cutlass as if it's a dual sword. Yeosang’s hands were shaking yet with all of the force that he gathered, he swung the axe on one of the blackened ones as its head flew a few meters away from the body that used to be attached to it. And last but not the least, San ran towards the blackened one so fast that it didn’t have enough time to evade when San pointed the gun in front of its jaw and shoot, making it fall to the ground.

“Great,” Hongjoong remarked as he looked at everyone, “Back door team, proceed there and eliminate the guards.  Yeosang and Wooyoung, enter.”

The door opened and both of them immediately went in but Yeosang looked back with such a distressed expression on his face, “Please be safe.”

“We will,” Seonghwa assured him.

“Go. Now. You only have thirty minutes to infiltrate it!” Hongjoong ordered and both of the boys nodded, running towards the main hall of the library.

“We have to go too.” Seonghwa stated in a calm way, gesturing at San and Mingi to follow him.

“Hey, bitchstick.” Yunho called Mingi in which the second tallest looked back at the mint-haired boy, “Don’t you dare die over there because of your stupidity, get it?!”

Mingi smirked, “As if I’ll die!”

“Let's hurry!” San stated impatiently as he pouted.

They gave one last look to each other, wishing for their safety as they immediately took care of the blackened ones in the back door. Much to Seonghwa’s dismay, it was the only blackened ones around the area. As if everyone was really on the mandatory meeting out there and silently prayed that it’ll continue until the time that the two inside the library can get the information that they needed.

On the other hand, the vision that was given to him with all of his friends dying still makes him fear for their lives. Yet it wondered him, why are they acting like they don’t have any supernatural abilities on there? On drastic situations, they should be doing everything to survive yet it seems that they couldn’t use any of their abilities there. And Seonghwa isn’t in the vision, he’s watching them but how?

The most important question is that who gave him that vision?

-----

henlo! i already told myself that i wouldn’t update but i actually posted this just for a filler.. most likely, it’s just a filler chapter but i wanna include some OT8 moments in this fic for my uwus lol

also i'm... smad about those fansite which seems to follow ateez and one of the fansite really got close to jongho just to take a close shot of him (like really... close! it made the youngest look away immediately! i’m mad! that’s my son!) and also, one of the fansites (love for?? i think? it's a wooyoung fansite) tweeted that ‘i don’t care of what he doesn’t like’ when ppl are saying that wooyoung prolly didn’t like what they've done since it’s making the boys uncomfortable :< therefore.. in minihong and dragonfly (yES), we trust. the real ateez fansites MVPs 👌

also! 1k views! 100+ votes! what have i done? i don’t deserve y’all. thank ya kindly! i’ll do my best to give y’all an update that is worth reading soon! QwQ but please leave some comments.. i love seeing comments ;; like.. reallyreallyreallyreallyreallyyyyy