Seonghwa was in no hurry and neither did he try to be subtle. He didn't take the long route, rather barging in right into the hall those mercenaries were waiting in.

Within three seconds there were about fifteen guns pointed right at him.

Seonghwa gave the assembled gentlemen a charming smile before pulling his own gun on them.

The location of the fight was interesting. There was a stream running through the room that came in from the waterfalls from the left and fell onto a water wheel that turned slowly. The stream then crossed the large room over to another wheel that stood icily still. It was probably supposed to budge too, but it stayed where it was stubbornly.

The men had put two metal grids over the stream so they could cross it easily and Seonghwa used that to his advantage. He stayed hidden behind some broken column while he shot them down on those grids, making sure they were not able to cross over. Their bodies piled on the grids and the surrounding stream, making it hard for others to follow up.

Seonghwa had some trouble with the more collected guys that stayed strategically hidden behind some crates. He had to come out of his hiding spot several times to shoot at them, making himself vulnerable. Thankfully, he did not get hurt any further. The crate problem was solved quickly too when one of the men decided to throw a grenade at Seonghwa that bounced off somewhere and came right back at them.

Seonghwa left the mess at it was and reloaded his gun before leaving. He dusted his pants off before stepping over another trap.

His way led him through multiple more danger-filled corridors and out again where he shot the rest of those yakuza down that seemed to just have been trying to catch up with Hongjoong. He was quite confident to have gotten all of them, continuing on his path.

However, as he was walking over a large hanging bridge leading over a part of the waterfalls, a sudden shot snapped through the ropes holding it up on the ceiling, nearly making him fall to his death. For a second, it was just Seonghwa, his still heart, and death by water.

In the last moment, he managed to hold onto the snapping ropes, though. He quickly swung over via those remains and landed safely on the other side. Somewhere, a bird screeched when he shot the hidden man in the face.

Seonghwa rested for a bit before going further. From what San had seen the number of men he had shot matched the number of people who had come in, meaning he should be alone now. After he finished patching up his wounds, Seonghwa went to walk the last few rooms over to where Hongjoong had to be waiting.

It seemed like a funny coincidence that Wooyoung had shared Hongjoong's location with them today. Not as if Hongjoong would be surprised by Seonghwa approaching.

"I'll ask you to kindly shut off the video and audio for the next few hours. If there's a problem, I'll press the button." Seonghwa hung onto the edge of a broken staircase, pulling himself up. His arms had had enough of adventure for today, but he reminded himself he still had to fight a bratty omega.

He didn't even walk up seven steps when something suddenly clicked under his feet.

With a roll of his eyes, Seonghwa jumped down the staircase again, landing on his left knee and catching his body with his hands.

Another huge fucking ball rolled at him from the top of the stairs; it would have squashed him with no way of stopping had he not dodged it.

Again, Seonghwa dusted his clothes off and straightened his backpack.

"You didn't press the button, I'm offended," San pouted in his ear as Seonghwa jumped up the staircase another time in the hopes of not triggering another ball.

"I still hear you breathing in your mic, idiot. Now shush. I don't want you to see this." He was not sure what would happen during that fight and he didn't want to out himself just yet.

"What are you planning to do, hm? You wanna bang him in that sacred temple? Not that I would be surprised if you did." San cheerfully greeted Yunho right after his crude words, his voice all cutesy.

Seonghwa jogged up the stairs and to the heavy ornate double stone doors in the middle of the T staircase. He didn't bother to knock as he swung open the right one with a horrible grinding noise, and got a full view of Hongjong sitting on the ground crosslegged, obviously waiting for him. Upon laying eyes on Seonghwa he grinned impishly and waved with his thumb tucked towards his hand.

God, he was annoying.

"Oh la la, doesn't he look delectable right now?"

"San I swear to God."

With a giggle, San actually cut the line, making silence spread in Seonghwa's ear. He sighed, relieved, but he left the comm in any way. With a quick scan of the room, Seonghwa found it devoid of anything. It was just a big, round room without any obstacles inside. It wasn't too grand either, perfect to fight in unbothered.

Seonghwa neatly closed the door behind him and put his backpack down next to the door, setting the weapon down, too. He wouldn't fight Hongjoong with bullets.

As he turned around again he caught Hongjoong checking his legs out, his eyes quickly flickering back up to his face at his sudden movement. He smiled innocently when he met Seonghwa's narrowed eyes, playing the angel.

"Congrats on getting here. I made sure to leave you some traps to figure out so you wouldn't get bored." His voice had that teasing tilt again, but he bravely stayed seated where he was - also without his weapons - as Seonghwa closed in on him. Now, finally, he could Hongjoong show his true colours, his very not lame self.

"You got the piece?" Seonghwa smoothly came straight to the point. Hongjoong gave an approving hum before he lifted his small fist with the piece inside. He showed it to Seonghwa, the light falling in from above making it seem an even darker grey than it usually was.

"It's your lucky day. You may gain it if you beat me."

Seonghwa grit his teeth as he stepped in even closer, making Hongjoong sit up straight finally. He was barely two steps apart from Hongjoong now and their once loud voices had simmered down to hissing. It felt oddly intimate.

"Hand it over."

"Come and get it, tiger." With that, Hongjoong pushed his hand down his opened suit, letting the piece disappear in his clothed crotch area. He leaned back then with a cheeky smirk, both of his brows rising challenging.

Seonghwa's mouth had dropped open in shock. What the hell was the man doing?

Suddenly, he desperately wished to have San back to get help.

After staring at Hongjoong for a long time only, Soenghwa awkwardly cleared his throat. Despite him having faltered in his steps Hongjoong was still observing him with a patient calmness. He seemed confident in his sudden trick, and he wasn't going to change it either.

Seonghwa went down on one knee, his eyes fixed on the man's crotch. Hongjoong was still relaxed, still sitting leaned back on his hands, but there was no way Seonghwa would just shove his hand down the man's pants like that.

Not as if Hongjoong would have let him, either.

The moment Seonghwa knelt, his behaviour changed as if someone had flipped a switch inside of him. His arms suddenly moved forward to grasp at Seonghwa's hips to try and push him down on the ground.

Rather than the sudden attack, it was more the surprising strength Hongjoong put into it. It actually caught Seonghwa by surprise and his ankle twisted underneath his body from the sudden added weight. With a surprised yell, Seonghwa went down with Hongjoong following right up.

Alright, Seonghwa had imagined something more akin to actual wrestling when he came here but this worked too. The only problem was that now, while Hongjoong tried to restrain his hands and Seonghwa tried to snatch the other man's wrists, Hongjoong was sitting right on his crotch area and the outline of the amulet piece and also other things were very apparent under his suit.

Seonghwa was mildly distracted, but that, of course, was part of Hongjoong's tactics, too.

In the end, it was Hongjoong's chuckle that pulled him out of his trance. Only then did he look up at the man who was kneeling above his fairly still body triumphantly, his red hair hanging tousled into his forehead.

"What is it? You worried to hurt me?"

Seonghwa was grabbing at his arms only, but his whole other body did not move despite being perfectly able to throw the other man down. Of course, Hongjoong had noticed.

"Or are you satisfied with having me on top? A dream come true, perhaps?" With that, he ground down dirtily on Seonghwa's lap, making a surprised gasp escape his lips.

Hongjoong squeaked when Seonghwa suddenly rolled them around and brought the other man underneath himself. Hongjoong went to fending him off immediately, their bodies pressing close together and interweaving as they tried to render the opposite useless.

Their harsh breathing was the only thing heard in the room save for the sound of bodies hitting the ground roughly. It was a tiring battle. Hongjoong's resistance was far stronger than Seonghwa would have expected and his previous battles had exhausted the alpha. He didn't have enough stamina to hold up against the other man and the constant rush of heat through his body at the exhilaration of their fight didn't help either.

Sometimes, Seonghwa sparred with Yunho at home. The man knew of a few martial arts that he trained Seonghwa in. However, while that kind of fighting, too, could get Seonghwa going, he had the impression of not having had such a satisfying fight in a long time. Hongjoong was an excellent opponent with just the right amount of willpower compared to his teasing self.

Furthermore, he kept grinding down on Seonghwa in what he tried to make seem like an accident when in reality, he just really liked pressing his middle against Seonghwa's hardness.

With the minutes passing and them rolling over the ground with none gaining the upper hand, Seonghwa's breaths became more ragged from the constant pressure. By now, he had lost all motivation to fight. Instead, it had been exchanged with raging lust for the other man whose spread thighs he was in between. He just wanted to grab Hongjoong and press him down on his length already.

Thus, in a last boost of strength, Seonghwa collected all of his power to throw them around another time and pinned Hongjoong down with his body weight. As usual, there were grappling hands, but this time, Seonghwa let Hongjoong restrain his hands easily.

Confusion crossed over the man's features until Seonghwa suddenly leaned forward and pressed their chests together.

Startled, Hongjoong turned his head away, making the mistake of exposing his neck to Seonghwa.

Seonghwa dove right in and kept Hongjoong's hands locked above his head as his teeth met skin.

He would not bite the man, gods, no, but just a gentle scrape of teeth against Hongjoong's sweaty skin made the man go rigid underneath him like a frightened bunny. Having an alpha so close to one's neck always poised a risk, so his reaction was fair. However, the way with which his legs trembled around Seonghwa's waist as he nosed over his scent gland came rather surprising.

They were not that close that they would scent each other. Yet, Hongjoong went pliant underneath Seonghwa, allowing him to press his hardness down on him as he searched for smell on Hongjoong.

Hongjoong keened quietly when Seonghwa suddenly licked over his sensitive skin in a sudden impulse. He tried to get those scent blockers off, wanting to smell the man's sweet arousal already. Yet, it was only when Seonghwa shifted his body to have better access and accidentally pressed their dicks together once more, that his scent penetrated the air for the first time.

It was heady and heavy, a given, in their current situation. It was also so far different from any of the scents Seonghwa had been close to before either.

Seonghwa was used to his pack's smells. San smelled of freshly cut grass, Yunho of cinnamon, and Yeosang of bread baking in an oven. Seonghwa had been told he smelled like a homey fire crackling in the fire place - pretty boring in San's opinion - but he liked it.

Hongjoong, however, Hongjoong smelled like a thunderstorm. He smelled like the rich earth after rain, like the unmistakeable anticipation nature had right before the rain came crashing down on it.

Hongjoong smelled like danger and his scent lured in Seonghwa so much, that he failed to notice the obvious.

Hongjoong didn't smell like an omega at all.