CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
TROUBLE!

❝ IT'S ALWAYS HIM ❞

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"G-Good morning, Sera!" Jisung greeted nicely although there was a hint of nervousness in his tone. The said girl nods towards his direction, sending him a quick wave and a simple smile. "Morning, Jisung!"

"Didn't take Sera as an early bird," Donghyuck murmured as they walked into the dining hall, a few yawns to escape their mouths. Soon, people started piling into the hall and this was the first time Sera saw so many people in one area at their new place. During the tours they gave, people were most likely to be broken into little groups or were particularly on their own. But she guessed that they do all often eat at the same time, especially breakfast.

"I don't think she is," Jeno whispered back, observing as the girl trudged her way towards a waiting Yuta.

"What are y'all whispering about?" Shotaro questioned in between them while Yunseo rolled her eyes at her friends. "Leave her alone, you two. As if both of you are early birds."

"Hey!" Donghyuck and Jeno both yelled back to protest but Renjun stopped them with one look. The black-haired boy was certainly not in the mood for any early morning bantering and so they noticed, taking a seat at their respective places, quietly munching down on their food.

"Good morning, Sera! Jisung-ie." Yuta nodded his head towards them and offered them a seat. Jungwoo leaned closer to the table, propping his elbow on it with his chin cupped by his palm. "Morning to the both of you!"

The two new recruits mumbled their own greetings, taking a seat in front of them. Jungwoo furrowed his eyebrows, looking up to scan the room, and then asked, "You're not with Mark?"

Sera shrugged her shoulders, taking a sip of her water while Jisung shook his head. "We didn't see him this morning."

Jungwoo sighed and buried his face fully into both palms of his hands. "That kid. I swear, I told him to start waking up early or Youngho will scold him about it again." Despite being muffled through his palms, they all understood what he said. Sera and Jisung both personally didn't know Mark that well so they both had no say to what Jungwoo said while Yuta could only snort and shake his head at it.

An amused smirk cast on his lips, "Maybe he slept late again? Thinking or worrying about something again, you know him."

"Yeah, but still. He can't just sleep in and expect that Youngho and Taeyong would just let it slide."

"Taeyong's that hallway dude, right?" Sera brought up, looking at Jungwoo who sat frozen in his spot. He didn't really expect Sera to bring him up and he didn't quite prepare for this kind of question to be asked.

Yuta nodded along as if it was nothing but stopped when he realized what she had just asked. His head shot up from his plate and he looked at her with perplexed eyes. "Wait... you met him!?"

Sera hummed in response, one of her hands reaching back to rub her nape as she sheepishly smiled. "Is it a big deal?"

YES, IT IS. Yuta's mind screamed though the said male remained calm, his eyes saying otherwise as it grew larger from shock. Registering what she said, he turns to Jungwoo who eyed him back carefully.

"Well, Sera, maybe it kind of... is? Not to you, but to us, it is."

"It doesn't make any difference though?"

"W-Well, what did you feel about meeting Taeyong? Did you- did you feel anything? Something?" Jungwoo queried, with each question he moved closer to Sera causing the girl to back away a bit. She glanced at Jisung, seeing him unbothered and just typically enjoying his breakfast like a regular teen.

Yuta yanks Jungwoo back to sit down, clearly not liking how close he was getting towards Sera, and seeing her grow a bit uncomfortable by his actions, he knew he had to pull him back. "Too close."

"S-Sorry," Jungwoo mumbled but then focuses once again on Sera. "Well?"

Sera squinted her eyes at the male. "I don't even know him... am I supposed to know him? Is he like- I don't know, the head around here or so?"

"You could say that." Jungwoo and Yuta chorused, giving each other glances before looking back at Sera.

"Ah, can't believe I ran into him like that. Should I—"

"No!" Both Sera and Jisung flinched at their tone. The teenage boy blinked a couple of times, pointing at them back and forth. "You guys haven't gone crazy yet, right?"

Yuta shook his head. "No." While Jungwoo mainly shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you know this Taeyong person, Jisung?" Sera nudged the boy beside him.

Jisung slowly shook his head, recalling anything about meeting a so-called 'Taeyong' guy, but he had none. "Nope." He answered shortly, stuffing his cheeks with food.

Sera was about to ask another question when a hand slammed the table hard that it erupted in the whole cafeteria. The hall went completely silent, dozens of pairs of eyes glued onto a particular boy with messy hair. "I- uhh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make a noise." The said boy uttered out loud, bowing his head curtly before taking a seat beside Sera.

From the far side of the hall, a few boys yelled. "Ahh, Mark-hyung! How embarrassing!"

"Shut up." The said boy grumbled, not daring to look towards the group of youngsters.

Jungwoo raised a brow, clapping his hands slowly. "Look who decided to wake up!"

"Yeah- why didn't you wake me up?!" Mark questioned, patting down his messy hair. Getting annoyed at how it wasn't going as well as he wanted it to be, he drags his hoodie on top of his head to cover it.

"Cute bedhead."

Mark glanced at Sera for a split-second, ignoring her little comment.

"Did he just ignore me?" She whispered towards Jisung and the boy hummed, "I think so." He whispered back.

"Well? Aren't you gonna say anything?"

Jungwoo crossed his arms, giving Mark a stern look. It was an expression he seldom used but when he had to, it was a complete personality switch. Jungwoo tilts his head to the side a bit, one of his eyebrows arched up. "Mark, I told you clearly that I won't be waking you up if you happened to sleep in again. In which you really need to stop doing that or else you'll get in serious trouble."

"Yeah right. Anyway, what were you guys talking about? It seemed really... hmm, how should I put this? Interesting. Especially from afar." Mark questioned, jabbing his thumb behind him to the point where he once stood earlier. Waking up late was one of the 'bad habits' Mark had picked up ever since he started doing undercover in different cities. He couldn't really call it a bad habit since it can't be stopped when you really slept late after doing work, but he didn't like the thought of missing a lot of things while he was asleep. And this was an example of one of the things he could miss.

Knowing Jungwoo and Yuta, they would try to do anything to keep him from finding out what they talked about. As Jisung was about to speak, Jungwoo immediately hushed him to which Mark frowned. Jungwoo smiled back at Mark, teasing him further, "If you want to know, wake up early next time."

"Hey, that's unfair! I deserve to know, too!"

"Let's ask Sera if you truly do deserve to know." Yuta nodded towards Sera while Mark shook his head, disagreeing right away.

"No! You know Sera hates my super, amazing, capable self! Why would you let her decide if I deserve it."

Sera squinted her eyes at Mark, ridiculing what he had just said. "What did you just say? Your super-amazing-capable-self? Since when were you capable? Say that when you finally wake up on time."

Jungwoo and Yuta both stifled a laugh while Jisung stared wide-eyed at the older girl. "You did not just," he whispered to her. But knowing her response, he only grinned, snickering as he shook his head. "Ahh, one word to describe you is entertaining. Somehow."

Mark glared back at Sera. "See? She doesn't get to decide if I deserve it or not 'cause for one, she's gonna say no."

"Who are you to think I'd say no? I was actually planning on saying yes."

"See? She's—wait, no! You're supposed to say no!"

Yuta deadpanned, shaking his head as the two continued to argue. "This conversation isn't gonna go anywhere. For starters, Mark, be quiet. We were only talking about Taeyong."

Mark suddenly went tense, his eyebrows knitted together as his face twisted in confusion. "What?"

"Taeyong. You know. The head guy—or whatever—around here." Sera rephrased just for him.

Mark blinked a couple of times, pointing a finger at Sera who directed it away from her. She looked at Mark then at Jungwoo and Yuta. Tilting her head towards Mark, she asked, "Is he okay? What's wrong with y'all and this Taeyong guy?"

"More like what's wrong with you and Taeyong," Mark murmured causing Sera to avert her attention onto him. Luckily, she wasn't able to catch what he said. "What was that?"

"Nothing." He dismissed but Sera wasn't buying it. She definitely heard something, however, she was unsure of it. Eyeing the male for a bit, she shakes her head and goes back to her meal, not wanting to linger on around the conversation for too long. Although the curiosity in her was already bugging her, she had to stay calm for once. This Taeyong guy seemed to be more than what she had thought.

She'd ask them for information but she knew it would take her days for them to give in. It seemed like whatever they were trying their best to hide was slowly slipping away from their grasp and any time soon, she'll discover what it was. But Sera didn't like waiting. She wanted to figure it out now, so how?

"So, what are we going to do today?" She questioned them, adding a slight tone to her voice, sounding a bit enthusiastic about what they would be doing.

"Prepare." Was the only word that left their mouths. She furrowed her eyebrows and turned to Jisung, who seemed to know more than she knew, which she gotta admit, was quite surprising.

"It isn't long until the UA catches up on the Rebellion's plan, therefore, they've been preparing much more than before."

"You mean," she points a finger down. "We're gonna cause a riot? Like, destroy them? Or something."

"Kind of. Yeah. You could say that." Jungwoo chuckled at her words. "But don't worry, it's not gonna be some bloody battlefield, well, I hope so." He murmured the last part, not wanting to fear Sera and Jisung.

"The main goal of the UA is actually to recapture Irregulars and turn them back to- you could say... Regulars? They'd brainwash them again and again until there's nothing left. Rumors said." Yuta told the recruits, the way he talked seemed forced and as if it stabbed him whenever he continued.

Jisung pursed his lips, dropping his utensils as he began to think about it. "So you mean, the whole time this whole Rebellion thing has been going around, you never won? You mean... they just captured every single one of you and brainwashed you? Like that?"

"Yeah, sorta. I've never been caught. Those were old members and poor recruits who got caught in the middle of the battlefield. It's not gonna happen again, because for sure, we're going to destroy them and their system."

Destroy their system. The system that controlled it all. Sera thought deeply. If they had to destroy the system, they had to destroy the one causing it. The one who runs it all.

Kasdeya. She could remember the Prime Minister's name. Although never seen before, hearing and thinking about Kasdeya behind those screens made her ponder over the mystery Prime Minister's whole characteristic. Their whole persona.

"Have any of you met Kasdeya before?"

"No. But if I did," Mark snorted, "I'd smash Kasdeya's head hard with a watermelon."

"I don't like fruits, but same." The five of them peered up at the new voice, seeing a multi-colored-haired man grinning at them. His gaze locks with Sera and his face turns serious, "Sera? Can I have a word with you," he glances at the others, "Privately."

Yuta looked up at him and squinted his eyes. "I'm pretty sure what you're gonna say doesn't require Sera to be spoken to privately." He then shrugged his shoulders, "If I'm thinking what you're thinking."

Ten scowled, "We don't think alike no matter how strong your intuition is."

Sera raised a brow confusingly but stood up anyway. "I'm sure it won't take long." She said and Ten nodded, gesturing her to go ahead to which she did. As she walked away, Ten gave Jungwoo a stern look. "Taeyong wants to see you in his office after breakfast."

Jungwoo nodded with his usual smile still plastered on his face. Though it seemed like the sentence alone wasn't bothering him by his looks, deep inside he was already freaking out. He had expected that something like this would happen, but he wasn't sure if they were even on the same thought. A gentle tap on the shoulder from Yuta snaps him out of his reverie, he scrunched his nose and bows his head at Jisung. "Seems like hyung has to go. I'll see you guys later then."

Mark peered over his shoulder, watching the older male walk away with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his uniform. He shakes his head, a bitter laugh to escape his lips. "It may not seem like it, but Jungwoo is very anxious. I wish Lucas was here to at least cheer him up a bit, but..."

Yuta sighed, thinking about a certain group they had to bid goodbye to a few months ago or so for this plan to work. Picking on his colored nails, he pursed his lips, deep in thought.

I just hope they escaped safely.

Sera fiddled with the sleeves of her uniform, gnawing on her bottom lip as she pondered over what Ten was going to say. Calm wasn't the best word to describe her state right now. She stood there in the non-busy hallway, waiting for Ten to arrive. And when he did, Sera could've sworn her heart began to beat faster, however, those worries washed away when his serious face shortly switched to a more friendly one. The Ten she first met when they arrived at the base.

"Am I in trouble?" She questioned slowly as Ten guided her down the right hallway.

Ten hummed for a good two seconds and shook his head, a short laugh to leave his lips. "No. Well, I'm just a little upset after finding out a certain someone was found at the third floor left wing of the rooms." He then gave Sera a look which screamed 'You-know-who-I'm-talking-about'. "I literally warned you, Sera. And what did you do?"

"I was not there because of curiosity." Sera immediately spoke up, making an 'X' with her arms. "I was just... there because Jungwoo told me he had stuff to show me." She blatantly lied, using the same excuse they had last night. It would be weird to use a different excuse.

"Mhm, like I'd believe that excuse, Sera." Ten rolled his eyes, arms crossed in front of him. "Was it Yuta?"

Sera squinted her eyes at him. "What?"

"I said—"

"No, yeah. I heard you." She nodded and looked away, a bit shocked that he knew Yuta had something to do with why she was caught last night. "It's just, why him?"

"I don't know," he laughed once again, but this time Sera could hear the humorous tone to it. "Maybe it's because... it's always him, you know?"

"Always him?"

"Do you not want me around, Seraphine?"

"Can you please stop calling me that? You know I don't like it," the young girl said, annoyed. The name of the person in front of her unclear when she spoke.

"It's just a name."

"It's not just a name," the younger girl huffed and crossed her arms. "You know that."

"He named you that. It's accurate. It means- the burning ones."

"I'm not even burning." But she didn't know that yet.

"Okay fine. But you didn't answer my question."

"Of course I want you around. Why don't you think so?"

"Nothing, it's just that—"

"Seraphina!" Another boy caught up to them, a cheeky grin spread wide across his face. Arms on the side of his hips, looking at the two of them.

"How many times do I have to tell you? My name's not Seraphina." She grumbled, turning away from him shyly, feeling her cheeks heat up suddenly.

"Oh, I know. But I like calling you that. So, city...um, boy I forgot where you lived! May I borrow Seraphina for a bit? Yeah? Yeah? Okay, thanks." He asked the smaller boy beside her but didn't give enough time for him to respond as he grabs her hand and pulls him with him, hearing a faint shout come from the other boy.

"You didn't even wait—ugh! Stupid, annoying, new recruits!! Why does it always have to be him?"

"-era? Sera? Seraaa?" Eyes shut tight, reopening it to be blinded by the bright lights. Groaning, she slowly blinked to get adjusted to the brightness, her head spinning as she held onto it.

"Woman, what has gotten into you?"

Her eyebrows furrowed together at the familiar voice, she sits up straight and scanned the room, finding herself in the medical room. Her eyes land on the male by the side of the bed, a worried yet tense gaze set on her.

"Ten?"

"Yeah, that's me, good thing you still know." He then shakes his head. "What happened? You just suddenly... collapsed." He murmured, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I thought you—" he pauses, gritting his teeth, "Never mind."

Sera couldn't help but grow curious once more. As they say, curiosity was the root of all evil here. It was said to be a bad, bad thing that will taint your minds. Entering a state of determination, a sought to discover the truth.

"Do you have something to tell me, Ten?" She managed to ask, her voice raspy and low.

Ten forced a smile up to his face, shaking his head once more. "No, not really. Just... get some rest, okay?"

"I have good news though. Everything is starting to work in our favor. My team finally escaped from the laboratory we were held captive at. They've brought a recruit, he's a scientist, he'll be able to help us in discovering what the UA is planning with their ongoing experiments." Ten said, placing a hand over his heart to calm it. It was overwhelming, he knew they'd see this day come but he didn't expect to see it sooner. It felt like a dream come true, but it still wasn't the end. They still had many more to do to achieve their freedom. To end the system.

"You'll meet my friends soon, they're very nice." He thought back to Doyoung and shuts his eyes tight, something in his mind yells at him for saying so. "Anyway! I'll go, for now, I have to give them training in which you need to have too but since you're, well, busy laying down—"

"Hey!"

He laughed, "We'll have to reschedule yours another day." Ten moved away from the medical bed and nods his head towards Sera. "You better not roam around while you're healing, Seraphine."

"Don't call me—" before Sera could even finish her sentence, Ten bolted out of the door causing her to deadpan. "that."

"Do you not want me around, Seraphine?"

"Can you please stop calling me that?"

"It's just a name."

A name...

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