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aris-c0rner · 11 months

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beautiful deception || one.

𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 3,589 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: language, minor mentions of bloodshed, brief mention of firearm-induced injury, minor descriptions of violence and pain. most chapters will have similar warnings since this is a gang au, so if you’re uncomfortable with that sort of material, i would suggest not reading. otherwise, welcome to the first official chapter! :)

𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: tuesday, september 2nd. 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞: 8:12 am. 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: downtown pyongston, korea.

—

At a glance, the Tuesday that changed your life started out as nothing more than an ordinary early autumn morning. The leaves were painted gold while they held on dearly to the trees, the birds were beginning to cross overhead towards warmer climates, and there was only a faint chill in the breeze when it swept gently through the streets. Everything was calm, and everything was familiar. Even your walk along the outskirts of downtown Pyongston was the same as it always was; you passed by the same houses and complexes as you'd passed the morning before, the scenery a constant on your way to the local college.

The only thing that was different on that fateful Tuesday morning was the bullet that ripped through your shoulder in the middle of a run-down convenience store.

Confused? Maybe it'd be best to start from the beginning.

You'd woken up that morning a little later than you would have liked, hitting snooze one too many times until you were rushing through your daily routine to keep from being late to your Tuesday lecture. You pulled on whatever presentable outfit you'd laid out for yourself the night before, your sweet little cat Tommy meowing in protest at not getting his morning cuddles; you pouted at him apologetically while you laced your shoes up, promising to give the calico extra cuddles when you came home from class tonight. He purred and wound himself around your legs as you hastily shoved your textbooks in your bag, glancing at your phone to keep an eye on the time.

You decided you were too behind schedule to make your usual breakfast now. You only had another 25 or so minutes to get onto campus, so you left without eating, planning to stop by the convenience store you always walked past and grab something quick to keep you from getting too hungry during class. Turning your key into the lock, you put your earbuds in and started the brisk walk to your college campus.

The morning was picturesque: birds called out pleasantly as they started their migrations down south, the trees that lined the sidewalk were splashed with color, and the few pedestrians you passed had a smile on their face, as if telling you that today was going to be a good day. Based on the pep in your step and the bright tune streaming from your headphones, you had a feeling it'd be a good one, too.

But you had no idea how wrong you'd be.

You picked up your pace when the large grocery store came into sight, stomach growling at the thought of snagging one of those delicious blueberry muffins you loved so much, and you waved at the only other morning walker on the path as they jogged past you. Looking back, it was a bit odd that there weren't as many people out and about as usual on the normally busy sidewalks downtown; but you paid it no mind. You quickly approached the store and paused your playlist as you swung the door open, expecting to be hit with the smell of baked goods and the chatter of customers.

Instead, you were met with silence. A silence so deafening for this part of the city that it left your ears ringing. Where was everybody?

It was weird; the eerie feeling that something wasn't right started to creep up on you, but again, you paid it no mind. Maybe it was a holiday and you'd simply forgotten? Or maybe there was some political campaign happening in the town square again, and everyone was just gathered there- you figured there was probably a perfectly reasonable explanation for the silence and the lack of people, so you shrugged it off and turned your song back on, searching the aisles for your favorite quick breakfast. Spotting the pre-packaged muffins, you grabbed two and headed for the self-checkout kiosk, not seeing anyone at the register.

It seemed to spool forever until the checkout page finally loaded. You scanned the items and grabbed your card while nodding your head to the music you were playing, swiping it and waiting for the transaction to go through. The screen blinked angrily at you, displaying an error and redo option. You pressed it and still, nothing happened. You jabbed at the screen a few more times, growing frustrated as it kept giving you error messages. "Why won't this thing work?" You said to yourself, sighing and taking your unpaid muffins up to the cashier's counter. But it was empty; there wasn't a single employee to be found in the entire place. You took out your earbuds and pocketed them, standing impatiently by the counter.

"Where did everyone go?" You wondered out loud. You were sure this was going to make you late for your lecture, but you needed to eat something. Your voice almost seemed to echo in the empty store, confirming that you were the only one there; or at least, that's what you thought.

Until a sharp, loud noise- scarily similar to fireworks- came from behind the door that said employees only, the sound nearly unmistakable though you'd never even heard it once before.

Your heart immediately clenched with fear. Pyongston was a generally safe town, and it was barely half past eight in the morning. Surely you couldn't have just heard a gunshot? But the anxiety that riddled your chest said otherwise. You stood paralyzed at the register, unable to move even though your mind screamed at you to drop the muffins and run, and that was when you heard it.

Voices.

Overlapping and angry, you could make out that there was shouting coming from the other side of the door. The muffins and your credit card fell to the ground as you quickly ducked behind the register, grabbing the largest object in your vicinity; oddly enough, it happened to be a metal crowbar, though you had no idea what it was doing in a convenience store. You wielded it with shaking hands, approaching the door with your heartbeat pounding in your ears.

You were almost to it when you heard another loud shout, this one from your back.

You turned around so fast you gave yourself whiplash, not bothering to stop the terrified scream from rising in your throat and you brandished the crowbar wildly. Three tall, intimidating men with masks over their faces were closing in on your position, each of them cocking guns your way. You felt your stomach sink in the cold realization that this was not going to be an ordinary Tuesday anymore: you were in very real and very immediate danger. Your self-defense classes never could have prepared you for this.

"Hey! Don't move another inch!" You shouted fiercely, waving the crowbar around in the air to discourage them from coming any closer. It worked, sort of; the men halted in their tracks and the one in the center removed his mask, revealing a man who looked to be about your age and who sported an extremely confused expression. You refused to lower your weapon.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded, holding his gun back when you gave your crowbar another swipe in his direction. The other two with him also lowered their guns, but you were too afraid to drop your tool, not sure if they still posed a threat. Maybe they were undercover cops?

Your voice wavered with fear when you gave the man your name. "I'm Song Y/N, I go to the campus a few blocks away." You volunteered the information in case these guys were cops of some sort, just so they wouldn't get the wrong idea. The men holstered their guns entirely, and the maskless one raised his hands in a no-harm gesture.

"You mean you're a student there?" He asked, and you nodded vigorously. He ran a hand through his hair roughly, cursing out. "Shit, guys. She's a fucking civilian." The two men on either side groaned in unison, and you hesitantly let the crowbar drop a little. "Jaehyun's gonna have a field day with this one."

Before you could ask any more questions- namely what in the fuck was going on here - the deafening popping noises resounded from behind the door again, and the three men sprung into action. The maskless one motioned for his buddies to go towards it and he walked right up to you, grabbing your arm without giving you a chance to use your handy appliance on him. "Alright Y/N, here's what we're gonna do." He began instructing you as he led you towards that door. "We're gonna do our best to get you to safety as fast as we can, but you have to stick with us because the store's been surrounded. We have a getaway nearby but they can't reach us until the back rooms are cleared out, so you're gonna have to do exactly as I say. Can you do that?" Your crowbar clattered to the floor as they all brought out their guns again and aimed them at the employee entrance.

Your mind was a chaotic whirlwind of frenzied questions; but you bit them back and nodded, adrenaline rushing through you. "Okay," you said in a choked whisper, not trusting your voice when you were so full of terror. The boy seemed to soften a little and gave you what you thought might've been a reassuring look.

"I'm really sorry for what you're about to see." He warned as he took aim at the door. "Just stay behind me the whole time, and we'll get you out of here. I promise." You nodded again, and he called out a countdown until the three of them broke open the door and stepped inside.

Instantly you were met with a nightmarish scene: six men with red bandanas tied to their arms were in various stages of violence, and you had to stifle a scream when you realized that they were holding the store's owner- and all the clerks- at gunpoint while they ransacked the storage shelves.

The three without bandanas wasted no time in shooting at them, other masked men filing in from different parts of the room. Your hands flew up to cover your ears at the raging noise, cowering behind the boy who'd spoken to you about getting you to safety. You screwed your eyes shut, not wanting to witness the bloodshed, and only opened them when a pair of arms shook your shoulders after what felt like an eternity of gunfire and fighting. It was him.

"Y/N, Y/N! It's alright, you're okay!" He shouted, panicked at the sight of you in so much shock and fear. Your eyes glistened with tears and he tried to talk you out of your panic, grabbing your hands and leading you through the wreckage after the other masked men cleared the way. "Y/N, hey, just keep your eyes on me, okay?" He pleaded, not wanting you to see the gruesome image around the room. "Don't look anywhere else but me. I'll keep you safe, Y/N, don't worry. Just keep your eyes on me." His voice was calming, coaxing you to follow him as he backtracked the both of you out of the scene. You complied and held onto his hands for dear life as he led you away. You held back a gag when a distinct metallic scent invaded your nostrils, knowing without looking that it had to be blood.

You were sure the boy could see the fear in your eyes as he kept his own gaze trained steadily on you; you quickly observed that he was fairly attractive, with a strong jawline and shaggy black hair that hung low over his dark eyes. He was probably your age or barely a year older, as he still had that boyish look to him that you thought must make every girl that crosses his path swoon. You wondered if you would have been one of those girls, too, had you not met this handsome stranger in such a terrifying place.

He looked back over his shoulder before leading you out the back door, and you had to shield your eyes from the sudden onset of the mid-morning sunlight. "Okay, Y/N, we're out. You'll be alright now." He assured you, releasing your hands. You glanced around frantically, expecting to see more fighting, but the coast was seemingly clear. "Who were those guys?" The questions came pouring out of you before you could stop yourself. "Who are you? What the hell just happened here?"

The stranger shook his head as his lips pulled into a thin line. "I wish I could tell you," He said solemnly, "but it's best that you don't know. You never should have gotten mixed up in all this, Y/N. I could just kick myself for not clearing the area of all the civilians before we rushed in." His words only confused you further, with the way he kept referring to you as a civilian; as if he himself was not one. You allowed yourself another question as the boy directed you to the nearby parking garage, the surrounding town still eerily empty. Though you supposed that now you knew why.

"Are you an undercover cop?" You asked him. He immediately laughed, the hearty sound ringing out through the deserted street. Your cheeks grew warm with embarrassment and you suddenly felt silly for asking that. "No, no, I'm not a cop. Although that would make things a lot easier," He said. "The cops don't really like me, or any of my friends, but they don't realize how much work we're doing for them. For this whole town, actually." You cocked your head, hoping he'd say more if only to quell the crazy thoughts racing in your mind. He took in your confused expression and chuckled lightly.

"Let's just say I'm a crime-fighter," He explained shortly. "Me and my friends take out the bad guys." Now it was your turn to laugh, though it came out sounding strangled due to your lingering fear. "So you're a super hero, then?" Your question was rewarded with a bright smile, briefly stunning you as it lit up his face. "Sure, let's go with that."

He motioned for you to turn a corner as you walked; but without warning he winced sharply with pain, and it was only then that you noticed the deep, angry gash running along the side of his neck. "You're hurt!" You exclaimed, pointing to the wound. The boy moved to cover it with his hand, but you quickly swatted them away from the injury, scolding him. "Don't touch it, you might get it infected and then it'll take longer to heal. It's deep enough that you'll probably need stitches as it is." You told him matter-of-factly. He raised an eyebrow, lowering his hand.

"Are you a doctor, Y/N?" He asked teasingly, but the mood dropped when you nodded, telling him that your major was, in fact, studying medicine. You didn't mention how you'd dreamt of being a doctor since you were a little kid. "I'm working on my master's for it." You said simply. You bit your lip before debating whether to continue, deciding the wound looked bad enough to warrant a little help. "I can patch that up for you, if you want." You offered. You always carried emergency first aid with you, and what was one missed lecture anyways if it could save this nice stranger a trip to the hospital? He had quite possibly saved your life back there in the store; you felt the need to repay him somehow.

He looked wary of the suggestion, but after a moment of contemplation, he gave in and sighed a quiet yes. "We don't have much time though," He warned, "the other guys might come back, and we don't wanna be anywhere near here when they do."

You nodded again. "Don't worry, I'll be quick." You hastily shrugged your forgotten backpack off your shoulders and knelt on the pavement, gesturing for him to sit while you combed through the bag to find the kit you needed. You wasted no time in preparing the things you'd need to give him stitches, laying the objects out on top of your bag before readying the disinfectant. You tilted his head to the side to give you better access, and before you could second guess yourself, you were pressing the liquid-soaked cotton to his neck.

He inhaled sharply and balled his hands into fists, and you apologized profusely for the pain. "I'm really sorry, I just have to clean the area first before I stitch it up. This is the worst of it, I promise." You hated how his knuckles turned white when you applied more pressure to the injury; but it had to be done.

He said nothing while you worked, an uncomfortable silence falling over you once you finished giving him his stitches. You had so many things you wanted to ask him, but he'd made it clear that he couldn't give you any answers; so you only let yourself ask one more question, allowing the words to slip out when you handed him some gauze to cover the wound. "What's your name?"

He stayed deadly quiet even after you both stood up. You collected your backpack off the ground and clutched it to your chest, taking a sudden interest in your shoes. The tips of your ears were burning with embarrassment. Why would he tell you his name in the first place? You were probably never going to see him again, anyways. Maybe it was best if you didn't-

A single shot rang out in the once abandoned street.

Instantly, your left arm bloomed with pain, a pain more intense than anything you've ever known before. You cried out and dropped your bag, falling against the boy as you cradled your arm gingerly. Tears made their way down your face and you looked at your arm, feeling dizzy when you spotted the mess of blood and tattered fabric between your shoulder and elbow. The boy grabbed on to your other side and held you to keep from swaying, panic evident in his eyes as black dots started to cloud your peripheral vision.

"Y/N! Oh my god, Y/N, stay with me!" He shouted, alarmed by the rate at which your eyes were blinking rapidly, watching your face begin to go slack. "Hey hey hey, don't close your eyes! Stay with me, Y/N!" He pleaded with you; but the world was steadily becoming more and more blurry. Your head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, muffling everything around you as the boy's frantic pleas to stay with him faded into the background of your mind. You felt yourself losing control, but you couldn't fight back, your muscles no longer able to hold yourself up at the searing pain that was already consuming your consciousness.

The stranger let out a shout for help when your body went stiff and leaned fully against him, your eyes closing slowly. The black dots shifted into huge clouds and your mind went silent as you fell unconscious into his waiting arms.

He didn't waste a single second in scooping you up and calling for his team, running towards the sound of men shouting his name. All he could see was the road in front of him, feeling like he was running in slow-motion once the final corner come into view, darting wildly into the street in his desperate effort to save you.

You were light in his hold as the boy sprinted to the getaway location, knowing Haechan was waiting there to whisk everyone to safety as he spotted Yuta waving him over hurriedly from the van. He ignored the burning in his legs as he ran the last few yards, not stopping to catch his breath until you were buckled into one of the seats and the van was taking off. You stayed unconscious as the men stared incredulously between you and the boy, the silence growing all too loud until he broke it with a panicked shout. "Someone call Jaehee to the base, now!"

Johnny complied from the front seat and grabbed the team's only mobile phone in the center console, dialing in a number he knew by heart and raising the phone to his ear.

It rang twice before the line picked up. "Hello?"

Johnny sighed in relief at hearing the familiar voice on the other side. "Jaehee, it's Johnny." He said in a rush, "We need a unit to come to the base ASAP. How fast can you get here?"

Your arm was lifted up by the boy in the backseat where you were strapped in, taking it into his lap and pressing the gauze you'd given him for his neck over your bullet wound while Johnny kept talking up front. He found himself wishing you would wake up, oblivious to the curious looks from the team as he gently brushed your hair out of your face, feeling strangely disappointed when your eyes stayed closed shut.

Johnny hung up and turned to him, giving him a reassuring grin as the getaway car sped furiously towards the underground hideout. The van fell quiet as he waited with baited breath to hear whether they could get you the help you needed.

Johnny nodded softly. "They're on the way, Mark. She's gonna be okay."

Mark Lee gave one last look at you slumped over in your seat, your injured arm still in his lap, cursing himself for not telling you his name.

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