Monsta X Series

You had no inclination of sleeping that night. You sat on the couch and dozed in short bursts. When it was finally morning, you were happy to see Jooheon and Changkyun up bright and early.
“We are going to search around town and see where everyone ended up” Jooheon informed you.
“I’ll come too” you said and stood up, ready to find Minhyuk.
“No. we need someone here in case anyone comes back or guards come knocking.” He told you softly. He knew the last thing you wanted to do was to sit here and feel like you were doing nothing.
“I can’t…”
“When we find something out, one of us will be back here immediately to let you know” he concluded. You knew there was no arguing. You didn’t want to chance your face being seen around town anyways. You were the last one to see Vernon alive, and his friends knew what you looked like.
And so did his father.
You nodded in agreement as Jooheon walked to the front door and exited, followed shortly by Changkyun, who stopped to hug you before he left.
There was nothing for you to do but lay on the couch and try to get some sleep.
You were woken up a few hours later by Changkyun walking in the front door.
“The rebellion is no more. We have given up” he said and sat next to you on the couch running his hands through his hair out of nervousness and confusion.
“What?” you asked sleepily not sure if you heard him.
“We have thrown in the towel. That is the general consensus we have gotten from everyone. Reinforcements are leaving and anyone that has been remotely involved in anything illegal before is leaving town.” He finished. You sat up and awaited more news. You were on pins and needles.
“Hyungwon is a traitor. Wonho already left town. Kihyun has a stable job and doesn’t want anything to do with us. Shownu and Jooheon talked about leaving town together…”
“Where’s Minhyuk?” you asked. Changkyun looked at you and didn’t know what to say.
“Where is he?” you asked a second time. Your fear was growing.
“Jail” Changkyun informed you.
“I am going to kill him. It is going to be near impossible to break him out and I don’t think I can find the bail money…” you were so angry you could’ve punched him if he had been standing in front of you.
“That’s isn’t all…” Changkyun added.
“What else?” you asked, your anger not subsiding. Changkyun fidgeted and wouldn’t look at you. With him acting like this, your anger was quickly replaced by fear.
“What?” you asked forcefully.
“We don’t have much time. He is scheduled to be executed for treason” these words spilled out of Changkyun’s mouth all at once. A wave of nausea came over you and you were speechless. There was no way you had heard him correctly.
“When?” was the only word you could manage to ask.
“Tomorrow, and he isn’t the only one.” Changkyun said. The silence felt heavy and suffocating.
“The others in town are working out a plan to break everyone out of jail tonight. It will be fine” he reached over and rubbed your shoulder.
“I can’t stay here tonight. I need to help” you told him, ready to not take no for an answer.
“We are a small group now, so we will need all the help we can get” Changkyun said surprising you.
“A small group might work in our favor. Less detectable” you said, standing up and feeling restless.
“Now you are talking like you are one of us. Vernon would be so shocked” Changkyun joked, but looked at you unsure if he said something insensitive.
“He would be” you agreed and glanced out the window.
That night, Shownu and Jooheon came back when it was pitch black outside. They outlined a quick and delicate plan for you and Changkyun to hear.
“There will be a diversion outside of town tonight. It will be a small one so we have to be quick. We will send you two into the jail and you can break out anyone you can. We will keep watch out front. You know our warning signal.” Here, Jooheon turned to face Changkyun.
“You are going to have to take out the guard” he said, handing him a small hand pistol and a silencer. You were shocked at seeing this side of Jooheon. Normally, it was never intended to kill anyone, but that plan seemed to have gone out the window. This really felt like war to you.
“I never liked that guy” Changkyun said and looked the gun over.
You and your small group passed a silent nervous hour in the sitting room of Jooheon’s small house. You felt like pacing, but didn’t want your nerves to show.
“It’s time” Jooheon said when a small pebble hit the front window of the house, followed by a second one.
The four of you stood up and snuck silently out the front door into the dark street. It was eerily silent and it made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. There was no one walking around and no shops were open. The houses you passed seemed empty and some even looked abandoned.
As you walked, you were lucky and didn’t encounter any guards. You only had to hide in an alley once to not be detected by someone.
Reaching the front gate of the town, you followed Jooheon as Shownu brought up the rear. Changkyun was sent ahead to scout. You heart was racing and you felt like your breathing was too loud and would give you away. You followed as Jooheon jumped into the muddy ditch next to the gate. It was dark and sometimes smelly down here, and therefore would not seem a very savory place to stop and hide. Changkyun returned shortly with news. He relayed his information hastily.
“Diversion begins in five. There will be guards left to watch this gate. What do we do about them?” he asked Jooheon.
“Whatever we need to” he said in a low voice that scared you.
Shownu tapped your shoulder.
“You good?” he asked.
“I just want to get Minhyuk out” you told him sounding resolute. He nodded and crouched next to you in the ditch.
In exactly five minutes, the gate opened and a score of soldiers exited. They were running in the direction of the woods. The four of you remained motionless in the ditch until they had made their way down the road. The gate began to close, but Shownu had been prepared. He stood up and silently crept to the gate, lodging a large rock in the corner of it to keep the gate from closing all the way. A guard walked over to see what was keeping the gate from closing and Jooheon fired a silent shot and dropped the guard before he could get any closer.
You froze.
“Don’t chicken out on us now” Changkyun said, his eyes had gone dark and scary as he stared at the dead body.
“I don’t have this in me” you admitted.
“Then prepare to watch Minhyuk die” he said heartlessly. You looked at him in shock, but knew he was right. You remained silent as your small group waited to see if any guards were going to show up again.
When no more showed up, Shownu tested the gate to see if he could life it a small amount.
“Under you go” Changkyun informed you.
“What?”
“You are the smallest. You have to roll under the gate and open it for us.” Jooheon explained.
“What do I do if…?”
“Shoot first and ask questions later” Changkyun said as he cupped the side of your face. He smiled, but it was a smile you had never seen cross his features, and never wanted to see again.
“We don’t have any more time” Shownu said as he made his way back to the gate. He gripped it, ready to lift it a bit more for you. You would never be ready for this, but geared yourself up and stood next to Shownu. You nodded at him and crouched down, ready to make your move when he was able to lift the gate.
He waited and took one more glance through the bars for guards. Once again, there were none around. He strained and lifted the gate a small amount off of the rock that had been keeping the gate from closing.
You rolled under it but it scratched your belly along the way, cutting your shirt and drawing blood. You held in a yell, as you made your way to the side of the gate house watching as Shownu allowed the gate to close with a small clank.
You felt alone and vulnerable with your friends and protection outside of the gates.
You edged along the side of the gatehouse towards the door and listened for voices, hoping and praying there were none.
You peered around the door frame and saw, to your dismay, a guard sitting there. He looked bored. As he turned in his chair, you froze when you saw his face and recognized him at once.
It was Seungcheol.
You stepped back and leaned against the door frame. Time was ticking away and you were standing here, feeling immobile. There was no way you could kill anyone, let alone someone you had met.
Hearing him radio other guards and check in with them, you had to act now. You were hoping you could bluff enough to get him to leave.
You stepped into the room when you saw that his back was turned. He turned and his face looked shocked as he saw it was you. He looked from the gun in your hand to your face, and looked mad.
“I know Vernon was wrong about you. Did you hear what happened?” he stood up and faced you. The gun shook, and you were hoping he couldn’t see past your tough front.
“He is dead now, you know. Word is that you were the last one to see him alive” despite the gun being pointed at him, he took a step towards you.
“I am going to arrest you now and enjoy watching you get executed with your murdering, traitorous friends tomorrow!” he reached for the pistol on his hip and without thinking, you pulled the trigger of the gun that was held outstretched in your hand.
Seungcheol fell to the ground and you covered your mouth. You felt the tears well in your eyes and knew this was nothing you ever wanted to do again. You held back vomit as you stepped over him and remembered why you were here. Looking at the wall, you located the lever for the gate. You pulled it down and ran out to the gate to meet the guys and get into hiding as you made your way to the jail.
Changkyun pulled you aside when he saw you shaking and crying.
“I had to kill the guard”
“I’m sorry but this is…”
“No. I knew him. I had met him. He was one of Vernon’s friends” you admitted. He shook your shoulder, knowing that you were on the verge of collapsing.
“He would’ve killed you the first chance he got. Get it together, or we aren’t saving Minhyuk. I’m sorry I am being harsh, but we really don’t have time to dwell on things like this” he told you. You knew he was right and hated it. You and he quickly caught up to Shownu and Jooheon who were already standing next to a ladder that lead to the top of the wall.
“The best way to observe what is going on at the jail is from the wall. There is no doubt we will run into guards up there so you know what to do” Jooheon told Changkyun and Shownu. You heard him, but doubted you would be able to pull the trigger on someone else.
“Stay by me if you need to” Changkyun told you and nudged your shoulder, motioning for you to follow up the ladder after Jooheon.
Once on top of the wall, the group of you crouched low. There weren’t any lights that lit up the wall, so hiding up here wasn’t that difficult.
The four of you crept along the wall until you reached a point where a pair of guards walked slowly in front of you. You remained silent as you watched Shownu nod to Jooheon. They each took out their guns and dropped both of the guards before they could sound an alarm.
You followed as the group walked over the bodies. You tried not to look down at them, but you felt a cold sweat break out on your skin.
Walking further along, a group of guards was exiting down the wall and seemed to be heading in the way of the gatehouse. Your dirty work must’ve been found out and the town was probably being searched. Jooheon motioned for the four of you to leave the wall and onto a roof that ran close enough to the wall to jump to. From there, you would have a better vantage point to see that front door of the jail.
This time Shownu lead the way onto the roof. Once up there, the four of you laid low over the eve of the roof. Glancing down, you saw more guards out front of the jail then had initially been anticipated.
“We hadn’t planned on this. I thought there would only be a few with the diversion in the woods. We need a new plan”
“I got you guys covered.” Changkyun said as you saw him undoing his pants.
“What in the world are you doing?” you asked him in a whisper.
“I always carry a sniper rifle in my pants” he shrugged as you, indeed, saw pieces of metal strapped to the lower and upper parts of his leg.
“I wore jeans and so I can’t get to all the pieces so I have to strip, but don’t worry…”
“I really don’t want to hear your explanation” you shook your head and looked away as he unstrapped the various pieces.
“Just enjoy the view then” he laughed and you couldn’t help but smile. Leave it to Changkyun to have a sense of humor at the worst times.
Once his pants were back on, he quickly began assembling he weapon and it was ready to go in no time.
“Go this from a friend of mine” he said as he rubbed the barrel of the gun affectionately.
“You guys get down there and hide, until you see the guards start to fall. I will pick off as many as I can until I have to get out of here.” He explained. Shownu nodded and patted Changkyun on the shoulder.
“Just be careful” you told him as you followed Shownu back onto the wall and down the nearest ladder.
You felt oddly vulnerable with it being just the three of you now. Once down the ladder, it was a short run to the side of a building that was cast into shadow. Edging behind this building gave you the perfect position in front of the jail without having to leave the shadows.
You watched silently as the first guard fell, and it went completely unnoticed. Then another fell. His companion turned when he heard the noise and you saw his body fall to the floor too. A group of guards in front of the jail began looking around. Your heart began beating fast. One of them yelled for reinforcements as the rest of them began looking around once more. The man that shouted was the next to fall.
Two guards left the scene as the third one called for reinforcements. He too soon fell, and Jooheon waved for you three to enter the jail now.
You followed and ran past the dead bodies out front while, Shownu opened the door. Once inside, he locked it as Jooheon held the guard at gunpoint. His hands were held up in front of himself and he was whimpering.
“Cells 4-6. Please don’t hurt me!” he whined and told you exactly what you needed to hear. Walking over to his desk, you grabbed the keys that were labeled by cell number. You grabbed the ones you needed and ran down the hall to the cells. Reaching cell 4 you recognized a few people as they paraded you with their thanks.
“Don’t thank me yet, just get out the back door and find some way to sneak out of town. Go in small groups” you told them as you moved onto cell 5.
The people exited as silently as possible, ready to make a move out into the town when the coast was clear.
Reaching cell 6, Minhyuk reached out for you.
You unlocked the door to the cell and pulled him into a tight hug. He held you close and kissed you softly, before you pulled away.
“We don’t have time for this now” you told him.
“I thought I was never going to kiss you again, let me enjoy this” he said not letting go of your hand.
“Time to move” Jooheon and Shownu came running around the corner and towards he group of released prisoners. A few of them had begun escaping out of the small windows, but that was taking too long.
“Is there another way out?” you asked.
“There has to be” Minhyuk said and took hold you had. You followed him down a hallway that ran along the side of the cells. Turning a corner, there was a metal door. Minhyuk opened it, and you saw that it lead to what appeared to be a loading dock for transporting prisoners. There was steps that lead down to a garage area.
Minhyuk still leading the way, you heard the steps of people following behind you of those that hadn’t been able to escape out the windows. You hoped that everyone that had escaped so far was able to make it out of town.
Pulling on the garage door, Shownu was able to open it enough for people to exit, which you all did as quickly as possible.
“We have to circle back and get Changkyun” Shownu said.
“The gate will also be the quickest way out of town and into the woods.” Jooheon added. The four of you edged along the wall back to where you had parted from Changkyun.
Your heart caught in your chest when you saw guards swarming the top of the wall. You heard gun shots, and prayed Changkyun was alight. Minhyuk took the pistol you were carrying and began shooting at the guards on top of the wall. Jooheon and Shownu followed suit as you began scaling the wall’s ladder.
By the time all of you had reached the top, there were no more guards to be seen. You looked around for Changkyun but didn’t see him.
“Over here” Jooheon called. He was leaning over a large stain of blood but still there was no sign of Changkyun. You froze at the sight of it. Could anyone survive after losing that much blood?
“We have to get out of here” Jooheon said. He seemed unable to take his eyes off the dark red stain that could mean nothing good.
“But we have to find…”
“We don’t have time for that!” Minhyuk shouted as he saw more guards beginning to head to where you were standing.
“But…” your brain had stopped.
What had happened to Changkyun?
You hated what the answer to this question might be.
“We don’t have a choice! Let’s go!” Minhyuk grabbed your hand and began pulling you along the top of the wall to a ladder. You could barely see through your tears as you followed Minhyuk to the end of the wall where there was a ladder right by the gate. Looking down, Jooheon waved that the coast was clear. The gate had been closed, but a quick trip to the gatehouse opened it once more. Shownu made sure to break the lever, allowing the front gate to remain open. You watched as people came from all around the town and began exiting out through his gate and into the woods.
As the small and silent group of you ran through the gate, you heard a yell from above you.
“Hey!” someone shouted. You stopped and looked to the stop of the wall.
“Changkyun?” you said in surprise and stopped running. The three guys with you paused as well and looked up.
“Trust fall!” Changkyun shouted to the four of you.
“Huh?” you asked, but there was no time to think about what he meant when he stepped onto the top of the wall and jumped right off.
You watched as he came plummeting towards the guys that were suddenly scrambling at the bottom of the wall to catch their ridiculous friend. If it wasn’t for the group of guards that began firing off shots at all of you, it would have been hilarious to watch.
Changkyun was caught, (more like fell on top of), Shownu, Jooheon and Minhyuk. They all fell in a heap, but were quick to stand up when a group of guards began leaning over the wall. They seemed to have been stunned for a moment and hadn’t fired off any shots.
As soon as the four guys were back to standing and running, however that changed.
“Go!” Minhyuk shouted as you all began running to the woods.
“Ah!” you shouted and felt a shark pain in your lower leg. You stumbled and almost fell when Minhyuk caught you. He fired a few shots over his shoulder and the guards quit firing at the group of you now that you had reached the trees.
The pain in your leg only increased as you tried to keep up with the rest of the group. Minhyuk saw you falling back and slowed his pace.
“What is wrong?” he asked breathlessly.
“My leg” you said and stopped to land against a tree. The rest of the group had stopped as well and stood near you to catch their breath. Minhyuk looked at your leg while Jooheon and Shownu looked at Changkyun who was clutching his side.
“I’m fine” you waved Minhyuk away.
“You aren’t fine. You have been shot” he said coaching down and ripping your pant leg to get a better look.
“Bullet buddies” Changkyun raised his hand for high five from you, before collapsing to the ground. His breathing was labored and you were immediately worried. Jooheon and Shownu were immediately at his side. They pulled his shirt off and were greeted with a bloody mess.
“Changkyun, where are your pants?” you asked realizing that he only had his boxers on.
“Long story- so, I went to pack away my rifle and, you remember, it was stowed in my pants…”
“Not the time to explain” Jooheon said as he stood back up. All of you could hear shouting coming closer. If you had to bet, it was probably the guards still out searching for people.
“No time to explain, just enjoy the view” Changkyun winked as Shownu helped him to stand and supported him. Minhyuk had ripped the bottom of his shirt and wrapped it around your leg for now. Hearing the guards get closer raised your adrenaline levels again and the pain in your leg was subsiding.
“Meet back at your place?” you asked. For a brief moment, everyone stopped moving and was silent.
“It isn’t safe” Minhyuk said. There was a heavy silence as no one said anything.
“Be safe guys” Minhyuk said. You looked at him, slightly confused. It sounded like he was saying good bye to them.
“We can meet at our place. It isn’t far” you offered.
“We aren’t safe if we stay together. There is a doctor on the way to the next town in the east.” Shownu said, as Jooheon supported Changkyun with him. Minhyuk nodded, and looked crestfallen.
“We will head west then” he added. Jooheon and Shownu turned and began heading in the opposite direction as you and Minhyuk began the trek back to your place in the opposite direction.
“But, wait…” you said in a small voice. They were all too far away to hear you.
You watched as Jooheon and Shownu walked in the opposite direction of you and Minhyuk. When it was too painful to look back at them anymore, you looked forward. Your face became stoic as you walked with Minhyuk back to your home. You knew once there, you had no choice but to pack up and leave. You felt numb to the world after everything you had been through.
By the time you arrived at the house, sunlight was beginning to peak over the horizon. You were feeling drained, but knew there was no resting yet. You had to leave town and everything you knew behind.
“I will pack some clothes for me and meet you down here on five.” Minhyuk said as he held open the front door for you.
“No. I want to say good bye to this house properly.”
“We don’t have time…”
“No one has thought to look for us here yet so a few more minutes won’t hurt.” You said defiantly. Minhyuk didn’t have the energy in him to argue.
“I will be waiting out front. When I yell for you come running” he said and headed to his room.
You began looking around the foyer and into the kitchen. Running your hands along the counter you felt sad. This house had been through so much with you, and you were hoping to make it beautiful again. That wish felt so far away at the moment. After the kitchen you walked upstairs to your parent’s room. Looking through your mother’s closet, you took out her favorite cardigan. It was soft and surprisingly clean having been in the closet for so long. Putting it on, you walked to your father’s office. Running your hands over his desk, you saw pens that hadn’t been disturbed in years.
“There you are” Minhyuk said as he entered the room.
“I’m getting a bad feeling hanging around here” he added.
“Fine.”
“I just think we need to…”
“I heard you! I said fine!” you shouted and stomped your foot. A picture frame fell off the wall and you stared at it. Behind the picture was a wooden chest.
You walked towards it, reached in and grabbed it.
“What is that?” Minhyuk asked and walked over to meet you at your father’s desk where you had placed the wooden trunk.
“It’s locked” you said. Minhyuk turned the box towards himself and fiddled with the lock. It was a combination lock, but you hadn’t a clue what the numbers would be.
“Looks old though” he said and shook the box, holding it to his ear.
“I don’t hear anything solid inside” he said placing the box back down.
“Think of what numbers would mean something to dad” you told Minhyuk as you tried your mother’s birthday into the four number combination. It didn’t work.
“No. it’s your birthday” Minhyuk said and pulled the lock over to himself. He tried your birthday and sure enough the lock popped open.
“Brilliant, Minhyukkie.”
“I have my moments.” He joked.
Looking inside the box, you saw that there were a stack of old looking papers. You figured they were important to your father, having been hidden in a box and locked away. You took out a few of them and spread them on the surface of your father’s desk. Minhyuk looked at them over your shoulder.
“Minhyuk, are you reading this?” you asked, reaching into the box and grabbing more of the papers. You hardly believed what you were reading.
“I am. This is…”
“This is great news” you said, feeling energized.
“Get packing again. We have to get to the town listed on this paper” you told him smiling.
What was written in black and white in front of your eyes, gave you hope. It meant a new beginning.

Notes