Mirrored Match // ATEEZ ✔

= 41 =

They listen on to the conversation between Danbi and Soyeon as Madam Seo paces back and forth. They can only listen on to their conversation, knowing that the short amount of time they had to prepare themselves before sending off Danbi to meet her twin only allowed them to fit a microphone under the lapel of her jacket, while enforcement have been mobilized to the scene. They don't know how far Soyeon has planned this out, so they can't act rashly; intruding into the scene might even prove careless if Soyeon decides to pull out another hidden card.

Right now, all they can do is listen to their conversation as they try to figure out to what extent Soyeon would act.

"Send in a sniper," Jongho suggests. "Take her out from far."

"We can't," Madam Seo says. "There's no suitable vantage point. No high buildings around the area except the market itself. We can't aim for anyone inside."

"Then are you saying all we can do is watch, and hope that Danbi somehow manages to save herself?" San claims, exasperated.

"A person who is hurt inside," Seonghwa says, as another struggle from Danbi comes through the speakers, "is volatile. We don't know what Soyeon is going to do to Danbi if we send in people. She's not thinking straight; a person like that would do anything to get her points across. We can't act mindlessly."

"I'll go..." Wooyoung offers, looking out of it. "No matter what it is, she's my girlfriend."

"No," Madam Seo says firmly. "Seeing you will trigger her even more. You heard her; she's doing all this after she knew she can't carry on with her pregnancy."

"Then what do you suggest-"

"No!" Danbi's voice comes again and they instinctively turn towards the speakers. They hear the horrible dragging of a body, the microphone emitting crunching noises before it turns to static.

"We can't stay like this; the microphone is destroyed. It sounded like Danbi was dragged across the floor."

San balls his fists before attempting to turn around to exit the van before another instruction from the enforcement surrounding the area fills in the speakers.

"The prime minister is tied to a chair," they report, "and the chair is hanging from a rope. It looks like the rope is stuck so it doesn't go all the way down, but once the rope snaps the prime minister will descend."

There are shouts of arguments over the speakers, one person trying to justify their act over the other, saying which one is better. One is asking them to simply burst into the scene, knowing that they can easily take over that one person, while another is asking them to wait, as the estimate of the people helping Soyeon is still unclear. They can't even determine whether there are other people, those who are helping Soyeon as of this moment, to be scattered around the place, looking to put up a fight in order to protect Soyeon.

"A person is in danger and they're fighting," San says through gritted teeth. "We need to- we need to do something-"

"We don't have the authority," Madam Seo says in a defeated tone. "This is a countrywide case involving the prime minister; all we can do is follow their instructions and wait. But right now... they're doing nothing."

"They-" San starts to argue, but is stopped when there's an update from the enforcement.

"The prime minister is pulled up!" they shout, "He's being pulled up! The chair has landed on the floor again; it's safe for now."

Another few excruciating minutes pass by, and those in the van are already restless; it's hard when they are offered no visuals, and no clearance to be on the field like the rest of the enforcement. They can't do anything besides wait for the updates coming from those surrounding the building.