- twelve -

Jaemin woke up, vision cloudy, trying to get up.

His limbs felt like stones, too heavy for him to lift. Then the cold sensation of metal breached his consciousness. He was in a metal chair, slumped forward, the sedative he had been given earlier still wearing down his body.

His eyelids dropped back down, but he tried to fight it. 

He needed to figure out where he was, and how to find everyone else.

With strain, he lifted his head, trying to determine his surroundings.

In front of him was a metal table, and there was a wall with reflective glass.

An old interrogation room. 

Jaemin was impressed that historical things like the room still remained in this society. But then he frowned.

This was and will be used for its purpose. He sat as straight as possible, making his back stiff, and his face unreadable.

He almost flinched when two people burst inside the room, one male and one female.

Jaemin didn't look at them, instead he continued to look at the pane of mirrored glass across from him. He need to look like he wasn't going to talk, because he wasn't going to. Not if it hurt Jeno or Renjun.

The man and woman both scraped their chairs across the floor, then proceeded to sit in front of Jaemin. Jaemin stared back at the pair with blank eyes, no sense of emotion showing. 

The man and woman both had a file in their hands, one each.

Jaemin wondered what they were for, but didn't show his curiosity. 

They both seemed to scan the papers, but in reality they already knew everything about this case. 

Triangle.

Clever name, right?

This is all the observational evidence of the partnering of Na Jaemin, Lee Jeno, and Huang Renjun.

Both of the detectives knew what had been going on, just waiting for the call from Capital, and now here they were, sitting in front of Jaemin.

"Na, Jaemin," the male detective called out, looking at the boy square in the face.

Jaemin slightly flinched at the sudden call of his name but looked at the man anyway.

"Do you know why you are here?" the man asked, hoping that Jaemin had enough skill to understand the almost seriousness of the situation.

"No." 

Jaemin didn't further elaborate, wanting to get out of there and make sure that Renjun, Jeno and his friends were O.K.

As if reading his mind, the woman spoke up.

"Your friends are in the exact situation as your own. And we are not here to hurt you, just to ask some questions," she explained.

She hadn't looked up the whole time, voice flat.

Weird, Jaemin thought.

It wasn't until she looked up did he he feel a strange way. Her features were too striking, almost like they had cut Jaemin themself. Her angles were sharp, no roundness or look of life in any of them. Her eyes a crystal blue that seemed to cut the toughest diamonds. 

Jaemin was confused.

How can a defect be here?

Defects were people who had strange features about themselves that was too strong or too soft to be human. Some had an incredible talent of instinct or something of the sort that set them apart from the rest. Jaemin had learned about them, heck everyone had to of learned of them, but had never actually met one, let alone see. This was all very new to the boy, and started to worry about his friends again, the woman's words going in one ear and out the other.

The worry must've shown, because the man told him to take a breath.

He looked at the man, wondering how he could be near such a woman, if she was a woman. 

But then the woman cut them off, not allowing another moment to waste.

"All we need to do is ask a few questions."

. . . 

Renjun felt heavy, which was a new sensation for the small boy. He felt the weariness, but also the too quiet surrounding him. He wasn't sure where he was, all that it was somewhere that the Capital had told those men where to take him.

He lifted his head, his neck straining to stay straight up, and opened his eyes slightly. 

The bright light made him flinch, closing his eyes again. He slowly fought the pain, and held his face for a second until he could bear it.

Fully opening his eyes, he noticed he was in an old holding cell, sitting on an old wooden bench. He heard the creak of the old wood straining under his weight. 

He was scared.

He noticed the rust on the metal, and the flicking light above him swinging. 

He closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose, and out through his mouth.

This is just the Capital. 

He tried to reassure himself, but the sudden squeal of metal on metal made him jerk his head up to see the figure approach him. 

The flickering light made it difficult for him to make out who it exactly was that was in front of him.

The figure dragged a chair to right in front of Renjun backwards, and straddled the chair.

The light flashed and Renjun almost let out a gasp. The man in front of him was absolutely picturesque. So flawless that Renjun thought that he couldn't possibly real.

Then it hit him, this perfect being in front of him was called the absolute opposite.

A Defect. 

But the most beautiful one that Renjun has ever learned about.

The man seemed to read Renjun and that he understood their situation.

The tension that Renjun had before this confrontation suddenly found its way back. He felt like shaking, but refrained. He still doesn't know what this man in front of him is here for.

"I'm here to ask you some questions," the man stated, voice like a song to Renjun's ears. But it was like the man was able to read his mind. There's only folklore of Defects being able to do that, but even the tales said that it was extremely rare.

"Huang Renjun," the man stated, letting Renjun's name fall from his lips, suddenly too perfect.

"My name is Lee Taeyong, but as you've already thought, I'm a Defect."

Renjun felt like he was going to faint, and he almost did.

"What is your relation with Lee Jeno and Na Jaemin?"

Now Renjun was definitely apt to faint.

. . . 

Jeno groaned in his chair, automatically cold in the harsh metal touching his skin.

He lifted his head, squinting in the lit up room. He tried to see if he could get up, but was too weak to even lift his arm.

Wow, they really did a number on us.

Jeno sighed, knowing he wasn't getting anywhere soon.

The door slowly slid open, and a small soft-looking woman came in, a taller man alongside her.

She was braced by the man's arm, seemingly to weak to stand on her own.

Jeno immediately knew what her problem was.

She's a Defect.

Her soft delicate hands seemed to hold the man's arm, but showed no strain.

When she realized that Jeno was looking at her, she smiled brightly at the boy.

"Hello Lee Jeno. I'm here to ask you a few questions," she said, softly.

Jeno knew this was how the woman was going to be, softness being her defect, that's all she could be.

 He felt safe with this woman, but continued to study the man.

He remained silent, as the woman braced herself on his arm to sit down on the chair across from Jeno. He didn't make eye contact with Jeno, but instead looked straight behind Jeno, and never uttered a word.

Jeno was worried about his friends, but decided that he would follow through with whatever the questions were.

The woman looked at him with her forever soft eyes, and said the most core shocking statement she could've told Jeno. Jeno's eyes were wide.

"You're like me, right? A Defect?"