xiem

Jeonghan and I quickly reach our intended hiding spot, and we peek through the steel bones of a large storage rack. Suho’s office is just out of view, and from the right of our vision we see Seungcheol and Mingyu step in. Seungcheol’s body is poised, ready. Mingyu is still half a step behind him, his shoulders tense and his jaw locked. 

Suho steps out of his office. Chen and Xiumin behind him, like guard dogs. Suho laughs, the sound round and full. Theatrical. I scoff. My hand rests on the gun in the holster strapped around my upper leg. 

“Dear Cheol,” Suho says. “How nice of you to pay me a visit today!” He laughs again. Seungcheol simply raises one brow, but stays silent. “To what do I owe this absolute honor?” Suho continues. 

Seungcheol barks a laugh. “Here to settle your latest transgression, Suho. Nothing more, don’t get any ideas.”

Suho looks past Seungcheol at Mingyu. He snickers. “Thought you were here to return my rightful property, but alas.” He narrows his eyes. “But if you wanna play it this way, be my guest.” His voice has dropped to a low growl. He snaps his fingers. Metal scrapes against the ground. 

Fuck. The doors. 

Behind Mingyu, five bodies step out, closing our brothers in. The rest of Exo. Realization washes over me. Jeonghan looks at me with furious eyes. He is breathing hard. I pull out my phone and start typing. Fuck.

Seungcheol glances behind him, and a sharp derisive laugh falls from his lips. “Is this meant to scare me?” Mingyu swallows hard, his hand twitching. Suho smirks. 

“No,” he says, airily, as if discussing his favorite food. “But this is.” He snaps his fingers again, and right across from us, all eight members of Ateez emerge from the shadows. Fuck. That’s sixteen now. I pocket my phone, my fingers shaking. 

Seungcheol and Mingyu turn in a smooth movement, their backs towards us. Eyes on the enemies flanking them from the other three sides. Behind Suho, another scathing voice speaks up. 

“They’re not so brave anymore, right, boss?” Yeonjun steps out from behind Chen and Xiumin. The light catches on something in his hand. Metal. My heart jumps as I realize he’s holding a gun. “Maybe it’s time to bring out their buddies, too?” He continues, his voice sickeningly sweet. 

Suho nods and his eyes connect with Seungcheol. “We know who you have with you. Your assassins.” He clacks his tongue. “Quite rude of you, actually.” He looks around, opening his arms. He raises his voice and it booms around the space. “Minghao, Jun, Jeonghan, Joshua! Come out to play.” 

Jeonghan and I share a quick glance. The other two will wait for our decision. There are too many enemies. We need to stall. My phone feels hot in my pocket. I nod, and we step out of our hiding place. Suho’s face opens in a bright smile. We step up right next to Seungcheol. My hand hovers over my gun. Seconds later, Minghao and Jun soundlessly appear. They take place behind Mingyu. 

Suho makes a show of counting us, his finger bouncing up and down in the air. “Alright, six of you. All present.” He turns to Yeonjun, who is grinning. “With how many do we outnumber them, dear Yeonjun?” 

“That would be seventeen to six, boss.” A honed laugh, stringing the tension in the air even tighter. Suho nods, still smiling widely. “But we can do even better, can’t we, boss?” Yeonjun adds. He twirls the gun in his hand. Suho chuckles, his shoulders shaking lightly.

“Let’s show our full hand, Yeonjun,” Suho answers the question. He snaps his fingers again. Seven men step out and in between the Ateez members across from us. Jay B steps up next to Hongjoong, crossing his arms in front of his chest. To our right, five more bodies move and mix themselves with the five Exo members standing there. Got7 and Red Velvet. My stomach turns over. Mingyu trembles behind us.

“How many is that then, Yeonjun?” Suho’s smooth voice grates against my nerves. Yeonjun cocks his head to the side, bouncing his finger through the air as he counts.

He looks at us, drops his hand to his side, and smirks. “That makes twenty-nine to six now, boss.” Suho opens his mouth to respond, but suddenly light floods in from our right. The sound of metal scraping over the ground. I push my chest forward and force my shoulders down. I look at Suho, and smirk. 

“Wanna try that count again?” My voice is taunting, arrogance rippling off me in a way I can’t afford. Circling around the ten enemies on our right, new bodies move in quickly. Soonyoung, Chan and Seokmin fall in line behind us, next to Mingyu. Bang Chan and his seven come up right behind the Exo and Red Velvet, who shrink a few steps back towards Ateez and Got7. 

Suho’s face pulls tight, his eyes narrowing. Jeonghan chuckles darkly to my left. “I think that makes our odds slightly better, wouldn’t you agree, dear Suho?” Suho’s eyes shift between Bang Chan to our right, whose intimidating aura seems to ripple off him as he crosses his arms and widens his stance, and Chan behind us. Suho flexes his right hand. I grit my teeth. 

Yeonjun chuckles and twirls the gun again. “Impressive,” he says. “But we still outnumber you. Twenty-nine to seventeen. It’s no game.” He starts lifting his gun, and everyone tenses, but Suho waves him down. His eyes lock on Mingyu. His features twist into something unholy. 

“Did Minseo enjoy my letter, Mingyu?”

The question hangs in the air for a split second. Then Mingyu steps forward, his body trembling with rage. Seungcheol’s arm moves quickly, his hand halting in front of Mingyu’s chest, stopping him. Mingyu’s hand darts to his back. 

“No.”

Seungcheol’s powerful voice halts Mingyu’s movements. His hand rests on the gun tucked against his back. His chest is heaving with effort. His eyes are locked on Suho, fury plain within them. 

Hongjoong laughs, the sound hostile. “Still got difficulty controlling your attack dogs then, Seungcheol?” 

To his credit, Seungcheol doesn’t move. His eyes stay trained on Mingyu. A shout from the door pulls my attention away from them. The rest of our men join our ranks. Jihoon files in behind Mingyu, while Seungkwan, Wonwoo and Hansol take a place next to Minghao and Jun. Shinyu and Dohoon are half a step behind them, and with a quick hand motion I order them behind me, to Chan’s left. 

My eyes flicker back to Suho. His theatricality has fallen, but his eyes are still focused on Mingyu. His voice is vile when he speaks again.

“I’ll ask her myself after we’re done here. Pay her a little visit.”

Mingyu slams Seungcheol’s arm away with his left hand and pulls his gun out with his right. He points it at Suho. A chorus of clicks around the room as twenty-eight enemies pull out and cock their guns. Then another wave as our own cavalry answers in kind. 

Only Suho and Seungcheol keep their guns pocketed. I angle myself as a shield in front of Shinyu and Dohoon. Bile rises in my throat as I realize they have no guns. No way to protect themselves. My gun feels heavy in my hand as I point it towards Suho. 

Suho simply laughs dismissively and waves his hand. From our right, the sound of approaching footsteps. Monsta X steps forward, mingling with the men from Stray Kids. Shownu takes his place right next to Bang Chan. The Mamamoo women follow them in, staying a little further back. The Monsta X men pull their guns.

Between them and us, Soobin steps inside. Beomgyu, Huening Kai and Taehyun follow him. As soon as he catches sight of them, Suho barks another laugh. 

“Beomgyu!” He says, his voice way too joyful. “How nice of you to join, without the information you passed to Yeonjun I wouldn’t have been able to prepare this whole party.”

My veins immediately turn to ice. Beomgyu steps back, a bewildered look on his face. “What? I… what?” he stammers. Soobin pulls his gun, points it at Suho, and steps forward, out into the field. An array of guns follow his every move. 

“Stop your lies, Suho.” Soobin’s voice is lethal. “You’ve taken enough from me already.” His eyes flicker to Yeonjun. “Back down.” Suho smiles his theatrical smile. His arms widen. His mouth opens to retaliate. Soobin grips his gun tighter.

A gun fires. The sound is deafening. 

The smile falls from Suho’s face and the verbal retaliation gets stuck in his throat. His eyes flicker down at his chest. His right hand comes up and halts halfway through. He falls to his knees. Every movement seems like slow-motion. Blood starts staining his clothes. 

I look to my right, and for a moment confusion overtakes me as I expect Soobin to have fired, but he’s lowered his gun. Seungcheol’s face is frozen in shock as he stares at Mingyu.

Mingyu. Mingyu fired.

More guns start firing. Seungcheol regains his composure. “Seek cover!” His voice somehow reaches us over the noise. All my men move as one. Behind the rack. Behind crates. Taking cover. Guns keep firing. My eyes go wide. My ears are ringing. I crane my head around the crate I’m crouching behind. 

Suho is on the ground. A pool of blood slowly flows out underneath him. 

The rain of bullets stops. Everyone on either side has now taken cover. I scan the grounds. Apart from Suho’s, five more bodies litter the ground. My eyes catch on familiar features, ones that are now way too still. Too unmoving. All sounds disappear from existence. My blood drains from my face. No. Please, no.

Chan. 

“Your leader is dead.” Seungcheol’s voice rings out too loudly and I recoil. My eyes go back to Chan’s body on the floor in front of us. My head spins. The floor falls away from underneath me. 

Seungcheol signals with his hand and my body acts on its training. All our allies step out in one wave, guns out. They advance slowly, strategically. Jeonghan rushes to Chan’s side. Shinyu and Dohoon stand behind him, their faces a ghostly white. Jeonghan checks his pulse. He looks up at me. Alive. His attention goes back to our youngest brother and his hands start working. I take a step towards them.

“Joshua.” Seungcheol’s command tears my attention away from them. “I need you.” I push a deep breath out my nose. I nod. Automatically I scan the scene. Soonyoung rushes past me, a guttural scream tearing from his mouth. He drops to his knees next to Chan. I swallow hard and turn away. 

Mingyu is on his knees, holding his bleeding shoulder. Jihoon and Wonwoo are with him. Good. I motion towards the others, and my remaining men follow me as I step forward. Monsta X is also tending to someone wounded. Apart from Suho, three more enemy bodies lie motionless on the floor. My eyes sweep over them. 

Chanyeol, Exo. Jinyoung, Got7. San, Ateez. 

I lock eyes with Shownu. “Take my men,” he says. “I’m staying here with Kihyun. He needs me.” My hand quickly touches my chest, right over my heart and I grant him a small bow. Together with his men and those of Stray Kids, we methodically start weaving through the warehouse. We collect dropped guns and ammunition. We spot some tails of scattering enemies. We outnumber them. Their network leader is dead. They’re on the run. They’ve left their dead. Fucking figures.

Slowly we return to the scene, making sure the warehouse is emptied of our enemies. Mingyu’s bleeding has stopped. Shownu has stilled next to Kihyun. Tears stream down his face. I kneel down next to him and put my hand on his shoulder. We say nothing. Other Monsta X men join us. We all stare at Kihyun’s body. Too still. Skin too bleak. 

I stand up and remove myself to let them grieve. All our men are now standing around Chan. I push at Minghao’s shoulder to let me through. Soonyoung is crying. Screaming. Wailing. Jihoon has his hands on Soonyoung’s arm, muttering still alive, still alive. My stomach knots together.

I watch Jeonghan’s steady hands work. Chan hasn’t regained consciousness. Not yet. Jeonghan looks up at me. His eyes are frantic and bloodshot. I move around the crowd and kneel down next to Jeonghan. Softly I touch his side.

“You can do this,” I whisper. “Save him.”

Jeonghan doesn’t answer. My eyes lift. They land on Shinyu and Dohoon. Shinyu meets my look. A tear slides down his tense face. A whisper from Dohoon. His voice is full of grief and desperation. His eyes stay on Chan’s still features. 

“Hyung.”

Joshua is about to protest, but a knock on the door interrupts us. Jeonghan gets up and stands behind Joshua. “Come in,” I tell the person on the other side of the door, almost certain I know that knock. The door opens and Mingyu steps inside. I motion towards the empty chair next to Joshua. “What’s going on?” I ask him, my expression hardening, any trace of a smile faded. 

Mingyu’s face is pulled tight. He falls onto the chair, making the poor thing creak with protest. He sighs. His shoulders slouch forward. “What?” I prompt him again, my voice stonecold. He lightly shakes his head and shrugs. When our eyes meet, I see the glistening of forming tears. He throws a paper onto my desk. Slowly I pick it up and scan the page. My eyes widen at the words they read.

Mingyu looks at me, the tears in his eyes now unmistakably a sign of frustration. I wave the paper up and down. “Where did this come from?” Jeonghan puts his hands on Joshua’s shoulders, leaning forward to try and get a glimpse of the writing. 

A tic in Mingyu’s jaw as he clenches his teeth together. “She got that delivered this morning.”  His voice is too quiet, too strained. Joshua immediately puts the pieces together.

“Minseo?” He asks, even though I’m sure he already knows the answer. Mingyu keeps looking at me, but answers him.

“Yes.” 

Jeonghan butts in. “But we moved her to…” 

Mingyu sharply turns his head and cuts him off. “To a new place. Yes. I know.” Jeonghan clamps his mouth shut. Mingyu looks back at me. “It’s Exo, hyung. It reeks of Suho all over,” his voice carries desperation. 

For a few moments, I search his face. The frustration in his eyes, the tears close to spilling over the edge. The desperation in his voice. His tightly controlled muscles. “What do you want, Mingyu?” 

His eyes harden ever so slightly and his nostrils flare. “I want to join the mission.” He holds my stare, sits up by a mere centimeter. “I need to see him die.” 

My mouth opens before I can fully process his words. “Mingyu…” My tone is soft, gentle. His jaw locks. “I’m not sure you should…” The words come out too sweet. Mingyu sits up another centimeter and bristles. 

“I need to.” 

His words hang in the air. His eyes pierce into mine and I’m unable to tear away from his gaze. Joshua tentatively puts a hand on Mingyu’s shoulder. “The plan’s already set, Mingyu.” His tone is somehow even gentler than mine. Mingyu doesn’t respond to Joshua’s attempt. He simply keeps staring at me, as if we are the only ones in the room.

“Seungcheol,” he says again, his tone now tinged with a pleading edge. “Please.” 

Slowly I shake my head. My eyelids drop, heavy with sorrow. A tear slides down his cheek, but his expression stays filled with resolve. My heart contracts painfully in my chest.

“You want to protect her yourself, don’t you?” My question is simple. The implications are not.

Mingyu nods. Joshua’s hand drops from Mingyu’s shoulder and he exchanges a look with Jeonghan. My hand finds the ring on my pinky. I chew on the inside of my cheek. 

Slowly, very slowly, I start nodding. I breathe out deeply. “Alright,” I say. The eyes of all three men across from me go wide. I hold up my hand to silence them. “You can come. You can be with me, be the distraction.” Shock flickers across Joshua’s face. Mingyu’s expression relaxes and another tear escapes his eye.

“But,” my voice grows stern. Authoritative. “You follow my every order. No questions. No hesitating, no thoughts of your own. I don’t care what it is.” Mingyu clenches his jaw. “Are we clear?” The sentence ends with a sharp tone.

Mingyu nods with resolution. “Absolutely boss. We are clear.” 

My focus shifts to Joshua. “Shua, explain the details of the plan to Mingyu.” Another flicker of frustration across Joshua’s features, but he sharply nods once. He stands up.

“Let’s go Mingyu, we'll talk in Jihoon’s office.” Mingyu immediately stands up and both men disappear from the room. As soon as the door closes behind them, a breath escapes my lungs that I didn’t realize I was holding back. My shoulders sag.

“Are you… okay?” Jeonghan asks me, quietly and surprisingly gentle. I rub my face. Release another breath. Rest my face in my palms.

“Yeah.” My answer sounds uncertain, even to my own ears. I clear my throat. “Yes,” I say, more resolutely now. “I’m okay.” My hands drop to the table and I look at him. “I couldn’t…” My voice trails off.

Jeonghan nods. “I know,” his voice sounds tired. “I would’ve brought him along too.” He sighs and his hands land on his thighs with a soft slap. He stands up. “Just a few more days, then we’re through this mess,” he says. I hum in agreement. He stands there for another moment, then also turns and leaves the room. 

I swallow hard and chew on my bottom lip. The plan will work. It has to work. It needs to. 

My fingers turn my ring again. Then, finally, I also get up and leave the room. It’s better to stay busy.

After some indecisive wandering, I end up in Jihoon’s office. I find Joshua by himself there, on the phone. He holds his hand up while he listens. “... yes. Exactly.” He needlessly nods to the person on the other end of the line. I sit down in one of the chairs. “Right. Good. Okay, thanks Bang Chan. Talk to you soon.” He concludes the call. 

He smiles a wary smile. “Almost there, brother,” he says quietly. My throat tenses and suddenly my mouth turns dry. Instead of an answer, I give him a helpless nod. He chuckles softly and hums. 

A knock on the door has both of us pulling ourselves together. “Yes?” Joshua answers clearly. The door opens. Soonyoung and Chan step into the office. 

“You wanted to see us, hyung?” Soonyoung asks politely. Chan stands next to him, hands behind his back, his posture straight. His lips pressed together, but the corners of his mouth are curled up. 

“Yes, just wanted to go over the plan with you two as well. We shouldn’t need you, but if things go wrong, you need to be close by to back us up with your unit.” Joshua motions them over to the table he is sitting at.

Soonyoung nods and both men step closer and sit down, expressions eager. Joshua launches into his explanation. I listen to the steady drum of his voice and the useful questions the soldiers ask. My heartbeat starts slowing down. My eyelids grow heavier. My breathing deepens. The room drifts away, as I slowly fall asleep in the room, with my brothers still discussing the plan. 

“Jeonghan?” His voice is controlled, but I can feel his simmering rage. 

“Hyunjin is safe. We can proceed. Get your team. I’ll get Cheol. You know where to meet.” My voice shows equal control. My breathing becomes more labored as emotions start to unearth in my body. 

Joshua hangs up the call without answering. My fingers find the next name I need to call. Seungcheol picks up on the third ring. Busy man I suppose.

“Yes?” Seungcheol sounds slightly out of breath. 

“We’re ready, boss,” I talk calmly to him, he still needs me to be leashed. “Shua is getting the team together, let’s wait for them.” On the other end of the line, Seungcheol quickly agrees and gets off the phone. I push myself off the couch and make my way out of the room.

Not even half an hour later, I find myself in another meeting room. My fingertips drum rhythmically on the table. I’m slouched down in my chair. Across from me, Bang Chan. His features are twisted in a marriage between anxiety and vengeance. The atmosphere in the room is heavy. With seven people in a small room you’d expect there to be more noise. Everyone is waiting with bated breaths for the last person to join the room.

Joshua opens the door minutes later. Everyone’s eyes immediately turn to him, except mine. My eyes sweep across the expressions around the table. Minghao and Jun, stonefaced, weapons ready to be deployed. Bang Chan, Han, and Felix, enraged and eyes full of anticipation. Seungcheol controls every facial muscle, yet his eyes are open wide, drowning in darkness. Finally I turn to see Joshua. I find a smile and familiar electric eyes. A smirk creeps onto my own face. “Nice of you to join us, darling,” I tease him. 

Joshua snorts. “You’re still yourself then, Jeonghan?” He deflects me and I giggle and shrug. I sit up straighter and lean my whole body forward, my forearms on the table. Joshua takes a seat at the table. He looks at the faces around the table, everyone watching him intently. 

“Alright, we all want to hurt Exo,” he starts talking. Bang Chan interrupts him. “And Ateez. Don’t forget them.” Joshua nods. “Yes and Ateez,” he confirms calmly. Felix smacks the table with the palm of his hand. “And don’t forget fucking Red Velvet,” he spits out. 

Joshua takes a deep breath. “We need to hurt Exo first. They’re the head of the snake. Suho needs to be killed.” He pointedly looks around the room. The Stray Kids members shrink back and nod. “Good,” Joshua says, clearly done taking any shit.

He pauses and silence settles around the table. The implications dawning on all of us. I lean forward, putting weight on the table. I look at Joshua, and turn my head to the side. I look up at him through my eyelashes, my smirk growing wider. “Thanks for pointing out the obvious.” Joshua makes a short exasperated sound. “Do you have a plan as to how, as well?”

Joshua rolls his eyes at me and then turns his attention back to the rest of the room. He puts a tablet in the middle of the table. A map appears on its screen. “According to Jihoon, Exo has a warehouse right here,” he circles the area on the screen. Bang Chan hums confirmingly. “The plan is to ambush them there,” he looks up at Bang Chan. “I want to send all Seventeen members in this room.” Bang Chan looks at him directly and narrows his eyes.

“Without Felix and myself? Is that what you’re saying?” His voice is angry, frustrated. Joshua opens his mouth, but I cut in. “It’s too close to you now, Bang Chan. You’ve seen our competence. Let us handle it.” Joshua nods, underlining my words. Felix bristles, but Bang Chan holds up his hand to him. Felix looks at him, surprise clear in his eyes. Bang Chan nods.

“We’re with you. We trust you,” he pauses. “I trust you.” He takes a deep breath, settling himself. Excitement starts roaring in my chest. “Tell me the rest of the plan.”

Joshua nods, a warm smile on his face. “The five of us will go in, split into three parts. Minghao and Jun,” Joshua motions his head towards them, “will come in from this side, where the windows are easily breached.” A new map is opened on the tablet, more circling on the screen. The Stray Kids members are watching closely, their shoulders slowly dropping. 

“And from this side,” Joshua circles a door on the map, “Jeonghan and I will enter, together with Seungcheol. Jeonghan will pick the lock, for some unknown reason they use a simple big padlock for it. Should be easy enough.” Everyone nods, but Bang Chan furrows his brows. Internally I chuckle. The man can count. “You said split in three? You’re split in two now.”

Joshua is a more patient man than I am, because he smiles warmly again. “Yes, you’re correct. After we get in through this door,” he points at it again, “Seungcheol will continue on alone and the two of us will circle this way.”

“Seungcheol will continue on alone?” Bang Chan questions. Joshua simply nods. “Yes, he will be a distraction.” I quickly glance at Cheol. One of the corners of his mouth is lifted. You can allow that smirk Cheol. Come on, enjoy it. 

Joshua calmly continues. “While both Minghao and Jun, and Jeonghan and myself circle closer like this and this,” more red lines drawn on the screen, “Seungcheol will make his way to this corner. Suho’s office.” A smile appears on Bang Chan’s face. He nods and looks up at us. 

“This will work,” he says. I smile back at him, his approval setting me alight. I glance at Seungcheol again, the smirk cautiously growing wider on his face. A pang of worry in my stomach. I swallow and shake my head. He’s fine. He wants to do this. 

Joshua turns to Bang Chan again. “And just in case, if we need you?” Bang Chan looks him straight in the eye, sits up straight, shoulders squared. “Call us and we’ll be there. No questions asked.” I can’t stop a cackle that bubbles up from escaping my mouth. I let the fire reach my eyes. Bang Chan looks at me, an amused smile on his face. My arm extends towards him and I hold out my hand. He takes it and shakes it. “Let’s celebrate tonight hmm?” I say to him, amusement clear in my voice. “It’s the Shining Diamond’s opening night, after all.”

When I find myself in the midst of that exact opening hours later, the atmosphere around me feels electric. The lights are bouncing off the walls, the music is loud in my ears, my family is all around me. I follow Joshua as he leads Shownu and Kihyun through the moving sweaty crowd, up the stairs, towards one of our private sections. When we enter, our family’s leaders are already there, minus Soonyoung. He’s on security duty. Obviously.

Seungcheol and Bang Chan raise their glasses to us with relaxed smiles on their faces. Shownu and Kihyun sit down, and Seungkwan jumps up to get them a drink. Joshua and I slide in next to Seungcheol. Out of habit, I survey the remaining faces around the table. Solar and Moonbyul are the most alert, but they’re smiling and chatting. Jihoon, sitting on the other side of Seungcheol, is quiet and observant as per usual. Han, next to Bang Chan, looks nearly at home talking to the enchanting women of Mamamoo. Soobin and Taehyun, as the last delegation, complete our allies around the table. I sink into the soft velvet seating and take a sip of my drink. Seungkwan comes back and hands the men of Monsta X their drinks.

The evening starts moving, the alcohol making the edges become hazy. Laughter, stories shared that can only be half true, even some flirting around the table. Joshua leans into me more often than not, my hand finding its way to his thigh every time he says something stupid. Or stupidly attractive, the drinks making me unsure. 

Kihyun is in the middle of recounting a story about their first ever heist when the door opens. Chan stands in the doorway. Confusion flashes across my features. He looks so… excited. Thrilled even. “What is it, Chan?” Seungcheol calmly calls out to him. Chan smiles wider before he answers. “Soonyoung hyung has got four people for you at the entrance.” 

My brows furrow together, my mind not piecing it together just yet. Our allies are here. Who? Oh. Chan regains speaking the exact moment the puzzle pieces click together. “Suho, Hongjoong, Jay B and Irene.” 

Immediately I sit up straight, my back pressing against the fabric. I turn to watch Seungcheol. His eyes meet Joshua’s instead of mine, who nods at him. Seungcheol’s order is clear. “Bring them up.” Chan nods and disappears, leaving the door open.

Everyone sits up now. I clock the faces around the table again. Everyone’s expression is somewhat unreadable, trained poker faces making their appearances. All sets of eyes around the table are alert. Seungkwan is the only one whose nerves periodically flicker across his features. 

A few minutes later, Chan appears in the doorway again, his grin still wide. He steps to the side, allowing the four people following him to step into the room. Blood drains from my face when I take in the four faces. Suho stops a few steps away from our table, and the other three halt a step and a half behind him. 

Suho summons his theatrical smile and opens his mouth. “No.” Seungcheol cuts him off. “No theatre.” His voice is cold. “Why are you here?” My eyes sweep across the room on instinct. Bang Chan’s eyes are trained on Hongjoong, his lips pressed together in a tight line. The Mamamoo women are perfectly elegant, Solar’s focus is on Irene and Moonbyul surveying the room the same as myself. I catch Seungkwan swallowing hard as his eyes shift between all enemy leaders standing in the room. Jihoon observes Jay B.

Suho’s smile falters. “Very well,” he answers. His usually charming voice has turned equally as cold. “I came here to get back what’s mine.” His voice is dangerous, hostile. From the corner of my eye, I watch Joshua’s face become eerily serene. His eyes carry peace. I follow his line of sight. He’s looking at Suho. 

Bang Chan responds, his voice full of anger. “You have enough puppets to do your bidding,” his head motions towards the three standing behind Suho, his eyes piercing into Hongjoong. If looks could kill. “So fuck off.”

Suho looks at him. Looks him up and down. Chuckles darkly. Looks back at Seungcheol. “Control your attackdog, Cheol.” Hongjoong clacks his tongue. Seungkwan’s eyes are the widest I’ve ever seen them. Chan takes half a step forward. He’s hungry. 

Seungcheol laughs dismissively. “You’ve got it all twisted there, hyung.” The irony drips off the word. “Unlike you, I don’t muzzle my allies.” Jay B widens his eyes for a second. Hongjoong steps forward, breathing heavily. Chan steps forward too as Bang Chan stands up, hands slamming down on the table. My shoulders tense, eyes darting between two sides of the table. I welcome my signature wicked smile onto my face. 

Chan looks at Joshua. The moment they make eye contact, Joshua nods at him. He nods at him. What? Chan releases a short tense laugh, and steps forward. He steps in between the table and Suho, no more than 30 centimeters from each other. 

“However,” Joshua says calmly, too calmly. “We do control this attackdog.” Suho seizes Chan up, as does Hongjoong. Irene and Jay B look ready to take a step back. Suho laughs. “Your threats are weak, Joshua Hong.” Chan steps forward and grabs a fistful of Suho’s shirt in one quick motion. My eyes widen, excitement tightens my throat. Suho’s hand closes itself around Chan’s throat lightning fast, but Chan doesn’t flinch. His eyes keep drilling into Suho’s. 

“Hyung,” a small, terrified whisper from across the table. A begging whisper. Seungkwan’s eyes are on Joshua. He is the only one at the table with sickening nerves clear on his face. Joshua ignores him. “Hyung, please,” Seungkwan tries again. He chokes on the words. Chan is still smiling as he and Suho stare each other down.

An unexpected voice rings out through the room. “Let. Him. Go.” Soonyoung growls from the doorway. Before anyone can respond, Soonyoung jumps forward, throws his arm around Hongjoong’s throat and puts his gun to his temple. Hongjoong grabs Soonyoung’s arm with both his hands but doesn’t move. 

Seungcheol breathes out loudly. “Chan, Soonyoung. Let go. Come back.” The two immediately follow the simple order, Soonyoung hiding his gun away. Suho doesn’t instantly release Chan’s throat. “Let him go, you fucking snake,” an acid tone spews from my mouth. Suho laughs and releases him. Our men retreat to our table. 

Suho keeps laughing and he takes a step back, holding his hands up with his palms showing. “Fine. Have it your way.” He starts retreating backwards out of the room. His laughter subsides. In the doorway, he stops, his puppets behind him, peering into the room over his shoulder. “Remember this moment when you’re burying your dead.”

Jeonghan starts cracking up again. To my left, Seungcheol chuckles softly and I turn my head towards him. His eyes meet mine and his face smooths out, something cold hiding in the deep. From the other side of the room, Jun makes a disgruntled sound. He is looking down at the box of chocolates in his hands. He looks up at Chan. “So you got Soonyoung that, and I get some chocolates?” The room explodes with laughter again. 

After the laughter subsides and conversations start around the room, Shinyu lightly taps my arm. I look at him. He is sitting next to me, shoes off, feet pulled up on the couch, arms around his legs and head resting on his knees. I smile. “What’s up?” I ask him lightly. Shinyu’s face mirrors my warm smile. 

“Just want to say thank you for letting us in, hyung,” he says softly and my smile widens. He hesitates for a moment. “And, wondering how you’re doing.” My eyes soften. I lean towards him, put my arm around his shoulders and pull him against me. “You’re part of the family now, both of you,” I tell him. “And I’m fine, thanks Shinyu.” He settles against my side, letting himself slip a bit lower. He exhales. The warmth of his body seeps into mine. I find Jeonghan across the room, and he cocks his head to the side, one eyebrow raised. For a moment, I frown at him, and he shrugs. 

From the center of the room, Chan approaches us with a blanket. He throws it over Shinyu, who mumbles a soft thanks, his eyes already closed. Chan looks at him with adoration in his eyes. His eyes turn to me. I look back and smile. He nods once, and turns away again, sauntering towards Soonyoung. 

Slowly my cheeks turn red and heated. Very gently, I pull myself away from under the sleeping Shinyu, placing a pillow underneath his head before lowering him down completely. I smile as he stays asleep, and then slowly turn around. Ignoring Jeonghan’s gaze on me, I move towards the door. On my way towards it, I make eye contact with Mingyu and smile at his sister sitting beside him. When I reach the door, the handle feels cool against my skin. I pull it towards me and step out into the hallway.

As soon as I pull the door close behind me, the sounds become muffled and the air feels cooler against my skin. I breathe out slowly and deliberately. I start walking and my feet automatically take me towards the training room. When I enter, the room is dark. I leave the lights off. The shapes of the equipment and weapons slowly come into focus. They feel familiar. 

Slowly I walk around the room. My hand glides over the dumbbells in the rack next to the mirror. My eyes track the sticks and knives hung on the short wall. I reach the other short wall, and take in the names written on the training board. My hands clasp together behind my back and I nod to myself. 

With the eraser next to the board, I wipe out the names. I pick up a marker with my other hand and start writing down names. Chan. Mingyu. Seokmin. Chan, again. Jun. Minghao. Soonyoung. I drop the marker back in its place. My jaw clenches and I furrow my brows. I breathe out strongly through my nose. My hand that holds the eraser moves up and I wipe out the names again. Chan, Mingyu, Minghao. Chan again. Soonyoung. Jun. Seokmin. Chan, a third time. 

My tongue swipes across my upper teeth. I cock my head to the side. Upright again. My eyes tighten. I erase the names a third time. My hand lifts the marker. The writing becomes quicker. Chan, Minghao, Soonyoung. Chan, again. Soonyoung. Jun. Chan, a third time. Seokmin. Chan, again. Joshua. My own name. My eyebrows lift. I drop the marker and the eraser back in their places. I square my shoulders and nod once. Then I turn back around to exit the room.

I barely make it two steps into the dark hallway before I’m stopping in my tracks. A slender silhouette. Leaning against the wall, halfway through the hallway, arms crossed. “Hi, Hannie,” my voice is soft, and it cracks at the end of his name. Jeonghan uncrosses his arms and lets them fall down to hang to his sides. He leans his head against the wall. Our eyes meet, and his are alive. They carry a piercing gaze. I swallow and fight the urge to take a step back.

Jeonghan says nothing. The space between us seems to stretch out. “I, uh,” I stammer, my fingers scratching my temple. “Let’s go back to our family,” Jeonghan quietly interrupts me. I nod a few times quickly. He pushes off from the wall and turns around. I take big steps to catch up to him and follow closely behind him back into the bright living room.

My eyes squint against the bright lights and I bring my hand up to shield them. A chuckle rolls off my lips. “Hyung!” Chan exclaims, his voice ringing in my ears. Before I can bring my arm down, he is already bouncing in front of me. He presses a cold glass against my chest. “Here, try this. It’s really good!” I take the glass from him and he walks back to Shinyu and Dohoon, who welcome him with giddy smiles. My fingers grip the cold wet glass. My knuckles turn white.

Jeonghan elbows my side, so I look at him. You okay? He mouths soundlessly. I shrug. His eyes narrow for a split second, but then he relaxes and his lips stretch into a small smile. He nods, and motions his head towards two empty spots on a sofa. I smile softly and some tension builds in my throat. He sets off and I follow him towards the empty spots, my focus on his back. From the side, I hear a group burst out in laughter. My head swivels to the other side and I fight the urge to cover my ear. 

Finally, we reach the sofa. I collapse into the corner spot, and drape my arm with the drink on the armrest. Jeonghan quirks his eyebrow, but lands in the spot next to me without saying anything. My eyes survey the room. Laughter, Chan and Soonyoung doubling over once more, people sharing blankets, drinks and food. The bass in the music drills into my ears. My skin feels hot and I grip the cold glass tighter. 

Jeonghan’s hand grips my thigh and I lean into him. I try to take a deep breath. From the corner of my eye, I see a worried expression on his face. For a moment I wonder what he sees. I catch Seungcheol’s gaze from across the room, expression almost unreadable apart from his sharp eyes. 

Seungkwan comes up to us and sits down next to my feet, his back against the armrest of the sofa. “Hi Kwannie,” Jeonghan says happily to him. Seungkwan laughs. “Hi Jeonghan,” he responds. Seungkwan’s head turns sideways to me. “Joshua.” The way he says my name almost sounds like a question. He turns his head further towards me. “Eh, yeah. Hi Seungkwan,” I say to him. “What did you get for the birthday boys?” I follow up quickly. 

Seungkwan giggles and dives into his explanation of what he got for Soonyoung and Jun, and how he got it. The story is apparently funny, because Jeonghan laughs loudly a few times and more of our men gather to enjoy Seungkwan’s story telling skills. I can’t hear a word he’s saying. Jihoon has sat down next to Seungcheol. Every few seconds they share whispers and they keep glancing back at me. A bead of sweat trickles down my back. My breath hitches in my chest. I laugh when everyone else laughs. Jeonghan’s worried eyes keep glancing at me too. Nausea turns my stomach. 

The door opens and it bangs against the wall. The room goes silent. A wave of cool air rushes into the room and I breathe in deeply. My eyes focus and I set my glass down. Shock registers on everyone’s faces as we take in the men in the doorway of our living room. My mind clears. My stomach settles and my skin cools. I stand up. 

“Bang Chan,” I say, my voice calm and authoritative. “Bring him in. Make room for him, guys.” I motion towards the center of the living room. My men spring into action. For half a second, I glance at Mingyu next to Minseo. We make eye contact. “Bring her home safely, now. Come back after.” He nods and pulls his sister up by her arm. They disappear from the room.

My focus turns back to the center. Seungcheol and Jeonghan are now standing next to me. Bang Chan is kneeling next to Hyunjin, who is unconscious and bleeding on our floor. Jeonghan starts giving orders. “Wonwoo, get my medical supplies from my room.” Wonwoo nods and disappears. “Chan and Soonyoung, get clean water and towels.” Both of them get up without a word. 

I address the other Stray Kids members standing in the doorway. “Han.” He looks at me, terror in his eyes. “What’s happened?” Han opens his mouth, and starts stammering. Nothing useful falls from his lips. From the floor, without looking up, Bang Chan speaks up, his voice full of unbridled rage.

“It was fucking Seonghwa.” Jeonghan swears loudly and Seungcheol clenches his fists. Everyone else holds their breath, eyes attentive, ready to move. Bang Chan looks up at me, his eyes boring into mine. “Hongjoong sent a few of his men to intercept us. We were literally nowhere near their territory. Seonghwa had San jump him and then he cut him himself. They were fucking gone before we could react.” He looks down at Hyunjin again. Chan and Soonyoung enter the room again, handing water and towels to Jeonghan. 

Jeonghan sits down next to Hyunjin and starts tending to him. He starts cleaning away most of the blood, assessing his cuts. Wonwoo also enters, setting down medical supplies next to Jeonghan on the ground. I see Chan going up to Dohoon and Shinyu, who don’t look nearly as terrified as expected. I smirk for a moment. The three of them lock eyes and this seems to unlock a vengeful rage in them. 

“It’s retribution,” Seungcheol finally speaks up. Bang Chan looks up at him and nods. “Yeah. This is Suho’s command,” he agrees with Seungcheol. Seungcheol turns his head to look at me and in his eyes I find a mirror. My jaw locks and I nod once. I turn back to face Bang Chan.

“We’re running out of time.” The entire room sucks in a breath when I talk. “We’ll focus on Hyunjin now, but tomorrow, we need to make a plan.”

Deliberately I sink down into my chair, my hands finding the armrests first. I pull myself closer to the table and rest my forearms on its surface. My hands fold together. “I think I speak for everyone here,” Shownu speaks steadily, my attention shifting to him, “when I say we’ve learned you don’t make such urgent calls without reason, Seungcheol.” A significant number of people nod. “Please, enlighten us with the reason.” 

I purse my lips and nod slowly. “Of course.” My eyes meet Bang Chan’s again. Then I turn back to meet Shownu’s gaze. “Last time we all met together, we discussed Red Velvet and Got7 as possible liabilities.” As I speak, Shownu nods, a warm smile ever present on his features. “Recently, both through our own and Stray Kids’s intel,” my arm motions towards Jihoon, then towards Bang Chan, “we have learned that Red Velvet is actively working against us, and with Exo.” 

Shownu’s smile slowly fades. His eyes narrow. Next to me, Jeonghan turns his head towards Mamamoo. “We have concluded from this,” I pause and sit up straighter. “That Suho is now actively building a network to counter ours.” I expect gasps, scoffs, maybe even shouts. But the room remains dead silent. The air feels heavy.

“And that’s not the only problem,” Solar quietly adds and all heads turn towards her. “We have eyes on Got7.” My hands grip each other tightly. “This week we’ve seen Suho visit them multiple times.” 

As soon as she is done speaking, Joshua curses under his breath. Worried voices start talking around the room. Even my own men start whispering. My breathing grows quicker and I feel slightly lightheaded. I make eye contact with the leaders across from me. What is happening? My eyes widen.

A warm hand on my right leg. Joshua squeezes softly. My mind clears. Right. Numbers. Focus, Seungcheol.

“Right,” I say with a clear voice, holding my hands up, my palms turned towards our allies. “So the network is bigger than even I thought.” The silence returns to the room. I can feel the held breaths. My head turns to Jihoon. “Jihoon, talk to me about the numbers.”

Jihoon’s calm voice steadies my breathing. Joshua’s hand disappears from my leg. “Certainly.” He taps his tablet a few times. “Our own network currently contains 36 members. Fifteen from Seventeen, five from Monsta X, TXT has four,” Soobin sucks in a breath, but Jihoon continues without a hitch. “Mamamoo has four people as well, Stray Kids have eight people.” He lifts his head, and all leaders give him short nods. He looks back at his tablet.

“Then our rivals currently have 29 people. Exo has eight plus Yeonjun, Got7 has seven, Ateez has 8, Red Velvet has five.” Jihoon pauses. He lifts his head and looks at me directly. “We outnumber them now, but…” He hesitates. “I don’t know who else they might pull in if we give them too much time.” 

My heart beats against my chest. However, my head turns back to Shownu and my features remain smooth. “Does that enlighten you?”

Shownu nods, his expression serious. He casts his eyes down. My fingers start drumming on the table. My eyes survey the room again, but nobody meets my gaze. I breathe out strongly through my nose. Finally, I meet someone’s eyes. “What next, boss?” Bang Chan asks me. My jaw clenches for a moment. I turn the ring on my pink a few times.

“We make a plan.” My voice sounds certain. Many eyes turn back to me. “We hurt them, before they hurt us.” Bang Chan widens his chest. He nods once. “Tell us what to do, we’re with you.” I incline my head to him with a swift motion.

My eyes find Solar. She speaks immediately. “Lead us well, and we’ll follow.” My head inclines towards her. I turn to Soobin, he breathes out deeply when our eyes meet. “Call the shots, boss,” he answers my unspoken question. I repeat my motion. Finally, I turn back to Shownu. We look each other directly into the eyes. Neither of us says a thing. Joshua and Jeonghan both lean forward in their seats.

“We’re at your disposal,” Shownu says. 

I stand up, put my hand back on my chest, and bow a second time. Deeply. Longer. I straighten myself and sit back down. There is fire in the eyes of the men and women in the room. Jeonghan and Joshua start talking. The time in the room slips into a blur. Voices pitching in, plans coming together. Before I know it, the night has turned to morning and everyone has disappeared from the room.

Everyone, except Jeonghan and Joshua. 

My head feels cloudy, tired, and heavy. My two brothers look at me with concern, their eyes soft. My elbows rest on my knees and I drop my face in my hands. I feel hot tears behind my eyelids. The silence in the room is deafening.

“Cheol,” Joshua’s soft voice. I shake my head in my hands and shrug. “I know,” Jeonghan whispers. “We’re here,” Joshua adds. Two hands softly pat my back. My head remains in my hands for another minute. Maybe two. My breathing steadies and the tears shrink. The hands disappear. I breathe out a long breath one more time. Finally, I lift my head from my hands. 

Electricity jolts through my spine. My eyes widen. In front of me, Jeonghan smirks and Joshua smiles coldly. Their eyes are alive with a burning rage. My skin breaks out in cold sweat. My eyes shift between the two of them.

“We’ll hurt them, Cheol,” Joshua says calmly. No, not calmly. Darkly. Jeonghan piles on, his exciting smirk terrifying. “We’ll get them before they can get us. We’re ready.” His voice is as eager as his features. I expect more cold sweats. Instead, a slow burn starts spreading through my body. My hands clench into fists, resting on my thighs. My shoulders square themselves. 

Joshua’s expression shifts. He smiles. His eyes darken. My eyes meet his. He nods. Slowly, a laugh rises in my throat. I release it. “Fuck,” is all I say. Joshua nods again, his smile flashing his teeth. He leans forward. His hand lands on my shoulder. He stares into my eyes. 

“There you are,” he speaks. “Finally.” Jeonghan’s giggle rings in my ears. My eyes keep boring into his. My eyes feel alive. My heart beats wildly in my chest. My arm lifts and I grab his shoulder. 

“Welcome friends,” Joshua starts. He opens his arms as he speaks, his voice warm and charming. “Thank you for coming to our turf today, we greatly appreciate you taking the trouble.” Bang Chan mirrors Joshua’s warmth with a wide smile. “For you, that isn’t a problem Joshua. You’re quickly becoming one of our most invaluable allies.” Joshua inclines his head with his right hand on his chest. “Thank you, your kind words mean a lot,” he answers, his voice steady. “You mentioned that you wanted to share something with us. Want to start there?” 

Bang Chan nods. “Yeah. Last time when we had the big meeting, Hwasa said something about Red Velvet.” Joshua nods and Seungkwan scribbles something down. “Well, up until recently we hadn’t really run into them at all, but now they’re truly starting to be a nuisance.” Joshua raises an eyebrow when Bang Chan mentions the rival group. My eyes flick to Hyunjin, whose expression has darkened and he leans forward. 

Joshua slowly nods a few times. “In what way? I thought they gathered intel?” He asks, looking directly at Bang Chan. Hyunjin snorts and Bang Chan throws him a warning glance. He brings his attention to the man on his other side. “Fill them in Han.” At Bang Chan’s order, Han leans forward. His eyes quickly move between the three of us and when his eyes connect with mine, my eyes instinctively narrow. 

“They do indeed gather intel, and they work together with Ateez on that. However, recently we’ve discovered that they also take on assassination work.” My jaw clenches and my eyes flick towards Hyunjin again. His arms are crossed and his eyes are cast down. There is a tick in his jaw. Joshua looks at him. “Hyunjin?” He warmly directs his attention to him. Hyunjin’s head whips up, eyes slightly widened. Bang Chan shifts in his seat, furrows his brows and narrows his eyes. Joshua doesn’t react, simply keeps his attention on Hyunjin. 

Hyunjin’s eyes quickly move back and forth between Joshua and Bang Chan a few times. “In what way did they interfere in your work?” Joshua calmly coaxes. Hyunjin’s eyes stay trained on Joshua now. Bang Chan sits up straighter, widens his chest and nearly bristles, but still says nothing. Nerves bounce in my stomach and I bite my bottom lip.  

Hyunjin leans forward, his hands flat on the table. His gaze shifts, something hungry lies within it. “Twice now, I’ve reached a target, and I’ve found fucking Seulgi running off the scene, my target already dead.” My throat runs dry at the venom in his voice. “Somehow they know who our targets are,” he concludes. Immediately he crosses his arms again and leans back. A smirk plays on his lips. 

My eyes shoot back to Joshua. He sighs and then smiles. He shifts his gaze back to Bang Chan, who raises his eyebrow in response. “That’s what I was afraid of,” he speaks with ease. I lean forward and Joshua catches my movement. His head slightly turns towards me and he motions with his hand. Perfect. 

“Bang Chan, if I may make a suggestion,” I say to him with a polite tone. Bang Chan’s eyes shift towards me and he nods once. “I’ve heard from our info unit with scraps of similar info, but I’m not entirely sure what the story is. Would it be okay with you if I asked Jihoon to join us here and fill us in?” Bang Chan’s shoulders drop and a smile returns to his face. “Sounds great, Jeonghan. Get Jihoon in here.” 

The glass of my phone screen feels cold underneath my fingers as I shoot Jihoon a quick message. Without waiting for his response, I pocket my phone again and bring my gaze back to Bang Chan. “He’ll be here soon,” I say and at the end of the sentence my attention shifts to Seungkwan. “Maybe our guests would like a drink?” My words are spoken as a question, but Seungkwan knows it’s nothing short of an order. He immediately nods and smiles. “Would you gentlemen follow me?” He politely asks. The men from Stray Kids make affirming noises and get up to follow Seungkwan out of the room. Joshua and I smile politely as they leave.

As soon as the door closes, Joshua turns to me with a wide playful smile. “God, I love it when we play with our audience,” he says. I chuckle and nod. “It’s what we do best, darling,” I respond to him. He laughs, but then his face smooths out. “Alright, when Jihoon gets here, we just let him talk. Right?” He checks in with me. I hum low in my throat. “Yes, Jihoon will understand the situation. I’ve heard him annoyedly mention Red Velvet a few times recently, so I’m sure his information will prove valuable today.” Joshua nods and laughs again, falling back in his chair. He drums his fingertips on the table. “Alright, let’s get ready to continue this show then.”

Jihoon joins us before Seungkwan and our allies are back. He greets us, then sits down and silently prepares the information on his tablet. His expression is calm and steady, as always. I breathe out deeply and my shoulders drop. Ease settles deeply in the back of my mind. When Seungkwan re-enters with the three others, the three of us stand up to greet them with polite bows. Everyone sits back down, and I note the relaxed smiles on our allies’ faces. Joshua opens, his tone back to charming. 

“Welcome back, friends,” he says, shortly making eye contact with all three of them. “As agreed, we’ve invited Jihoon into the meeting.” He motions his hand towards Jihoon at the mention of his name. Jihoon gives a curt nod. Bang Chan reciprocates the motion and his smile remains on his face. Joshua continues talking. “He’s just prepared his available intel on Red Velvet. Jihoon?” Joshua’s cue has Jihoon leaning forward. Bang Chan shifts in his seat, his attention now fully on Jihoon. 

“Yes,” he starts, his voice as steady as his expression. “Joshua told me you have been getting interference from Red Velvet. Recently, so have we. Not in the same area as you guys, mostly in my own work.” My eyes are trained on the men in front of me as I listen to Jihoon’s voice. They appear calm, Hyunjin and Han still leaning back, but all of them listening attentively. 

“They’ve been making it harder for us to verify our info. They purposely seem to be feeding false intel into my channels, and I can’t yet figure out how they know what our channels are or how they’re influencing it,” Jihoon continues, a tinge of frustration in his voice at the end of his sentence. Bang Chan just nods, the information making sense to him. 

“But,” Jihoon continues, his voice growing sharper. “That’s not all.” Hyunjin sits up straighter and I simultaneously narrow my eyes. What else? Jihoon looks down at his tablet screen for a moment, then back up at the men around the table. “Especially in the last two weeks, they’ve been spotted meeting up with members from Exo, or spotted entering Exo’s main hideout.” My head sharply turns towards him and my eyes widen. From across the table, Hyunjin’s hand lands on the table with a loud thud. Bang Chan’s eyes have hardened and his eyebrows knit together. 

“Well, that is certainly new information to me,” Bang Chan responds. He turns to Han. “Did we know that they have connections to Exo?” Han immediately shakes his head. “No boss, we didn’t know. We know they have connections to Ateez though,” Han answers his question. “Yes,” Jihoon interrupts, “and we know Ateez works with Exo as well. It seems like they’re building a network in response to ours.” Jihoon’s voice is so smooth, he almost says it off-handedly, as if with a shrug. Beside me, Joshua scoffs. “What is Suho trying to pull off?” He wonders out loud.

Joshua looks at Bang Chan and the two of them make eye contact. “I can’t be sure,” Bang Chan responds. “But from how I know Suho he is… territorial. My guess is he doesn’t take lightly to being dethroned.” I can’t help but chuckle. Joshua sucks on his teeth. “He’ll have to deal with it, because if he drives this situation up any further, someone will pay the price,” Joshua responds with a fierce tone. His head angles down at the table, but then his eyes flick up, looking Bang Chan in the eye again. “And we sure as hell won’t be the ones paying.” 

Hyunjin chuckles darkly and Han’s face tightens. Bang Chan leans back, an amused smile on his lips. “You keep surprising me in the best ways, Joshua Hong.” Some nerves bounce around my stomach again, but then I look at Joshua. His smile is wide, his eyes alive and he straightens his back. “Glad you like what you see, Bang Chan,” he responds. “Let’s take that piece of scum down together, shall we?”

When I walk beside Joshua a few hours later on our way to check on the progress of the Shining Diamond, that line still echoes through my mind. Bang Chan’s wide smile, Hyunjin’s hungry eyes, Han’s clenched jaw. And then Seungkwan simply saw them out with polite smiles and small talk, while Jihoon quietly left the room to continue his work. I chuckle and shake my head. Joshua’s head turns towards me with a raised eyebrow. 

“What’s up?” He asks me and I chuckle again. “Nothing, really. Just reliving the end of our meeting this morning,” I answer him with a light tone. Joshua chuckles as well. “It was fun, wasn’t it?” I nod and we continue walking in silence for a few more meters. As we round a corner, our club comes into sight. I spot Seungcheol already waiting for us in front of the building. 

“Cheol!” I call out happily, he turns towards us and smiles. When we approach him, Joshua lightly bows. “Good to see you, brother,” he says, his voice soft. Seungcheol’s eyes soften and he puts his hand on Joshua’s shoulder. “Indeed, brother. Let’s go check on the club. It’s supposed to open in three weeks after all,” he responds with warmth. Some tension I didn’t know was there unknots in my stomach and my smile widens. “Yes, I’m excited to see it!” My happy care-free exclamation has both of my brothers chuckling, and I unlock the door to go inside. 

As soon as we walk in, the smell of wood and fresh glue greets us. We walk through the hallway, past the cloakroom, towards the dancefloor. Once we reach the middle, I stop and slowly start turning around. I whistle appreciatively and Seungcheol chuckles. “You like it then, Han?” I nod enthusiastically. “Yeah! I haven’t had time to see it before, it’s crazy to see it almost finished like this.” Cheol nods and smiles with warmth in his eyes. 

Joshua walks up to the bar, leaning his body over the top to glance behind it. He turns his head around to us with a child-like happiness on his face. “This looks so professional too!” I half-run towards him and lean over the bar too, copying him. My face lights up as I take in how well done everything looks. Seungcheol walks up behind us. “Nice, huh?” He asks, his soft smile never leaving his face. “Come, let’s go check out the private booths upstairs. That’s where we’ll be meeting our allies most often.”

Joshua immediately jumps off the bar and runs towards the stairs. An involuntary giggle escapes my mouth and I jump off the bar to follow behind him. A wide smile grows on my face and all earlier stress momentarily fades from my mind. Seungcheol chuckles again behind us, and I look over my shoulder to see him shaking his head.

Joshua and I take the stairs two steps at a time, and this time Joshua whistles when the booths come into view. We walk up to the first one and he opens the door. Doorknob still in hand, we take in the sights of the plush red velvet seats around the round table in the middle of the booth. An elegant lamp hangs down the middle of the ceiling. I feel Cheol’s hand on my shoulder. “What do you think guys?”

“It’s perfect Cheol!” Joshua answers happily. “We can definitely impress our allies here, or just get drunk with them,” he adds, laughing. Cheol snorts and I turn my head towards him. He raises an eyebrow. “Be careful what you wish for, Shua.” Joshua turns his head towards him as well, a smirk playing on his lips, a twinkle in his eyes. “I’m sure any of our friends from Monsta X and most from Stray Kids could drink you under the table.” Joshua laughs loudly and nods a few times. “I’m even more scared of our friends from Mamamoo,” I interject. “I think they are better drinkers than any of us.” 

After we inspect all of the booths, we walk around the rest of the club, checking on every detail. Seungcheol points out all the areas the construction workers have run into issues and explain how they fixed it. Joshua and I follow him around the building with awestruck expressions and even the damn toilets excite us. 

An hour or so later, we step out the door again. Seungcheol turns towards us. “Can I drive back with you guys? Wonwoo dropped me off here,” he asks. Joshua nods. “Of course, we’re going back to the safehouse. Come, my car is around that corner,” he says while he points the way we came. 

We walk to the car in comfortable silence. Cheol slides his hands into his pockets, and I hook my arm through Joshua’s. The late afternoon sun makes everything around us glow like liquid gold and I breathe out deeply. 

When we reach Joshua’s car, I get into the back. Joshua gets behind the wheel and Seungcheol sits beside him in the passenger’s seat. He starts the car, turns on some random radio channel where a pop song is playing, and calmly drives off. We barely make it out of the street before Cheol takes a deep breath. His head turns towards Joshua. “How did it go with Stray Kids this morning?”

Joshua immediately widens his shoulders and sits up taller. My hands take hold of both their backrests and I lean forward. Joshua quickly glances back at me and I give him a small nod. He turns down the volume of the music. “Well, we found out that Red Velvet have been interfering with them recently,” he starts off, his voice calm but assertive. Seungcheol nods for him to continue. “Seulgi recently killed two of Hyunjin’s targets before he could get to them.” This gets a frown out of Seungcheol, but he remains silent. 

“So we got Jihoon involved, because Jeonghan had heard him mention Red Velvet recently as well,” Joshua’s voice grows sharper. His head turns towards Seungcheol. “Through him we learned that Red Velvet has started meeting up with Exo and that they’re muddying our intel channels.” Joshua focuses his eyes back on the road. My hands grip the seats a little tighter. Seungcheol turns his head to the window on his right and his fingers turn the ring on his pink. For a few moments, nobody seems to breathe.

Then Seungcheol breathes out. Long and deeply. He nods. “Alright,” he says and turns his head back towards Joshua. He glances at me. “So Suho is building a network too?” He asks the obvious question. “Yes, that’s what we think,” Joshua replies, venom growing in his voice. “But we aren’t going to let him get away with that,” he continues. Seungcheol’s jaw clenches and he narrows his eyes, but then he quickly relaxes. He nods. “We need the network,” Seungcheol says, power in his voice. “We’re meeting tomorrow night.” It isn’t a suggestion. “Joshua, as soon as we get to the safehouse, inform Bang Chan and bring Shinyu and Dohoon.” Seungcheol looks at me. “Jeonghan, inform Solar.” He turns to look out the front window and pushes his back harder against the back of his seat. His hands land flat on his thighs. “I’ll call Shownu and Soobin.”

For a small moment, we just look at each other. I step aside and wave him in. He nods and steps past me. After closing the door, I start leading him to my office, and he follows without a word. I walk back into my office, leaving the door open and immediately sit down at my desk. I lean back in my chair with my elbows on the armrests and the fingertips of my hands touching each other. Soobin sits down in front of my desk. We look at each other again. 

“Thank you for allowing me to come today, Seungcheol.” His voice is small when he finally speaks. I respond to him with a low hum. He looks down at his hands, breaking our eye contact. The only sound in the room is the clock ticking on the wall. He takes a deep breath and looks at me again. “I know I fucked up. I…” He trails off. My face hardens and I keep staring at him. “I’m…  sorry, Seungcheol,” he stammers. 

My eyes search his face and I suck on my teeth. “I’m not sure I feel your sincerity, Soobin.” A bit of venom creeps in my voice and I spit out his name. His eyes widen and hurt flashes through them. He clears his throat, nods once, and gets up from his chair. He sinks to his knees and bows all the way to the floor. “Please forgive me, boss.” My eyebrow quickly quirks when the title falls from his mouth. I drop it and satisfaction blooms in my chest. “I shouldn’t have broken the trust you have always extended to us. To me.”

Silence lands heavily in the room. The clock ticks, deafening in volume. Soobin doesn’t move from his position on the floor. “Get up,” I tell him, my voice much rounder now. I watch his shoulders relax a fraction. He sits up, and we make eye contact. I motion my head upwards and he smiles gratefully, getting up on his feet. He bows at his hip one more time and then sits down on the chair. 

Soobin looks at me with hopeful eyes and I sigh. “What do you know, Soobin? Who did you talk to?” He pulls a small notebook from his inside pocket and flips through the pages. “I know you had a meeting with all your allies. I know Yeonjun is still with Exo, he hasn’t returned to us since… well you know since when.” I nod, taking the information in, writing it down next to my own bullet points. “I talked to no one except for my own men.” He looks at me. “Can I ask who else was invited? Who are your allies, boss?”

I narrow my eyes and weigh my words. “My network has three groups in it now, if I’m not counting yours.” Hurt flashes in his eyes again, but he nods. “The next time we need to meet, I will invite you again. You can show your loyalty to the network then. Find out who is in it then.” He nods again, his shoulders dropping a little. 

My jaw clenches and my fingers automatically find the ring on my pink. “Why should I trust you again, Soobin?” His head drops down again. My throat tightens out of nowhere. Heat rushes through my skin. Images of blood flash in my mind. I grit my teeth and hold my breath. In clipped tones, I speak again. “Tell me.” Soobin’s head whips up at the change in my voice, his eyes widened. 

“I… I don’t know. I don’t have anything, boss.” Surprise hits me deep in the chest when a tear escapes his eye, gliding down his cheek and he quickly wipes it away with the back of his hand. “I have nowhere else to go,” he adds, his voice small. He looks me straight in the eye with a desperate look as more tears start falling from his eyes. Fuck, keep it together Cheol. 

My shoulders drop and my expression softens. “Alright, that’ll do. Thank you for your honesty.” Soobin wipes the tears from his face. He inclines his head. “We’ll let you know when you can meet with us next. I’ll see you out.”

Mere minutes later I close the door to my office again and I let my back fall against it. Slowly I let myself slide to the floor. Once I hit the ground, I pull my knees up and wrap my arms around my legs, head resting on my knees. My eyes close. The walls slowly start closing in on me and I pull my legs tighter against my chest. Pull yourself together. I need to. I have to. Can I?

Moments blend together as I sit there, on the floor, the light slowly changing in the room. I focus on my breathing, deepening it, forcing the walls away from me. When I look up again, I don’t know how much time has passed. The room is much darker. Slowly I release my legs and I push them out. When I get to my feet, every muscle and joint seems to protest. My body feels heavy. 

I start walking towards my desk, to turn on a light. Two light familiar knocks on the door stop me in my tracks. Do I want to talk to him? “Cheol?” His voice comes warmly but cautiously through the door. A shiver runs through my body and my stomach turns. “Come in, Shua.” As the door behind me opens, I start moving towards that lamp on my desk again. I flick the switch on it and it bathes the room in a warm light. I decide to sit down on the edge of my desk, and it stops Joshua in the middle of the room, halfway between the door and me. He looks slightly unsure. I cross my arms in front of my chest.

Joshua’s eyes search my face. “I hadn’t heard from you in a few hours,” he starts, still cautious. “Just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he mumbles a bit at the end of the sentence, as if he’s making an embarrassing confession. I give him a curt nod. “I’m fine. Thanks.” My voice comes out angrier than I mean to. Joshua’s face twists in confusion. “Alright.. Uh, how did the meeting with Soobin go?” He talks slowly, his eyes trained on my face. “Also fine. He’ll be invited to the next meeting.” Joshua nods. “Anything else you want to know, Joshua?” My voice grows louder. Joshua takes a small step back. 

For a second, hurt flashes across his features. His eyebrows furrow together, wrinkling his skin. “What is wrong, brother?” His voice is small, but there is something underneath I can’t quite place. Heat burns through my veins and I stand up. “Nothing,” I spit the word at him, my voice growing angrier with every syllable. “Everything is absolutely fantastic thanks to you Josh.” I am nearly shouting when I say his name.

Hurt drifts across his face again, but only for a moment. His expression quickly smooths out, and he stands up straighter. The light in his eyes doesn’t dim, but it becomes colder somehow, contrasting the yellow light in the room. An unsettling feeling grows in my stomach. The silence is awkward and heavy between us. I widen my chest and when I speak, the volume of my voice only increases.

“I don’t need you to check up on me Joshua.” My breathing becomes more shallow. “I really don’t know what you think it is that you can do for me, but whatever it is, I don’t need it.” My chest starts heaving as heat crashes through my body and mind. “You still look the same Josh but all I can see is the fucking blood on your skin and the smile on your face.” Joshua’s jaw tightens, but stays silent. “I don’t know who you are anymore and I sure as hell don’t need whoever the fuck you are now.” My angry shouting fills the room, but I don’t care. 

The words start tumbling out now, quicker and quicker. “Go find your new friends and murder some more people while you’re at it, since you love it so much.” Joshua’s cold eyes stay trained on my fiery ones. He never flinches. Hot tears start welling up behind my eyelids. “I don’t know who you are, and I don’t know what that makes me for still loving you as my brother.” My voice breaks and a tear slips down my face. I let myself sink to the floor again. I look up at Joshua. His expression remains unchanged, his eyes trained on mine. For long moments, he stares at me. When he speaks, his voice is slow, steady and filled with ice. “Let me know when you need me, boss.” Without giving me time to respond, he turns on his heel and stalks out the door. He slams the door behind him. 

My face drops into my hands. Warm tears stream down my skin, escaping through my fingers. My shoulders shake and the sounds of my sobs fill the room. Nausea takes hold of my stomach. Panic rises in my chest and my breathing grows even more shallow. Joshua. What did I do? His cold eyes flash through my mind. Shit. Panic now grips my throat and breathing becomes difficult. 

My hands fumble around for my phone, and with my last clear thought, I find the contact of the only person I can think of. The phone rings a few times and then my call goes through. “Cheol?” I hear Jeonghan’s voice on the other side. I can’t speak, I can only cry. “Cheol? Brother?” Jeonghan’s voice grows concerned. I cry harder, my vision blurry, my skin hot, and I cough loudly, trying to breathe. “Please..” I barely whisper through the tears.

“I’m here. I’m on my way,” Jeonghan says steadily. His voice is calm. I hear movement on the other end of the line and try to focus on that. It’s no use. My panic rises through my mind now and my vision starts growing dark. “Five minutes, brother. Hold on.” Jeonghan’s voice cuts through the panic. “Okay, okay,” I barely manage to say.

Goosebumps rise on my skin as I try to hold on to the reality I know. A scathing inner voice tells me to stop crying, to pull myself together, to man up. “I can’t! I can’t!” I scream aloud. “I’m here,” Jeonghan’s voice through the phone once more. “Jeonghan,” I say, “hurry. Please.” The line suddenly goes dead and I drop the phone on the floor. The sound of it landing is deafening. My hands press on my temples. “Jeonghan,” I say, to no one now.

The door opens and Jeonghan flies in, throwing the door shut behind him. He kneels in front of me and pulls my hands from my face. He opens a bottle and pulls my wrists to him, pouring some cold water over them. “I’m here, brother. I got you,” he calmly and softly speaks. He pours some water on his own hands and dabs it on the sides of my neck, on my temples, on my face. My breathing starts to slow and deepen. I look up at him and our eyes find each other. “I got you,” he softly repeats. He pulls me into a hug and I desperately tighten my arms around his back. 

My crying picks up again, but this time the panic and nausea disappears with every tear streaming down my face. Jeonghan simply holds me and lets me cry. Eventually my tears run dry, but I hold on to him. “I hurt him, Hannie.” My voice sounds hoarse. “I… I didn’t want to but I did.” Jeonghan says nothing, just squeezes his arms tighter around my back. Slowly I lean back and let him go. He looks at me with concern in his eyes. 

“I should’ve said something earlier, but I couldn’t find the words and now I said everything wrong.” By the end of the sentence my voice has grown quiet. Jeonghan nods in understanding. “I need to make it up to him. I fucked up,” I conclude. To my surprise, Jeonghan chuckles. “What?” I say, my voice unsure. Jeonghan pulls out his phone and his thumb taps the screen. He turns it to me. A text message. From Joshua. Twenty minutes ago. It reads ‘I fucked up.’ 

My feet take me around the room, and a sense of pride fills my chest as I observe my men happily working together. They greet me as I go, with genuine smiles and comfortable voices. At the back of the room, I spot Chan with our two newest recruits. They are laughing together as they work. Chan’s shoulders are shaking as Dohoon tells a story I assume to be half true. 

When I approach them, Shinyu is the first to spot me. He straightens his back and his lively smile reduces to a polite one. Dohoon quickly follows his example and Chan’s head turns around. His body follows the turn when he sees me walking closer and he also straightens his back. His smile remains wide however. 

My movement stops a few steps in front of Chan. The three of them bow their heads to me and I smile. “You three look like you’re having fun.” A chuckle accompanies my words. “I hope you’re working hard though.” Chan nods enthusiastically. “We are, hyung!” He motions to the construction of the booths next to us. “The three of us set these up just now.” A hum low in my throat and a slow nod with pursed lips. The three of them light up.

“Chan,” I start, my attention on him but I keep track of the other two’s expressions. “You’re scheduled for a fight in two days.” It’s not a question, but he nods anyway. “How about we go back to the house for some training?” Chan knows what he is supposed to answer, but he glances back at the other two first. He looks back at me and opens his mouth, but I cut him off. “I think it’s time Shinyu and Dohoon train with you. Show us what they’re capable of.”

Chan’s eyes immediately come alive with anticipation. His smile widens and he turns back to the two youngest. Surprise, or maybe shock, pass over their expressions but when Chan looks at them, it quickly morphs into excitement. My eyes meet Shinyu’s and I find determination in them. The corners of my mouth curl up and I nod. Without another word I turn on my heel and walk away towards the exit. Clattering sounds behind me as the three drop whatever they were holding and follow me out to my car.

When we drive through the gates of our house, I glance in my rearview mirror. Dohoon and Shinyu are quiet in the back, their eyes wide with wonder. Quietly I chuckle. I remember that feeling in my chest when I first saw our house and grounds when we finished building it. We pull up to one of the parking spaces and get out of the car. We quickly go inside, still moving in comfortable silence. When we pass the living room, I peek inside and find Seokmin there. I pause, check my watch and nod to myself.

“Seokmin?” I call through the open doorway. He looks up from his phone and raises an eyebrow. “Yes hyung?” His voice is calm. “Can you tell Soonyoung to come by the training room before the three of you leave?” He nods with a polite smile. “Of course, I’ll let him know.” He looks back down at his phone and I set off again, the three younger members following quietly. 

The air in the training room is slightly colder than the rest of the house. I walk to the middle of the room and turn around. Chan stops in front of me, arms behind his back, feet apart, eyes on me. Dohoon and Shinyu glance around the room. I clear my throat. Their heads whip towards me and they glance at Chan, who does not move. They copy his posture and I nod, they’re quick to catch on.

My eyes lock on to Shinyu. To his credit, he doesn’t flinch. He does not even blink. “Who of you two is the better fighter?” He furrows his brows for a small moment. “Dohoon is, hyung.” Beside him, Dohoon nods once, his eyes sharp. “Good,” my eyes move between Chan and Dohoon. “You two, get ready. Shinyu, next to me,” I say as I take a step back. Shinyu steps up next to me and turns around, his hands still behind his back. Chan and Dohoon move back and away from each other. They turn to face each other, their expressions pulled taut, eyes trained on each other.

Chan’s eyes flick towards me and I give him a subtle nod. He immediately looks back at Dohoon and his lips pull up into a smirk. He steps forward, baiting Dohoon. Dohoon leans forward, but instead of reacting to Chan’s bait, he steps sideways. He starts circling, and Chan has no choice but to mirror his movement. Chan’s expression becomes tight with focus again and he decides to charge forward. 

Dohoon ducks and throws his arms around Chan’s waist, pushing his shoulder into Chan’s stomach. Chan doubles over but quickly recovers, pushing his weight down on Dohoon’s back, wrapping his arms around his waist as well. Dohoon tries to push Chan back, but Chan is quicker. He swipes his leg forward and takes Dohoon’s legs away from underneath him. The two of them topple to the ground and Chan swiftly moves to sit on Dohoon’s back. He grabs a hold of one of his arms and pushes it up Dohoon’s back, making Dohoon cry out. 

Chan chuckles and his eyes flick towards me, seeking permission. I subtly nod again, but Chan’s momentary loss of focus costs him before he can swing his fist. Dohoon pulls his legs up and gets his knees underneath him, pushing himself up and throwing Chan off. He jumps up and turns back to Chan, who is still on the ground. Chan’s eyes are wide with surprise, but before Dohoon can jump on top of him, he rolls away from him and scrambles to his feet. 

The two men face each other again, and this time Dohoon wastes no time. He charges forward and he swings his left arm towards Chan’s face. Chan brings his arms up to protect himself, but Dohoon quickly changes track and swings his right fist into Chan’s unprotected ribs instead. Beside me, Shinyu makes a low approving sound and when I glance at him I see a satisfied smile. I chuckle and cross my arms, then bring my focus back to the fight.

Chan steps close and grabs the back of Dohoon’s neck with both his hands. He pulls him forward and launches his right knee into his stomach, making Dohoon double over. Chan throws his elbow hard into Dohoon’s back and Dohoon gasps for air. Chan steps around and behind him, kicking Dohoon in his knee, forcing him to kneel. Chan simultaneously pulls Dohoon’s right arm high up his back and throws his other arm around Dohoon’s throat, pulling him tight against his own body. He squeezes his arm tight and Dohoon’s free hand flies up to try and pull the chokehold off his neck. 

“Enough.” My calm voice cuts through the space. Chan immediately releases Dohoon and Dohoon falls forward onto both his hands, gasping for air. My head turns to Shinyu and our eyes meet. “What did you see?” He turns his head back. His eyes unfocus and his brows furrow. He chews the inside of his cheek. He turns back to me. “Both of them fought with awareness. Dohoon did not take Chan hyung’s bait. He got away from him when he was pinned to the floor. Got a hit in. But then hyung is clearly the more experienced and better trained fighter. The way he ended the fight was impressive.” I tilt my head and slowly nod. “Good read. Well done, both of you.” Dohoon’s face turns towards me and he smiles. 

The door to the training room opens. Soonyoung steps in, Mingyu and Seokmin following behind him. He stands to the side, eyes on me. He waits. I check my watch. Time did indeed fly. “Ah, Soonyoung, thanks for coming.” He simply nods, but says nothing. “Chan and Dohoon just trained together, and Shinyu here evaluated it quite well.” Amusement is clear in my voice. “I’d like you to also take the two of them on your mission with Minseo today, I want to see them in action.”

My eyes flick to Mingyu as I mention his sister’s name. His jaw clenches and his eyes shift away from me, but he doesn’t say a word. I look back at Soonyoung. “Will you lead the mission, boss?” He asks me. I quickly shake my head. “No, it’s your unit and your mission. I’ll just follow, I trust you.” A smile spreads over Soonyoung’s face and he nods. “Sounds good then, this is a good time to field test our new blood.” From the corner of my eye I see Mingyu’s face pull tighter and his eyes momentarily widen. “Good, you can take over now,” I tell Soonyoung.

He nods again and steps to the middle of the room. Dohoon quickly gets to his feet. Mingyu, Seokmin and Chan automatically line up in front of Soonyoung. Dohoon and Shinyu now immediately follow suit. I step further back and lean my shoulder against the wall, my arms crossing again. 

Soonyoung’s eyes glide over the five men in front of him, his smile fading and eyes becoming sharp. The atmosphere settles into something heavier. He squares his shoulders. “Today we escort Minseo from our house to a new place. A safehouse that was bought and designated for her, none of our allies or enemies know we have this place.” His keen eyes pointedly look at each of the men’s faces. “We are not expecting to run into any trouble, but it’s important to keep your eyes and ears open.” 

He pauses for another moment. “The six of us,” his eyes flick towards the two youngest when he includes them, “will take turns in twos to keep Minseo company and protect her for the time being.” One more pause, the men wait. “Understood?” He asks with authority. The five men in front of him all nod once. Soonyoung raises an eyebrow. “I’m sorry?” He questions. Dohoon and Shinyu look confused, but the older three respond in unison. “Understood, boss.” Soonyoung drops his brow and nods. “Good. Go to the living room, wait for us.”

The five men disappear from the training room. Soonyoung’s head turns to me. “Anything you want to see from them, boss?” I let my shoulders drop as I breathe out. My eyes shift to Soonyoung’s and I shake my head. “Nothing in particular, just lead them in your normal way so we can see if they’re a good fit for your unit.” He nods in understanding. “Alright, will do. Ready to go, hyung?” When I nod, he turns around and I follow him.

Minutes later I find myself in the back of a car that Mingyu is driving. Dohoon and Chan are next to me, Minseo is in the passenger seat next to her brother. Mingyu follows the car Soonyoung is driving. Minseo stares out the window, her face turned away from me. Briefly I wonder how she is holding up. Before this all blew up, she hadn’t known exactly what her brother was doing – even though she knew it wasn’t all that… legal. Now she’s had to live with us for a few weeks, so she might be more acquainted with who we are than she wanted to know. 

A soft voice speaks up next to me and surprise washes through my body. “Boss?” Dohoon quietly addresses me. “Hmm?” I answer. “Can I ask some things?” In front, both Mingyu and Minseo slightly turn their heads towards us. Chan shifts in his seat. I turn my head towards Dohoon with a gentle smile on my face. “Ask away.”

His eyes drop to his hands for a moment and then look back up. His voice is the gentlest I've heard it be so far. “Does this… I mean…” He tries finding the words. I smile but stay quiet. “What does this mean? That you’re taking us along?” Ah. My eyes search his expression. His eyes look hopeful. Chan turns his face towards us. “It means you’re part of us, Dohoon.” I say equally as gentle. Behind him, Chan smiles. Dohoon looks thoughtful. 

“And… What does that mean?” I open my mouth, but before I can answer, an even more surprising voice starts answering the question. “It means they’ll protect you,” Minseo says, turning her head to look at us. Dohoon looks at her with surprise in his face. “It means they’ll treat you like family, and you have to treat them like family too.” She looks at her brother. “No secrets.” To my surprise, Mingyu nods. “No secrets,” he softly echoes. He looks at me in the rearview mirror. Our eyes meet and I give him a nod. Chan throws an arm over Dohoon’s shoulder. “We’re brothers now, Dohoon. No takebacks,” the two laugh lightly when he jokes. 

The sound of the door opening swiftly pulls my mind back to the present. My gaze lands on Jeonghan’s face as he peeks inside, his expression wearing the same wicked excitement it wore yesterday when Bang Chan asked for our help. Our eyes lock and his smirk somehow grows even wider. “Ready?” He asks me directly. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” I say and chuckle. “Are Minghao and Jun ready too?” Jeonghan nods. “They are waiting for us downstairs.”

When we find the other two downstairs, Seungcheol meets us there. “Good luck,” is all he says. His voice is steady, but he puts a hand on my shoulder as he talks and the worry in his eyes is clear as day. I smile broadly. “We got this, boss.” My voice is confident and Jeonghan nods. “Let’s go.”

The lights outside flash by as I stare out of the window of the car. My eyes unfocused, my hand resting on my weapon. Jeonghan drives the car steadily and other than our breathing and the engine, nothing can be heard. The drive takes us beyond the outskirts of town and soon the street lanterns that flash by are replaced by darkness and trees by the side of the road. There is no moonlight tonight, so it takes my pupils a few minutes to properly adjust.  Eventually I can recognize the shapes of lonely buildings, stretched out fields and small groupings of trees and bushes. It’s been a while since I was this far from our familiar territory.

Jeonghan slowly pulls up to a forlorn looking shed, and he parks the car on the other side. We follow him inside in silence, and he flips on the only switch on the wall. An unadorned lightbulb in the middle of the ceiling bathes the place in a warm but dim light. He turns around in the middle of the room and looks at the three of us. 

“We need to walk through the forest adjacent to this plot for about half an hour,” he says, more for his own peace of mind than our own. “Remember that when everything is said and done, we’ll need to hide the body some way out into the forest, so our walk back here will take a lot longer.” Minghao and Jun solemnly nod. Jeonghan looks me directly in the eye. I meet his expression with unflinching steadiness. He nods to himself a couple of times. “Alright,” he says, but gets no verbal answer.

I turn around and make my way to the door. Jeonghan falls in line behind me as I step back outside and behind us one of the others flicks the switch to kill the light. My mind draws up the image of the map of this forest that I’ve studied countless times in the past hours. As if converted into pure muscle memory I move with certainty and silence. Even though there is no sound behind me, I know my men are following me without mistake. My heartbeat starts pacing faster, but my breathing remains steady. 

Suddenly I see small lines of light breaking around the trees. Weaving through the trees, keeping my steps light, I make my way towards them. When I near the edge of the clearing, I squat behind a big tree and turn around. My back presses against the cool wood and I see the other three squatted in front of me. Their eyes are trained on me. I bend my neck and peek around the tree. One cabin. Smoke from the chimney, but no light or movement behind the windows. Perfect, exactly as predicted.

My body turns back to face the three men. My right hand lifts to signal okay. The three of them nod simultaneously. Minghao and Jun get up and move past the left of the three, while Jeonghan and I take the right side. Jeonghan positions himself at the backdoor of the cabin, while I take my place next to the front. Minghao picks the lock on the front door, nearly soundless. The door swings open and for a moment we listen with held breaths. Nothing. My eyes peer inside and I see darkness, remnants of a dying fire inside the fireplace. 

My hand gestures and the two move inside. My back presses against the outer wall of the cabin and the solid material steadies me. Automatically I pull my dagger from its holder and grip it tightly in hand, the blade pointing forward. 

Minutes trickle by. What’s happening inside? Nerves accumulate low in my stomach and my heartbeat speeds up another tick. Suddenly I hear a loud shout by an unfamiliar voice in the back of the house and moments later I hear furniture falling in the living room. Instinctively, I step inside, blocking the open exit. A heavy weight throws itself against me and I’m knocked back and I topple over, the weight landing on top of me.

My hand clamps around the cool of my blade’s hilt and the warmth of the weight on top of me presses against the top of my fingers. Realization hits me as I feel something even warmer spreading across my entire hand. Trickling at first, but picking up speed and volume and soon my hand is not the only thing covered in blood. Panic rises in my chest as I have no way to tell who is bleeding out on top of me. Slowly the blood starts pooling away under me.

My eyes shift to the side and relief floods through me when I see unfamiliar auburn hair. My hand starts twisting the dagger and a smile inches onto my lips.

“Joshua!” Jeonghan’s panicked voice cuts through the clearing. Jun’s hands pull the body off me before Jeonghan can reach me. Immediately I flip myself around and sit on top of the victim's body, stabbing my knife into the side of his neck for good measure. He gurgles as the blade punctures his airways. I pull the knife out and blood splatters onto my hand. I bring my hand up to my face to admire the crimson stripes contrasting with my skin. My eyes grow wide. 

Jeonghan steps into my field of vision. My head whips up and when our gazes meet something electrical runs through my body. My smile grows wider. The worry in Jeonghan’s eyes fades. His maniacal smirk returns. Without breaking eye contact with him, I forcefully bring the blade down again, piercing the man’s chest. I pull the knife out and stand up, looming over the body of my victim. My victim. My head swivels around and I find Minghao and Jun to the side. Jun’s eyes are widened but the rest of his expression remains steadfast and Minghao seems completely unfazed. Jeonghan steps closer to my other side, and pulls on my arm. I step over the body to him and he pulls me into his arms. 

For a few moments, there is nothing but me and him. My heart hammers against my chest and my arms tighten around him. We don’t speak, but everything is said regardless. 

When we let go, Minghao motions for us to pick him up. One of my eyebrows arches up. “We’ll clean this place up.” He says quietly. I nod and walk over to the victim’s feet, while Jeonghan positions himself on the other side of the man’s body. We grab his limbs, pull him up, and start dragging him inside the darkness of the forest. 

Our breathing becomes labored but neither of us lets go. Once we reach the spot in the forest we designated for hiding the body, we make eye contact and drop the body unceremoniously onto the forest floor. I start looking around and smile when I spot the two shovels leaning against a nearby tree. Thanks Jihoon. Jeonghan follows my line of sight and walks over to pick the shovels up. He hands me one. 

We start digging. For a long while, only the sounds of the metal against the earth and our breathing can be heard. When the site is once again covered up and made to look as natural as possible with scattered twigs and the occasional leaf, we set off back towards the shed. As if on auto-pilot we move towards it, as if we’ve been there a hundred of times. Very slowly a physical heaviness starts settling in my muscles. 

As our bodies move through the darkness, my mind keeps replaying the same scenes over and over. Flashes of crimson stripes across my skin. Jeonghan’s expression shifting from worried to ecstatic. The weight of the body against my hand. The electric feeling running through my body when I watched my knife disappear into the side of his neck. I suppress a chuckle. 

Seemingly after no time at all, we reach the shed. The light inside is already on, Minghao and Jun must’ve beaten us here. Jeonghan carefully opens the door and my guess is confirmed, the other two are waiting inside. We walk in and Jeonghan turns around to face me. In the light, I see him for the first time. I take in his clothes and hands, dried blood on them. My gaze travels down to look at my own body. The stripes on my hands have also dried, and most of me is covered in blood. I look back up at the others. 

“How do I look?” As the words leave my mouth, I do a little twirl. The others start laughing. “I think the red really brings out the color of my eyes!” I add. Jeonghan laughs so loudly he almost dubbles over. He wipes a tear from the corner of his eye. “You’ve never looked better, darling,” he answers. I giggle and take a bow. Suddenly the thought of Seungcheol crosses my mind. 

“Ugh,” I say and I suck on my teeth. The others arch a brow. “Cheol is going to freak out.” Jun chuckles, Minghao shrugs and Jeonghan rolls his eyes. “He’s going to have to be happy we completed our mission and nobody got hurt. He’ll deal with it. He has no other choice.” Jeonghan’s words are reassuring but his sentence ends in an exasperated sigh. “Let’s get going.”

On our drive back my mind goes back to my lists. Without turning my body to face the backseat, I speak with a clear voice. “What went wrong in there?” Minghao’s steady voice answers immediately. “It started out according to plan, Jun picked up a pillow in the living room to push over his face, and I was meant to jump on top and strangle him for good measure.” 

Annoyance spikes in my mind. “I know what the plan was. That was not my question.” My voice is laced with angry frustration. Beside me, Jeonghan glances over at me but says nothing. “Sorry hyung,” Minghao quickly apologizes. “When Jun pushed the pillow over his face, the man reacted much quicker than we anticipated. He immediately pushed us off and I didn’t have the chance to incapacitate him.” Jun starts speaking, filling out the story. His voice is steady and unapologetic. “He ran and knocked things over in the living room in the process. That’s when he ran into you, hyung.” I nod to myself. “Alright. Thanks, you did well.” The warmth returns to my voice and Jeonghan smiles. 

The time it takes to make our way back to the safe house where Seungcheol is waiting for us feels a lot shorter than the time it took to make our way out to the shed. With a quiet dread in the back of my mind, we get out of the car and into the house. We make our way up to his office. Jeonghan opens the door and we step inside, Jun closing the door behind us.

Seungcheol sits behind his desk, looking through some papers. He looks up at us as we’re lining up in front of his desk. His eyes go wide and his face goes pale. He stands up with sudden movement. To the credit of my men, nobody flinches. Seungcheol sits back down and opens his mouth, then closes it again. His eyes fly frantically over our clothes, taking in the amount of blood on them. 

I don’t give him the time to recover and sort his thoughts. “It’s done. None of us got hurt. The body is hidden in the designated spot. The assassination site has been cleaned up.” My voice is assertive, clear, almost instructive. Seungcheol opens his mouth again and nods. He says nothing. A sigh leaves my lips and I shake my head. “Jun, Minghao, thank you. You may take your leave. Get cleaned up and go home.” I instruct them. Both of them bow and leave. 

An unexpected laugh from the side of the room. I smirk. “Got anything to say, Jihoon?” I ask him. My head turns towards him. He looks at me with an amused expression. “You look like you’ve been through hell, Josh.” Jeonghan laughs and my eyes brim with electricity. I stretch the fingers on my blood-covered hands. "Doesn't feel that, actually. I rather enjoyed myself tonight.” Jeonghan and Jihoon chuckle, but Seungcheol makes a pained noise. 

My head turns back around to him. His eyes are still wide. “It’s okay, Cheol.” My voice is much gentler than before. I take a step and sit down at one of the chairs in front of him. Jeonghan sits down next to me. “It’s still just us.” Jeonghan nods next to me. Jihoon walks up to the desk and leans the palms of his hands on the short end. He looks at Seungcheol and Seungcheol looks back at him. “They really are capable of anything, Cheol.” He adds, his voice as steady as always. 

Seungcheol forces a long breath out of his mouth. His shoulders drop and he closes his eyes. When he opens them again and looks the three of us in the eyes one by one, they are a lot clearer than moments before, but the concern is still equally as present. “I know.” He finally says. “Everything went to plan, brother.”Jeonghan quietly says. Seungcheol momentarily flinches at the word brother. “Let us get clean and then we’ll drive back together, okay?” Seungcheol looks at me when I offer him those words. He holds my gaze for a moment. He nods. “Sounds good,” he concludes. 

Under the shower I watch the warm water turn red as it washes the blood from my skin. The clothes are already disposed of, Jihoon will burn them later. Tying away all the last loose ends. The water runs through my hair and the easy scent of shampoo fills the air as I massage it onto my scalp. The simmering electricity inside my body calms down. 

A short while later, the three of us sit in Seungcheol’s car. Seungcheol holds the steering wheel with two hands and his gaze is focused tightly ahead. I notice the way his shoulders have crept up higher and his jaw is locked. Jeonghan sits next to him and I see him glancing at our brother. For a few long minutes, time seems to crawl by and the air feels stuffy. I sigh.

“Talk to us, Cheol.” 

My voice is gentle, inviting, and open. He stays silent and stares ahead. His hands grip the steering wheel a little tighter. Jeonghan worriedly glances back at me. He looks back at Seungcheol. “Brother…” Jeonghan’s voice trails off and he reaches over to touch Seungcheol’s arm. Seungcheol flinches and pulls his arm away from him. 

Silence settles heavily inside the car. It takes a few more minutes, but then Seungcheol finally speaks. Softly, his voice cracking as he forces the words out. “I don’t know…” his voice trails off. Worry clamps in my chest. Jeonghan and I wait to hear him out. He speaks again. “Never before have I felt this…” I suppress every urge to finish his thought for him. Conflicted? Excited? Changed? What does he feel? 

Eventually he ends his sentence. “Terrified.” He pauses. Confusion mixes with the worry inside my body. We’ve all been terrified before. “... of you two.” He quietly adds. 

My eyes go wide and Jeonghan glances back at me with the same expression on his face. We look at him. Nausea rises from my stomach into my throat. “What?” I softly ask, barely audible. “Why?” Jeonghan asks, equally as quiet, equally as confused. 

Seungcheol sighs. Deeply. A few times. His shoulders drop and a tear escapes the corner of his eye. “You looked so… excited.” He pauses. Another tear slides down his face. “The two of you were covered in the blood of a man you just killed with your own hands.” His voice grows louder. “And you looked excited.”

My brows furrow together. “I..” Jeonghan starts, but I cut him off. “We just successfully finished our mission, Cheol.” My voice remains gentle, but the end bites with a lining of venom. “We’re no different from the brothers you have known all your life. We still love you.” The tone of my voice comes out wrong, harsher than my words intend to sound. 

Seungcheol doesn’t respond. We drive through the gates onto the driveway towards our home. He parks the car. He turns to me. He looks me in the eye. His expression is a mixture of assertiveness and a tiredness I can’t place. “I know, Joshua. I know you love me, and I love the both of you equally as much. That’s exactly what terrifies me.” Jeonghan quietly starts talking next to him. “Because you love your brothers who were excited about their successful mission?” He asks. 

Seungcheol turns his head towards him. “No.” He speaks steadily. “Because I love my brothers who are excited about their capacity for murder.” His voice is filled with pain. The nausea rises in my throat again. Tears fill my eyes now. He looks at me as he continues. “I’ll still go through hell and back for the two of you, and I always will. And I know the two of you will do the same for me without a second thought.” He pauses and silence has never felt so deafening. “I just never thought the two of you would be this excited about embracing the darkness.”

Fourteen pairs of expectant eyes on me when I enter the room. I take a moment to look at every single one of them, lingering a split second longer on Shinyu and Dohoon. A flash of worry in my stomach. I take a breath and square my shoulders. My voice is calm when I start speaking. “Today is a big moment for us,” my speech starts off. Held breaths across the room, not even Soonyoung makes noise. “Today we become the spider in our very own web. Our network, consisting of all our allies.” Jeonghan hums, quietly and low. “In a few minutes, we’ll go into that room and we will do what we do best.” Another pause. A few nodding heads. “Show your calm, capable self. I trust all of you.” When I speak of trust, I look at Joshua, then Jeonghan. My eyes flicker to Shinyu and Dohoon. “You know how to act, you know when to speak, you know who to speak to. Trust yourself.” The air in the room feels thick. I raise the volume of my voice. “Let’s do this.” 

Now, Soonyoung triumphantly yells out. The others start clapping, a few fists are raised into the air. Jeonghan stands up and I turn around, hearing the chairs scrape and my men starting to chatter. Seungkwan is by my side in a flash. “I’ll go welcome our guests.” I briskly nod. My head turns and I make eye contact with Joshua. I motion towards Seungkwan. Joshua nods in understanding and I turn again to leave the room. Back up the stairs, into the big room. Most of my men follow behind me. I check my watch. Three more minutes until Monsta X arrives. 

My men find their places. There is no particular order, but three middle chairs stay open. Jeonghan sits left to the open spaces. The chattering continues. When the door opens, it subsides momentarily and my men stand up. Murmured choruses of welcome and respect fall from their lips, and all of them start bowing as Joshua and Shownu enter. Seungkwan and the rest of Monsta X follow behind them and they are shown to their places. My men sit down and their chatter resumes. The atmosphere is noticeably relaxed. Seungkwan comes back to my side, while Joshua tends to Shownu a moment longer. 

“Who will arrive next?” I ask him. He answers without hesitation. “Mamamoo should arrive next and Stray Kids shortly after.” I nod, but then a realization strikes me. “And TXT?” A moment’s delay in Seungkwan’s response has me furrow my brows together. “I haven’t heard from Soobin.” We make eye contact and my stomach twists. I push it down. “We’ll see,” I tell him. He nods and when Joshua motions to him, turns around to go back down to welcome our next guests. 

After they leave, I motion my hand towards Jeonghan. He comes to my side. “Yes?” He asks without malice. “Mamamoo will be here next.” He nods understandingly. His eyes flicker to Dohoon and Shinyu sitting next to Chan at the end of our row, but he says nothing. I clear my throat.

The door opens again, revealing Seungkwan first, then Joshua with Solar. My men get up on their feet again, and so do the men of Monsta X. The welcome murmurs and bowing of heads repeats itself. Jeonghan makes eye contact with Moonbyul and both of them smirk. Seungkwan starts leading them to their places. Hwasa’s eyes go wide for a moment when she spots our new recruits, her eyes flickering to mine. My eyes don’t flinch and she regains her composure. 

Seungkwan and Joshua immediately leave the room after Mamamoo is seated this time, so Jeonghan walks over to our new allies to banter with them. I suppress a content smile. My eyes survey our men, who have sat down again, and my eyes linger on Mingyu’s fading bruises. My throat contracts and I move on. 

The door opens a third time, Joshua enters with Bang Chan. The greeting ritual of murmurs and bows repeats itself a third time. Joshua looks ever so slightly more sure of himself next to Stray Kids. They are being led to their places, Jeonghan returns to his seat. Joshua and Seungkwan also go over to our row and sit down. One last empty chair between Jeonghan and Joshua now remains. One deep breath leaves my lungs. My chin pushes up and forward. My eyes flicker towards the four empty seats next to Monsta X. I walk over to my own seat, hold for a moment, and sit down. All the chatters and murmurs die down. All eyes turn to me.

“My friends,” I start the meeting. A broad smile on my face and my voice is low but warm. Most attendees smile in response. “Thank you all for coming here today. In the recent months we have grown closer with all of you, and I appreciate the trust you put in us to meet with each other as well.” I make pointed eye contact with Shownu, Solar, and then Bang Chan. They all return my smile.

“Now, before I get into our reason for meeting here today, let me address the unexpected elephant in the room.” My words are accompanied by a low chuckle. “Joshua, please introduce our new family members.” From the corner of my eyes, I see Joshua’s gentle smile. His tone of voice is equally as gentle. 

“Certainly. Friends, at the end of our row here you have already seen the two new faces.” He motions towards Shinyu and Dohoon with his arm. “Shinyu and Dohoon came to us recently, and we have allowed them into our ranks. This is the way Seventeen has always worked, and even with recent developments, that’s not up for change.” His words settle and a few of the Monsta X men nod, including Shownu. Joshua’s head turns towards the end of our row. “Boys?” At Joshua’s prompt, both young men stand up. Their hands folded together politely, they bow deeply towards our allies. They sit down again. Appreciative murmurs echo through the room. 

Deliberately, I clear my throat. The attention shifts back to me. “Then, I’d like to extend my gratitude to all of you. When we needed your loyalty, you all came through.” My eyes find Solar’s. “Thank you for informing us in time.” My gaze turns to Shownu. “Thank you for being the spider in our web that day.” He smiles. I turn to find Bang Chan. “Thank you for coming to our aid.” He laughs quietly. “No problem, Seungcheol,” he returns. Throughout our exchanges, several eyes flicker back and forth to Mingyu. I sit up straighter and I deepen my voice. “We’ve taken care of our situation, but we still have at least two enemies to face.” Silence fills the room for a few seconds. The clock ticks on the wall. “That’s why we’re here today.”

It takes another moment, but then Shownu responds. “We know for certain now that Exo and Ateez work together, and they’ve recruited Yeonjun.” Solar opens her mouth. “Ateez has been our direct rival for years now, so we have a lot of intel on them.” Jeonghan stirs next to me. “Can you give us a quick rundown on them?” Solar solemnly nods. “Of course. Wheein?” Wheein smiles politely before she talks. “Ateez has 8 members. Hongjoong is their  leader, Seonghwa his second in command. From what we have gathered, those two run a pretty tight ship. The other six have barely any voice in the group. Wooyoung, San, Mingi are mostly used for muscle and damage. Yunho is more calculated, they sometimes use him as a strategist. Jongho seems mostly harmless, but he can explode unexpectedly.” 

Bang Chan butts in. “Exo has the same authoritative structure.” The attention in the room shifts to him. He might be our newest ally, but everyone listens attentively. “Suho runs a tight ship. It seems now with Yeonjun he has adopted him as a pressure point or strategist, but the others really have got no say in the group. Suho makes most decisions alone, he respects the leaders of his allies, but he regularly disrespected my men directly when I brought them with me.” Hyunjin’s expression grows darker, a quiet anger simmering underneath his skin. Beside me, Joshua makes a soft noise and looks at Hyunjin. They lock eyes. Joshua unexpectedly gives him a decisive nod. Surprise clouds my mind, but only momentarily. I decide to pull the attention back to me.

“So Ateez and Exo, we have a lot of intel on them together, thankfully. Of course, we also have four ex-Exo members amongst our ranks, so even if it might be dated, some internal intel is available to us.” Nods around the room. “Do we know if there are any other potential liabilities? Anyone else Exo has ties to?” Bang Chan speaks up again. “Suho and I used to have meetings with Jay B as well.” Jihoon immediately responds this time. “Got7’s leader?” Bang Chan makes an affirmative noise. “I haven’t personally met with Jay B in about a year, but don’t underestimate their connection. They’ve known each other a long time.”

Hwasa now starts talking. “We know Red Velvet also cooperates with Ateez sometimes. Red Velvet gathers the intel, Ateez steals.” She shrugs. “We might need to count them as a liability as well in case this really starts to get dirty.” My hand glides over the lower half of my face and I nod thoughtfully. 

“Alright, so Exo and Ateez oppose us for certain, Got7 and Red Velvet are on our minds as potential liabilities.” Murmurs around the room. “I think it will be good for all of us if we formally come to agreements. We decide to be one network. We settle our assets and territory amongst ourselves. We come to each other’s aid when needed.” My eyes find the other leaders again. Each of them mirrors my decisiveness. 

“I’d suggest we all stick to our original turf.” Shownu starts speaking. “Seventeen has the fighting ring and they gather intel. We steal and trade, mainly art. Mamamoo trades their more exotic goods and the Seventeen unit can steal for them. Stray Kids do their security and assassinations.” The word hangs in the air for a moment. Bang Chan breaks through the heaviness. “And if push comes to shove? What if any one of us runs into trouble?” Solar answers, her voice easy. “Then we agree to help in any way we can, without putting ourselves more at risk than necessary.”

Jeonghan speaks up beside me. “Of course, we have the most members out of all of us here.” He glances sideways at our men. “We will gladly help with any request made by any of you.” His eyes sweep over the faces of our allies. “Mine and Joshua’s unit is capable of stealing, and I trust soon we’ll get our hands dirty with Bang Chan as well.” The implication hangs in the air once more. Bang Chan grunts appreciatively. “Seungkwan is an excellent tradesman. We have muscle ready to assist with security. We are even continuing to grow our ranks.” Shownu starts nodding, his men following suit. 

“Alright, gentlemen. How do we formalize this?” Solar asks. Jihoon is the one who answers. “My team and I will draft the agreement, we’ve been taking notes.” He offhandedly motions towards Wonwoo and Hansol. “Of course, the language will be discreet and official.” He chuckles darkly. “Once it’s drafted and Seungcheol has formally agreed to its contents I’ll send it over to all three of you. You can let me know if it needs any changes.” Our allied leaders nod, content looks on their faces. 

Once the formal meeting ends, my men get to work. Joshua introduces Shinyu and Dohoon to Stray Kids. Soonyoung and Chan are laughing with Joohoney and Minhyuk, Hwasa sauntering over to them. Jeonghan and Jihoon talk to Mamamoo, Wonwoo and Hansol hovering behind them. Mingyu and Seokmin banter with Kihyun and Changbin, who bully Mingyu for his bruises. Even Minghao and Jun are in a corner with Felix and Hyunjin. 

Seungkwan brings Shownu over to me. His face looks warm and he extends his hand. I take it and we shake. “Impressive what you’ve built here, Cheol.” He says, his voice sincere and I laugh softly. “Thank you, Shownu. It’s due to everyone’s effort though, not just mine.” Shownu smiles and nods. Our eyes connect and I’m surprised at the layer of worry in them. “Something on your mind?” I prod lightly. Seungkwan’s eyes narrow. Shownu’s gaze locks me in. “I just hope we come out on top.” My face is solemn as I nod and worry twists my gut. “At least our chances have grown now.”

The meeting room slowly empties out, my men disappearing with my allies. Groups all mixed together, nobody returning home right now. When I say goodbye to Shownu, Seungkwan seeing him out, I look around the room and smile. Jeonghan and Joshua are waiting for me at the table. My eyes close and I shake my head with a laugh. I walk up to them and sit down.

“Tell me.” My order is clear. Jeonghan excitedly opens his mouth, but Joshua cuts him off. “Bang Chan is going to need our help with an assassination.” My blood runs cold and my breath stops. “Who?” Jeonghan is quick to answer. “An unknown target, just a hit they got ordered to do by a client.” I nod and chew on the inside of my cheek, my fingers instinctively turning the ring on my pink. “When?” The hands of the clock tick loudly. When Joshua answers, I’m startled by the dark amusement in his voice. 

My throat closes up for a moment when I study the two. They look young, maybe too young to be here. They look excited, and… strangely relieved. A ghost of a smile plays on my lips when I remember the feeling that’s on their faces. I can’t ever forget the day I came to the fighting ring for the first time. My life was turned around that day. It was the day my family found me. 

As I continue weaving through the crowd, my eyes keep drifting to the two boys. They cheer excitedly when Joshua opens the fight. When the first strike lands, their eyes widen in surprise. Then they turn towards each other and their expressions turn to something between exhilarated and grateful. 

As I keep a returning watch on them, my feet automatically take me towards them. Before I realize it, I am close. Too close. One of the two boys turns towards me, he seems a little older than the other one. When he realizes I am coming towards them, his smile falters and a shy expression creeps onto his features. He taps the shoulder of the other boy, whose head turns in response. 

My heart beats wildly in my chest, but I force my voice to come out friendly. “Hi,” I say, mentally facepalming myself for starting this conversation in such a stupid way. The second boy echoes me. “Hi.” His tone slightly lifts at the end of the word. “Is there something wrong, sir?” He politely asks. Sir? I laugh internally, nobody ever calls me sir. That never happens when all your brothers are older than you. 

“Ah, no!” I quickly respond and I smile. “Nothing is wrong. I was just wondering who you guys are, since I’ve never seen you here before.” The two boys visibly relax, and now the older looking boy shortly bows and softly speaks up. “My name is Shinyu, and this is Dohoon.” He motions toward the other boy. 

Curiosity swarms my brain, but my muscles tense instead. Check how old they are, you know this. “As I’ve never seen you before, can you just tell me how old you two are?” Purposely I keep my voice light. No need to put any extra pressure on this. Shinyu smiles politely and he answers again. “Of course. I’m 22, and Dohoon here is 21.” A pang of relief through my chest. Good. My expression lightens and the curiosity presses me harder. Don’t frighten them, Chan. An inexplicable feeling of recognition unfolds and my mind fumbles as it searches for the right words. Where is Seungkwan when you need him?

Dohoon smiles, his eyes mirroring my own curiosity. “Can we stay?” His voice is curious, friendly. I open my mouth, but he quickly adds more to his question before I can respond. “To watch the fight, I mean.” He laughs awkwardly. I laugh along with him and note the way Shinyu carefully looks between the two of us. “I, yes, of course.” I manage to say. Can I tell them they can stay for more than the fight? My mouth starts talking before I’ve consciously decided. “If you want to, come find me at the back of the room after the fights.” 

My invitation hangs in the air, and Dohoon excitedly glances towards Shinyu. Shinyu’s face is thoughtful and closed for a few moments. He looks at Dohoon and his eyebrows furrow. My right hand tightens. Then his head turns to me and his polite smile returns. My fingers uncoil. “We’ll come find you, hyung.” Hyung. The word echoes through my mind and I’m sure my face looks stunned. Dohoon chuckles and the light sound pulls me back. I smile broadly and incline my head with a quick motion. “Enjoy the fights, boys.” My weight shifts as I turn around and call over my shoulder. “See you soon.”

My steps lighten as I make my way towards the back. By the time I spot the member I’m looking for, I’m practically skipping. The smile on my face is big and involuntary. “Hyung!” Soonyoung turns around when he hears my voice and he chuckles. “You seem happy,” he states. I nod enthusiastically. “I’ve invited people!” This gets me a raised brow in response. Soonyoung’s posture straightens. “... you’ve invited people?” The tone of his voice drags me back to Earth. “Who?” He asks me. 

“I, eh, well..” Suddenly my mouth feels dry and the correct words are impossible to find. My hands fold together in front of my body and my chin dips. My eyes lift to look at Soonyoung. “I saw two boys in the crowd,” I decide to conclude. Soonyoung clears his throat and flexes his shoulders back. Automatically I stand up straighter. He gives me an almost imperceptible nod. He needs more.

“I went over to see who they were, because I didn’t recognize them as any of our regulars.” My voice grows steady during this sentence. My mind clears. “They told me their names and their ages, early twenties. I saw something in them…” My voice trails off. Soonyoung tilts his head to the side. My head dips again and my eyes find the floor. My face feels heated. Soonyoung clicks his tongue. “And then?” His question is simple. “I told them to find me here after the fights.” 

He chews his lips and his eyes unfocus. My eyes stay trained on his face, I’m not even sure if I’m blinking. He nods once. “Stay here.” He disappears into the crowd. I turn around and push my back against the wall, steadying myself. The cold of the stones seeps through my shirt and I breathe out a deep breath. Did I make a good call?

Soonyoung returns quicker than I expect him to. When I see who is following him, who he went to retrieve, my stomach tightens and I straighten my spine. “Chan,” Joshua says when they reach me. “Joshua hyung,” I respond to him. “Tell him what you just told me,” Soonyoung offers. Joshua looks at me with focused, expectant eyes. 

My voice starts the sentence steady this time. “While surveying the crowd, I spotted two boys I hadn’t previously seen, so I went to check it out.” Joshua nods in understanding, so I continue. “They told me their names and their ages, early twenties, and asked if it was okay for them to be here. I told them it was fine, and then I also told them to come find me here at the back after the fight. I recognized potential in them,” my voice trails off again. Joshua waits. I glance at Soonyoung, then look back at Joshua. “I recognized my younger self in them. I think it would be good if you got to know them, hyung.” 

Joshua raises his eyebrows. “You think it would be good if I got to know them.” My breathing halts in my throat. His eyes narrow. He clacks his tongue. Then he nods a few times, slowly. “Okay. The last fight just ended. Go find them, bring them here.” I draw in a sharp breath. “Yes, Joshua,” I respond. “Thank you.” He waves his hand at me and I turn away from the two of them. 

My feet take me away quickly. My breathing speeds up and my eyes scan rapidly through the slowly thinning crowd. Where did they go? From the corner of my eye I see movement towards the back of the room, moving oppositely to the people who are leaving. I turn my head and relief floods my veins. “Shinyu! Dohoon!” They look my way and smile, coming up to me. Shinyu speaks as soon as I’m within earshot. “I’m glad we found you again, hyung.” The word still feels foreign in my ears. “We realized after you left that you never told us your name.” His voice is friendly. 

“Ah,” I say laughing. “My name is Chan.” Both the boys bow this time. “Nice to meet you properly,” Shinyu responds. Joshua’s voice suddenly echoes in the back of my mind. Go find them, bring them here. My back straightens, my shoulders drop. The smiles fade off the two boys’ faces. “I’d like you to meet two of my hyungs,” I inform them. “I already told them about you two, and they want to talk to you.” The two of them exchange a quick glance. Shinyu nods. “We’d be grateful to speak with them,” he says, his tone dropping. 

When I turn around to make my way back, I see Shinyu following first and Dohoon following after him. Their earlier playful energy has dropped into something more serious. The air between us suddenly feels charged. 

When Joshua and Soonyoung notice us approaching, they straighten. Soonyoung smiles, but Joshua’s expression is harder than I expected him to be. A pang of worry, low in my stomach, but I push it away. When I reach them, I bow to them in a reflex. Shinyu and Dohoon follow my example. My eyes meet Joshua’s and my tone is respectful and confident when I speak. “Joshua hyung, I’m pleased to introduce Shinyu and Dohoon to you.” When I mention their names, my right arm opens in their direction. Joshua’s eyes move from me to Shinyu, then to Dohoon. Still no smile on his lips and no word from his mouth. 

My attention moves towards Soonyoung on Joshua’s left. “Soonyoung hyung, these two are Shinyu, and Dohoon.” My arm repeats its earlier motion. Soonyoung’s curious eyes now turn to the two boys as well. My upper body now turns towards the two younger ones. “Shinyu, Dohoon, meet Joshua and Soonyoung, two of my hyungs and leaders.”

Shinyu’s face stays perfectly composed. The corners of Dohoon’s mouth curl minutely upwards and his eyes widen slightly when I say ‘leaders’. Shinyu inclines his head politely  once more. “We are very honored to meet the both of you,” he addresses the two oldest. “Thank you for taking this time.” When he finishes speaking, everyone’s attention turns to Joshua. For a few seconds, Joshua’s face remains motionless. Then, finally, he softly smiles and the skin around his eyes crinkles. The nerves in my stomach wane. 

“The pleasure is all mine. First time to my ring?” Regardless of his friendly expression, Joshua’s voice is lower and more controlled than I’m used to. I suppress the urge to quirk my eyebrow. Soonyoung does not successfully suppress that urge, but quickly diverts his attention elsewhere and regains control over his features. To Shinyu’s credit, he still seems unfazed. “Our first time visiting, sir.” His voice is soft but clear, and he nods once to underline the concurring answer. “We had heard about it before, but now that we can see it with our own eyes, your organization outperformed all our expectations.” For a moment I can only feel genuine admiration for how eloquently he speaks. 

My eyes shift back to Joshua. His smile has grown wider. “Thank you for your sincerity,” he returns. His voice is warmer, but then his eyes narrow. “I’m interested to find out more about you two.” His eyes move between both younger boys. “You’ll come to the back room with us. We can talk more freely there.” 

Without waiting for any more response, Joshua turns on his heel and starts walking. Soonyoung glances at me and shrugs, then follows Joshua. Shinyu looks at me. “You can trust them, come,” I try to reassure them. Shinyu smiles, nods, and starts walking. Dohoon follows him and I shake my head a few times before following too. 

The light in the back room is dimmer than the main hall. My eyelids blink rapidly, forcing the room into focus. Joshua is sat behind the only desk, leaning back in the chair. Soonyoung has sat down on the couch in the far corner. Joshua speaks, much softer now. “Please, sit down,” he tells the younger ones, while motioning towards another small couch. I close the door behind me and take two steps to the left, keeping my back stuck to the wall.  

Shinyu and Dohoon sit down. How do they manage to still look so calm? The question springs to the front of my mind. Not only that, they look at home. A bewildered feeling creeps up through my throat and I shift my attention back to Joshua. He looks lost in thought, but quickly his eyes come back into focus and his smile slides back onto his features. 

“Now, Shinyu, you told me you two had heard of this ring before.” Joshua pauses, his eyes moving between the two. “Tell me, who told you? What did they tell you?” The questions are sharp, but Joshua stays soft. His face turns to me. “Chan, get our guests a drink, will you?” I’m grateful for the task and I quickly start into motion. As I get three glasses out the cabinet, one for each of our guests and one for Joshua, I hear Shinyu behind me speak up to answer the questions. 

“We are out on the streets a lot. Technically, both of us have a home, but… Let’s say they don’t feel like one.” I glance at Soonyoung. We share an understanding look. My attention refocuses on the glasses and I hear Shinyu continue.

“Dohoon and I, we stick together with a couple of other kids, there are six of us. Sometimes we run into a few older ones. Like TXT for example.” My blood runs cold at the mention of our allies' name. The air in the room suddenly feels thick. The glasses are full, so I lift one and walk over to Joshua. The moment I hold it in front of him, he takes it and holds it in his hand. He slowly takes a sip. I return to the other glasses.

“Who in TXT told you?” Joshua is an artist. Such a loaded question, delivered with such ease. My hands take hold of the other two glasses and I turn around to bring it over to our guests. Dohoon answers Joshua’s question this time, a gloating tone hidden underneath his words. “Beomgyu did, sir.” I guess Yeonjun isn’t the only loose-lipped member Soobin needs to worry about. 

Without looking at him, Joshua addresses Soonyoung. “Soonyoung, give Jihoon a call.” To check if this information is true. Mentally I add the unspoken part of the order. Soonyoung gets up and walks out of the room, murmuring ‘I’ll be right back’. 

Joshua is quiet. He sets his glass down and runs his index finger along the rim. “The thing is boys, why I’m asking, most of the people in our crowds, we’ve recruited them ourselves. We make sure we know who is in here with us. They don’t work for us, but we have been the ones to slip them the information on the fighting ring. Most of them have no idea of this. But then the two of you… showed up without my prior knowledge.”

My own eyes widen at this unexpected level of disclosure. A soft bubble of pride swells up in the middle of my chest. I made the right call bringing them to him. Joshua continues. “Chan here, flagged you correctly because of it, and then he saw something in you two. Made him do something he’s never done before. Invite and then vouch for two strangers.” Dohoon’s eyes flick to me. I remain motionless, but the proud feeling grows deeper. 

Joshua lets go of his glass and leans his forearms on the desk, fingertips of both hands pushed against one another. His upper body leans forward too. “What do you guys need?” His question hangs in the air. Shinyu’s expression grows more assertive and he straightens his back. He opens his mouth. 

“We are tired of just surviving. We need mentors. The word on the street is you guys are the next kings on the scene. Watching the three of you interact today, confirmed your group is the type of mentors we want to learn from.”

Joshua leans back again, taking in Shinyu’s confession. The door opens and reveals Soonyoung, who closes it behind him. Joshua looks at him with one raised eyebrow. “They were telling the truth,” Soonyoung relays. Joshua turns his head back to the two boys on the couch. “Alright. We could use potent new blood. I’ll make some calls. See if our boss agrees to let you stay in one of our safehouses for now.” Shinyu inclines his head once more. “Thank you, sir.” Joshua laughs, genuinely this time. “You two can call me hyung, if you want.” Shinyu’s returning smile is equally as sincere. “Thank you, hyung.” 

Joshua turns his head to me and my body jolts awake. “Show them around. I’ll call Seungcheol.” Shinyu and Dohoon get up. “Got it,” I affirm his order. My hand reaches for the door and I step towards it to pull it open. The bright light on the other sides makes my eyes squeeze half shut as I step out. Behind me I hear footsteps.

Once I am a few steps out, I turn around. Dohoon and Shinyu stop in front of me. We look at each other. A laugh bubbles up from my stomach and I let it, smiling widely before opening my mouth and laughing loudly. Dohoon’s lips stretch too and an excited smile overtakes his features. Shinyu simply smirks, one corner of his mouth pulled up and his eyes look alive. “Gotta admit,” my tone of voice borders on giddy when I address them. “I was very impressed by how well you handled all of that.” 

Shinyu chuckles. “Thanks, hyung.” The word falls off his lips so much more casually than when he was addressing Joshua. “I was pretty nervous, honestly,” he continues. “But Joshua let me say what I came here to say. I’m relieved.” My smile beams at his words and I nod. “Let’s go on the tour, then. Shall we?” The boys chuckle and I turn around to bring them towards the other back rooms.

While walking, Dohoon matches his pace to mine. “Thanks for seeing us out there,” his voice is softer than before. “That’s okay,” I respond warmly to him. “I recognized you guys needed us just as much as I needed this family when I came to the ring for the first time.” My words hang between us for a moment, then I chuckle. “I recognized it even before I realized what I had recognized.” I look sideways at him as we continue walking. “I was so giddy telling Soonyoung that I had invited you guys, and then he pulled me back to Earth. Could’ve been my greatest security mishap so far.” We laugh together. 

A car from the road to the right. When they get close enough, Soonyoung whispers behind me. “TXT.” The car stops at the side of the street and the four remaining TXT members step out of the car. Soobin’s face doesn’t give anything away, but Huening Kai turns a paler shade when his eyes register Yeonjun. My mental math tallies them up. Eleven on our side, ten on theirs. Not enough to scare them off. Not yet.

Suho clicks his tongue. “How nice of your friends to show up too, Yeonjun! The more the merrier.” His eyes lock with mine and the playfulness drops from his voice. “You’re stepping out of line, Seungcheol.” Jeonghan tenses beside me. “You’ve been playing around long enough. Time to back off.” Suho lets his subtle threat hang in the air. “You’re not winning this. We want that safehouse as your gesture of goodwill.” He raises his chin, an expression of pure entitlement on his face. 

To our right, TXT seems lost on the scene. I realize they’re not going to be of any help right now. My shoulders square and I take a step forward, Jeonghan and Joshua mirroring the exact move. The others stay put. “You’re not what you once were, Suho.” My voice is low and quiet. “You’re not the one calling the shots in this city anymore.” He starts laughing and my hand starts to move towards the weapon behind my back. 

My movements halt when I hear two more cars speeding down the road. Their tyres screech as they stop. For a moment, my heart sinks. My mind does not know to which side it should tally these eight new arrivals. Stray Kids get out of the car. Bang Chan immediately steps forward with a confident posture, his muscles visible beneath his shirt. Felix, Hyunjin and Changbin are right behind him, the other four form a line a step back. He looks between us. When his eyes land on me, there is a huge grin on his face.

He turns back to Suho. Suho smiles welcomingly. “Bang Chan! How nice of you to come to our aid. But it wasn’t necessary, I have things handled.” Bang Chan chuckles. “I guess it sucks when you’re not up to date on the latest shifts in loyalty, Suho.” Confusion registers on Suho’s face. Bang Chan takes a step towards him. “Fuck off. Go home.” My mind finishes the tally. Nineteen on our side, ten on theirs. Enough.

The shit-eating grin has fallen from Yeonjun’s face. He makes no sound. Suho realizes he is outnumbered. He remains silent for a second, before pulling his face into a theatrical smile. He holds his hands up, his palms turned towards us. “It seems we’re not welcome here after all. Such a shame.” He takes a step back. And another. He drops his hands and lets his mask fall and his expression is seething with anger. “This is not over, Seungcheol. Bang Chan.” He motions with his hand and his men scramble to get back into their cars. Yeonjun immediately turns around to get into the car. He never glances towards TXT. 

Mingyu hesitates for a moment. Our eyes meet when his head turns towards us. There is regret in them. My feet push me forward in big steps towards him. Suho steps away quicker, fear flashing across his features for the tiniest moment. Mingyu’s shoulders drop. When I reach him, I grab his shirt. My eyes search his face and my body turns cold. I turn around and drag him with me. When I reach Chan, Soonyoung and Jihoon I hand him to them. “Take him inside. The big room. Wait for me.” The three do as they’re told and the four men disappear into the house. Wonwoo follows a few steps behind them. 

As Exo finally starts driving off, I turn to Bang Chan and Soobin. “Thank you, truly. Things could have become a lot more… difficult if you hadn’t shown up.” I bow, briefly and sincerely. Bang Chan pats me on the shoulder. “All good, Cheol. Let’s take this as the beginning of a strong alliance.” Soobin is quiet, his jaw locked and the three men behind him pale. My voice pierces through the momentary silence. “I am going to deal with my aftermath now.” The implications of my words hang heavy in the air. “If there is anything we can help you deal with, Soobin, let us know.” He nods and turns around without a word, ushering his men back into the car. 

My phone feels heavy in my hand when I pull it out of my pocket. I need the entire family here for this. My thumb selects Seungkwan’s name and presses call. “Boss.” Seungkwan’s voice sounds neutral. “How far out are you? Who is with you?” He pauses. “I’m in the car with Seokmin and Hansol. We’ll be there in under ten minutes.” Everything is spoken in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Good. Jun and Minghao?” My voice is equally as controlled. “Coming from the other side of town. We all left at the same time. They should be there sooner than us.” 

After the phone call ends, I look around and realize that Stray Kids have also left the scene. Finally, I turn to Jeonghan and Joshua. Their masks have fallen, their feelings clear on their faces. Jeonghan’s features are screwed into utter rage. Joshua’s expression is ice cold. The once playful sparks in their eyes have turned to fire and electricity. A pit in my stomach feels like it’s about to swallow me into darkness. Jeonghan breaks the silence. “He can’t get away with this.” The burning anger and pain in his face extends to his voice. 

“There must have been a reason he did this.” Joshua’s voice of reason. The coldness in his face seeps into his tone. “But we can’t let him off easy.” I exhale sharply through my nose and nod. “Let’s go inside.” 

We enter the room. Mingyu sits on the ground against the left wall. His knees pulled up to his chest, his arms around his legs, his head dropped on his knees. He looks as if the weight of his actions is bearing down on him. I sit on the edge of a table in the middle of the room, facing him. My feet apart and firmly on the ground. My forearms rest on my thighs, my fingertips touching each other. The rest of my family is to my left. Soonyoung is alive with rage, his eyes wide. The others look controlled. 

The door downstairs opens and moments later, Minghao and Jun also enter the room. Mingyu doesn’t move a muscle. Minghao raises an eyebrow at his posture but doesn’t say a word. 

“Look at me.” My voice is low, quiet and deadly. The pain in it is unmistakeable and I let it live there. Mingyu raises his head. His eyes are dull, resigned. He stays silent. For long moments, nobody speaks. My eyes stay trained on Mingyu’s. 

Jeonghan walks over to my side. He wants to interject, but Joshua catches up to him quickly and puts a hand on his shoulder. Jeonghan bristles but stays quiet. 

“Why?” My one word question rings out and everyone focuses their attention on Mingyu. The shared pain is tangible in the room. Mingyu’s eyes drop to the floor. He shakes his head and a tear drops from his eye. He looks back up at me but seems unable to speak.

The door opens again. Seokmin, Seungkwan and Hansol are the last of our family to enter the room. All three of them look shocked at Mingyu’s defeated posture on the ground. Seungkwan looks at me. “Has he… Did we…” His voice has a fearful edge to it. “We haven’t touched him, Seungkwan.” Seungkwan exhales. “Not yet.” I add quietly and he sucks in a sharp breath.

“Mingyu.” My voice turns sharper. “What do they know?” Mingyu visibly forces himself to swallow. His voice is small when he answers. “Only this. Only this location. Nothing else.” He speaks so quietly I would have missed it if there had been anything but held breaths in the room. “Do they know what we have here? What we hide here?” He shakes his head. 

My frustration starts building, but I push it down. I need my mind to be clear. “Why?” My voice is louder now. “Why did you betray us, Mingyu?” Mingyu’s eyes widen at the sharpness of the word. He starts shaking his head and a few more tears escape his eyes. He opens his mouth and closes it again. My shoulders drop and a sigh escapes my lips. 

“You know what needs to be done now.” 

My words turn his eyes alive with fear. I look to my men on my left. Soonyoung is almost jumping out of his skin. My gaze lands on Chan. His face is solemn when our eyes meet. My head motions towards Mingyu and I nod. He reciprocates the nod and steps towards Mingyu. 

Mingyu tries to push himself further back into the wall. His hands come up to protect his face. A terrified, broken “no, please” tumbles from his lips. Chan moves towards Mingyu without hesitation. He leans down. He pulls his arm back.

His fist lands in Mingyu’s stomach with full force, just like Mingyu taught him to.

Besides me, Jeonghan exhales and his shoulders drop visibly. Chan pulls his arm back and lands a second blow to Mingyu’s side. Mingyu yells loudly. My eyes find Soonyoung. My gaze is powerful and he nods once, his movement contained. My head motions towards Mingyu. Joshua holds his breath. 

Chan straightens when Soonyoung stands on the other side of Mingyu. Soonyoung grabs Mingyu’s shirt with both hands and hauls him to his feet. Mingyu tries to get away from them but Soonyoung’s grip is like iron. 

Chan’s fist connects again. This time, to Mingyu’s jaw. The force throws Mingyu’s face to the left. He turns his head back, his eyes finding mine. My arms cross in front of my chest and my gaze is unforgiving. He tries to talk, blood splattering across his shirt. Soonyoung releases one of his fists from Mingyu’s shirt and pulls back his arm.

“Hold.” 

My simple one-word command freezes everyone in place. Mingyu’s wide eyes look at me. “They…” He chokes on the blood in his mouth and spits it out. “They were threatening her.” His voice is tiny and filled with panic. Her? Confusion swirls through my mind. My feet push me up and I walk up to Mingyu. My face is centimeters from his. “Who?” 

Tears escape from Mingyu’s eyes and the raw panic is clear in every fiber of him. “My sister. They found out about my sister.” He sounds broken. I stagger back a step, dropping my arms to my sides. My face twists in concern and confusion. “You have a sister?” My hands move up and down in a useless motion. “And you didn’t think to tell us?” My voice grows louder. “You put all of us, and her, in danger.” My eyes turn sharply to Mingyu’s face. “What the fuck were you thinking Mingyu?!”

Mingyu’s shoulders sag forward. “I…” He tries to talk, but his voice is merely a whisper. “I thought she’d be safe.” My hand waves at Soonyoung and Chan. They immediately release him. Their own shock is clear on their faces. My mind works at top speed, trying to wrap around this new information. This new liability. My heart is starting to beat faster. 

“Who threatened her?” Joshua’s voice is calm when he asks the question. More tears stream down Mingyu’s face. I focus on my breathing, forcing it to deepen. “Suho and.. I guess Yeonjun,” Mingyu’s voice sounds broken. “Yeonjun found out about her, I don’t know how.” His eyes find mine and our gazes lock. He sounds absolutely terrified when he speaks his next words. “They said they’d kill her, Seungcheol. Please..” His voice trails off, but the sheer terror in it forces my heartrate back down and instantly clears my mind. My brother is an idiot and he betrayed us, but he needs help. 

My eyes break away and search for Jeonghan’s and Joshua’s. Both of them look as sharp as I feel. Jeonghan turns to Mingyu. He takes a few steps towards him. Mingyu tenses. Jeonghan’s voice burns like venom. “Never. Betray us. Again.” His eyes are locked on Mingyu’s face and Mingyu’s knees buckle away underneath him. On his knees he looks up at Jeonghan, new tears falling from his eyes. In between sobs, he starts talking. “Never.. Again.. I.. promise.” Mingyu’s eyes find Joshua. “Please.. I’m sorry.” Then his eyes turn to me and he forces the sobs down. “Help me protect her boss, please.” I have never heard anyone beg this plainly in my life. 

“Jihoon,” the clarity of my commanding tone brings out a shared exhale from my men. “Find out who knows what. We need to know where the leak is.” A short affirmative noise from behind me, he commands his men to follow him, and they disappear from the room. “Soonyoung. Find out from Mingyu where his sister currently is and bring her to our house. We’ll move her to another safe location later.” Soonyoung and his men step towards Mingyu and Chan notes down an address. They disappear.

The car is parked in one swift motion and I slam the door behind me. My brain is alive with electricity. At the safehouse entrance, I stop and wait for Wonwoo and Jihoon. We step inside together and lock the door behind us. No risks tonight. We run upstairs in silence, towards the office Jihoon and Wonwhoo have in this building. The moment we enter the office I see their faces for the first time since we started moving. Jihoon’s is almost unreadable, but Wonwoo’s is pulled taut with resolve. 

My phone rings. Moonbyul. A shot of surprise runs through my body. I answer it. “Moonbyul?” She is silent for a second. “Jeonghan,” she says, her voice calm but pressing. “Shownu called Solar. He told us nothing except that you need info. We don’t know why, but most of Ateez have just left Exo’s and are now headed to the heart of the city.” 

My mind starts putting pieces together. “Alright, thanks Moonbyul.” I keep my voice steady. “Something’s happening, Jeonghan.” Her voice becomes tighter. “I’ll let you know if we know more.” Before I can thank her again, she hangs up. My eyebrows furrow together. The heart of the city? My eyes drift to the map of the city on the wall. Ateez are usually around the outskirts of the city and never really move to our part like this. 

“Jihoon.” He looks at me over the edge of his screens. “Why would Ateez be going from Exo’s towards the heart of the city?” His face twists in confusion. “They are rarely ever there,” he states, confirming my thoughts. “That’s our territory.” His voice is deafening to my mind when he speaks those words. Our territory. It resounds through my skull. They know something. My heartbeat spikes as I track the roads on the map again. Our most valuable things and most sensitive information are stored in one specific safehouse. Right in the heart of the city. Not one of our allies knows its location. Only our family. Fuck. 

The world around me starts revolving. Automatically I tap the name of the only person that can make sense of this on my phone screen. The other person picks up the phone after just one ring. “Jeonghan?” Joshua’s gentle but controlled voice steadies my mind. “Ateez is moving,” I say, not able to get the words out yet. Bile rises in the back of my throat. “They are moving towards our main safehouse. That safehouse.” Joshua stays quiet. He knows I’m not done talking. “I think…” My voice trails off, but I know I have to push the words out. “I think Mingyu told them where it is.” 

It takes Joshua two seconds before he responds. “He did what?” Focus snaps back to my mind and the world comes to a standstill. My voice turns quiet. Lethal and venomous. “That rat stabbed us in the back. Ateez came from Exo’s and are now on the move.” Joshua makes a broken sound, but his next words sound clear and resolute. “I’ll call Bang Chan again. See if they know something about Exo. You call Cheol and get Jihoon on the case.” He hangs up. Without looking up from my phone to find Cheol’s contact, my voice starts ringing out commands. “Jihoon. Wonwoo. Mingyu sold us out. Ateez is on our way to the one safehouse. Get to know about their movements.” To their credit, neither of them make any shocked sort of sound. They simply grumble a confirmation that they heard me and start their task. Their keyboards clack under their fingers.

“Jeonghan.” Cheol’s voice sounds authoritative when he answers. “Cheol. Mingyu betrayed us. He gave up the location of the one safehouse.” Seungcheol swears under his breath. His next words stop my breath for a moment. “I just got off the phone with Soobin,” he says. “Yeonjun is missing too.” Before I can answer, I hear Joshua calling out for Seungcheol on the other end of the line. Their voices are muted until I hear Seungcheol swear again, loudly this time. “Bang Chan informed us that Mingyu is with Exo. They are on their way,” Seungcheol fills me in. Jihoon calls out to me. “Ateez has diverted back towards their own territory.” His words relieve me for a single heartbeat. Then he continues. “All of Exo is on their way to our safehouse now though. It looks like both Mingyu and Yeonjun are with them.” 

Seungcheol swears once again when he hears Jihoon’s words through the phone. His next command is direct and simple. “Everyone to the safehouse. Now.” He hangs up the phone. I relay his command and the three of us hurry outside. We get into my car and I speed off. We are the closest, most of the others are at other safehouses or still back at the house. My stomach tightens and every muscle in my body is tense. There is only one goal currently on my mind. Beat Exo to our safehouse. 

There is nothing but charged silence in the car. The tyres protest when I sharply turn a corner. Minutes pass. I turn the final corner and jump out of the car the second it comes to a standstill in front of the steps to our door. In that same moment, a car comes around the corner. My heart starts beating in my throat. Wonwoo and Jihoon stand half a step behind me. The car closes in and then stops a few meters away from us. I recognize Mingyu in the passenger’s seat. A second car comes around the corner. The driver of the first car opens his door and gets out. Suho. He is followed by three men climbing out of the back seat. The second car stops behind the first. Five men spill out. My eyebrows almost shoot up at the last one. Yeonjun. 

It’s now ten against three. Silently I pray that the others get here fast. Suho steps closer to me, his men staying a bit further away. “Jeonghan!” He says, his voice jovial and his arms spread wide. A large smile on his face. My stomach turns. “Have you met our newest re-addition?” He snaps his fingers and the passenger side door of his car opens. Mingyu steps out, reluctance on his face. My heart jumps and anger flares in my veins.

Suho takes another step closer, but stops when I hear a car behind me. Wonwoo’s voice softly behind me. “Seungcheol.” Relief momentarily floods my body, but my eyes stay on Suho. The weight of the gun tucked in the waistband of my jeans  feels heavy against my back. My hands itch to grab it. I don’t. Not yet.

Cheol gets out as quickly as he can and stands besides me. Joshua joins me on my right. Wonwoo takes a small step back, as Soonyoung and Chan take up space behind us. Jihoon stands his ground. Mentally I note the odds are now ten to seven. Suho’s smile turns to a vile smirk and he takes a deep bow with a turn of his arm. When he straightens his body again, he speaks with venom in his voice. “How kind of you to grace us with your presence, Seungcheol.” Seungcheol’s voice is low when he answers. He practically growls.