Mingi could feel his mind slipping away from him as he pulled on a pair of leather fingerless gloves. It was so hard for him to stay focused on anything now that he felt like everything was falling apart.

He was so close... and yet he was losing his grasp on hope.

And his emotions made things even harder.

The thought of seeing Hongjoong again made his entire body ache. He longed to hold Hongjoong in his arms and crush him in a hug that he never intended to end. But he also knew that was likely to never happen because Hongjoong wouldn't know who he is.

A tear rolled down Mingi's cheek and he closed his eyes, forcing out more.

Hearing about Wooyoung didn't help things either, and he hadn't missed the pity in San's eyes when he and Yunho returned from their drive.

The two of them were already glued to each other, so at least they had managed to find some sort of connection.

Mingi knew he should be happy for them. And he wanted to be, more than anything.

But he just felt... numb.

A long sigh made his shoulders drop a little and Mingi let his hands fall to his sides. They were getting ready to head to Hongjoong's shop and present the password. Yeosang and Jongho were going to stay stationed outside and keep watch on the surrounding area while Yunho and San would accompany him inside.

They just needed Yeosang and Jongho to finish packing up everything they needed and then they could leave.

"Mingi?" Yunho whispered from behind him before placing a hand on his shoulder. "Are you ok?"j

The thief hummed in response and nodded. "Yeah, fine."

Yunho's forehead creased in concern and he moved to stand in front of Mingi. "What's going on? You don't look ok."

"It's... It's nothing."

"Mingi, if we are going to make this work you can't shut us out."

"I know." Mingi forced a smile. "Is Illusion ready to go?"

Yunho pressed his lips together in a fine line, but then a look of appreciation crossed his face. "Yeah, she's ready. I've got the money loaded into a secret compartment that no one will be able to find so that's safe. San is getting fitted with the new headband. He seems to be taking things as well as he can."

"Good. We are going to need his knowledge of the Pack's home base if we are going to try and rescue Seonghwa and Woo-" Mingi's voice caught in his throat and he turned his head to the side.

"Min... You didn't know." Yunho whispered.

Even though he knew he was the poor thing to do, Mingi turned and walked away. He was tired of hearing that he 'didn't know' or that it 'wasn't his fault',  because all of this was.

If he had only run faster.

If he had gotten to the button first.

If he had never touched the button at all...

If he had never robbed that damn house and been captured in the first place!

Mingi shoved the door outside open and immediately fell to this knees. He felt so ashamed of himself for letting his mind go down this road. All he wanted was for everything to go back to normal...

And now it felt like it was all slipping through his fingers.

The others left him alone until it was time to leave, so they found Mingi in the same spot staring blankly in front of him.

Yeosang was the one to approach, walking over to kneel in front of him and take his hand. "Mingi, are you ready? It's time to go get Hongjoong."

Mingi felt his chest tighten at the name, but he nodded and let Yeosang help him up. Yunho appeared by his side too and took Mingi's other hand.

A new wave of tears hit and the thief turned to bury his face in Yunho's neck. He clung to the older, needing that bit of comfort. Which he received in and instant.

Yunho held him close and stroked the back of his head in a slow, comforting manner. He said nothing and just let Mingi get it all out.

It was needed.

Mingi knew he had grown weak emotionally since this all started, but now he just felt pathetic. "I'm s-sorry..." He said with a little whimper.

"Oh Mingi." Yeosang moved close to him and placed a hand on his back. "You don't need to apologize for anything. This is hardest on you. I can't even imagine what you're going through right now."

"Me neither." Yunho whispered, tightening his grip on the thief. "But we are going to help you however we can."

Yeosang nodded several times. "Exactly. And I've got all the readings off the test I gave you to show the others. I don't know how much they will help, but I'm on your side."

Mingi sniffed and finally lifted his head up to look at them. He noticed both San and Jongho standing off to the side, and San at least looked concerned as well. "Thank you." He said, glancing at both Yunho and Yeosang.

Guilt started to eat at him a little bit when he saw the kind look in their eyes. He was supposed to be the strong one, and here he was falling to pieces.

He knew he needed to be even stronger if he was going to convince Hongjoong of the truth.

After another few seconds of calming himself down, Mingi walked with Yunho to his car with San, who slipped into the back seat.

"Alright." Mingi said into the walkie talkie Yunho handed him. "We will meet there and get situated. Once I give the signal, Yeosang you'll deploy your drones and start scanning. By the time we get there, it should be just before closing so hopefully there won't be anyone else there to get in our way."

"Got it." Jongho answered.

"Good luck."

"You too."

Yunho and Mingi locked eyes and on Mingi's nod, Yunho pressed down on the gas and sped onto the street. He wove in and out of traffic smoothly, never once taking his eyes off the road. It was like he and the car were melded into one. Each flick of the wrist, shifting of the gear, and quick jerk of the wheel happened like it was the most natural thing in the world.

At one point, San unbuckled himself and slid forward so he could lean against the back of Yunho's seat while slipping an arm forward to rest it over Yunho's shoulder. His eyes narrowed as he studied the road. "What if he fights?"

"Then we fight back." Yunho said. His voice was calm and even, a persona Mingi noticed he took on whenever he was behind the wheel. "We have to see this through. No matter what. If he's anything like the Hongjoong Mingi has told us about, then he will come around eventually."

Mingi sucked in a breath and closed his eyes. Hearing Yunho say that gave him the confidence he needed to get this done.

At least, he hoped it would be enough.

When they reached the corner store, Yunho pulled into an alley where he could hide his car.

As they started walking, he picked at his lower lip for a moment, then dropped his hand. "San I think you should wait out front and keep watch."

"What?" San stopped and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Just until we no for sure what we are dealing with. The less people confronting him, the better. And you said the Pack has dealt with him. If he knows who you are then it could set him off."

San pursed his lips and let out a harsh sigh, but then nodded.

Yunho had a fair point. Mingi rubbed the back of his head. "Plus then we'd have you watching our backs until we get a grasp on things."

"I agree." Yeosang's voice said in the ear piece each of them were wearing. It was one of his own design that fit perfectly into the ear canal, hiding it from prying eyes, and connected through their walkie talkies so they couldn't be tracked. The only downside is they still needed to stay within range, but it provided them with a little bit of a safety net. "And I will be scanning the building, I've already started actually. And you won't believe what's hiding beneath it."

Mingi paused. "Beneath it?"

"Yeah. I haven't completed all my scans yet, but preliminary ones show several tunnels and large rooms all connected to the back room. Hongjoong's password must have to do with that."

"Thanks, Sangie." Mingi started to walk toward the shop again.

It was now or never.

San took up a position behind a low wall near the shop and gave Yunho one meaningful look and a nod.

The older returned it and then moved behind Mingi to follow him inside. "I've got your back."

Mingi swallowed the lump in his throat before walking the rest of the way and pulling the door open, activating the bell overhead.

He was greeting by a familiar scene that already had his heart skipping a beat.

Hongjoong was sitting behind the counter reading a book. He didn't even glance up when they stepped inside.

Mingi hesitated and nearly turned around. The sight of his Hongjoong so invested in a book... it made him even more perfect in Mingi's eyes.

And oh, how he missed his Hongjoong.

Yunho reached forward to brush their fingers together to show his support, and it was enough for Mingi to walk forward and clear his throat. "Excuse me?"

Hongjoong's cold eyes flicked up from his book. "Yes?"

"I'm looking for the Blue Butterfly."

Mingi watched as Hongjoong slowly closed the book and set it on the counter. "How far did you come?"

"From the Purple Star." Mingi had to clench his fists at his side to keep them from shaking. He could feel his skin burning under Hongjoong's scrutinizing gaze. Never before had he been looked at like this... Not even when he had been brought in for his first initial interview with Hongjoong and Yunho to see if he could be a part of their team.

Tears threatened to form once more at the memory and Mingi swallowed twice to try force them away.

"You have ten seconds to tell me who you are and why you are here." Hongjoong said in a dark, threatening voice.

Mingi and Yunho looked at each other with surprise. The code hadn't worked...

"I- I'm going to need more than that." Mingi forced out. He took a step forward, then froze when Hongjoong pulled out a gun. "Please, Hongjoong."

The older's eyes widened and the gun lowered a fraction of an inch. "Who are you?"

"My name is Mingi. I... I came to ask for you help."

The tension was so thick, it weighed down on Mingi's shoulders. If he hadn't locked his knees, he knew they would be knocking together.

"How did you figure out the code? Who do you know?!" Hongjoong's voice rose in volume and he started to advance forward. "WHO ARE YOU?"

Yunho moved to defend Mingi, but the thief held out an arm to stop him without taking his eyes off Hongjoong.

Even now, with a gun pointed directly at his temple, all Mingi wanted to do was tell Hongjoong how much he loved him.

"I'm someone who needs help taking on the Pack. I- I'm someone who ne-eds you." Mingi winced when his voice cracked but managed to keep his head up.

"And you expect me to believe this? You're a fool. Get out of my shop before I change my mind and kill you now." Hongjoong snarled.

His words made Mingi's stomach flip and his entire body grew numb. Hearing Hongjoong speak to him like that... was enough to kill him anyway.

The bell dinged one more time and a shadow quickly moved past Mingi to tackle Hongjoong.

"San, no!" Yunho lunged forward as San and Hongjoong rolled around on the floor knocking everything over.

All Mingi could do was watch as Hongjoong tried to gain the upper hand and point the gun and San, but San was skilled enough to stay out of its way. He grabbed Hongjoong's wrist and slammed it against the ground several times.

"You DISGUSTING PIECE OF FILTH!" Hongjoong roared. He kicked one of his legs around to flip them over so that the was on top.

The sudden, quick motion made them both slam into a shelf, knocking it to the ground. Items scattered everywhere, but that didn't stop the fighting.

Then Yunho ran forward to slam into Hongjoong. He pulled the older with him by wrapping his long arms around Hongjoong's waist and using both their weight to roll them away from San.

Right into another shelf.

It crashed to the ground, accompanied by a scream of pain.

Mingi felt like there was a buzzing in his ear. He started to walk forward, but the buzzing got louder.

"M-!"

He watched as Hongjoong pulled himself from Yunho's arms.

"Mi-!"

Yunho reached for Hongjoong, trying to stop him, but his leg was trapped under the fallen shelf.

"MINGI!" Yeosang's voice rang in his ear. "Mingi snap out of it!"

The thief blinked and shook his head before hurrying forward to grab the gun that had fallen from Hongjoong's hands.

The bell dinged once more, and Jongho ran past him, drawing his arm back to throw a punch at Hongjoong.

Mingi almost cried out to stop him, but Hongjoong was nimble enough to dodge it.

"MINGI DO SOMETHING!" Yeosang shouted at him.

The thief did the only thing he could.

He raised the gun and pulled back the trigger. "Stop fighting or I'll shoot." He growled. The entire room started spinning, except for the one thing that captured his attention.

Hongjoong, hands raised in the air, with San and Jongho ready to grab him on either side, staring at him with a burning hatred.