A shrill ringing sound scared Felix awake. The ringtone—Minho screaming—meant someone was phoning him, and since the number was only shared among the seven SKZ members, Felix knew he had to find out who was calling. Chan was pulled from his slumber too, just in time to see his boyfriend switch it to silent before jumping quickly from bed and running out of the room. 

The blonde turned over in bed. His eyes now warily lay on the screen of his boyfriend's phone. There was no caller ID, but the male knew undoubtedly who was on the other line, and somehow, even without speaking, he was begging him to pick up the phone and talk. Felix had sprinted off to find Jeongin and get his help tracing the number, so now was the male's chance. He shuffled across to the other side of the bed, and without sparing it another longing glance, he put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

A just as confused hello was repeated back to him.

"This is Chan," he started, "the guy from the exchange..."

Silence fell, and Chan knew he needed to say what he was going to say before Felix came back and fast. He took a deep breath and began.

"I'm actually Felix's boyfr—acquaintance and I interrupted your deal with him by accident. I promise I don't know who you are, where you're from, or what you do. I'm not even involved in this... thug life Felix has got going on, but I need to know what it'll take for you to leave his gang alone because this is getting out of hand."

Chan gasped before finishing. "Please... you're hurting people I love."

"Aha, I see, I see," came Crow's voice, his tone mockingly despondent.

Another pathetic, please, fell from Chan's lips as he felt the opportunity slipping through his fingers.

"I will arrange a meeting with Felix..." Crow started, "I want you to attend, but do not tell Felix."

Oh, thank goodness. Chan regained his composure. "Yes, sir."

"Just be there, boy."

The sound of scurrying feet met Chan's ears, inadvertently telling him to wrap up this conversation. "Also, don't tell Felix I talked to you."

"Can't make no guarantees, son."

Chan's heart jumped, and he wanted to argue, but he put the phone back. The screen lit up again, as though Chan never answered in the first place. Felix scurried back in and picked it up, directing Jeongin to do his thing.

Felix's conversation seemed to be shorter than Chan's, and there also seemed to be very little talk of Changbin and recovering the missing team member. When Felix hung up, he turned to the others with an indifferent expression. In two days, another meeting like the last with absolutely no guarantee it would end well. It seemed that when Felix had tried to get a word in edgewise about Changbin, Crow started to talk over him before abruptly hanging up. 

Chan lay under the covers, his face buried in the soft fabric as his thoughts raced. Every heartbeat pounded in his ears, drowning out the muffled voices of Felix and Jeongin. What had he just done? He agreed to meet Crow of all people without telling Felix. It wasn't just dangerous—it was suicidal. Crow didn't do favors, and Chan knew there would be strings attached. But this was for the others. One life for seven more. That would be alright. 

"Are you okay?" Felix's voice pulled Chan out of his spiraling thoughts.

He peeked out from under the covers, feigning a groggy yawn. "Yeah, just tired."

Felix studied him for a moment, his sharp eyes narrowing slightly, but then he nodded and turned back to Jeongin. "Anything yet?"

Jeongin was hunched over Felix's laptop, his fingers moving furiously across the keys. "Still working on tracing the call," he muttered. "Crow's not stupid. He's using layers of encryption, burner numbers—he knows how to stay hidden. But I'll get something eventually."

The youngest leaned back from the laptop and sighed, running a hand through his bed hair. "To be honest, we even don't have time for 'eventually'. Changbin's out there somewhere, and Crow's holding all the cards."

Chan's chest tightened. He wanted to say something, anything, but the weight of his secret pressed down on him. Crow's words echoed in his mind: "Don't tell Felix."

"Maybe we should rethink our approach," Chan suggested hesitantly, sitting up.

Felix glanced over, his brow furrowing. "What do you mean?"

Before Felix could respond, a voice from the doorway chimed in, dripping with sarcasm. "Oh yeah, great plan. Why don't we just send Crow a gift basket while we're at it?"

Everyone turned to see Seungmin leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, and a smirk plastered across his face.

"Shut the fuck up, Seungmin!" Hyunjin's voice bellowed from the room across the hall, sharp enough to cut through the tension.

Seungmin, undeterred, raised an eyebrow and smirked wider. "Make me," he shot back, his tone teasing and defiant.

Before anyone could roll their eyes or fire off a snarky reply, there was a flurry of movement. Hyunjin stormed into view, his long strides carrying him quickly to Seungmin. In one smooth motion, he grabbed Seungmin's wrist, tugging him away from the door.

"Oh, come on—" Seungmin began, but Hyunjin cut him off.

"Don't start with me," Hyunjin muttered as he dragged Seungmin back down the hall.

As the sound of their footsteps faded, Felix let out a dry chuckle and shook his head. "You know they're just gonna disappear into Hyunjin's room again, right?"

 Chan smirked. "Probably won't see them for a while. After last night, I'd say we're lucky they even made an appearance today."

Jeongin groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Can we not?"

Chan shrugged, clearly unbothered. "I'm just saying. They weren't exactly subtle about it."

Felix snorted. "It's hard to be subtle when half the house can hear you."

Felix's expression softened for a moment, but the tension returned just as quickly. "Crow doesn't play by anyone's rules but his own. The only reason we're even talking to him is because he has leverage—and he knows it."

Jeongin's voice broke the growing silence. "Got it."

Both Felix and Chan turned toward him.

Jeongin leaned back in his chair, tapping the screen triumphantly. "It's not much, but I tracked the number to a location. An abandoned warehouse on the edge of town. Looks like it's been used for... well, let's just say 'questionable activities.'"

Felix's expression hardened. "We should check it out."

"No, we shouldn't," Chan said quickly, his voice sharper than he intended. Felix raised a brow. Why was he so suddenly interested in taking the lead. When Chan saw his boyfriend's expression, his tone shifter. "I mean, think about it. If we go there now, Crow will know. He'll expect it. He might even be setting us up."

Felix frowned but didn't argue.

"We store the location for later," Chan continued. "If we need to, we can use it to our advantage. But right now, Crow's expecting us to play on his terms. Maybe we should... let him."

"Let him?" Jeongin'a voice was incredulous. "You want us to just wait for Crow to call the shots again?"

"No, Chan's right," Felix said firmly. "I want us to act like we're playing his game. Let him think he's in control while we figure out how to use what we've got. If we show our hand too soon, we lose everything."

The youngest nodded slowly, his gaze darting between Felix and Chan. "I guess so. If Crow wants to meet, he'll set the terms anyway. We'll have a better chance if we don't walk into a potential trap right now."

Felix exhaled sharply. "If Crow doesn't make his next move soon, we're going to the warehouse. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Jeongin said quickly, relieved.

He saved the location and closed his laptop. "I'll keep digging for more intel. If we're gonna pull this off, we need everything we can get on Crow."

Felix nodded, his expression dark. "Good. We'll be ready when he calls."

As the tension eased slightly, Chan leaned back against the headboard, his mind still racing. The meeting Crow had proposed loomed large in his thoughts, and he still had no idea how he was going to handle it—or how to keep Felix and the others safe when the time came. But one thing was certain: whatever happened next, there was no turning back. And most definitely not without Changbin. 

For the first time in what felt like forever, the apartment was filled with the gentle hum of what Chan would've loved to call peace when really it was respite. It wasn't perfect—not yet. The shadow of Crow's meeting still lingered at the edges of their thoughts, but for two days, they decided they'd let the sunlight in. And for now, that was far enough away to not worry about it.

"Two whole days," Chan announced, carrying breakfast—reheated leftovers from last night—into the lounge. He plopped them down on the coffee table.

"Yeah, and the meeting is literally just a meeting," Felix piped up, "We don't have to plan or anything. It's just time we have to wait out."

The others, scattered across the couch and floor, agreed. Talks of what they would do over that time filled the air. Hyunjin let out an exaggerated yawn and stretched his arms over his head. 

"Finally, I can do nothing and call it self-care."

"You do that anyway," Seungmin teased, flicking him on the forehead.

Changbin sat on the couch, scrolling aimlessly on his phone, legs stretched across the coffee table despite Hyunjin's protests earlier about "shoe germs." Across the room, Jeongin and Jisung were playing some stupid card game they'd invented to pass the time, both bickering as usual.

"Do you even know how to shuffle?" Jeongin asked, watching Jisung fumble the deck.

"Do you know how to stop talking?" Jisung shot back, his tongue sticking out in concentration.

Meanwhile, Felix and Minho sat at the table, sharing a quiet moment over tea. Well, as quiet as it could be with Hyunjin loudly complaining about how much sugar Minho had dumped into his coffee.

"You're basically drinking syrup," Hyunjin said, wrinkling his nose.

Minho shrugged, stirring his mug with zero shame. "I don't drink coffee to feel awake. I drink it to feel loved."

"Touch grass," Hyunjin muttered, retreating to the couch.

"Shut up," Jisung yelled from across the room, "he has me."

When the suggestion came to take the day for themselves, no one argued. By mid-afternoon, the apartment was alive with the kind of quiet activity that had once been their normal. Minho stood at the stove, his brow furrowed in concentration as he attempted to recreate his grandmother's recipe for kimchi fried rice.

"Need help?" Jisung offered, peering over his shoulder.

"Not unless you want to ruin it," Minho replied, though there was no bite to his words.

Meanwhile, Hyunjin sat cross-legged in the corner, flipping through an old notebook filled with his sketches. Seungmin lounged beside him, strumming a guitar, the soft melody threading through the room like sunlight through leaves.

Felix found himself seated at the kitchen table, drumming his fingers on the wood. For a while, he didn't speak, content to sit in the companionable silence before clearing his throat. "Minho. Jisung. I need you two to do me a favour."

The two boys turned around, slightly perplexed by the serious tone. "What, hyung?" they said in practical unison. 

"It's about Jeongin."

Minho raised an eyebrow, leaning against the counter, while Jisung slid into the chair opposite Felix. He folded his arms on the table, "What about him?"

Felix leaned forward, lowering his voice even though they were alone. "I need you to take him out tomorrow. Keep 'im distracted."

Minho blinked. "Why? What's going on?"

Felix hesitated, glancing at the door as if expecting someone to walk in. "We're bringing Changbin back."

The air shifted. Jisung sat up straighter, his wide eyes darting to Minho, who remained still, his expression unreadable.

"You're serious?" Jisung asked, his voice quieter now.

Felix nodded. "Dead serious. Crow said if we want Changbin, we can have him. He sent coordinates not long ago. But we can't have Jeongin here when it happens. It's going to be... messy, and he doesn't need to see that. Not yet."

Minho finally spoke, his tone measured. "And you're trusting us with this? To keep him out of the way?"

"You're the only ones I can trust with this," Felix said simply. "You know how to handle him. He'll listen to you—well, as much as Jeongin listens to anyone."

Jisung let out a small laugh at that but quickly sobered. "Okay, but how are we supposed to keep him from figuring it out? He's not stupid, Felix. He'll know something's up."

"I know," Felix admitted, running a hand through his hair. "That's why you have to make it convincing. Take him out, have fun, act like it's just a normal day. He can't suspect anything, or he'll start asking questions."

Minho studied Felix for a long moment before nodding. "Alright. We'll do it."

Felix let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Thank you."

"But," Minho added, his gaze narrowing slightly, "if this goes south and Jeongin finds out later that we lied to him, it's on you."

"I'll take the blame," Felix promised. "Just... keep him safe. That's all I'm asking."

Jisung reached across the table, giving Felix's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. We've got this."

Felix offered a small smile, though his stomach was still in knots. As Jisung and Minho left the room to start planning their outing with Jeongin, Felix stayed behind, staring down at his hands. They'd get Changbin back. They had to. But the cost of keeping everything together was starting to weigh on him.