There is a beat of awkward silence as Alexander enters Hongjoong's room again, but it's banished immediately as they hear the sound of papers rustling followed by some random keys pressed on the keyboard. "I didn't know you could read music, never seen you around any instruments. Looking to be a musician once you retire from this job?" He comes out of the room, leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms. "See, you guys have a lot to hide. I don't even know what your hobbies are, or what you're good at - well, besides the skills you have to put to use."

"Since when do you ever care what we like or what we don't?" Hongjoong sneers. "It's none of your business."

He taps a finger rhythmically against his temple like he's trying to remember something before sighing, "All 8 of you always manage to make me feel like the outcast."

"That's because you are; you were never even part of us since the start. You sold us off to the Bifidensis while you pledged allegiance to them. You left us to restart our lives in the real world while you stayed by their side like a loyal pet. Look at you now, having such a high position now that you left the team. Before we know it, you'll probably be one of them," Jongho says in one breath. He doesn't give a chance to stay to see what the others' reactions are as he leaves them. He lets them hear the slam of his bedroom door, his act of defiance against him clear.

"Damn, why is your youngest so sensitive today? No, why is everyone so sensitive today? Is it because all of you messed up and now you're stressed? A man is just trying to do his job."

"And that is exactly why you're here. You know that whatever Jongho said was true; you sold us off just so you could escape from becoming like us. Now you're directly under the Bifidensis lapping up their orders," Seonghwa defends the youngest.

"Ah shit, all of you really can't let it go can you? You hold your resentment for years. It's all in the past; just forget about it. It's not like we can go back."

"If we could you can trust that the first thing I'll do is kill you," Seonghwa snaps. "You better get your ass out of here as soon as you can before I change my mind and do it now." He extends his arm and motions to the stairs that'll lead to the floor above. "Just do it and get out of here quickly. I don't like it when we have a guest who doesn't know how to take a hint and leave."

"Damn-"

"My house, my rules. Stop playing around and get it over with."

"Fine," he says in defeat.

He turns to the direction of the stairs, looking over his shoulder to observe the three left at the living room. A small smile plays on his lips as he puts his foot on the first step and he thumps up the stairs, taking view of the second floor of the house that is much more spacious than below, where there is just a seating area in the middle surrounded by rooms with closed doors. From his count there are six rooms on the floor, with two on one side and four on the other. There is another set of stairs beside the room to the furthest right, and he guesses it's probably leading to the attic.

The other members are not in sight, probably lounging around in their own rooms. He fiddles with the doorknob of one of the rooms and realizes it's locked. He tries every door and much to his annoyance, every single one is locked. He raises a hand to knock on one door that is sandwiched between the four rooms, impatiently knocking on it repeatedly but still, the door remains shut.

It sounds like he will break down the door until he hears the voice of someone behind him, and he turns around to spot a shirtless Wooyoung standing at the door of his bedroom, his toned body exposed and his shoulder-length hair let down and wet. Wooyoung has a look of disapproval on his face, shaking his head and clucking his tongue.

"Out of all the people they could've sent, they chose you. How disappointing," Wooyoung says, scratching his cheek. "I was hoping for a new face, though. Not some old stinky asshole that pisses me off every time."

"Nice to see you again too Ju-"

"Don't bother saying my name, anything that comes out of your mouth smells."

"Oh, so it's you whom they decided to send here," comes another voice from the room beside Wooyoung's. It's San, still in his sleeping attire, chewing on some gum noisily. "Coming here to do your inspection? You're very welcomed to." He bows exaggeratedly, smiling widely to show off his dimples as he sweeps his arms to present his room's interior. "Feel free to look around but don't steal anything." He winks.

Feeling increasingly disrespected the more time he spends at their dorm, he walks past without a word, finding nothing out of the ordinary and only behaving like a fool as they look on, some satisfied grins plastered on their faces.

"Find anything that you fancy?" San asks.

"Not yet," he answers through gritted teeth. "Why are all of the rooms locked? Who else would be here?"

"Did you forget about our other member though? You know, the one who wears glasses and is tall like a giraffe-"

"All of you are enjoying making me act like a complete fool, aren't you? Now you're teasing around because I'm alone but if the Bifidensis ever gets to you, you'll be shaking like a leaf and bowing down at their feet," Alexander shouts.

San and Wooyoung look at each other before bursting into laughter, the former making a point to wipe away the tears at the corner of his eyes. He dabs it with his sleeve before replying, "We don't make you act like one, you are one, Alexander. Just like how you were then when you decided to forsake our group just so you could save your ass. Why are you so mad? Lighten up, you're in the Light district."

"For fuck's sake stop with the past and stop being bitter when you're all mad that the Bifidensis picked me to be their messenger instead of your sorry asses. If you were picked like I was back then, you will do the same. You would leave this pitiful group and take the position you were offered to."

"We're not like you, Alexander. We don't just go and betray our team members just because we want to level up."

His attention is torn away from the duo as he hears screaming from inside one of the rooms; it sounds high-pitched that he thinks it sounds like a girl. The screaming doesn't stop so he runs to the source of the sound, even though he knows that he won't gain access to the room. He looks behind to see San and Wooyoung both creasing their foreheads, confused because of where the sound is coming from.

They give each other looks; a knowing one. Wooyoung cocks one eyebrow while San shrugs.

Alexander shakes the doorknob but it's firm; it doesn't even budge when he presses down on it. He looks back again to the pair, but they are only looking on, unperturbed by his effort to unlock the door. He batters the door with the heel of his hand, demanding anyone in the room to come out. It takes multiple tries before the door is opened by the one inside, almost making Alexander tumble forward from the sudden loss of support.

He rights himself up, pushes past Mingi as he rummages through his room. He rakes through every corner, opens every door and upends everything that Mingi has in his room. He searches every nook and cranny, every possible hiding spot where the girl could be. He even goes as far as rummaging through his wardrobe in which Mingi finally puts a stop to.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mingi grabs his wrist and roughly pulls it away from his wardrobe. It's slightly hard because Alexander has a bigger built and he has more muscles, but he manages to rip his hands from making a mess out of his clothes. "Are you crazy, barging into someone's room and treating it like its yours?"

"I'm not crazy, I'm sent here to do an inspection," he says tiredly, for what seems like the thousandth time. "I heard a girl screaming from inside your room. Where did you hide her? Did she go out the window?" he points to the window, which is slightly open. When he leans forward to look out, he finds nothing.

Mingi scratches his head with a finger and bites his lips, trying to think back to what scream he was referring to. He looks to his monitor and snaps his finger. "Ah, idiot, it wasn't a girl. It was me," he announces proudly. "The person screaming was me."

"It was high-pitched-"

"Just because it's high-pitched doesn't mean it's a girl. I'm capable of such things too." He massages his temples and then points to his monitor, "I don't know what girl you're talking about. I can barely bring a girl home let alone one to my room."

"Why on earth are you screeching alone in your room when it's 8 in the morning?"

"I have my reasons."

"And what are those reasons?"

Mingi looks defiant for a second before he releases a heavy breath. "I got a shock and I screamed."

"For that... long?"

"It was scary, okay? Don't judge."

"What was?"

"The ghost."

"In your room?" Alexander says, full of incredulity.

"On the screen. Look, I was peacefully playing the game on my computer but this one jerk on the server put up a link saying that it can help us boost our rankings. I clicked on it and this horrifying looking ghost popped up on the screen. Safe to say I hurt my own eardrums from the loud scare and I hurt my throat for screaming too long. I ripped off my headset and because of that I heard you knocking like a crazy person. So are you satisfied? If you don't believe me then-" he cocks his head to the direction of his table, "-see it for yourself."

Seonghwa, Hongjoong, Yeosang, Wooyoung and San have all gathered in front of Mingi's bedroom, seemingly pulled by the commotion made by both of them. Mingi gives a subtle gesture to them, telling that there is nothing to worry about and that he has everything under control.

Alexander looks at Mingi before looking to the right to properly see the objects scattered on his table. From the glance he can see that he indeed did not lie; his wireless headset is hanging at the edge of the table, seemingly thrown after being ripped off hurriedly. The game on his screen is still active, the servers going full force with other online gamers.

He approaches the monitor and clicks on the chat to look for the link and there it is; some guy with the username BlackRose1993 had put up a link with the exact message he had told him. He clicks on it and immediately the sequence of what he was told happens, and he flinches from the appearance of the jumpscare. He's thankful that the sound wasn't on.

"Who on earth would find that thing amusing?" Alexander massages his chest before turning back to them. "If all of you are here, Jongho is in his room and Yunho is out with Hwayoung, then why are the other three doors locked? Who's inside?"

"Can you stop being so paranoid?" Yeosang rolls his eyes. "Calm down, there's no one inside. One's my room, one's just a store and one's an empty room."

"Why would you lock your door when you're out?"

"Because I don't want Wooyoung to barge in my room like it's his. I locked it up for good measure."

"Hey," Wooyoung interjects with a slight pout. "I don't barge into your room like it's mine."

"Yes you do," he says. "Put on a shirt, you're blinding my eyes." He puts up a hand, demonstrating how to shield his eyes from unwanted sightings.

"From the beauty?"

"From the ugly. Now go."

"Unlock all the doors, now," Alexander imposes himself between the two, squeezing through the crowd to come out to the seating area outside.

Yeosang mumbles under his breath, "You won't find anything though." He takes out a key from his pocket to unlock the door to his bedroom, but again, the guest turns up with nothing as he comes out of the room. 6 of them are gathered at the seating area, looking ready to kick him out once he's done searching the last room.

Alexander is starting to get restless; he's sure that they're hiding something, but they're too relaxed even when they let him roam around the house freely. His lifelong goal had always been to see the team he was once a part of fall apart, and he thought that maybe today would be the chance he could do so.

All he needed was to drag out the girl he's sure that they didn't kill, because he knows them too well to know that they won't have the guts to do it. The girl was innocent and they won't kill her even though their own identities were compromised.

They are both the heroes and villains, buoyed between having a conscience and obeying the higher-ups.

They let him into both of the remaining rooms, and what Yeosang said was right. One is only an empty room; not even a furniture in sight and it seems that the only thing occupying the room is dust. The other room is turned into their store, holding a multitude of random items. Everything from tools, plushies which San claims are all his but has no place to put in his room, cleaning supplies to broken parts of electrical appliances. As he ascends to the attic, sunlight pours in to illuminate the floor which bears nothing of his interest. Finally, after getting a message from the Bifidensis saying that he should be making his way back, he gives up.

This time, all 6 of them, including a fully-clothed Wooyoung, accompany him to the front of the cafe and with wide smiles, they send him away. Those who have showered prepare to open the cafe.

San pushes him out of the door and he takes out the gum that he's chewing and he slaps it onto Alexander's back. "It's a gift from me; hope you're touched. Your suit looked really nice, though."

"You little-" he retaliates but San slams the door in his face. Above him, the sign of the cafe lights up, shifting the 'closed' sign to 'open'. Eyeing it, he mutters, "I will see your team fall someday."

Inside the cafe, as soon as they're sure Alexander has left the cafe, Yeosang hurriedly turns to the trio before asking, "Now where did you hide her? I was so nervous that he would find her and we'd be exposed."

Wooyoung snorts. "Alexander's too distracted from Mingi's high-pitched screaming that he was completely sidetracked. She was there all the time yet he couldn't even find her."

---

[A/N: I'd like to take the opportunity to thank the people who have been reading, commenting and voting actively; you inspire me to continue writing <3

elfinlia1661
HakunaMatataYuh
atinymatata
-LIGHTEEZ
-kangchae
-shiber
-aIways
honeylryder
utopianwave
BangtanINFIRESarmys

Also to anyone that I didn't mention here, I didn't forget you and I'm always grateful to every single one of you! Thank you for giving this story a chance. I hope that all of you have/had/are having a nice day uwu

I'd like to dedicate ATEEZ' song Thank You (Friend) to all of you because I love you to bits.

Okay I'll leave now...]