Never let MinSung handle watching the group's Maknae.

This is the hard lesson that Christpher Bang, the fatherly leader of Stray Kids is learning right now. He had no other choice, however. When one has to pick between Hwang Hyunjin, Kim Seungmin, Lee Felix Yongbok, Seo Changbin, Han Jisung and Lee Minho, none of those names come across as being responsible enough to watch Yang Jeongin.

Do you all see what kind of a conundrum poor Bang Chan is in?

Bang Chan stands in the lobby of the co-owned public building of JYP Entertainment and SM Entertainment (the owners of the vast powerhouse group, NCT), surveying the group. His eyes land on each member.

Hyunjin is...well...weak.

Seungmin is barely a baby himself. And a troublemaker at that.

Felix gets distracted by cute things.

Changbin is always chatting with Wooyoung.

But Han is good with kids and Lee Know...well, Lee Know has punishment to fulfill for being Lee Know.

"I.N, behave for your hyungs, I'm placing Han and Lee Know in charge, while I'm gone. It's only for a short period of no more than twenty minutes," Bang Chan remarks. He doesn't know at that moment that his decision would be a fatal one.

Bang Chan is a leader. A singer. A dancer. But he can't predict the future.

All eyes turn on him.

Lee Know looks at Han. They are both shocked.

"Us? Really?" Han says, his eyes wide and face animated to show his shock.

Bang Chan nods and spins on his heels, leaving them. Slowly, Hyunjin wanders off with a shrug and with Felix. Changbin, clutching onto his phone, tells Wooyoung that he is going somewhere more private.

I.N smiles, looking at Lee Know and Han. "I'll be on my best behavior, I promise!" He glances at Seungmin, who throws up a thumb.

"MinSung in charge!" Lee Know remarks, looping an arm around Han's waist. "I like it! Do you?"

Han nods.

Just then, the door chimes and a tall man in all black and a neat fedora walks into the lobby. His eyes, hidden behind dark glasses, land on the trio in the center. He smirks and pads up to them.

"Excuse me, are you Yang Jeongin?" the man asks, tipping the brim of his fedora at I.N.

Lee Know steps before I.N and glares at the man. "Who's asking and why?"

The man reaches into his cloak. Lee Know and Han tense up, thinking the worst and shove I.N further behind them. But the man whips out a business card. "I'm the head recruiter under SM. I work closely with the NCT groups and we've been monitoring other trainees. I realize that young Jeongin has expressed interest in moving on."

"MOVING ON?" Han thunders. "I.N moving on from Stray Kids? No such thing!"

Lee Know stomps on the man's foot. "NOT INTERESTED, DICKFACE. YOU MOVE ON!" He launches into a string of cuss words and shoves the man away. "Don't ever come in here again."

The man snickers, brushing himself off. "Fair enough. Good day, Lee Minho."

Lee Know puts his hands on his hips and looks at Han. "The nerve!"

"Right!" Han exclaims in agreement. "Trying to steal our Innie away from us with bogus bullshit!"

They spin around to I.N.

"It's okay, baby, MinSung handled the big scary man," Han says.

I.N claps his hands. "Can we go for a car ride with Seungminnie?!"

Seungmin looks over at them. "I don't know what that was, but damn Lee Know."

Han nods and takes I.N's hand. "I think that would be okay."

Seungmin darts over and offers his hand to Lee Know. "Hold my hand, Lee Know-ah."

Lee Know grumbles to himself, but takes a grinning Seungmin's hand.

The four walk out of the lobby, forgetting about Bang Chan and how he'd be back within ten minutes time now. But they still leave and walk into the parking lot. Lee Know pulls free from Seungmin, who skips off and gets into the car first, pulling the door shut behind him. I.N pulls Han along toward the vehicle, trying to be next.

Lee Know smiles, unable to keep from doing so.

Just then, a group of men in fedoras with black outfits emerge from around the van. They run at Han and I.N and Lee Know. I.N is wrenched from Han as the men overpower Lee Know and Han.

I.N wriggles free from two of the strangers and bolts off back toward the building, screaming.

"Leave him, we'll never catch him," one of the men snarls. "Take these two!"

They've seemingly forgotten about Seungmin in the van, almost as badly as Lee Know and Han forgot about Bang Chan, leaving the building.

(Rude.)

The men drag a struggling Lee Know and Han off.

After a few minutes, the van door slides open and Seungmin pokes his head out. "Guys? I.N-ah? Lee Know-ssi? Han-ssi?" The door clicks open and he looks around. "Hello? Anyone? Are we still going on a car ride?"

I.N bolts into the building and skids to a halt, almost running right into Bang Chan. The leader has a cup in one hand, a Starbucks coffee logo on it. I.N's sudden appearance startles the older man.

"I.N? Where's Lee Know and Han?"

I.N gasps for air and points behind him to the exit. He tries to catch his breath and calm his racing heart. "They--ambush..."

Bang Chan cocks an eyebrow. "Ambush?"

Realization begins to settle on the older man. The cup of coffee slips out of his hand and splatters all over the floor.

It is at that moment that Bang Chan discovered his grave mistake in putting MinSung in charge of watching the maknae.

"Lee Know and Han are in terrible danger!" I.N chokes out. "We were ambushed in the parking lot!"

Bang Chan races for the exit and throws open the doors. His eyes find the van, where Seungmin is leaning against and then his eyes shoot around the parking lot. Lee Know and Han are missing.

I.N gradually scampers to him, nuzzling against Bang Chan and hugging him. "I'm scared, daddy Channie."

Meanwhile...

Lee Know and Han try to crane their necks around to see one another. They've been placed in a dark room in the back of some creepy building and tied back-to-back to chairs. A series of sharp arrows are pointed down at them from medieval bows, perched along the ceiling at least three feet apart.

"You okay?" Lee Know calls out. He looks down, snapping his head back and forth to take in their peril. He can see that his arms are attached to either side of the chair, his wrists bound tightly to a metal bar by thick, rough manila ropes. His feet are bound together by the same rope at the ankles.

He's certain that Han is in the same predicament, which is answered almost immediately by a grunt coming from the squirrelish man behind him.

Han gives a sharp jerk against the rope restraints that are wrapped around his wrists and the bars of the back of the chair. "I'm fine. Now is really not the time to make a snarky Minho Savage comment."

Lee Know snorts. "I wasn't going to. I'm genuinely concerned about you."

"Oh, NOW you wanna show concern over me?" Han gasps.

"Why are you scolding me, Han?"

"You're unbelievable Lee Know! One minute you show concern and act like you really care and then the next moment you deliver a sassy asshole remark. But, NOW you want to show concern?"

"Did they take him?" Lee Know growls.

Han gives off a distressed grunt. "I.N? I don't think so..."

"Good, hopefully he got away and found Channie," Lee Know says, twisting his wrists in the ropes. "It's the smallest dash of hope we have. Geez, those NCT bastards have the knotwork of a professional."

Han leans his head back. "I hate you so much, Lee Know!"

"Because I'm too pretty and sexy and you can't stay mad at me?"

"Yesssss!" Han cries out.

Lee Know stares ahead of him, blinking in shock. "I'm only savage with those I really love. I'm sorry if sometimes I hurt you or your feelings." His head lolls to one side. "Hannie, you're the only one who understands me."

"What do you mean?" Han questions.

"Channie will come for you. I'll do everything and anything to block as many arrows from hitting you if I must. I don't deserve to walk out of here alive. Especially if it's me over you." Lee Know chokes on tears coming to the surface.

Han gasps. "No! Don't say such things! We're going to BOTH get out of here alive, you hear me?!"

Lee Know sniffles. "Wow. I've never shown my heart like this before."

"I know, I like it," Han remarks.

"If this is how I die, Hannie, well..." Lee Know chokes up, unable to finish the thought.

"I'm glad it was with you. Because, every second that I last here just a little longer with you, my Min-ssi, is a blessing," Han says. "But we'll get through this! Channie will come, and he'll bring the cavalry."

Lee Know sniffles, a single tear drop escaping his eye and trickling down his cheek.

Bang Chan turns and wraps an arm around I.N. "It'll be okay. It's okay." He squeezes the young man. "We'll find them."

Seungmin rushes over to them, leaving the van. "Where's MinSung?"

I.N buries his head into Bang Chan's side.

Seungmin cocks his head to one side. "Let me guess..."

"We don't know anything. Who would kidnap Lee Know and Han anyway?" Bang Chan shakes his head. "And why?"

"Lee Know's pretty and Han's...um..." Seungmin screws his face up in thought. "Multi-talented?"

Bang Chan frowns. "That's not a reason..."

I.N unburies his face. "What if aunt Lee Know cussed out a recruiter for NCT?"

Bang Chan sighs heavily. "Lee Know-ah...yes, that could be a good reason. Let's get the others and head over to SM Entertainment."

"To apologize?" Seungmin and I.N question, sharing a look between one another.

"Not entirely. But trust me, Han Jisung is innocent in all of this, so I'll have a few choice words about that."

Seungmin chuckles and rubs his hands together. "Can I tease Minho-hyung about this?"

Bang Chan sighs again. "You get one."

Seungmin claps his hands together. "Sold!"

The trio walk back into the building and quickly track down the rest of the group: Hyunjin, Changbin and Felix. Bang Chan explains what's happened to them and fills them in on the NCT Recruiter. Then they all leave the building and finally pile into the van. Bang Chan as the driver, Changbin as the passenger and everyone else in the back.

"SAVE MINSUNG!" I.N shouts out.

"I'll remind him of this, each time he brings up cooking me in the air fryer," Hyunjin says, folding his arms across his chest.

Bang Chan floors the van's gas pedal and they peel out of the parking lot and head toward the oddly colored skyscraper: a two story bizarrely shaped pink structure at the base of a tall multi-storied glass building.

Lee Know screams and slams his bound feet against the floor. "I'm going to get so much flack for this!! I know Hyunjin's thinking about things to say to me. Changbin too! I'm never going to live this down."

"Lee Know, stop it!" Han cries out. "It'll be okay!"

"Oh, Bang Chan'll have a field day!" Lee Know continues. "It's like that cartoon, where he picks up a phone call from a kidnapper that claims they have me. He'll just say that they don't, that I have them. But I don't!"

"Min-ssi, you're losing it!" Han whimpers.

"Am I, Hannie? AM I?" Lee Know roars. "'We have Lee Know! What are you gonna do about it?'" He mimics the voice of a deep-throated and mad kidnapper. "'No, you don't have Lee Know, he's got you.'" He now switches to mimic Bang Chan's Australian-accented voice. "Ha-ha-ha, no, Channie, he REALLY does have me!!"

Han begins to scream, a high-pitched shriek that echoes off the walls.

Lee Know stops in his madness and jerks around. "Hannie!!"

"Stay close, no one wanders off, capiche?" Bang Chan snarls.

Nods and grumbles come in response as they push through the front doors and enter the vast lobby.

"Channie-hyung, this is going to be nearly impossible to find them," Felix mutters, looking around.

Bang Chan shoots him a stern glare. "We're not leaving MinSung, and I mean, MINSUNG, in here to rot away."

A black suited man with a familiar fedora on his head steps toward them. He's got an iPad in his hands. He spots the small group of Stray Kids at once. "Ahhhhh, you thought about my offer, did you?"

I.N screams and dives behind Seungmin.

Bang Chan cracks his neck and storms up to the man, causing him to halt in place. "Listen, buddy, I get that my bandmate cussed you out, but that gives you assholes no right to kidnap him!"

The man looks around him at Seungmin. Then he gradually returns his attention back to Bang Chan. He holds out the iPad to him with a sly smirk on his face. "Let's play a little game, huh? You might even win..." He turns and walks off, leaving Bang Chan, stunned, holding the iPad.

Bang Chan looks down at the iPad after a few minutes. The others all dart and gather around him, including I.N. The screen is lit, showing camera footage of a dark red room. In the center are two people sitting in chairs.

"Lee Know!" Seungmin says, pointing at one of the men tied down to the chairs.

"Han!" Changbin cries out.

Bang Chan's head snaps up in the direction of the person who'd left. "Is this a joke?"

"Look! Words!!" Seungmin shouts out.

They read the instructions on the screen of the iPad:

"Successfully find the REAL arrow that will deliver the deadly blow to your precious 'MinSung'. If you cannot, well...I.N, Yang Jeongjin, will become a new NCT member. Choose wisely. Oh, and also, if you succeed, then we will never bother the Stray Kids of JYP again. Your time begins now."

A timer appears in the top left corner and begins to countdown.

Bang Chan growls, "IS THIS A FUCKING JOKE?!"

A booming voice comes over the intercom system, "I assure you, it is no joke, Mr. Bang Chan. It is real."

"Hey, I know that voice anywhere," Changbin snarls, whirling around and lifting his fist up. "Come out and show your face, Lee Taeyong."

"Quiet your trap, Changbinnie. You're out of your league and safety, this is NCT grounds. Oh, how do you say, 'BACK OFF!'"

Changbin flinches at the harshness.

"So, here's what's going to happen, Stray Kiddios," Taeyong snarls. "You're going to follow those instructions. And just to up the ante, it'll just be TWO of you trying to solve things." There's a loud echoing snap.

More black-suited, fedora-hatted men burst out on all sides of the lobby and close in on the small group before any of them can blink or react. Within moments, they grab Hyunjin, Felix, Changbin and Seungmin and drag them to the sides. Guns are then placed against their temples.

"Do I have your attention, Chan and Jeongin?" Taeyong sneers.

Bang Chan and I.N nod. I.N is in tears, scared out of his mind.

"Be brave, we'll be okay!" Seungmin calls out. "You got this!"

Bang Chan looks at the iPad and spots the series of arrows that encircle the two strapped down to chairs in the middle of the room. Shit! The leader of Stray Kids hadn't seen the arrows earlier, just the helpless duo.

I.N clutches onto Bang Chan's arm. "We-we can do this?"

"Don't worry," Bang Chan says, "I.N and I are going to save you and stop this madness. I vow as the leader of Stray Kids. We will succeed!"

"I can't take this anymore!" Lee Know howls out. "HELP US!!"

Han screams in unison. "HELP!!!"

It is then that Han tips over his chair and lands on the ground, smashing his face into the ground. He yelps in shock and pain.

Lee Know snaps his head to the side to see Han's fallen figure. "Hannie, why'd you do that?"

Han shrugs and scrambles to sit up. It takes him a few minutes to realize what is going on.

"You're free!?" Lee Know gasps.

Han nods and scrambles up to his feet. "I mustered all my energy and I guess I was able to tear free." He hurries up to Lee Know and begins to work at the knots. "I told you we'd get out of here!"

Lee Know shakes his head. "No! Leave now! If they've rigged this place with cameras, they can see us. They'll come and you have to leave now!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Han says, focusing more and working faster and harder at the knots binding Lee Know's wrists to the chair.

"You stubborn quokka!" Lee Know scolds.

Han yanks the rope and is able to get one of Lee Know's wrists free. At once, Lee Know dives to work the other knot, while Han moves to his ankles. Within seconds, they are standing and brushing themselves off.

"It's a good thing you're you and I love you too much," Han growls.

Lee Know smiles sarcastically at him.

A clicking sound fills the room.

Lee Know and Han move back to back and spin around to gage the room. One of the arrows shoots off its bow and jams into the ground at the feet of Han. The rapper-singer screams in fright and jumps to the side, pulling Lee Know along with him. As they recover, there is another click.

A second arrow lands right where they'd been standing...sticking right into the seat of Lee Know's empty chair.

The deadly arrow.

Lee Know and Han share a look and then look around the room.

"GOT IT!" Bang Chan screams and taps on the arrow, as he sees Han and Lee Know dive away from the first arrow.

I.N smiles and claps his hands. "Yeah! Daddy Channie!"

"This isn't over, you've won THIS round...this time, Bang Chan," Taeyong's booming voice snarls. "But I am a man of my word."

There's a loud clicking.

All around, Hyunjin, Felix, Changbin and Seungmin are released and the weird men vanish from sight as quick as they'd appeared.

Then a door opens at the far end of the lobby.

Bang Chan drops the iPad as Lee Know and Han stagger out, holding each other's hand.

"AUNT LEE KNOW!!" I.N cries out and rushes toward them.

Lee Know and Han halt and greet I.N. The maknae throws his arms around them and then hug him back sweetly.

"We were so worried about you," Han reveals. "Well, Lee Know mostly."

Lee Know, smiling, shooting Han a playful glare with his big brown eyes.

Bang Chan deflates. He and the others rush forward and join in a giant group hug. But from then on, Bang Chan knew the consequences and dangers of leaving MinSung in charge of the maknae.

Never let MinSung handle watching the group's Maknae.