At dawn, Paige reentered the Society building upon leaving Harrison. The smile dressing her face was unmissable as she skipped through the Main Society Headquarters Building with a large smile stitched to her face, holding two takeaway cups of coffee. 

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Woojin took in the smile on her face as he waited for the elevator to open so he could go to his office. He almost dropped all his files to the ground upon seeing her in such a state.

"Good morning," she chimed. "I got you a cup of coffee. We have a lot of work to do today and a lot to discuss. Do you have any plans in the evening by any chance? I would like to hold a meeting then if that's fine with you. Short notice, I know, I know but it's information we need to agree on as soon as possible. Is that alright?"

He blinked at her, his face blank as he tried to comprehend all her words while simultaneously checking if it actually was Paige. She shoved his cup of coffee in his face and grinned. He accepted it hesitantly as the elevator opened.

"I say this in all due respect, are drunk?" Woojin questioned as they entered the elevator together. 

"No," she slapped his arm playfully. "Just... Excited."

"About what? We still have Cassidy around and Linc's still missing... Oh, and Minho too... And... And... Is it true you allied with an assassin? I thought it was a joke at first but then things just started to add up and I swear, Paige, if it's Donghyun..." he paused, scanning her eyes, worried he might be right.

She grinned sheepishly, "surprise!"

"You've got to be kidding me! You know how much I hate him. He'll betray us all! You can't trust someone of his nature, Paige. You can't trust him. He'll stab you in the back. He's an assassin. He only works for the money, for his benefits. I bet you all I own he has connections with Lily or Cassidy or someone like that. You can't possibly trust him."

"Calm down, Woojin," she chuckled softly, exiting the elevator when it stopped at her floor. "Obviously I don't trust him completely but there is still much I can gain from this alliance with him. Just trust me, please. I know what I'm doing... I hope."

Woojin didn't seem convinced and agreeably so. They had both been in the same mafia once upon a time and he happened to spend many of his teenage years with the assassin. He knew Donghyun all too well and knew better than anyone that he only likes to involve himself in the messiest situations and stir up as much drama as he possibly can.  And Woojin believed this was no exception.

He sighed, sipping at his coffee thoughtfully as he nodded, "I trust you, Paige. If I didn't, I wouldn't still be here helping you out. I just... Don't trust him. I've known him for a long time and know his intentions are far from good in this case. Just promise me that you won't tell him anything too personal."

She raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "I'm not an idiot, Woojin. I still have my morals. Loosened, but still there. I would never tell him anything too personal. Just as I believe he wouldn't do the same either."

"Good. Because I don't want him to be the cause of your death. Something about him inserting himself into this situation doesn't settle well with me. I'll keep an eye on him. You do so too."

"Already am."

And with that, they parted to their separate offices but a sudden thought entered Paige's mind right before she entered her office. She turned around to see Woojin already staring at her. He seemed momentarily surprised at being caught in the action but immediately laughed his embarrassment away.

"I just wanted to thank you for the coffee," he explained, holding it up. "Just how I like it."

She chuckled, "no problem and I was just going to confirm if you were coming to the meeting in the evening. I can postpone it if it doesn't work for you. After all, I think you might be the most important participant."

"This evening's fine with me. If I may ask, who will be joining us?"

"It's a surprise. You'll find out when you get there," she stuck her tongue out before quickly disappearing into her office, leaving a smiling Woojin behind.

***

The meeting commenced at dusk in the common meeting room. Glares were shared across the room accompanied by the tension Paige had expected. This was a situation she tried to avoid as much as possible but upon talking with Harrison, she knew it was a meeting she had to have to save the Society at all costs.

"So, I called upon this meeting to discuss an important case," she uttered, glancing at them all as the reality of the situation finally dawned on her, one wrong move, and a murder scene would unfold before her eyes.

"Well, it better be important if I have to sit in the same room as that betrayer," Lily nodded towards Donghyun who simply rolled his eyes. She wore her usual expensive white suit and had her charcoal hair straightened out and chopped to shoulder length, making her deep blue eyes stand out against her fair skin. Donghyun, on the other hand, wore a black graphic tee tucked into midnight ripped jeans. His hair, which was the same shade as his clothes, was parted down the middle and he leaned back against his chair, arms crossed over each other.

Woojin sat opposite Donghyun, unable to keep himself from glaring at him. Unlike the assassin, Woojin had more colour to his outfit, wearing a pair of pale blue jeans and a white shirt while his dark mint hair cascaded over his forehead.

"Not going to lie, Paige," her assistant muttered. "I had greater hopes for this meeting."

"Trust me, if I could avoid it, I would have but at this point, we all need each other more than we realise," she explained. "Just... Pretend you like each other or something for a moment, okay? Can we do that?"

"I can try but I make no promises," Minho muttered, leaning against the table. "But for safety measures, can we hurry this up?"

"Alright fine," Paige agreed. "The aim of the meeting is basically that I want the Society and Rebellion to be one again. Not just an alliance."

That gained everyone's attention, even Kyla who was softly sipping on soda almost chocked on it and Harrison's eyes widened.

"You are absolutely mental," Lily commented, getting ready to walk out but Nicholas instantly grabbed her wrist.

"Give the girl a chance, Lily," he mentioned, sending Paige a smile. "I think I might have an idea of what she's doing."

Paige grinned, "thank you, Harrison. Honestly, I know it is far fetched but I get the impression that if this works out, the Society can go back to what it originally was: just restoring peace to the Earth and all. I would also like for Stray Kids to permanently join the Society and Harrison too. And Donghyun, well, that's up to you. But before all this, we need to make sure Cassidy falls and we save the other Stray Kids members. Unfortunately, we can't do that as the whole Society or the whole Rebellion together. We have spies amongst us, and too many for that manner. We have to seclude ourselves, go somewhere far and hidden away."

Kyla's eyes widened, "every time we do it, Dave, we have a betrayer in our midsts. What makes you sure the same thing won't happen now?"

"Oh, I know we have a betrayer in our midsts and that's why I have a plan b. But that's not the point."

"Where would we even go? We can't go to the house in Chaco. Cassidy knows of it," Minho mentioned.

"I know. That's why we go somewhere else. An area no one has been to in ages. An area only two people know the exact location of. And fortunately for us, one of those two people still live."

"The cabin in Russia Janey stayed in," Donghyun muttered, suddenly seeming interested in the conversation. 

"No way!" Kyla immediately refused. "I will not drag Linc into any more of this. Please, Paige, he doesn't deserve this. Besides, that cabin holds sentimental meaning to him. The memories will drive him crazy."

"Which is what we need. Who killed Janey is still unknown. There are five suspects: Linc, Nicholas, Cassidy, Richard and you, Kyla. Linc, like all of you, was there the night Janey passed on. He knows more about it than he's willing to tell and if putting him in such an environment gets him to finally speak, I swear, Kyla, I will take it. I will find you killed my sister whether it kills me or not, got it?"

No one dared object. Paige had her mind set and, driven by anger, was going to achieve her goal either with them or not.  She glanced around the room as she exhaled the anger that was burning through her bones.

"Now, who's with me?"

It was silent, too silent. And Paige was sure she was going to have to do this on her own until Woojin sighed, uttering, "me. I'm not about to let you track into some remote cabin alone. I'm coming."

"And I think I made my opinion clear last night," Harrison mentioned. "Wherever you go, I go."

And soon, they all agreed to her plan. Some more sceptic than others but agreed nonetheless.