The eerie silence in the lab was fueled by grief, anger, and determination to find their leader.

My Chan.

None of us could bear to see Felix lying so still. Felix would know what to say. However, he'd be the most hurt.

After a deafening period of silence, a shout from Seungmin cut through the emotional tension in the air. "Guys!! Jisung ran off!!!"

Immediately I took off out the door, sensing Minho's scared eyes on my back as I desperately searched for our friend.

(Jisung's POV)

I hid behind one of our undamaged SUVs and let the silent tears (A/N: SILENT CRY 🥹😭) flow out as I recalled the events.

Chan hyung and I were fighting off two guys while Hyunjin and Changbin were fighting a few feet away from us. Forcefully, I was shoved to the ground, and then smoke exploded out of nowhere. When I was able to see again, Chan had his arms behind his back and was being carried out by 3 different guys.

Eventually, the smoke fully cleared and I ran towards where they went with him, but Changbin pulled me back. "We have to go tell the others, Ji. It's not your fault."

Then why did it feel like it was?

(Y/N's POV)

Minho caught up to me in the hallway.

"Any luck yet?" He asked worriedly. "Nothing yet," I responded as we began heading towards the garage. When I noticed the door ajar, I began sprinting.

"Jisung!" I cried out. "Hannie! Please, are you okay?!"

Minho went in before me, a noticeable trail of tears and what I hoped was not blood leading to the back end of one of our only non-damaged vehicles. I looked at Minho and nodded in the direction of the car before turning around. He put a hand on my shoulder. "I'll talk to him, but you're the only other person who gets him. Wait here?"

I slid down against the nearest wall and waited as Minho went and talked to Han. I held my head in my hands as I heard the poor boy start crying into Minho's shoulder. I started crying as well, I couldn't help it. I knew he blamed himself, but there wasn't anything he could've done.

"It's all my fault, hyung." He choked out. "It's not your fault Ji. There's nothing you could've done." Minho responded soothingly, as if having read my mind.

What I heard next broke my heart.

"I should've been able to keep them off of us. I'm too weak."

"You are not weak, Han Jisung. You stop that right now. You are not weak. You are so incredibly strong. None of us are mad at you. Not even Y/N. Not even Felix would be mad at you."

Han scoffed and I stood up, slowly and quietly inching towards where the two guys were. When Minho saw me, he gestured to his left with his head.

"Ji. We aren't mad. I'm not mad, not at all. You did all that you could. I am just glad that you're okay. The others are probably getting worried though."

Although it took some mild coaxing, and the promise of a personal jug of apple juice, we eventually began the trek back to the medical room.

When we arrived back, Jeongin was fast asleep in Hyunjin's arms, Seungmin was hard at work at his computer, and Changbin had not moved a single inch, his hand still firmly grasping Felix's as the blonde boy lay unconscious.

I almost caught myself thinking "How could this happen to me?" One day, I had enough money in my possession to finally get away from my mother, and here I was now, looking at all of these boys I had grown to care for very much as they sit, bruised and covered in dirt, dried blood, sweat and tears.

All because of me.

When we entered the room, there was an audible sigh of relief from everyone. Minho walked over to Hyunjin and Jeongin, Jisung right behind him. I sighed as I looked at all of them.

"Boys,  you all go and get some rest. Clean yourselves up. I'll stay here with Felix while Seungmin is still working." I noticed the looks of defiance in their eyes, especially Changbin's.

"Please, after all you guys have done for me you deserve this if not more." Silently, they all stood up. Changbin went to go help Hyunjin as Minho gently woke up Jeongin. The 5 boys exited the room, Jisung shutting the door behind them.

I was going to go check on Felix, however, Seungmin gave me a look, and without even saying anything I knew I would want to be sitting down for whatever he was about to say, so I sat down in the office chair next to him.

He turned to face me. "Y/N. I don't mean this to sound harsh, but I've got good news, and I've got bad news. Which one do you want first?"

I let out a deep breath. "Give me the good news first, Seungmin."

He gave me a weak smile. "The good news is that the organization that took Chan , the same ones who were there when he rescued you, they forgot to get rid of his earpiece, meaning I can track him down. It may take me some time but I can do it."

As amazing as this news was, I couldn't let myself be fooled. "What's the bad news, Min?"

His expression morphed into something that can only be described as pain. "I know who hired them, Y/N."

I looked at him, confused. "Wouldn't that be a good thing then?" He silently shook his head. "Well then who was it?" I asked him.

"Y/N, your mother was the one who hired them."

Time froze in that moment.

I always had a feeling it would come to this, but I had hoped that she would never get to this point, that she would one day see an error in her ways and make efforts to turn this around. It appeared that I was wrong.

Seungmin reached out his hand and I took it, squeezing it a little bit.

Silently, the tears began to flood.

Seungmin gently took back his hand and began rapidly typing, letters flying across the screen faster than I could ever imagine.

Although I was a bit wobbly, I walked back to Felix's bedside and sat down on the ground next to him, putting my head in my hands as worry wracked my mind over where they took and what they were possibly doing to Chan.

Gods, I hope he's ok.

(Chan's POV)

The guards threw me on to the floor of a cell in the middle of a room. I scrambled to get up and gripped the bars. The closest guard was almost Innie's size but he was my same height. He came up to the bars and laughed at me.

"What? Can't do much without your circus of freaks now, huh?"

I yanked his collar against the bars and head butted him, sending him straight to the ground. In an instant, 3 guns were pointed at me.

Y/N.

If I was gonna find a way to get back to her, I needed to stay alive. I backed away and sat in the middle of the cell, legs crossed. As they laughed at me, I bit the inside of my cheek.

Nothing I say will help me get out of here, I thought to myself, so staying quiet is probably my best bet right now.

They left the room, turning off all lights except the one directly above me in my cell. I went over to the corner and sat with my knees in my arms.

I've never felt so weak. Not for a very long time. But there's nothing I can do while injured and hungry.

My mind began to wander back to the day I found Felix. It was the same day I found out my father died. When I saw him, I saw the hurt in his eyes and immediately understood what he was feeling.

I've only ever taken in kids I knew I'd grow to care for, the ones I knew needed it and who had a story to tell.

Han. Han was the one I found before this all started, before the gang was a thing at all. He knew all my secrets. The first time I met him, he was getting beat up by some bullies behind our school. I noticed how skinny he was and when the older boy pulled a knife on him, I ran over to protect him.

I had found Changbin soon after, and he was what one could describe as an "all rounder". Top of his class, sports medals, the works, he never got into trouble. We had grown fairly close, but once he found out about the gang, he never took no for an answer. I always felt bad for taking him away from home, but he insisted it was okay.

I thought about everyone in that moment, having previously had no idea how much they would mean to me, or how much Y/N would, either.

Tears began to flow once again as the image of her crossed my mind. Her smile, her eyes, how she lined in my hoodie. The everlasting care she showed towards the guys, and the way they looked back at her with such fond and protective eyes.

I was not the only one who loved her. They may not be head over heels for her like I am, but they loved her more than anything and felt as though she was their sister, anyone could see it. I couldn't  believe I let her get dragged into this nonsense. I shouldn't have kissed her, now she'll never be able to fully get away. I began to cry as I drifted off to sleep.

(Y/N's POV)

I woke up early the next morning, only to find Seungmin slumped over his keyboard, snoring lightly. I snuck out of the medical room and went into the kitchen and began to make breakfast, just some oatmeal and fresh fruit. I started brewing some coffee as well.

When it hit 9 AM, I went and began knocking on the boys' doors. I didn't pester them, I knew no one would be incredibly chatty after yesterday's events.

About two hours later, the 8 of us all sat in the dining room, silent as Seungmin switched constantly between picking up his spoon and rapidly typing on his computer, desperate to get Chan's location. The tracker on the earpiece was a part of the device's mainframe, but something or someone was trying to stop him from the other side.

I couldn't finish my food. It made me sick to my stomach, seeing them hurt, tired and hungry for answers. I went to the kitchen and cleaned my dishes before going to my room and pacing around for the umpteenth time that day. He'd been at this since he woke up, and the answer still hasn't changed. "Nothing yet, but he's alive out there, wherever he is."

And like a victory cry, I heard Seungmin from all the way in the dining room. "I GOT HIM!!!"

I sprinted from my room back to where everyone was gathered and tried to get a peek from around the crowded laptop. When I was able to catch a glimpse, the little red dot showed his location on the same side of town.

"He's in this old warehouse, it isn't too far from here. A 20-30 minute drive, tops."

All of a sudden, the guys were blues of motion as they walked briskly around the home, gathering and sharpening weapons, preparing necessary gear, etc. Jisung had grabbed a coat rifle and was looking for a good scope when Minho put his hand in the gun, lowering it. Jisung looked up at him, and Minho shook his head.

"IT'S MY FAULT THAT HE'S IN THERE, AND MORE YOU WON'T LET ME HELP SAVE HIM??!"

The entire room went silent as Minho guided an outraged Jisung into the hallway, taking the gun out of his hand and placing it on a nearby table.

Seungmin looked at the computer, and then back at me. "I honestly can't tell how much security there is from here, we'll have to get closer."

Changbin nodded his head as he walked out of the room, daggers in hand.

"We'll have to get a closer look before trying to get in. If they have 100 men and there's only us, that won't end well."

I nodded, and as much as I dislike it, he's right. They can't just go in there guns blazing and risk getting shot.

(3rd Person POV)

Jisung angrily shoved Minho away from him as they walked down the hallway. Minho stopped and took a deep breath, Jisung kept walking for about five feet before he stopped.

(A/N: Minho is regular font, Jisung is Italicized)

"You can't go."

"WELL I GATHERED THAT DIPSHIT CONSIDERING YOU TOOK MY GUN AND PRACTICALLY DRAGGED ME OUT OF THERE."

Minho stepped back in shock at Jisung's choice in words, he had never previously spoken to the older guys like that, let alone him.

"Ji I-"

"No. Don't 'Ji' me. Other than you, he is my closest fucking friend. I don't wanna hear it."

"Ji it's not even that, you're still too hurt. He'd kill me for letting you go."

Jisung rolled his eyes and tapped his foot in annoyance.

"This is not your fault, Hannie."

Jisung whipped around and faced Minho. He was acting angry and annoyed but tears were brimming his eyes.

Minho hated when Jisung cried, considering it was a rare occurrence. He was always smiles and comforting everyone, so whenever he began crying they all knew the situation was serious.

Jisung looked up at the ceiling, fighting his tears. He hated yelling and arguing, especially with the older guys.

Minho stood in solemn silence as the boy ahead of him tried to calm himself, ultimately failing as the tears began to pour down his cheeks like a waterfall of grief. Minho closed the distance between them and engulfed the younger boy in a hug, causing Jisung to turn, his tears soaking the shoulder of Minho's shirt. Jisung continued to weep as Minho ran his hand through his hair, trying to comfort and calm him down.

Word Count: 2417

(A/N: Emotional chapter, sorry guys !!! Also ik it's been a while, don't come for me. There is soooo much going on, plus I'm a senior in high school so between school, work, and family drama, I haven't had much time. But I got it done!)