SONG REC: "19" - STRAY KIDS

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Before she could even organize all her thoughts, Yun saw the base. It was an office building that matched the area, and like Lee Know said, blended in. She paused in front of it, breathing hard.

She made the spontaneous decision to climb onto the roof. She scrambled up the building, and just as she got on top, Lee Know had arrived.

He was breathing easy and smirking. She snorted at his arrogance. "Asshole," she murmured. Taking the map he had given her, she crushed it with one hand and peered over the roof.

Patiently, she waited for the perfect timing and threw the crumpled map down at Lee Know's feet.

He glanced at the map, immediately recognizing it. His mouth was slightly open, and Yun's ego inflated.

His turn to be shocked again, she thought smugly. He looked up and saw her face grinning down at him.

"Yun," he said, with a pause, "I think you're going to be a good team member."

"I agree," she replied, leaping down from the four story building. She latched onto a ledge at the last second and dusted her pants off as she stood.

Lee Know clapped once. "Let's introduce you to the members."

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They entered the building and were instantly greeted by two guys who appeared younger than Lee Know.

One of them saw Yun and raised a hand. "Whoever you are, I'm already scared of you. I'm Kim Seungmin." Seungmin nudged the person beside him.

"I'm Jeongin! Also known as I.N," he said, giving her a bright smile. She almost went blind from Seungmin's and I.N's smiles. They were just so pure and bright.

"They're part of a gang?" she said, doubting.

"You'd be surprised," Lee Know said. "But trust me, everybody here has killed before. Including these guys, although they're more focused on our tech and hacking."

Seungmin nodded. "Looks are deceiving."

Lee Know checked his watch. "Seungmin, buzz in and announce to everybody that in five minutes, everybody has to be ready for a meeting. Living room and casual attire."

"Trust me, they're already in the living room and aware," said Seungmin, who's eyes met I.N's.

Lee Know's eyes trailed over to meet I.N. "Did you send everybody the footage of her scaling the building and mocking me?"

Yun rolled her eyes at his words. "It wasn't mocking–"

"I did, I'm sorry!" I.N admited, flustered.

Lee Know shrugged. "Whatever. I was going to show them myself but at least they're ready for the meeting. I better see you two in that room in three minutes, as well." The two guys nodded and entered the elevator.

"Well, how are you feeling so far?" he asked.

"Great. Can I meet the others?"

He nodded as the elevator pinged, signaling that Seungmin and I.N had gotten to the top. They walked to the entrance of the elevator.

"Ladies first," he said, making a dramatic welcoming motion.

She stood her ground. "Mafia bosses first."

He shook his head but complied and entered first. She followed behind him and he reached to press for the fourth floor.

There was an awkward silence as they waited. Yun tapped her foot against the floor, looking at everywhere but Lee Know. Wow, she thought, these elevator walls are sure interesting.

After what felt like painful hours, the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. She squared her shoulders and was presented instantly. The elevator was to the right of the couch, and all the members were staring at her.

She stared back, refusing to appear nervous. They all looked about her age but the excited smiles on their faces made them appear more childish in a way. She could see Seungmin and I.N smile encouragingly at her, but she was too busy trying not to throw up.

"Everybody," Lee Know said, leading her to the front of the room so the members wouldn't have to crane their necks, "meet Kim Yun-Yeong, better known as Yun. She's twenty-one turning twenty-two this year, so older than almost all of you. Don't beat her up or whatever."

With those beautifully said words, he left, going into his office.

They were all impressed and it showed. All of them stood and came over to shake her hand, and she was flustered with the attention.

One of them – the only one with freckles – had turned on the giant screen on the wall to reveal the security footage of her running to the SKZ base and climbing up the building. She watched as she threw the map down at Lee Know.

"Sit down, guys," the freckled one said in a surprisingly deep voice. He seemed too cute to have a voice that deep or raspy. "Let's introduce ourselves one by one, since our boss didn't."

They sat down, leaving her awkwardly standing with the freckled guy, but she relaxed her posture.

He offered her a hand with a smile. "I'm Felix, turning twenty-two years old, hacker, tech person, and main medic. Everybody here is a killer, so those are really just my specialties."

"I'm Changbin, twenty-three, your sniper and main killer." He raised an arm up and flexed, as if he needed to prove it. She resisted the urge to laugh.

"Hyunjin, twenty-two," the long-legged guy said. "Spy, main killer. I prefer knives," he said, concise and short. He seemed quite wary of her, which was understandable.

"I'm the ace, Han Jisung, but I go by Han and Jisung. I can do basically everything around here, which can include...everything but being the boss. I'm turning twenty-two." He gave her a smile, and she smiled back. He had cheeks resembling a quokka, and he had a nice smile.

"You've already met me, but I'm Seungmin. I'm the main hacker, tech person, and dealer. Also the main medic. I'm also turning twenty-two," he said shyly.

I.N nodded. "I'm the youngest; I turned twenty this year. I mostly watch the base and I'm also a hacker and tech person. Again, I go by I.N or Jeongin."

Felix spoke up again. "And Lee Know's our boss, main killer, and planner. He's turning twenty-four." Yun couldn't believe Lee Know was just two years older than her.

After some more small talk, the members dispersed into their rooms. But Felix stayed behind. "Hey, Yun!" he called cheerfully. "Can I give you a tour of the place before you settle down into your own room?"

She agreed, trying not to look too desperate. "Yes, please."

He motioned around him. "Here on the fourth floor, we have all the bedrooms, this living room, two bathrooms, the infirmary, and Lee Know's office." He walked down the hall from the living room. "This is the office, and from here all the way to the corner is the four oldest member's bedrooms."

One bedroom was open and empty. "Who's bedroom was this?"

Felix took a wistful glance inside. "Our old leader's room. He was our ace way before Han was, and actually recruited the members himself, starting with Han actually. So this hall consists of his, Lee Know's, Changbin's, and Hyunjin's rooms." They turned the corner to another hallway with more bedrooms.

"So it's Jisung, me, an empty room, Seungmin, and Jeongin. We had some trouble with the empty room in the beginning, but it's all good now. You can have that room."

They walked into that room, which had a simple bed, closet, cabinet, and desk. There was a TV on the wall, so she could stay entertained while she wasn't killing people.

"I like it," said Yun. "But what was the problem with the room?"

"Oh, it had a bug problem, but Han captured and ate them all."

Her lip curled. "Um, I'm sorry, but Han did what?"

Felix's serious expression broke and he bursted into a fit of laughter. "I was just messing with you! Okay, not about the bug problem, but they're all gone now. We hired an exterminator."

She was questioning every decision that led her here but nodded and put her bag down on the desk. They paused for a second so that Felix could get out his phone.

"Yun...room number seven..." he mumbled out loud as he texted the groupchat.

"You guys have phones? Can't your phones be tracked?"

He laughed as if he couldn't even fathom that idea. "No, because we're rich, influential, smart, and murder without blinking. And we have our own network." He raised a finger for each reason. "Pretty good way to not be tracked, huh?"

He brought her down to the third floor. It had a large gym, a weapons room, the treasury, and storage room. There were several cameras surrounding the area, most likely because of the treasury.

He led her to the second floor explaining everything else. The second floor had a dining room, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. Everything was spacious and looked like a part of a millionaire's house; probably because they were millionaires.

"We always have dinners together. It creates team bonding," he said near the dining room.

Her thoughts wandered to Lee Know. He didn't seem like much of a team bonder.

Felix described the first floor and how it was meant to look like a business office to trick people who entered, essentially being useless. Seungmin and I.N would spend time down here to act as receptionists and security.

He clapped his hands. "Tour's done. Let's go back to your room. There's a surprise."

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how do we feel about tsundere lee know? 😚