Seonghwa gathered the members in the hallway before they headed to the practice room, wanting to make sure they had a little bit of information about Hongjoong's whereabouts before they had to be surrounded by cameras and spies.

"Hey, everyone. Hongjoong had a personal thing to take care of again so he won't be here. But he'll be back as soon as he can."

"Is everything okay?" Yunho asked and Seonghwa nodded.

"Yeah, yeah everything's okay. He just had something really important to do."

"He's not dying or something, is he?" Yeosang asked and Jongho elbowed him in the side.

"No, he's not dying," Seonghwa laughed.

"Well it better be pretty important...the show's tomorrow," San pouted.

"Don't worry. He'll be back as quick as he can. We can practice a little longer tonight so he gets a chance to rehearse with us once before the show. Okay?"

Everyone nodded and they walked down to the practice rooms. Unfortunately, as soon as they'd arrived, they ran into an annoyingly familiar face.

"If it isn't my favorite new band," JYP smiled and the members greeted him with a quick bow.

"Good morning, sunbaenim," Seonghwa smiled but remembered his act and let it fall a little quicker than usual.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven—hmm, you're not missing anyone, are you?"

Seonghwa tried his best not to be annoyed by the obvious bait.

"Hongjoong had an important personal matter to attend to. He'll be back as soon as possible," Jongho responded, surprising Seonghwa. He hadn't expected his members to try to help him out. Not when JYP carried so much power. It made him smile a little. But he quickly shifted his expression, displaying subtle annoyance.

"I'm sorry, sunbaenim. It was really last minute. He told me it would only be one day but he needed to take another day to figure things out."

"It's alright. I won't take any points away for missing practice. I've always found those who show up tend to be more prepared, so any absences will present themselves eventually in the performance."

Seonghwa swallowed. He knew they didn't plan to stay but the idea of having a member eliminated at their showcase was a terrifying thought.

"Of course. I'm sure he'll be ready for the show," Seonghwa muttered, but he let his eyes communicate the opposite. JYP flashed him a knowing nod.

Seonghwa smiled in response and kept it on until he was sure JYP had left the room and was nowhere nearby.

He finally let it drop, feeling exhausted and repulsed at the same time. He didn't like making anyone think he wasn't on Hongjoong's side. But he needed to keep JYP off their trail.

The group rehearsed for a few hours before taking a quick break for lunch. They waited an extra fifteen minutes but Hongjoong didn't appear. They ended up returning to practicing until late into the evening before Seonghwa decided to end things.

"Alright, we've been going at it all day. You all deserve a break. Our show's tomorrow, so for the rest of tonight I want you all to rest. Just relax, have fun, enjoy yourselves. Okay?"

The members stared at him in surprise.

"Are you sure? What if Hongjoong hyung wants to rehearse?" Mingi asked.

"It's okay. I don't think he'll make it back until late tonight. You guys go on ahead."

The members cheered excitedly, and Seonghwa joined their circle to celebrate with them.

"I know! Why don't we all go down to pool! We haven't done anything as a whole group but practice for weeks!" Wooyoung suggested and everyone seemed to agree.

The members rushed back to their rooms to change and Seonghwa made his way to his dorm, pulling out his phone to text Hongjoong the plan. After sending the message, he quickly changed and headed down to the pool area with everyone else.

The younger members all raced to take turns jumping off the diving board so Seonghwa made his way over to the hot tub to relax on his own for a while.

He laid his neck back, resting his head on the cool tiled wall and let his eyes slide shut.

After a few minutes, he was startled as a chorus of "Hongjoong hyung!"'s filled the air and he opened his eyes. Hongjoong smiled, waving to everyone but he immediately turned to make eye contact with Seonghwa.

And he smiled.

Seonghwa felt his face heat up.

Out of excitement.

And out of sheer panic at how fucking got his boyfriend looked in a pair of swim trunks.

Hongjoong quickly made his way over to the hot tub, slipping in next to Seonghwa. Seonghwa immediately pulled him in close, enclosing his smaller frame with his long arms.

"So?"

"We're getting everyone the fuck out of here."

Seonghwa's face lit up in excitement.

"Really?!"

"You were right. Eden said that he knows a lot of people on JYP's staff and he couldn't possibly have the kind of connections to blacklist one of his idols. He's just trying to scare them. And us."

"He's sure?"

"He's sure."

Seonghwa smiled, pulling Hongjoong in for a kiss. His warm, wet hands held onto Hongjoong's sides, his arms wrapped across his broad back. Hongjoong smiled, letting out a small laugh that danced across Seonghwa's lips.

"I think they're all watching."

Seonghwa turned just as the younger members all turned back to their activities in the pool. He shook his head leaning back in for more. But Hongjoong put a finger on his lips.

"I'm not done. He said there's nothing he can do about the contracts as it stands right now. But, if an outside observer provides first-hand testimony, we can help to take JYP down for his scare tactics. Legally."

"You mean...KQ is going to take legal action? On our behalf?"

"They really liked what Stray Kids had to offer. And they were really upset when they heard what JYP had done to them. So they want to help in any way they can. And they have the resources to try. So if we agree to talk, we can help take him down."

Seonghwa couldn't believe what he was saying. They could help everyone. If they proved what JYP had done, all of the groups he was hurting would be free.

And they didn't need to worry about consequences. He couldn't hurt them.

Not when they had KQ on their side.

"We can really do this," Seonghwa smiled, laying his head on Hongjoong's shoulder.

"Yeah. We can."

Hongjoong wrapped his arm around Seonghwa's side, giving him a tight squeeze.

"I'm so excited to tell everyone."

"I know. They're just so excited to perform as eight. I want them to feel the full extent of their abilities. Before we tell them."

"Me too. They've really come so far."

"Our babies are all grown up," Hongjoong smiled and Seonghwa chuckled softly.

And Hongjoong didn't even know how hard they'd worked for him. He had no idea how much the members were anticipating the big performance.

They weren't the only ones who would be surprised tomorrow.