Author POV, 7/22

"HEY EVERYONE!!!" a female voice called and the door got kicked open. 

"???" The room was silent for quite some time.

"Uh...guys? It's me~ I brought Chaeryeong and Felix! And Han!" she exclaimed.

"Who's 'me'?" Jiyoung joked. She was laughing her butt off, even though she knew who it really was.

"ITS RYUJIN, DUMBOS!" she yelled, with her face becoming pink with exasperation. She could not deal with all of the crazy people who worked for this mafia anymore.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA we knew it was you, Ryujinnie!" Chan laughed, and slapped her shoulder. I don't think Ryujinnie particularly enjoyed that, but what am I supposed to know... 

"What am I doing here?!" Han(nie) asked with the hint of the quokka cuteness in his eyes. (btw, in the comments, take a guess who my bias is, and tell me urs! HINT: I have like multiple alr...forgive me!!!)

"Ryujin....why did you bring him here?" Lee Know asked, with a look of seriousness now on his face.

"CUZ HE'S YOUR BOYFRIEND!" Ryujin retorted, with her vivid smile still on, until she realized too late that he was being serious. Ryujin, why'd you do that? 

"That's not my point...." he sighed.

"I brought him because he was awake and heard my plans. And what could hurt with another person in the group?" she explained.

"You were the one who thought of bringing everyone from Itzy and Stray Kids, not Ryujin," Yeji shrugged, and continued to fiddle with her phone charms.

"Ok, ok....I'm sorry!" Lee Know exasperated, flinging his arms up into the air. Like that's going to help with anything.

"C'mon now, we got business to get down on!" Jiyoung exclaimed, as she skipped towards meeting hall surrounded by ornate garnishes and decorations. 

"This is Noctavrynth HQ," Lee Know said, pointing at the whiteboard covered in chaotic arrows and circles. "Their defenses suck because no one's dumb enough to mess with them. I did it. Got past the guards. Easy. Now, if we go this way..." He jabbed the board. "Then here...and exit there." 

"You're saying we're invading their HQ?!" Yeji asked, her voice rising. "What about our HQ?"

"Our HQ will be fine," Ji-Eun replied, calm as always. "The guards and maids have basic training."

"Basic?!" Yeji snapped. "What if they retaliate? What if—"

"They won't," Ji-Eun cut in, still fiddling with something in her pocket.

Yeji glared. "What are you even doing?"

"Thinking," Ji-Eun said with a shrug.

Meanwhile, Lee Know kept adding more arrows. "Distraction here, reinforcements blocked there...simple."

"Simple?!" Yeji threw her hands up. "You act like we're walking into a coffee shop!"

Lee Know finally looked up. "We are, if the coffee shop had terrible security."

"Insane," Yeji muttered. "I hate all of you."

Sakura gasped dramatically. "I'm offended, Yeji! How dare you hate me?"

Ji-young chimed in, mock-pouting. "Ahem! I'm your bestie, and you hate me?"

Ryujin threw her hand over her chest in exaggerated disbelief. "You're crazy for hating me, Chaeryeong, Han, and Hyunjin!"

Hyunjin just grinned. "Wow, Yeji. All that hate. What happened to love and loyalty?"

Yeji groaned loudly, rubbing her temples. "This is my nightmare."

But the smirk tugging at her lips betrayed her.

"YOU GUYS! THIS IS NOT A COMEDY TIME! THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS!" Lee Know yelled.

"Yes, Mr. Serious Businessman!" Han yelled and started singing a random song. Barbie Girl, to be exact. "I'M A BARBIE GIRL, IN A BARBIE WORLD~ LIFE IN PLASTIC, ITS HORRIBLE! YOU CAN'T BRUSH MY HAIR, DON'T UNDRESS ME EVERYWHERE! THAT VIOLATES PERSONAL SPACEEEE! HELLO BARBIE LET'S GO PARTY~ AH HAH NAHHH HELLO BARBIE LETS GO PARTY OOH YEAH NO~!" 

The whole room erupted in laughter and howls as they listened to Han's remix of Barbie Girl. I mean, let's be for real, it is hilarious.

"I was trying to explain a plan, dumbos!" Lee Know mumbled, still shaking his head from laughter.

"This is so not professional...." Chan whined and put his head in his hand.

"I...can't! HAN JISUNG THIS IS THE BEST THING I'VE HEARD IN THE PAST 48 HOURS!" Jiyoung wheezed, as she fell of her chair (like always), to join Felix who was already under the table laughing his butt off. 

"Hannie! I swear you're crazy!" Momo sighed and facepalmed. I mean, she's kind of right... On the other hand, here Ryujin was sitting in the corner shaking her head while a smirk crept up her face, and Chaeryeong in utter disbelief with what was going on during her first thirty minutes of being introduced to the mafia world. 

Yeji, who had been silently observing the madness, sighed and muttered, "Why am I here?" But even she couldn't help but crack a smile as Han continued with his performance and remix of Barbie Girl. Classic.

"GUYS WAIT! I HAVE A QUESTION!!!!" Felix yelled once the chaos died down and everyone (including him) were back in their seats.

"Yes...?" Ji-Eun asked with a look of care towards him.

"Why am I here? I'm no one's sibling here...unlike Chaeryeong," he asked.

"RyuRyu, you were supposed to explain!" Yeji groaned.

"And why am I here? I'm no Lee or Hwang! I'm a Han!" Hannie groaned with an internal monologue of what he was doing here, on the verge of life becoming a life filled with imminent threats every step and turn he took.

"Because. The mafia world is in grave danger. The Noctavyrnth had fallen, and now they have all of their power back. And it's the worst thing that could happen. With the Parks, and the Noctavyrnth attacking, who knows what could happen," Lee Know calmly explained. "That's why we needed the maximum amount of people here. We can't fall. We've risked that already too many times. The world is becoming more dystopian-like every hour of our existence, and soon enough if we can't protect the normal civilians from the truth,  everything will become depressing, and harsh for everyone."

"Oh..." Felix said. The room fell silent. The laughter and chitter-chatter disappeared, as the reality dawned upon the newbies. 

"I'm sorry you had to learn about it this way," Sakura smiled apologetically. No one wanted to be here, and she completely understood. She peeked towards the mafia boss, and was mesmerized by him. His charms, his seriousness, and his nice, cute self towards the fans attracted her. She couldn't get her thoughts off of him. Lee Minho. He was the one.

"Hey, it will be alright. I only figured it out...about...12 hours ago, so we've got this, Felix, Chaer, and Han." Jiyoung reassured, smiling warmly like her sweet disposition that never left. While she was a Lee, she could never help the fact of her being nice to all of her friends and family. Towards enemies, that was different. While a weight was lifted off of Hyunjin's shoulders from hearing his jagi speak these wise words, he couldn't help but feel a sense of jealousy towards her friends and cousin, Felix. How she reassured them, made him feel neglected. Towards the side. And he knew, deep inside, that feeling this way was wrong. But he couldn't help it. He needed her more than anything, after the whirlwind of things that had happened to him the past 24 hours. And he was going to get her. His love for her wasn't ending anytime soon. 

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