Heeseung laughed. "That's impossible. You sure Kun sunbaenim wasn't playing a joke on you?"
Jake shook his head. "Hyung, we're serious. He said you need to watch your back."
"And he heavily implied that this was bad," Kai added. "Really bad."
"Okay." Heeseung resumed looking at files on his newly-repaired tracker-free phone, ignoring the green chip showcased in Kai's palm.
Soobin eyed him warily. "I think you might be in denial."
"I'm not in denial."
"He's definitely in denial," Ni-ki reported.
Soobin sat down, putting an arm around Heeseung's shoulders. "Do you remember that time when we were trainees, and a kid broke his ankle the day before our monthly evaluations?"
Heeseung nodded. "It was all anybody talked about for like, three weeks."
"Yeah, well, not many of you know that the kid tried doing his evaluation anyway. He ended up causing permanent damage to the nerves in his foot and got kicked out of the company."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"So you don't end up like him," Soobin sighed wistfully. "Admit you have a problem, and take the right steps to fix it before it's too late."
He rubbed Heeseung's upper arms, warming him up. "You've just received some pretty scary news. Denial is a natural coping mechanism, but you can't let it blindsight you."
Heeseung stared at the floor. As ridiculous as it sounded, a tracker in his phone would explain a lot of things, like how the sasaeng kept finding them and why nobody could seem to catch her. Deep down, he knew Soobin was right. He just didn't want to face the possibility that he put his friends in danger.
"It's not your fault," Sunghoon whispered, reading his mind.
Daniel nodded in agreement. "The tracker could've been placed in any one of our-"
"Shit." Heeseung stood up, crossing the room to close the blinds. "We can't guarantee that all of your phones are safe."
Yeonjun smiled. "There's the paranoiac we know and lov-"
"Hand them over, your laptops too. We'll keep them in the hallway closet; I think Yoongi hyung has some walkie talkies that we can-"
Beomgyu laughed loudly. "Nice try, but you're not getting our phones. Sunghoon, say something."
"Oh, um. Yes." The boy looked up, patting Heeseung's foot awkwardly. "Sit down. Don't do that."
Heeseung took a seat on the floor, settling for holding Sunghoon's hand instead. "Alright, well, what do you all suggest?"
"Nothing." Jungwon stared off into space. "We just stay vigilant and hope for the best."
Sunoo frowned. "If that was the bad news, then what's the good news?"
Kai dropped a wad of cash into Heeseung's lap. "Kun sunbaenim fixed it for free."
"Oh, that was nice of him," Soobin smiled. "We should write a thank-you note."
"Hey, uh, not to get us sidetracked, but aren't we missing something pretty important?" Taehyun cracked his knuckles. "How, and when, did the sasaeng place the tracker?"
"I have no idea." Heeseung shook his head. "My phone's always with me."
"Have you lost it recently?" Jay asked.
"No, I don't think-"
"Yeah, he has," Ni-ki cut it. "Right before the getaway, remember? We spent a whole fifteen minutes looking for it."
