TTBTS= The Truth Behind That Smile
[ONGOING]
A new girl comes out of nowhere, and she reminds Han of a lot of something painful from his past. And the fact that Felix starts trusting her so easily didn't sit right with him.
"U INCONSIDERATE UNTHANK...
For a few moments, all anyone could hear was silence.
A very awkward and uncomfortable silence.
That was before everyone spoke up simultaneously, resulting in Chan hitting the coffee table with his hand.
"SHUT YOUR HOLES!" he yelled.
Everyone fell silent.
"One at a time," Chan said, calmly this time. "I can't hear anything if all of you speak together."
No one spoke.
"I'll start myself," Chan sighed. "First about Hajun and Yumi. The couple is back but not like last time. They have a different target this time. Not a target, but more of a mission. Something about smuggling and all that boring stuff. And no, it's not human smuggling this time."
"Are we getting involved?" Seungmin asked, holding Jeongin protectively who seemed very uncomfortable.
Before Chan could speak, Han started speaking.
"No. We can't get involved. We quit it all. You said it yourself. Chan?"
Chan was looking at his feet.
"No way..." Felix murmured.
"Look, it's not- we-" Chan sighed, sitting down cross-legged. "Yes, we will get involved whether we like it or not. But not directly. A bit behind the screens, nothing much. Hopefully. But it's fine if you don't want to get involved. I can take care of it all. Just wanted to let you guys know beforehand to avoid any... misunderstanding."
"Bold of you to assume we'd let you go through everything alone," Changbin scoffed.
"What he said," Hyunjin said, pointing towards Changbin.
"It's not about me," Chan exhaled. "Seungmin?"
Seungmin perked up. Chan pointed at Jeongin and then up. Seungmin seemed to get his point.
"I think I heard something upstairs. Might be Chae," he stood up, pulling Jeongin with him. "Come with me." And they both went upstairs as six pairs of eyes followed them.
"It's about him. He won't admit but he still has PTSD," Minho spoke.
"So... We do what now?" Han questioned. "We can ask him if he wants to go to therapy again but what if he doesn't want to?"
The last time they asked Jeongin to go to therapy because of it, he flipped. Screamed and cried about how he thought everyone hated him. Calming him down was hard so they never talked about it again. No matter what, they kept him behind the screens with someone to take care of him in case he got triggered or something.
"I'll talk to him," Minho volunteered. "I think I can convince him this time."
Chan raised an eyebrow in confusion but Minho refused to make eye contact.
"It's fine if you don't want to explain, but just know we'll always be here for you," Chan smiled at him, and Minho finally made eye contact.
"I want to go to therapy too," he said, quickly averting his eyes, picking at his hoodie seams. "I know I need it too. For multiple reasons."
No one said a word as Han silently stood up from his position and sat next to Minho, side-hugging him. Minho made a disgusted expression.
"Okay, that's it. Too much sappiness. Stop looking at me like that," he looked pointedly at Hyunjin who quickly scooted a bit away from him, gulping.
"So if we come back, just as you put it, what are we back as, then?" Felix questioned.
"As Stray Kids of course," Changbin grinned.
"Stray Kids are back!" Hyunjin jumped, raising his fist in the air.
"Wait wait, hold up," Minho interrupted. "You said something about Yoona too. Elaboration?"
"Oh yeah, forgot about that," Chan muttered.
He was about to continue when he saw Seungmin returning. He sat down and huffed.
"Tucked him in with Chae but I'm pretty sure he's hiding somewhere and eavesdropping," he muttered, and as if on cue, they heard a loud thud, followed by some cursing.
"Just come out, it's fine," Chan said, at which Jeongin walked from behind a wall.
"Stop with all the secrets. I feel left out," he said, flopping down next to Hyunjin who just picked him up and put him in his lap, cuddling him. "I want to know the whole tea."
"Other tea, Minho will spill. For now, there's a different matter," Chan said, getting serious again. "Yoona was murdered and her parents have been out of the city ever since they closed Chae's case. Also, Yoona's case had no investigation. 'Died of cardiac arrest' is how her death is registered. No autopsy was done, no authorities were involved. It just doesn't sit right with me."
"Are you implying that her parents killed her?" Jeongin asked.
"Maybe. I mean, it is a possibility."
"We'll investigate it then? Get evidence and get them caught and all that?" Han questioned.
"Yes. We'll get her the justice she deserves."
"I love that stuff," Seungmin giggled. "Reminds me of Sherlock Holmes."
"And now, the final talk of the night," Chan started, multiple groans stopping him. "Shush it. It's important. Han?"
"Hmm?"
"It's about your friends."
He left Minho's embrace and sat straight.
"I did a minor background check and they're welcome here. Not for too long though. A month at max. I'll talk to them in a few days and share all details with them. But they are not allowed to know about Stray Kids. The real ones. No getting them into this marsh. They stay out of this and we have ourselves a deal."
At this point, Han was jumping with happiness. Nodding excitedly, he jumped on Chan, embracing him in a hug.
"Y'all can go to sleep now. We start in a few days."
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A/N: Was going through old chapters and it kinda makes me sad that exactly one year ago, this book was kinda going well and I just started ignoring it because of my problems, and yeah. Sorry book. But I'll work harder on it now :]
I want everything to unfold slowly and want to update more so chapters are short hehe.
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