𝒮ℴ𝓊𝓁𝓂𝒶𝓉ℯ𝓈 | 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓊𝓃ℊ |

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉ℯ𝓇 XLII

Minho walked out the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel, when he heard a few knocks. Letting the towel drape around his neck, he opened the door, revealing Hyunjin and a nervous looking Jeongin standing behind him. "Come in", he allowed the two to enter, noticing the tense atmosphere. "Hyung, Jeongin has something he'd like to talk about". Jeongin's heartbeat could practically be heard due to the rapid speed it was going. He looked towards Hyunjin, who gave him a look of reassurance. 

"Go on", Minho provoked, patting the spot on the bed next to him. Jeongin waddled over with his head held low. "Hyung, first I want to apologize, to both you and Jisung hyung, I'm sorry, I really am". Minho was confused, nonetheless, he remained silent. "You two were separated because of me, if I hadn't told Master Lee you weren't living alone, none of this would have happened. If I hadn't told Master Lee the day you went to the mall, Changbin hyung wouldn't have been hurt. If I hadn't told Master Lee about Hyunjin hyung sneaking out, he and Seungmin hyung wouldn't have separated, it's all my fault". 

Minho sat there in shock, letting the words spoken sink in. Rather than being upset, he knew Jeongin wouldn't do this without having his own reasoning, so he simply remained calm. "Why did you tell him all this?" he asked in a gentle manner. "He told me to spy for him, and at first I thought it was because he was worried about you, but later on I realized it was far from that". Minho let out a scoff, because he was worried? Just the sound of that made him want to laugh. 

"The day he caught me at the warehouse Jisung hyung was taken, he called me into his office. I told him I didn't want to do this, but he threatened to hurt my grandma!". Minho clenched his fists, not at all because he was upset at the younger, but at the fact such a sweet person like Jeongin even had to go through any of this. "I really wanted to stop, but I couldn't stop thinking about my grandma, I'm so sorry hyung". 

Minho gently wiped the tears that were running down the younger's face. "Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for. You did what you had to do. Anyone else in your position would've done the same, don't blame yourself, hm?". Jeongin let out a sob, tackling the elder into a tight hug, one that spoke just how grateful he was, "Thank you hyung!". Minho let out a chuckle, patting his back. "But I can't continue this, I don't want to do this anymore hyung". 

He let out a sigh, crossing his legs, going into thinking. He wanted to use every moment to his advantage, and found a way this moment could be perfectly incorporated into his plan. "Seems like you got something in mind" Hyunjin figured, noticing the way Minho slowly nodded to himself. "Felix had agreed to work as my father's bodyguard, instead he'll serve as his spy. Jeongin, I'll arrange a living space for you for the time being, staging it as if I had caught you going behind his back. Felix will then be brought in as a replacement". 

Jeongin sat there shocked as to how the elder had thought up of such an elaborate plan within minutes, whereas Hyunjin being used to it was already jotting down notes, keeping track of what was said and filling in the missing details. "All right, we should meet up with the two and discuss this with them, I'll let Seungmin know so he can update CEO Han". Minho nodded, turning towards Jeongin. 

"Go get some rest, don't be hard on yourself, alright?" he ruffled the younger's soft pink hair, earning a small giggle. "Thank you Minho hyung" he beamed a bright smile, before walking out the room, this time with much more ease. He had been so scared, but after meeting a certain someone, a feeling stronger than fear had taken over. He knew as long as that person, along with all the friends he had met were by his side, nothing could go wrong.