The Puppeteer; minsung

Let's get started.

"Jisung. Up."

Those two words woke Jisung the next day. They were spoken by a rough voice that he recognized as Changbin's. Jisung reluctantly sat up, rubbing his eyes and blinking owlishly.

Changbin stood in his doorway, shifting impatiently. "Let's go. We've got a meeting in ten."

"Meeting?" Jisung repeated. Wasn't he supposed to sleep in today? Guanheng hadn't mentioned a meeting. Unless, of course...

"With Hyejin. Hurry up."

Jisung immediately threw himself out of bed, ignoring his protesting limbs, and got dressed as quickly as he could. He splashed some cold water on his face in an attempt to wake up. For some reason, he just felt sluggish. What time is it? He wondered. Feels like six. It better not be.

A glance at the clock on his wall showed it to be nine fifty-two, which meant their meeting was probably at ten. Three minutes later, he and Changbin were walking down the hall, Jisung struggling not to trip over his drowsy feet.

As they were walking, Changbin said, "This is the first and only time I'm going to wake you up for a meeting. From now on, you're going to have to find your way here."

At first, Jisung was confused as to where "here" was. It was just a regular hallway: curtains, carpet, the occasional door. Hazy morning sunlight created patterns on the walls. It looked like any other hall in the mansion.

But when Changbin pushed aside a curtain to reveal a scanner, Jisung realized that this was one of those ways to get backstage.

"This is the passage we usually use. Since you've got Bullet-level access, you could just activate it with your ID. For now, though..." Changbin knocked on the wall beside the scanner. A few seconds passed, then the wall split in two along invisible seams. The divided pieces both slid inwards and to the sides, just as the bookshelf had done. Except this time, instead of an empty hallway being revealed, Felix was standing there.

"Morning!" Felix greeted them. "We've got a lot of planning ahead of us. Right this way, boys."

Changbin glared at him. "We've been meeting in the same spot for the past year. I think I know my way around by—there's someone coming."

Felix immediately pulled both of them into the tunnel by their forearms and practically slammed his wrist down on the scanner. The wall slid shut, leaving the three of them in a windowless, gray passage. Jisung wondered how anyone found their way around here when everything looked the exact same.

Footsteps echoed up the tunnel towards them. Changbin risked a peek around the corner, despite Felix's efforts to stop him from doing so.

"It's just a Puppet," Changbin said, exasperation in his voice. "They just turned the other way, and you're paranoid."

"I'm not paranoid," Felix grumbled. "Just worried about you. Remember the last time a Puppet walked in on a meeting?"

"Yes, and I'm glad she did. Yoorim's been a great help," Changbin shot back.

"After she nearly ratted us out."

Jisung could only stand there and listen. It was nice to get some backstory, but it was confusing. It was like watching a new show, except starting from somewhere in the middle of it. Information kept getting thrown at him, and he was having trouble piecing it together into a coherent image.

Okay, so far... Jisung tried to organize the timeline. Felix and Hyejin are related somehow. He said something about her "moving in", so maybe they're adoptive siblings? They come here often, but Felix wasn't supposed to be doing that. His dad sent him here to be a Rose, except he traded places with me.

Jisung thought that made sense. Now he just had to figure out where Changbin came into the picture. They won't mind me asking, right? Tentatively, Jisung said, "Uh, I don't mean to be nosy, but how'd you two meet?"

Felix patted him on the back. "Nah, don't sweat it; we're happy to answer any questions you've got. Right, Binnie?" It wasn't more a threat than a question. "But yeah, when Hyejin first brought me here, Binnie was my guide. He showed me around, helped me settle in, and after the first couple visits, we were inseparable. Still are."

"Are not," Changbin said. "He's just clingy as hell, and I'm too lazy to get rid of him."

"You love me, admit it!" Felix slung an arm around Changbin's shoulders. The shorter boy glared at him, but he didn't make Felix move. Or deny what he'd said.

They soon reached a smooth grey door with nothing but a keypad mounted next to it. No scanner; just a code, which Felix punched in with ease. "If you ever need to get in, the code's 982. This is our meeting room," he said, gesturing to the space. "Luxury real estate right here, I know."

That was definitely sarcasm. It was small; just another drab gray room. A table with several chairs was in the middle, Yoorim and Hyejin seated at it. A small stack of paper sat in front of Yoorim, who was tapping a pencil against the metal table. Hyejin looked as sophisticated as ever. Despite it being early, her hair was immaculately done; her clothes spotless. In comparison, Yoorim's plain black attire made her blend into the background.

Jisung sat down between Changbin and Yoorim. The tall girl nodded at him in greeting, making Jisung wonder why she never talked. Why no Puppet talked, for that matter. He didn't have a chance to ask why, because Felix interrupted his thought process.

With a conspiratorial grin, Felix said, "Let's get started."