Jongho didn't take his eyes of Seonghwa and Wooyoung the entire time Mingi retold his story.

Hongjoong had been placed behind the counter so they didn't need to worry about him right now, but Jongho could tell that Seonghwa was lethal.

Just the way he carried himself spoke a thousand words. His eyes were always narrowed in a glare, shoulders squared, and forehead creased with either concern or deep thought.

Wooyoung, on the other hand, couldn't seem to stay still. He was constantly shifting his weight from foot to foot and it was like he couldn't decide if he should look at Mingi while he spoke or at Seonghwa.

That was one thing Jongho knew had to be true from Mingi's story. It was obvious that Wooyoung was head over heels for Seonghwa. Jongho would be inclined to call it pathetic if he hadn't seen the soft twinkle in Yeosang's eyes at the sight. It made him instantly pull the older to him and kiss the side of his head.

Mingi somehow managed to get through the entire story without getting too emotional, but at the end his eyes lingered on Wooyoung and he looked liked he could break down again.

"And you all believe this story?" Seonghwa asked finally, looking between everyone gathered around Mingi.

"Yes." Yeosang said immediately. "Mingi has proven himself to all of us in one way for another." He gave Jongho a hard glance when the younger shifted in place a little. "And I can show you all the data to prove it. He took a lie detector test for me and passed with no issue."

"So you're still a hacker now?"

"Yes."

Seonghwa rubbed the back of his neck. "I just..."

"I know..." Mingi closed his eyes and bowed his head. "I know this is a lot to take in, and hearing about everything Mercer did. I'm sure you must be close in this life, and I don't want to invalidate that, but..."

"You already have," Seonghwa snapped. His eyes grew dark and his hand twitched at his side. "You honestly expect me to believe that my father would do something like th..." Even though he had started heated, Seonghwa suddenly stopped and his eyes fogged over.

Something was flashing across Seonghwa's mind, something bad...

Jongho watched as his mouth slowly opened and he turned his head to glance down at Wooyoung. Who, Jongho now realized, he had forgotten to check on for a few minutes.

The boy's eyes were swimming with tears and he was wringing his wrists in front of his stomach. J

Seonghwa turned to him fully and stooped down a little. "Woo?" He lifted his hands up to try and comfort Wooyoung, but the younger stepped back.

"It-t all makes s-sense." He said, trying to hold back his sobs while shaking his head. "Everything." A small hiccup escaped and Wooyoung turned away. "H-He always said he b-blamed me, that it-t was all my fault."

"What?" Mingi took a step forward.

"It's true." San added softly. Everyone turned to look at him where he was standing holding hands with Yunho. The couple glanced at each other before San stepped forward, making Wooyoung flinch and move back. San bit his lip and stopped before continuing. "Now that I'm starting to get a clearer head, I remember all the things I had witnessed... Mercer... and the things he did, are unforgivable." On the last word he glared at Seonghwa, who looked completely taken aback. "And he was always saying Wooyoung was at fault."

Wooyoung shifted in place and continued not to look at anyone. "Then why didn't you do anything?" His voice was barely above a whisper. "If you knew it was bad, why didn't you try to stop him?"

"Because I was blinded by what he did to me too." San pursed his lips and continued to glare at Seonghwa. "The real question is, why didn't you do anything to help either of us?" There was venom laced in every word.

Jongho shook up a little straighter and pulled Yeosang behind him. He didn't like where this was going and he wasn't about to let anything happen. He was even prepared to pull Mingi back.

All eyes fell on Seonghwa, who had his tongue shoved into his right cheek and was staring at the floor.

That angered San even more. He started to tremble in place and his lip curled in a snarl. "You knew, didn't you? YOU KNEW!"

Yunho stepped forward and tried to pull him back, but San just yanked his arm away and kept glaring at Seonghwa.

"You knew your father had turned me into some kind of sick experiment. A different kind of toy for him to use. His perfect killer. Was this all a part of your plan too?" San started waving his hands around while talking. "He sent us all back in time so that he could have his perfect life. What else could he need when he's going everything he's wanted. His killer." He slapped his own chest. "His slave." He jerked a hand at Wooyoung. "And his heir." He snarled, pointing at Seonghwa.

The deadly silence that fell over them was worse than any previous silence. No one dared move and been the next one attacked by San's rage.

"I'm not his slave." Wooyoung said finally. He still wasn't looking at anyone, but he had squared his shoulders and was slowly twisting a knife around in his fingers. "Not anymore. I'm never going back to him."

"We won't let that happen anyway," Mingi said quickly, "If you stay with us, we will protect you. I promise."

Wooyoung finally looked up and focused solely on the thief. "Did all that really happen? Even me asking you to push the button?"

"Yes. I swear, everything I told you really happened. If... If I had known that this is what your life would have been like..."

"Mingi you can't go there." Yeosang said gently. "If you hadn't, Seonghwa would be dead, and honestly, the rest of us probably would be too. We will never know what would happen."

Jongho clenched his jaw and tilted his head from side to side. This was all getting to be too much for him. If it wasn't for the test Yeosang had put Mingi through, there was no way he would be here right now. And watching the other's slowly fall apart wasn't helping.

"Can we all just take some time to calm down?" Yeosang moved forward to stand between everyone. "This is a lot for all of us, and I know everyone needs time to process things in their own way. Let's just... pick a corner of the store and figure things out, and then we can make any decision from there." He turned so he could look at everyone one by one. "Does that sound fair?"

He received a nods all around, except from Jongho, who immediately took his hand and dragged him to the front door so they could be the barrier anyone else had to get through.

"What's wrong?" Yeosang asked, lifting a hand up to cup his cheek.

Jongho leaned into the touch and placed his hand on top of Yeosang's. "This is all so much. I... I don't know if I can do this Sangie." He could feel the strain in his own voice as he spoke and he hated it.

Especially when Yeosang pulled his hand away. "What are you talking about?"

"Things were so much simpler before all of this... Things just keep getting worse and we still have no idea how we are even going to take down this Mercer guy. And now everyone is fighting and, this is all just so crazy!"

Yeosang's face hardened and he crossed his arms. "So then why are you even here?"

Jongho's head shook back and forth a little. "What do you mean?"

"You have been fighting this every step of the way! Do you not trust me? Do you not trust my judgement?"

"Of course I do, Sangie. You know I do." Jongho tried to take his love's hands again, but Yeosang just stepped back. "Sangie..."

"I have done everything you've wanted. I uprooted my life, I moved into your warehouse, set up a security system for you, monitor your fighting ring, make sure everything runs smoothly for you, and now that I want to show my support elsewhere you just can't seem to accept it can you?"

His words sliced through Jongho like softened butter. He was completely speechless and confused. "That's..."

"That's exactly what it is, Jongho. You think this whole idea is crazy, which also means that you hate being here! Am I wrong?" Yeosang crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, no- I- Yeosang, why ar-" Jongho sputtered.

"That's what I thought." Yeosang sighed and shook his head. "If you can't support this mission and help us make things better... then just leave."

Jongho felt like the ground was yanked out from under him as he watched Yeosang walk over to where Mingi was standing by himself looking so out of place. He tried to process what just happened, but the only thing he could think of was the disappointment in Yeosang's eyes...

.

.

.

.

"Are you ok?" Yeosang asked gently. He stopped in front of Mingi and reached over to take his hand.

"I guess." The thief closed his eyes and leaned back against a window. "I don't know what I was expecting. But this... wasn't it." He gave a sarcastic chuckle before running his fingers through his hair.

"I know. But we are going to get through it. I think Wooyoung may believe us, especially after what San said. Seonghwa though..."

Mingi nodded. "I know. I expected him to be the hardest though. As much of a sick bastard as he may be, I do think that Mercer does love him. It's a different take on love, but it's still love. He'd do anything for Seonghwa."

"Yeah, that's what you made it sound like." Yeosang chewed on his bottom lip. "Do... Do you think we could use that? If Seonghwa decides to work with us, maybe we can use him as bait?"

"I don't know. It's what we unintentionally did last time, so I don't know if Mercer would expect that again or not. And by now he will already know that he lost San. That headband is amazing." Mingi flashed a crooked smile before glancing at where San and Yunho were standing in their own corner.

Yeosang followed his gaze and smiled at the sight.

Yunho was standing against the wall with San whispering angrily to him. It was easy to see that San was still upset by their conversation, but Yunho just had an amused smile on his face. After a moment, he gently grabbed the back of San's head and pulled him close.

San instantly relaxed and wrapped his arms around Yunho's chest while nuzzling his nose against Yunho's neck.

It was sweet. But it hurt at the same time. Yeosang closed his eyes and turned his head away.

He didn't really know what to feel right now. Ever since Mingi showed up things had been tense between him and Jongho, and he hated it. He loved Jongho more than anything in the world, and ye would to anything for the fighter.

This was different though... For once Yeosang had something else he wanted to fight for. He wanted to be more than just the back room person, or Jongho's support.

He believed everything Mingi was telling him, and he wanted to do the right thing.

The Wolf Pack needed to be taken down. They had spent too much time ruling over mankind.

And Mingi... Mingi needed to be made whole again. For not knowing him well, Yeosang found himself attached to the thief. He wanted to protect him, and take care of him.

If anyone deserved happiness at the end of this, it was Mingi, and Yeosang would do whatever it took to make sure that happened.