San did everything he could to stay by Yunho's side over the next couple of days. Mostly to make sure the driver was actually resting, but also for his own selfish reasons.

He never wanted to be away from him again. Those few hours he had been standing in front of Mercer had been the worst moments of San's life, and he had spent the entire time wishing Yunho had been there to give him strength.

When everyone had been in decent enough shape to travel, Dr. Kim helped get them back to Hongjoong's base where they could stay and rest for as long as they needed.

Hongjoong, Yeosang, and Seonghwa were the least wounded out of the group, so they became the caretakers.

Which became a surprisingly easy job now that Mercer had released his clutches on the city.

The first day Yeosang had returned from getting groceries for them, he was giddy with excitement, saying that the people were in the streets celebrating and throwing the biggest party.

He had quickly sent out his drones and pulled all available screens into the medical room for everyone who was awake to watch.

It was all true. The public gathered in large numbers holding anything that was bright and colorful that could be waved around. They danced and sang, throwing flowers or streamers or confetti.

According to Yeosang, all Pack activity had stopped. No one had been robbed, held at gun point, or threatened, and businesses were thriving again.

That had all started a week ago now.

San couldn't believe it. They had actually succeeded.

He turned to look at where Wooyoung was sitting up in bed with the widest smile on his face. He too looked at San and the smile grew even bigger if possible. Then Wooyoung reached for him and San hurried to his side to take his hand.

"Isn't it wonderful, Sannie?" The younger asked. It was easy to see that he was having a hard time controlling his joy by how he squirmed in place.

"It is." San nodded. "It is."

Every day that passed without incident was another day that San felt lighter. Even below ground, the happiness in the city was contagious.

The only thing that would make it better would be if Jongho and Mingi would wake up.

Whereas San had some broken bruises and re-injured others, Yunho still needed to recover from the car accident, and Wooyoung had his lower leg in a cast after Dr. Kim had operated on his leg to realign it after the bon had been split in two, neither Jongho nor Mingi had shown any signs of waking up since coming back to the base.

Dr. Kim was worried about brain damage with their youngest member after San told him about ripping the headband off and the seizure Jongho had experienced. However, all scans he had done came back normal, so he was optimistic that Jongho was going to be alright.

When he wasn't out shopping or doing something for someone else, Yeosang sat and slept by his side.

And Hongjoong did the same for Mingi.

All of them worried for their two friends.

For San, he was afraid of what would happen to them if they couldn't be whole. This was the first place he truly considered his home, and these people were his family.

Ten days after they had returned home, San let out a long sigh from where he was cuddled into Yunho's side. "What are we going to do now?" He asked, tilting his head back to look up at the older.

"What do you mean?" Yunho asked, his voice slightly husky, indicating he had been dozing. His fingers drifted lazily back and forth over San's arm.

"Well, Mercer is gone and the city is free. What now?"

Yunho froze and peeled open one eye to stare at San. "I don't know. But I don't think that's something we need to worry about now. I think we've deserved some time off." He chuckled while closing his eye once more.

San poked his cheek with his tongue and sat up. "I'm serious Yunie... I've never not had a purpose or some goal to pursue. What am I supposed to do now?"

The older opened both eyes now and flashed an adoring smile. "There's nothing wrong with that. We all have a new challenge ahead of us, and it's going to be even more difficult for us because this city is going to change too. But no matter what path we chose, I will be there to help you every step of the way." He grabbed San's hand and laced their fingers together.

Just hearing those words made San feel so much better. He opened his mouth to speak again when a gasp interrupted him.

"Oh!" Yeosang stood up so fast he knocked over his chair. San turned around to see him leaning over Jongho and holding his cheek.

Then Jongho's eyes slowly opened.

"Baby, you're awake!" Yeosang leaned a little closer and bit his lip. "Jongho, baby?"

Jongho blinked several times and looked around the room. It looked like he was working his jaw back and forth, almost like he was trying to stretch it or even just playing with his tongue a little.

Yeosang started to look worried, but he didn't rush Jongho.

Dr. Kim must have noticed a change in Jongho's vitals, because he appeared and stood off to the side, watching everything.

It took several minutes for Jongho to focus on Yeosang, and when he did his eyes grew wide. "S- S- Sa-"

"It's ok, my love, don't speak. Just nod or shake your head if you can, or squeeze my hand." Yeosang kept his voice low and gentle, which was surprising given how stressed he had been about Jongho.

The younger ever so slightly, never looking away from Yeosang.

"Are you in any pain?"

Jongho seemed to think for a second, then shook his head.

"Do you remember what happened?"

A nod, then a shake.

"Only parts?"

Another nod.

"It's alright, baby. You're safe. Mercer is dead." Yeosang looked around the room and met eyes with San. There was relief there that the hacker needed, for which San was happy to see.

Jongho's mouth opened and he started to move.

"Don't." Dr. Kim finally stepped forward. "Don't move. Your body is still very weak. We need to take things slow so you can recover."

"Yes, please rest." Yunho sat up slowly and leaned into San for support. "It's great to see you awake, my friend, but we need you to stay in one piece."

Jongho slowly turned his head to look at the driver. The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile and he nodded once more.

Now that their youngest member was awake, the mood started to lift even more. He recovered fairly quickly as well.

He was able to tell them about how he had been brought before Mercer and refused to talk, so he was taken to a lab. Mercer had been worried about time, which was why he decided to do the headband and not an implant like San.

There wasn't much he remembered about his time being under Mercer's control. It was kept locked away until the team had infiltrated the building. That's when the chip had been activated and took over his mind.

San hated seeing the pain in Jongho's eyes when he recounted having to fight them.

"I tried to fight it the entire time... but whatever Mercer did to that chip, it was too strong. I couldn't win." He said, staring down at his hands. "I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault." San said right away. "Not one bit of it. We all know you couldn't help it, I more than anyone."

Jongho pressed his lips into a thin line, then nodded. "Thank you. I needed to hear that. But..." He turned to look directly at Yeosang. "I still owe you the biggest apology of all. I-"

"Jongho, it's ok." Yeosang held up his hands to wave the younger off.

"No, I... I need to say this." Jongho grabbed the hacker's hands and rubbed the back of them with his thumbs. "I'm truly sorry, Sangie. I was being... pigheaded, thickskulled, idiotic... whatever you want to call it. I was jealous and upset and I was afraid of all the changes that were happening. And all it got me was the potential of losing you for good."

The room was silent as he spoke. San looked down at where his fingers were intertwined with Yunho's and felt his heart clench. Never... he never wanted to lose his love.

"When I was laying on that table waiting for them to kill me or chip me... all I could think about was getting back to you, and how I would spend the rest of my life trying to earn your forgiveness. I love you so much, Yeosang, I never meant to hurt you. Any of you."

Yeosang bowed his head and let out a soft sob before leaning into Jongho's chest. "Y-You're right. You are an id-diot." He said with a smile. "Just shut up and focus on healing, ok? I'm not going anywhere."

Another day passed without any sign of Mingi waking up. Everyone kept a vigil over him, but San was observant. And there was one thing he did notice.

Seonghwa had yet to come out of the shell he had formed around himself.

He was always with them, but never fully present, often standing in the corner or leaning against the wall next to Wooyoung's bed.

His eyes were dark and brooding, indicating that his mind was far away.

Wooyoung was the only one who could get him to react. It was like the spell was broken whenever he looked at the younger. Most often it was when Wooyoung laughed.

It was a truly magical sound, San had to agree.

Before Mercer had been killed, it was rare for any of them to laugh or have a good time. But now, Wooyoung was the happiest among them and would do whatever he could to lighten the mood.

But that didn't stop San from worrying about Seonghwa. He tried to talk to him once, but the older just assured him that he was find and that he needed time.

In a way San understood... He couldn't imagine what Seonghwa must be going through right now.

Out of all of them, though, Hongjoong was showing more and more signs of stress the longer Mingi slept.

It was getting to the point where Dr. Kim was about ready to say he was in a coma. All brain activity was normal, so there was no reason as to why he wasn't waking up.

It was hard on all of them.

Mingi was the one who brought them together. If anyone deserved to bask in the glory of their success, it was him. He had gone through so much pain and torment to form their team with having to live through the memories.

Two weeks after their success had the team branching out and investigating the town. Yeosang, Seonghwa, and even Jongho would go out for short trips to survey the area and make sure no Pack members were trying to rise up again.

They always came back and reported that everything was fine, but they would rather be safe than sorry.

During the time they were out that day, San was sitting with Wooyoung on his bed playing cards while Yunho worked on physical therapy.

The two of them spoke quietly so they didn't disturb Hongjoong, who was sitting next to Mingi reading 'Peter Pan' aloud to him.

It was something the older had started doing, wanting Mingi to hear his voice every day.

The sound of Hongjoong's voice was something San had grown to love. It was a soothing sound that he latched onto, so he noticed the second Hongjoong stopped.

Both he and Wooyoung looked over to see Hongjoong staring at Mingi's face.

Silence enveloped them.

Mingi's eyes were open.

They flitted around the room quickly and panic started to transform his face.

"Mingi?" Hongjoong set his book down and took his hand. "Mingi, it's ok. You're safe."

The thief's eyes darted to Hongjoong and his head started to shake. "Wh-What?" He started to push himself up on the bed. "Where am I?"

"You're safe. You're back h-home." Hongjoong leaned forward to caress Mingi's cheek, but he surprised them all by flinching away.

"I don't... I don't understand. Where am I?! And who are you?!"