"What is he doing here?"

Hongjoong was surprised by the annoyed remark as he entered the studio behind Chan.

"Hey, be nice. He's a friend."

Hongjoong waved shyly and followed Chan to the chairs stacked against the wall on the other side of the studio.

When Hongjoong dared a glance at Changbin, he couldn't help but notice his eyes were a bit puffy.

Was he...crying?

Maybe he should leave.

"Hey, Chan. Maybe I should go, I don't want to be a bothe—" he whispered but Chan shook his head.

"He could use another friend right now."

Hongjoong nodded but he wasn't sure Changbin would agree.

The two brought their chairs over and Changbin leaned back in his chair, sulking. Hongjoong could feel the two of them having a conversation with their eyes so he decided to speak up.

"Is this about...Felix?"

The two turned to look at him.

"I'm not—trying to make any assumptions or stick my nose in anyone else's business it's just—he talked to me a lot about everything."

"He talked to you?" Chan asked with such astonishment Hongjoong was almost surprised.

"I mean...yeah. He didn't...talk to either of you?"

"No. I've been trying to talk to him about it for weeks," Chan sighed, looking at the ground.

"I'm sorry—I don't really know why he picked me..."

But Hongjoong did know. He was building trust. He was clearly trying to get other information from him. But how could he tell either of them about that? Especially since he had no way of confirming they weren't in on it.

"Lix doesn't really open up to a lot of people. Thanks for being there for him."

Hongjoong was surprised to hear Changbin speak and he looked up.

"Yeah. Of course."

"He always pretends everything's fine. Normally I'm the one he can talk to but...we're not really on great terms right now. As you know."

Hongjoong nodded, crossing his ankles and swinging them back and forth.

"It wasn't like he told me anything big it was just about how you were trying to protect him. He knows you meant well—"

"Wait—what? How I was trying to protect him? He didn't even give me a chance to speak!" Changbin snapped, standing up. But Chan placed a hand on his chest turning to Hongjoong.

"He said that Changbin ended things?" Chan asked, looking at Hongjoong in a way that signaled he hoped he was wrong.

"Yeah...I'm guessing that's not what happened?" Hongjoong said quietly.

"What is his fucking problem?" Changbin shouted, standing and slinging his chair across the room in anger.

"What really happened?" Hongjoong asked Chan quietly.

"I don't really know...I'm pretty sure Felix said something about needing space for a while. He didn't really tell Changbin anything and then..he just switched rooms with Minho when everything went down and him and Han have been weirdly inseparable ever since."

Hongjoong nodded, processing everything. So why would Felix tell him it was Changbin's decision?

Then he realized it.

"Because that's what I said to Hwa," he muttered.

He'd practically told Seonghwa he was okay with going on a break until the contract was up. To protect him.

He'd almost quoted Hongjoong verbatim. How had he not realized that sooner?

"What did you say?"

He looked up at Chan who was trying to figure out where his brain had just leapt. Hongjoong decided it might be about time he tell them. He was pretty certain they had no more of a clue than he did. And if it were his members spying on other groups, he'd want to know.

"I think...I think Felix has been spying on us."

The two turned to look at him.

"What?" Changbin asked.

"For JYP."

Chan stood and walked to the door, quickly daring a peek down the hall in either direction before turning and locking it. He sat back down and motioned the two to come closer.

"Hongjoong, what you're suggesting is really serious. Don't go throwing that around lightly. What makes you think that?"

Hongjoong swallowed nervously.

"He's been saying things to Seonghwa and I that neither of us told him before we got here. And they're things that some of our members might have said to your members—most likely Wooyoung to Felix. And he might not be the only one."

Hongjoong expected the two of them to get upset with him for such an accusation but both of them seemed a little bit disappointed.

"I'm really sorry...I just figured I should tell you," he muttered.

"It's—fine. We were kind of worried something was going on," Chan said quietly.

"What kinds of things has he been telling him?" Changbin asked.

"Some really personal stuff about when he was the leader of Wonderland. JYP was trying to get me to say something bad about him. But he isn't that person anymore."

"So he's trying to tear the two of you apart?" Changbin asked and Chan's eyes went dark.

"I think so. He also tried to tell Seonghwa he was a better leader and all this shit to give him a big head. Not that he's not incredible but...it seemed like he was really trying to get between us."

"It's just like last time," Changbin whispered.

Hongjoong's eyebrow raised.

"Like last time?"

"We used to have a ninth member," Chan said, looking at his hands as they flexed in his lap.

"Woojin. He started getting a big head out of nowhere and he kept starting things between the members. We all got really pissed off at him. He kept meeting with JYP in private so we thought he was getting star treatment or something."

"But JYP asked me to meet with him one day. And he basically said he'd noticed there was some tension between Woojin and the other members. I agreed so he proposed removing him from the group. I felt awful about it but...some of the members were really hurt..."

"A few days after he'd left, the press went crazy over it and we really started to gain attention and our band really got popular. We were all so excited to be recognized that we didn't really think about it."

"We honestly didn't even think much of it until Jae came to talk to me a few days ago. He felt awful. It turned out JYP had him spying on us for him. He felt so guilty that he ended up leaving and cutting ties with JYP entirely."

Hongjoong gasped.

"Wait—like Jae from DAY6? He left?"

"Yeah...apparently JYP had him stirring up drama the whole time. We didn't tell anyone else because we didn't know how they'd take it. So you're the only one we've told."

Hongjoong sat back, taking it in.

"So...that's probably what he's doing to us, too. He wants us to lose a member to give us attention. No matter what the cost."

"I can't believe he's doing that to Felix. That motherfucker," Changbin groaned, pressing his forehead into his hands.

"Did Jae ever tell you why he did it?" Hongjoong asked but Chan shook his head.

"I tried to ask but he didn't want to talk about it."

Hongjoong sighed, pressing his hands together at his chin, while he tried to think.

"Do you think he's the only one?" he asked and the other two looked at each other.

"We thought maybe Minho was in on it because he was always sneaking away to your dorms but we realized that was just his connection to Seonghwa. Maybe Han but we don't know if he's just mad at Minho or if he's in on it," Chan said, running a hand through his hair as he readjusted himself in his chair.

The three sat in silence for a while.

"So. What are you guys going to do?" Chan asked.

Hongjoong twisted the ring on his finger.

"I actually got a call about another offer. It was my top choice for a company—Seonghwa's too. I just haven't been able to talk to him about it yet. And I don't know how the rest of the members would feel about it. I don't know how much they want to stay here."

"You should do it."

"I agree."

Hongjoong looked up at the two of them.

"Really? You're not even going to try to convince me to stay here?"

"No, so far it's been pretty shitty," Changbin mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's hasn't been awful," Chan said with a shy smile but he didn't seem to put much effort into convincing Hongjoong it was worthwhile.

"Then...why don't you guys leave?"

Changbin laughed, shaking his head.

"I've been asking him the same question ever since we got here."

"Our contract doesn't end until October. So we can't really leave without legal trouble. And other than the contracts and behind the scenes tampering, he's been pretty good to us."

"What if I talk to the other company? They're pretty small—what if I try to ask if you could audition?"

"Oh, you don't have to—besides, it would be too much of a hassle for them even if they liked us. And they might catch slack from JYP. It doesn't feel fair to drag them into this," Chan insisted, shaking his head.

"We'll take care of ourselves," Changbin said with a small smile.

"Are you sure? Why don't you just come with me when I meet with Eden? He's the producer that reached out to me. Just let me bring you in. We'll see what he says. You don't deserve to be stuck here after what he's done to your members."

Chan looked away but Changbin nodded.

"Take him with you. I'll come up with an excuse for anyone who asks where he is."

"Changbin—"

"He'll go. I know it's probably hopeless but...I can't just do nothing. Not when he's gotten away with so much shit. And now with what he's doing to Felix."

Changbin stood and walked to the door.

"We have a practice at 8 tomorrow. It's pretty low-key so I think I can manage the boys for a rehearsal. Why don't the two of you go over there in the morning and I'll cover until you're back?"

Hongjoong turned to Chan who leaned back in his chair, resigning to the forced meeting.

"Fine. But it's just a meeting. There's no guarantees."

Hongjoong smiled and turned to Changbin but he was already gone.

He just wanted everyone to be happy.