Cory could feel himself relapsing even more, but it was manageable for the most part. The only thing he was really concerned about was where Hui was. It was about a week before Christmas now, and Hui still didn't show up. Jeonguk had come to America with Changsun, keeping things for Jinhong and Hongseob to take care of for the time being.

"Alright!" Kihyun said one day as he pointed to Changsun. "We are having that barista battle!" He said. Changsun blinked in confusion before Kisu translated, chuckling at Kihyun's antics. "Oh, is this about the coffee that Kisu hates?" Changsun asked with a chuckle. "He clearly hasn't had Korean Coffee," Kisu said in Korean. "Show them what you got," he said. "There really isn't much competition here," Changsun said with a chuckle as he went into the kitchen. Kihyun followed after him.

"Kihyun just wants his ego to go down the drain doesn't he?" Cory asked with a chuckle. "Apparently," Jimin said with a laugh. "If Changsun's coffee is as good as you say anyway," he said. Cory laughs as he scratched the back of his head. Jeonguk chuckled some. "He's a good coffee maker," he said in English, shrugging. "Maybe Daehyun can go against him to see who we would choose," said Jimin. "He says he's a good barista, and he did make good coffee," he said.

"Ugh, don't remind me of him," grumbled Kihyun as he walked out of the kitchen with a tray of cups. Changsun came out with his own tray of cups and they placed it on the coffee table. Everyone gathered around the coffee table, going with Kihyun's coffee first. Kisu, Cory and Jeonguk cringed as they drank the coffee. "Ya know, I think I made better coffee," said Cory as he coughed. "I actually agree with that," said Kisu. "If I had to choose between yours and Kihyun's I'd have to go with yours Cory," said Jeonguk. "Ugh, too bitter," said Cory as he put the cup down. "You know," said Jimin. "I remembered having your coffee before, I think I prefer yours over Kihyun's," he said as he put the cup down. Youngjae, Jooheon and Namjoon hummed in agreement as they put their cups down. Kihyun looked exasperated as he sighed, sitting down.

"I think it's easier to admit defeat Kihyun," said Cory as they reached for Changsun's coffee. Changsun looked smug as he crossed his arms. Everyone took a sip. "Yep, firm decision here," said Kisu, Cory and Jeonguk. "Pretty much eh?" Asked Jimin as he put his cup down. "Mm," said Namjoon. Youngjae and Jooheon nodded. "We choose Changsun's," said Youngjae. "Same," said Namjoon. "Sorry Kihyun," said Jimin as he pointed to Changsun. "It was obvious from the beginning," said Kisu, Cory and Jeonguk. "I knew it," said Changsun as he chuckled. "Korean coffee is good," said Jimin as Kihyun sighed. "Alright alright," he said.

Everyone was left to their own devices afterwards, Cory heading out to the lake with his pack mates to spend some time with them before they left after New Years. "Just wish Jinhong and Hongseob were here, they'd complete the pack," said Cory as he sighed. "Well, one day everyone will be able to come out here," said Jeonguk as he walked beside Cory. "We realized how homesick you were so we came over," he said. "Mm," said Cory.

"Hyung," said Changsun as they reached the lake. "Mm?" Asked Cory. "I know you said you were relapsing but you seem fine," said Changsun. "I've learned to distract myself with other things," said Cory as he stared at the frozen lake. "Thinking of home surprisingly helps keep me from the anger," he said. "Mm," said Changsun. Jeonguk walked over to the 4 graves, reading the names. "I think Jungkook mentioned these 4 before," he said. Cory turned to look, walking over. "Yeah," he said. "It was Jin's birthday a couple weeks ago, we had a party and stuff," he said, shrugging. "Oh right, he asked us to go to Busan to go to the beach," said Jeonguk. "We had fun there," he said, chuckling.

Cory and Kisu blink, looking back in the direction of the house. "What's up?" Asked Jeonguk as he looked at Cory then at Kisu. "I think something's wrong, we need to go," said Cory as he ran back to the house. The others ran after him.

They found the house ransacked and Namjoon laying on the floor, bleeding heavily. "What happened Namjoon?" Asked Cory as he ran over to him. "Urk, your packmate went rogue," Namjoon said before going into a coughing fit. Changsun ran over, checking Namjoon for anything fatal. "It's alright," Namjoon managed to cough out. "Here's an address," he said, handing Cory a piece of paper.

"I'm ready to die, let me die in piece," he whispered. Changsun looked at Cory, who's expression was unreadable. "Are you sure?" Asked Cory. Namjoon nodded. "I'm ready to meet Taehyung and Jin in the afterlife," he said. Jeonguk clenched his hands into fists. "Let him be Changsun," he said in Korean. Changsun hesitated, but nodded, moving away. "S-Stay with me at least Cory," Namjoon coughed out. Cory reached over and took Namjoon's hand in his. "You'll be alright soon," Cory said. "The pain will be over soon," he said. "Take care of Jimin," Namjoon managed to cough out before he took his last breath, going still. Cory closed Namjoon's eyes before letting his arm drop.

"We need to rescue them," Cory said in Korean, determination filling his eyes as he turned to Jeonguk and the others. "We won't let his death be in vain," he said. Changsun nodded. "We have an address, let's go," he said. Cory nodded and went to get the car keys, taking Kihyun's jeep to the address.
 

~

Jimin woke feeling groggy as he felt a dull throbbing in the back of his head. He groaned, pushing himself to sit up and look around. "Ah, the mate finally wakes," came Hui's voice as he walked over to Jimin's cell. "What the hell do you want Hui?" Snarled out Jimin as he tried to escape his cell. "I don't think you want to escape," said Hui. "Or do you want Kihyun dead?" He asked.

Jimin froze, glaring at Hui. "Where's the others?" He asked. "Here," said Hui as he pointed to the cell beside him. "They won't get touched but I didn't want to leave any witnesses," he said. "Your other pack member is dead now," he said. "Namjoon," whispered Jimin as he looked surprised.