A sigh left Byungchan as he opened his eyes, looking up at the sky from his spot on the dock overlooking the pond. Yohan had given him an ultimatum, and Byungchan was still trying to figure out what to do in regards to Seungsik. Seonghwa had started keeping a closer eye on him, making sure Seungsik wouldn't do anything stupid like a few days before.

"What would Seungwoo do?" He asked himself as he leaned against the railing, looking down at the water as he crossed his arms and let them rest on the railing and resting his chin on his arms. "If I tell him to go home, this would cause Seungsik to believe I don't trust him, but if I let him stay we risk losing this alliance," he mused, tapping his fingers on the wood railing in thought.
 

~

"This decision is up to you," said Yohan. "Though to further prevent things from happening between your pack and mine I request that you leave immediately, if you choose to let him stay," he said, a serious look on his face as he crossed his arms in what Seungwoo had dubbed as Yohan's "alpha's stance."

"I can't make this decision immediately, you know this," said Byungchan as he kept his stance neutral, a blank look on his face as he faced Yohan. Hangyul and Dohyun were flanking Yohan, their postures relaxed though Byungchan knew they would spring into action if needed.

"How long would you need to come to a conclusion?" Asked Yohan. "A few days, a week at the most," said Byungchan. "You will have your answer by then, I swear," he said. "Seonghwa will keep an eye on him," said Yohan. "Until then I want him out of this house until you come to a decision," he said. Byungchan nodded. "Alright," he said, shaking hands with Yohan to finalize the deal.
 

~

That conversation had been a few days ago, and Byungchan was still torn between sending Seungsik home and having him stay. He moved away from the railing to walk to the end of the dock, which was open, and sit down at the edge, letting his legs swing back and forth off the end as he leaned back on his hands.

"Still unable to come to a decision?" Asked Seungsik as he walked over, leaning against the railing a few feet behind Byungchan. "Mm," hummed Byungchan as he turned his head to look at Seungsik. "I went hunting earlier, I'm fine," said Seungsik as he looked up at the sky. "I wasn't going to ask," said Byungchan as he looked back at the water and surrounding forest, returning to his thoughts. They stayed like that for a couple hours, enjoying each other's company as it seemed Seonghwa was leaving Seungsik alone for a bit to spend time with Hangyul.

"I won't be mad with whatever decision you make," said Seungsik as Byungchan got up after noticing how late it was getting. "I know," said Byungchan as he turned to Seungsik. "I think I've come to the right decision," he said. "But, I will tell them tomorrow," he said. "I'll see you in the morning," he said, walking passed Seungsik and up to the house where Subin was waiting.
 

~

"Yunho," said Yohan as Yunho arrived with San in tow again. "Hello," said Yunho. San inclined his head in greeting, earning a raised eyebrow from Seonghwa who had come to see who was at the door.

"Can we come in?" Asked Yunho. "San needs to be outside," said Yohan. "I'll take him," said Seonghwa as he went to grab his shoes and put them on, walking back over and taking San through the house and out the back door.

"What did Seungsik do to garner your attention?" Asked Yohan. "I believe that would be up to Byungchan to tell you," said Yunho as he shrugged. "A decision was made then," said Yohan. "Possibly," said Yunho. "Come on in then," he said, moving to let Yunho inside.

Yunho headed inside and Byungchan met him in the livingroom, taking him to the guest room they were staying in to discuss further plans regarding Seungsik.
 

~

Yunho exited the guest room with a serious look on his face as he made his way outside to the dock where Seungsik, Seonghwa and San were. Byungchan rushed after him, with Subin following close behind. Yohan, having heard the commotion from his room followed them outside, calling for Hyeongjun in case this got more serious than he expected. Hyeongjun flanked Yunho, providing backup if needed.

"You idiot," snarled Yunho as he grabbed Seungsik and slammed him into the railing and nearly breaking it as it bent backwards from the force. Seonghwa and San took a generous step back, knowing that if Yunho was this pissed, this would end badly if they interfered.

"I was enjoying a nice vacation until you decided to screw up," snarled Yunho as he yanked Seungsik away from the railing and into the railing on the opposite side of the dock. "The decision was made, you're going home, right now," he spat, letting go of Seungsik as he took a step back, turning his attention to Byungchan and Subin.

"And your decision is firm," said Byungchan. Yunho nodded. "This idiot knows better, and he went and did this," he said, huffing as he took a deep breath to try and stay calm. "I didn't want to come to this conclusion, but after hearing your story of what happened, well," he said, shaking his head.

"Send for Sejun on the way home will you?" Asked Byungchan as his expression turned serious, standing straighter as he went full leader mode despite his beta status. "As much as I'd like to have Hanse and Chan here, I don't think they'd be ready," he said. Yunho nodded, turning to Seungsik. "Let's go," he said. Seungsik could only nod, looking down as he left with Yunho.

"So your decision was to send him home after all," said Subin as he kept his expression blank when Byungchan turned to him. "For now," said Byungchan. "We may need him later, but Seungsik needs this break," he said. Subin nodded, turning and walking away, going back to the house.

"I'll need to get Hangyul to fix the dock," grumbled Yohan as he surveyed the damage. "Sorry about that," said Byungchan as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, the tense atmosphere leaving immediately as Byungchan's friendly nature showed itself again.

"Leave it to Yunho to have the final decision hm?" Asked San as he scoffed. "I needed a hunter's opinion," said Byungchan. "I would've asked Hyeongjun but he would've been biased about it, no offense," he said. "Nah, I would've given my honest opinion about it," said Hyeongjun. "Then again, I would've sent him home too," he said. "Exactly," said Byungchan.
 

~

Sejun arrived a few days later, much to Subin's surprise. "What, were you really expecting someone else?" Asked Sejun. "You've been stuck at that damn Starbucks for so long," said Subin. "I didn't think you'd agree to coming along the journey," he said.

"I had a bit of cabin fever, I needed to get out of that Starbucks, especially when Sanha is visiting," said Sejun as he shook his head. "Those two have so much tension between them," Subin said with a chuckle, shaking his head. "Mm," said Sejun as he shook his head.

"This is the first time in years that you've left the territory," said Byungchan as he walked over. "How do you feel?" He asked. "Relieved? Thrilled? I dunno," said Sejun as he shrugged. "Used to go out all the time when Seungwoo or Kris would allow it," he said. "But I guess things change," he said.
 

~

"We'll be leaving in a few days," said Byungchan as he sat with Subin and Sejun and discussed the next plan of action. "I want to see what else our information network has for us before we head on, from here we're radio silent," he said.

"We're heading straight for Budapest," he said. "But I was going to run there, since we don't know how things will be on the trains," he said. "Since Seungsik isn't here we'll have to rely on the train to get us there quickly," he said.

"It's only one country over," said Subin as he blinked in confusion. "What could go wrong?" He asked. "You're really asking that when we've been sent all over the place with little to no information?" Asked Sejun. "We know what's there at the end," said Byungchan. "But we don't know what's going to stop us from getting to the end," he said. "Rest up, we'll be leaving the day after tomorrow," he said. Subin and Sejun nodded.