Seungri swiveled around and took in the appearance of the tall stranger behind him.

"Seunghyun!" Jiyong said again, louder this time, charging straight into the stranger's middle and hugging him before Seungri could see what he looked like. "What the hell are you doing here? Why aren't you in Seoul? I mean, not that I'm not happy..."

"Jiyong," the stranger said, gently pushing the smaller man away. "More are coming, we have to run."

Seungri almost choked.

Seunghyun.

Choi Seunghyun.

It really was the rapper, standing in all black in the middle of the tiny woods behind Youngbae's house, casually holding a still-smoking hand gun in one hand. He wore his hood up and a scarf around his mouth, but Seungri recognized his intense dark eyes. Anybody would be able to recognize them.

"Y-y-y-you know....Choi Seunghyun?" Seungri sputtered. "I thought you were just a fanboy."

"I'll explain later, Ri," Jiyong said, taking Seungri's hand and squeezing it. "Hyung, do you think you could carry Seungri? Are you too tired?"

"Oh, nope, no, no way," Seungri said immediately. "I am a man. I can run."

"Oh please," Jiyong scoffed.

Seunghyun didn't need any more persuading. He lifted Seungri as if he were made of feathers and flopped him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "How far till the forest's edge?"

"Not far," Jiyong said.

"This is not the most admirable moment of my life," Seungri mumbled to himself.

"Seungri, do you know if anybody found Youngbae?" Jiyong asked, walking behind Seunghyun so he could talk to the maknae.

"No idea."

"Climb onto my back," Seunghyun said in his deep voice. "I can't run with you there."

After an awkward struggle and a lot of knee-in-the-face moments, Seungri managed to situate himself on Seunghyun's back, and the trio broke into a steady jog. Jiyong looked slightly pale and out of breath, but he didn't complain.

"Hey," Seungri said to Jiyong. "Are you okay?"

"We're here," Jiyong wheezed dismissively.

Sure enough, the three boys stood outside the forest, looking out across a vacant suburb street. Seunghyun dumped Seungri into the grass carelessly and turned to Jiyong. "Where are you staying?"

"With the kid you just dropped," Jiyong said coolly. 

Seunghyun cocked an eyebrow at Seungri, and the maknae climbed to his feet and brushed off his knees, muttering to himself.

"They won't leave the woods tonight," Seunghyun said calmly. "I managed to burn their possessions, and they'll spend the rest of the evening regrouping. For now the two of us need to find a place to stay."

Jiyong looked hopefully at Seungri.

"Oh hell no," Seungri snapped. "I am worried about my cousin, I have a damn grass stain on my jeans, I'm exhausted, I'm confused, I don't even know what the hell just happened to me, and I have no idea who to trust anymore!"

Jiyong winced, but Seunghyun looked completely unsurprised. "Now isn't the time," the older said smoothly. "We need your help."

Seungri stared levelly at Seunghyun for some time before he slid his eyes over to Jiyong. The smaller boy was making puppy eyes with his lower lip jutted out and his cheeks puffed out ever so slightly.

The maknae's heart leapt. Jiyong was such a little .

"Fine, but you're telling me as soon as we get inside," Seungri growled. "And where's my cousin?"

"The boy with the mohawk is safe," Seunghyun replied, strolling ahead of the other two. His cloak billowed out behind him epically. "If that's who you are referring to."

"Where is he?"

"I dropped him off on a doorstep and ran. He'll be fine. I found him unconscious in the woods surrounded by a bunch of Neozakians, but they're dead now. They weren't the most skilled of fighters."

"For you, maybe," Jiyong said as they walked to Seungri's house. "I still can't control my magic."

"Yes, but when you can, the results will be enthralling," Seunghyun replied. "Your magic is ten times as powerful as mine and a hundred times harder to control."

"What magic?" Seungri demanded. "What the hell? I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

"I'm sorry, Ri," Jiyong apologized immediately. "We'll explain soon."

In five minutes, Seungri, Jiyong, and Seunghyun were seated in a circle in Seungri's walk-in closet. Seunghyun had removed his hood and mask, revealing gloriously styled bronze hair and the perfect chiseled features of that face everyone knew. Seungri was staring at the rapper for a solid thirty seconds with his mouth hanging open before a sharp slap from Jiyong caused him to jerk out of his trance.

"Did you talk to your mom?" Jiyong asked. "Is Youngbae okay?"

"He's at home, unconscious," Seungri responded. "He'll be fine. They called a doctor