Mijoo woke up with her right arm throbbing in pain. Sunlight filtered in through the windows, falling across her closed eyes, which she scrunched in response to the stimuli. Reaching her arms above her head she let out a big stretch and a low groan. Something felt off, but she couldn’t quite place what it was. Rolling over to her left side she burrowed deeper into her covers to keep the sun from falling on her face. She didn’t want to get up yet. As she pulled the duvet up to her chin and took a deep breath, her brows furrowed, she didn’t have windows in her room on that side of her bed. Opening her eyes in confusion she was met with a bedroom that was not her own. Sitting up she looked around the bedroom, blinking away the sleep from her eyes. It took her a moment to remember what had happened the night before and where she had woken up. Slowly she let the tension drain from her body and she let out a sigh. 

Slipping out of the large bed she shuffled off to the bathroom to relieve herself before facing the two men waiting in the next room. Coming out of the bathroom she wondered what time it was. She realized that she had left her phone in her purse in the living room last night. Looking around Chan’s bedroom she spotted an analog alarm clock on a bedside table that showed it was seven thirty. She blinked, realizing for the first time that she had slept through the night without waking up or having a nightmare.

Leaving the bedroom she found the living room empty, traces of the two men’s presence having been left behind. Shoes and expensive clothing littered the floor and blankets laid haphazardly over the couches. She was surprised to see it in such disarray after seeing it in such pristine condition the night before.

“Oh hey you’re up,” The voice of Jisung filled the room. Mijoo looked over to see him standing in the entrance of the kitchen, holding a mug of coffee. “There’s coffee if you want it. Seungmin is going to be here in a little while,” Jisung paused, almost looking unsure for a moment before continuing awkwardly. “How, uh, how’s your arm?”

“It hurts a lot,” Mijoo replied. 

“I think Chan has some ibuprofen or something like that in his bathroom if you want to take something,” Jisung supplied.

Mijoo nodded, “Thanks,” she said before returning to the bathroom to find the aforementioned pain killers. 

She found the ibuprofen relatively easily, grabbing it out of the cabinet and walking back to the kitchen to get a glass of water to wash it down. Chan was standing in the kitchen, leaning against the kitchen counter, staring off into space with a coffee mug steaming in his hand. He was wearing just a plain white t-shirt and comfortable plaid pajama bottoms and his hair was a mess in all directions. It was such a different sight from anything Mijoo had seen from him that she could only stop and stare. She couldn’t deny that this version of Chan was attractive and found herself wishing she could see this side of him more often. 

The spell was broken however when Chan looked over at her, finally registering her presence. It was like she watched in real time Chan close himself off as he stood straighter and ran a hand through his messy hair, pushing it off his forehead. 

“You’re up,” He noted, giving her a once over. “If you want coffee, the mugs are in the cabinet above the coffee maker. I think I might have some cereal around here somewhere if you want breakfast.”

Jisung snorted from his seat at the kitchen island, “Wow you didn’t bother to offer me breakfast. Some host you are.” 

Chan gave Jisung an annoyed look, “You already eat my food anyway, you don’t need an invitation.” 

“Thanks but I’ll just stick with coffee,” Mijoo replied quietly. She opened the cabinet Chan had indicated and pulled out a plain looking mug. She filled it halfway with water to down the ibuprofen she had grabbed before moving on to the coffee. “Do you have any cream and sugar?”

“Creamers in the fridge, sugars in that little bowl right there,” Chan nodded. 

Mijoo opened the fridge and grabbed the creamer, “You don’t exactly strike me as the caramel macchiato type of guy.” She said looking at the bottle in her hand. 

“It’s Felix’s,” Chan answered, “I drink my coffee black.” 

Mijoo doctored her coffee in silence, neither of the men in the room offering any sort of conversation to break the silence. 

“A while back Seungmin mentioned I should have Changbin teach me some self defense techniques. I know he’s busy, but I think I would like to have someone teach me.” 

Chan hummed into his coffee mug thinking. “We’ll talk about it, but I think that would be a good idea.” 

“You could do it boss. You’re the best out of all of us and think of it as a bonding exercise with your girlfriend,” Jisung spoke up. 

The stare Chan gave Jisung had Mijoo looking away from the both of them. “Like I said, we’ll talk about it later.”

A knock came from the front door, before the door was opened and Seungmin entered the apartment. He was still wearing the server uniform from the night before, but his tie was off and the top button of his shirt was ed. He looked tired and like he hadn’t slept at all. 

“Sorry I’m late. The police don’t understand the words expediency or consideration.”

Seungmin breezed into the kitchen, taking a mug from the cabinet and helping himself to some coffee.

“Our wonderful tax dollars at work I’m afraid,” Chan scoffed. 

“You all pay taxes?” Mijoo asked. 

“Of course, we’re not going to let ourselves be caught on something as stupid of a technicality as tax evasion.” 

“Find out anything interesting during the police circus?” Jisung asked Seungmin.

“Well the mayor was swept out of there pretty fast and Hongjoong looked ready to kill someone. I never saw Jaebum or Mark anywhere after it all went down. The police located where the gunman was set up but by the time they got there, nobody was there. I’m sure Hongjoong is going to get a full report by the end of the day from his man and he said he’d pass on any info he got.”

“Anyone die?” Chan asked. 

“Not from what I could tell. The few people who were injured seemed to have non life threatening injuries as they were carted off in ambulances.”

“Didn’t you say last night that the sniper was shooting to kill?” Mijoo turned to Jisung, recalling what he had said in the parking garage. 

“Yeah… yeah I did,” Jisung nodded, “I think it’s safe to say that you were the target last night. Everything after that was to create chaos and confusion.”

“But…why? I haven’t even done anything, people in your world barely know me.” 

“You don’t understand. This is the first time that Stray Kids has ever presented a weak link, a vulnerability. You're someone supposedly, emotionally close to our leader and if they can break Chan even for a moment that gives them a chance to strike at us and overthrow what power we’ve taken.” Seungmin spoke up. 

“I just can’t fathom that GOT7, for as much as they want to destroy us, would do something like this with Jaebum right there,” Jisung contemplated, “Something just feels off about this whole thing.”

“I agree, which is why I might give Yeo- our man on the inside a call myself to make sure we don’t get cut out of any information,” Chan replied.

“If I’m such a weak link then wouldn't learning self defense help?” Mijoo asked, absentmindedly.

“Did you think about what I suggested? Changbin’s a great teacher,” Seungmin perked up leaning against the counter next to Mijoo.

“He is, but I suggested Chan teach her so they can bond as a couple,” Jisung smirked into his coffee mug. 

Chan sighed and looked up towards the ceiling, “I said we could talk about this later.”

“No no, that is a great idea! Chan is the best out of all of us, he even whips Changbin from time to time. Boss, you should totally teach her,” Seungmin smiled. Mijoo could practically see the mischievous wheels turning between the two men on opposite sides of the kitchen with Chan caught in the middle. 

“I don’t think that I’m physically up for any sort of workout like that anytime soon though,” Mijoo said, offering a sort of peace offering to Chan. 

“Well I’m not saying you all need to start right now in the living room,” Seungmin retorted.

“I don’t know, I’d kind of like to see that,” Jisung joked.

“I bet everyone would, I could probably sell tickets,” Seungmin mused.

“If this is all that you all are going to talk about I’m going to take a shower instead of wasting my time standing here,” Chan said, pushing himself off from where he was leaning against the counter and putting down his now empty coffee mug.

“Do you think Jisung and I could go over to my apartment to get some of my necessities? And what about Brian? I can’t leave him alone for a super long time.” Mijoo asked, stopping Chan as he headed towards his bedroom.

“I don’t have a problem with you all going as long as you are careful. As for Brian just bring him here till it’s safe enough to go back to your apartment.” Chan replied before walking into his bedroom and closing the door behind him. 

“Wow,” Seungmin said after he was gone. “I don’t know if he’s just feeling nice because someone tried to kill you, but I can’t believe he’s just going to let a cat in here.” 

“Just wait till Changbin hears,” Jisung replied.

“Changbin? Wait till Minho hears, we’ll never hear the end of it!” 

Jisung and Mijoo left shortly after that and headed off to her apartment to gather her things. She was still in Chan’s pajamas since her clothes from the night before were still in the bathroom that was currently occupied and the shirt was covered in blood. She honestly didn’t mind too much since the pajamas were way more comfortable anyway. 

At her apartment she dug out a bag to put her clothes and other items in and began to pack what she would need. She was almost finished packing, grabbing her phone charger since her phone had died overnight and things for Brian when a loud banging came at her front door scaring her half to death. Jisung jumped up from the couch in a flash, brandishing his gun.

“Mijoo! Open this door right now! You have some serious explaining to do!” The voice of Nayeon reverberated through the door followed by more banging on the door. 

“Go hide in my closet,” Mijoo whispered to Jisung, panicking.

“I don’t want to hide in your closet! I am not someone who hides in closets!” Jisung whispered back incredulously.

More banging came at the door, “Mijoo! I know you’re ignoring my texts, you better open this door!” 

“Get back there!” Mijoo whispered, quietly but insistently trying to push him to go hide. 

“Fine, but make it quick,” Jisung muttered, shutting the bedroom door behind him. 

“I’m coming!” Mijoo shouted, running over to open the door. 

Nayeon stood outside her apartment door with her arms crossed and a raised eyebrow, storming past Mijoo as she opened the door. “I can’t believe it! I thought something was up, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but now I know! I can’t believe you wouldn’t tell me!!”

“Nayeon, what are you talking about?” Mijoo asked nervously, shutting the front door and standing behind the couch. What had she seen? Had she seen her arrive with Jisung back to the apartment?

“Last night. I was just watching the news, you know, as I do, hoping to see the mayor at the event at Destiny last night, and you know who I see instead? My best friend…. on the arm of Christopher Bang himself!!” Mijoo felt the blood drain from her face. “I thought I was losing it, I thought my brain was playing tricks on me, but no! My best friend! Was on the red carpet!! With literally the hottest piece of Australia has ever produced! And then I hear about a shooting at the event and I can’t get a hold of you and you don’t answer my calls or texts! So like…what the !!”

Mijoo gripped the back of the couch, afraid she was going to fall over. “I wasn’t ignoring your calls, my phone died last night because I didn’t plug it in to charge.”

Nayeon put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side, “Ok I’m glad you weren’t ignoring me and that you’re seemingly fine, but like….what the Mijoo. How did you meet Christopher Bang, are you all dating? Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Mijoo took a mental note to ask about the name Christopher since up until this point she had only heard him referenced as Bang Chan. “Well, uh, it’s kind of a long story, but I suppose the short version is that I met him through a mutual friend that I made recently when I went to Club Miroh. He’s why I said that I thought I should move on from Jaehyun. I don’t know why I didn’t tell you honestly. It all felt like it just happened so fast and I didn’t know how to explain it to you.” 

“I’m sorry, back up…you went to Club Miroh? Without me?” Nayeon asked, a look of betrayal passing over her face. 

Ah  .

“I…yeah, it was super unexpected so I didn’t get the chance to call you to come along. I wanted to though”

“Why didn’t you tell me after that you went? Why didn’t you tell me that you had met someone? And that conversation was forever ago. You mean to tell me that you had started seeing him back then and you still hadn’t told me?”

Mijoo felt her heart sinking in her chest as she looked at her best friend. “I… I don’t know, I don’t know why I didn’t tell you,” she lied. Because I had to, to protect you.

“Bull, I’m your best friend. I should be the first person you tell.”

“I know! I know, I don’t know why I didn’t,” Mijoo insisted. 

“I thought… I was super excited for you, watching you on the news,” Nayeon said, crossing her arms back over her chest, “But standing here now it seems like you never even thought to tell me, like you were never going to tell me that you were dating someone and going to all these amazing events.”

Mijoo took a step towards Nayeon, “I wanted to tell you! But I didn’t know how, honestly I still can’t believe it, it doesn’t seem real to me.”

“You didn’t know how? All you have to do is say ‘hey Nayeon so I met someone recently and I can’t wait to tell you about him!’ What’s so hard about that? You had no problem telling me about your crush on Jaehyun, and this seems way more serious than a crush!” Nayeon said, shaking her head, “I had to find out from the news. Were you ever going to tell me?” 

“Of course,” Mijoo lied again, “Of course I was going to tell you, I was just still getting over that flu and I haven’t really gotten to see you as much since it had become more serious.”

“I want to believe you, but I feel like I don’t even know you anymore,” Nayeon said quietly, looking down at the floor. “You hardly take my calls or respond to my texts. I thought at first that it was just because you were sick, but now it doesn’t seem like it.” 

“I’m still me, I’m still Mijoo, I haven’t changed,” Mijoo insisted, her heart constricting in her chest, tears beginning to form at the corner of her eyes. 

Nayeon shook her head, “You know I was wrong. I thought it was my best friend on the news last night, but I’m seeing now that she’s someone else entirely.”

Mijoo took another step towards Nayeon, “I’m still the same Mijoo, I haven’t changed!” 

Nayeon took a step back, “Yes you have, but I don’t care that you’ve changed Mijoo. I care that you didn’t think to include me in whatever’s changing in your life.” 

“Nayeon please…”

“I…I should go,” Nayeon turned and headed for the door. 

“Nayeon I wanted to tell you!” Mijoo pleaded. 

Nayeon paused at the door, “Yeah…I’m sure you did, but you didn’t. Bye Mijoo.”

Nayeon shut the apartment door behind her and Mijoo let out the sob that had been building in her chest. The bedroom door behind Mijoo opened, but she didn’t bother to look behind her. The apartment was quiet for a few minutes as Mijoo tried to unsuccessfully hold back the tears. 

“I’m sorry Mijoo,” Jisung said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder.