Three-quarters of the Big Bang team were curled up on the couch in the living room, munching on popcorn and candy as they watched the goings-on happening on the screen.

    “They’re so cute!” YoungBae screeched, kicking his feet in the air. He reached over to the bowl in TOP’s lap and stuffed a handful of M&M’s in his mouth. “I can’t handle this. Look!” He hollered, words slightly muffled by candy. He jabbed a finger at the screen, where Chen and Jordan careened into a snowbank. “They just fell into the snow! They need to kiss!” He hunched down in his seat, tapping his fists on his knees. “Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss.”

    “Nooooo!” This time, he wasn’t alone as DaeSung tipped over onto the floor. They gaped at the screens, where Chen had simply rolled off of Jordan before dumping another armful of snow on her.

    “Whyyyy?” DaeSung popped back into a seated position, clutching his hair. He glanced back at his stoic colleague. “TOP! Did you not see that?”

    “I did, it was adorable.” He mildly crunched on some candy. “These things take time.” Though his face did not seem to display very much emotion, the slight upwards turn of his lips was unmistakeable. DaeSung and Youngbae didn't know the true reason for his amusement; TOP had taken advantage of their distraction to take video of their squealing. Good blackmail was hard to come by. 

    After Jordan and Chen had decided that the snow melting on the inside of their coats was too uncomfortable, the two shuffled inside the house to warm up. The three members of the team watched as the two stripped off most of their layers. Chen collapsed on the couch while Jordan went to the kitchen to prepare what looked like hot cocoa.

    The atmosphere in the apartment was much calmer now that Jordan and Chen were now in their usual natural silence. DaeSung gathered his wits and searched for his cell phone, which he lost track of in the midst of all of the excitement.

    To: Michelle <3

        First snow today! Did you get to do anything fun?

To: DaeDae

Got to patch up a guy after he took a centaur kick straight to the chest, was probably the highlight of my day. I need chicken and beer.

To: Michelle <3

Well, next time we’ll get it! Things are going really well, we may be done soon-ish.

Be patient with me?

To: DaeDae

What do you mean?

To: Michelle <3

Chen and Jordan seem to be really good friends now! They were playing in the snow this morning. It was awesome!

A few minutes passed in a fury of YoungBae cackling and pointing at the screens. It was then that DaeSung noticed that Michelle had yet to reply. He didn’t want to seem clingy at the fact that she hadn’t replied for a whole ten minutes. She was an incredibly busy woman, after all. In fact, she was busier than he was, now that he spent most of his days lazing around on the couch. But he couldn’t help the antsy feeling of anxiety roiling in his stomach.

It was only several minutes after YoungBae had calmed down, and Jordan and Chen had settled into the couches to relax, did his phone vibrate again in his pocket.

To: DaeDae

    That’s great, Daesung.

DaeSung’s eyebrows wrinkled at the response. He could almost hear her voice echoing in his ears, and for some reason, her voice sounded so disappointed. He sank back in the cushions, unsure what to think. He scanned through his previous messages, but he couldn’t find anything incriminating. He set his phone aside. Maybe she’d reply again and elaborate.

She didn’t.

In the meantime, while YoungBae was screeching over Jordan and Chen and DaeSung was agonizing over the sudden change in his relationship, JiYong was holed up in the study room with his laptop with his fingers furiously ruffling through his own hair.

    His email account sat open with 17 emails all displaying the same subject line: “YG Servers Down”. JiYong felt exasperation coursing through his veins. He couldn’t exactly tell IT that he knew the source of their technological woes. The research team knew perfectly well what Jordan had been doing in her free time, which was alternating between digging for information in the YG servers or scrambling them. Jordan didn’t seem to want to be secretive about her online exploits; every time she did something, she cheekily told them to check the website. Evidently things had now gotten bad enough for the servers to completely crash and JiYong didn’t know what to do.

    JiYong called a friend in tech services, who was panicking for fear of losing his job because most of the central hard-drives had crashed, and they held most of the company’s research. The entirety of YG’s IT branch was in a panic because some parts of the database didn’t work at all and other parts only led to gibberish data or links to cat memes and puppy videos.

    JiYong pushed away from his chair and shuffled grumpily into the living room. DaeSung was still curled up with a cushion with a uncharacteristic frown on his face, alternating between glancing between his cellphone and the video monitors. The monitors showed Jordan sitting primly on the couch, laptop in her lap. JiYong pulled out his cell phone, dialing a number he didn’t think he’d ever have to use.

    While listening to the ringing, he watched Jordan look up, and move across the room to pick up her phone. Chen tracked her movement from his spot on the other couch, glancing up as she shifted.

    “Hello?” JiYong asked once he heard a click.

    “Ah, Carrothead. It’s been awhile since I’ve heard your dulcet tones.”

    “I don’t have time for this, Jordan.” JiYong sighed, rubbing his fingers against a creased forehead. “You need to stop messing with the YG servers! If you don’t stop, YG is going to figure out it’s you and throw you right back into your cell.”

    “Wow. Jail or your experiment. You drive a great bargain, Carrothead.”

    “Jordan, I’m serious. I don’t know how you’re covering up your steps, but you need to stop.” JiYong watched as Jordan rolled her eyes and walked straight back to her laptop. “Jordan.” She put down the phone and typed furiously. “Jordan!”

    Jordan didn’t type for long. It seemed like barely a minute had passed before Jordan picked the phone back up and walked in front of a camera.

    “Have fun fixing that. Bye!” Jordan waved cheekily at the camera and hung up. JiYong yelled out in frustration, startling YoungBae and DaeSung out of their seats. He turned to DaeSung. “Try to log in to the YG server.” DaeSung quietly took up his smartphone, following his team leader’s order.

    “I can’t get in.” DaeSung murmured. “Says YG.Research.org page isn’t working. YG server is currently unable to handle this request. HTTP ERROR 500.”   

    “!” JiYong hissed. “Jordan just downed our server. Again.”

    “Well what did you say to her?”

    “I told her to stop.”

    “Well.” DaeSung snickered at him. “That was clearly effective.”

    “Shut up, DaeSung.” JiYong shot back. A ping from his phone caught his attention. He rolled his eyes; he didn’t even need to look to know that it was the newest “YG Servers down” email. “Due to an external attack, YG servers are temporarily down. We are very sorry for the inconvenience blah blah blah.” He paced back and forth in the room. “What are they going to do?”

    JiYong couldn't fight the unease that was blooming in his chest. If YG found out that Jordan was responsible for the hack, she would no doubt be taken out of the experiment and shoved back into her jail cell. The experiment would remain unfinished, and JiYong was not going to let that happen. He quickly dialed a number and raised the phone to his ear. With a click, his friend in IT answered breathlessly.

    “Hey, JiYong. This isn’t the best time to call. We’re all dying over here.”

    “I know, I’m sorry Bobby.” JiYong tapped his forehead impatiently against the wall. “But I need some of my old research, do you know who’s in charge of the recovery?”

    “Lee JiEun is in charge. She was just in a meeting with the President right now. Apparently he’s about to blow a fuse.” JiYong glared at the information, a slight chill running down his spine.

    “I don’t envy her.” He muttered. “Could you text me her number? I’ll call her to see if she can do anything.”

    “Yup, I can do that.” JiYong heard Bobby muttering to himself, “Okay, I sent it. Sorry, I don’t mean to cut you off, but I really have to go.”

“No worries, Bobby. Get back to work.” JiYong glanced at his phone as a new notification popped up.

“Bye!”

    JiYong groaned, banging his head against the wall again. Of all the leaders in the tech teams, of course IU had to be chosen. He didn’t know why she was always so off-putting to him. But every single time he spoke to her, her sickly sweet voice had worms crawling under his skin. Something about her eyes, and how they remained completely expressionless no matter what she said.

    Bracing himself, he dialed the number that Bobby sent to him.

    “Hello?” He heard the high voice on the other line.

    “Team Leader Lee?” JiYong gritted his teeth and greeted politely.

    “Hello, who is this?”

“Team Leader Kwon.”

“Ah. How can I help you?” Her voice was surprisingly calm given the current situation.

    “I was wondering how long fixing the servers is going to take.” JiYong explained. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I need some former research to reference some behavioral signs I’m seeing.” He heard a sigh on the other line.

    “I’m sorry, Team Leader,” JiYong fought the urge to shiver. Her cold tone didn’t seem to convey any sincerity at all. “I haven’t been able to identify the source of the problem yet. But, I am enlisting some former colleagues to help me. They’re the best in the field and will help speed up the recovery process.” Her explanation left no room for response so JiYong could do nothing but nod his head, thank her, and bid his goodbye.

    IU hung up the phone with a huff. She chucked her phone at the couch in her office with a frustrated yell. She couldn’t believe the nerve of the team leader. Just because he happened to lead a special experiment that happened to include the person she hated the most in the world, he thought he had special priority. Did he think that his one call would magically make the servers start themselves? Huffing in frustration, she snatched her laptop and headed out the door.

    Whoever hacked the servers, she was going to kill them.

    She exited her office, face set in her usual expressionless facade to ward people off. But she was not left alone. People on the way kept bugging her, stopping her in her tracks to ask about the servers to ask when they’d be back up. She ignored the sympathetic looks that she was getting from the other IT members. She hated pity most of all. By the time she got to the parking lot, her hands were shaking with fury.

    The second the driver’s door closed, IU screamed in frustration, gripping the steering wheel until her fingers turned white.

    She was going to find whoever did it.

    She was going to kill them.

    Kim SeokJin was bored. Today, there weren’t any new appointments and the three most energetic team members were out on a stakeout so the office was quiet. When he wasn’t spending his time staring at the bulletproof vest decal pasted on the window, he spent the time playing games on his phone and taking selfies, searching for the perfect angle. He could send a few photos to NamJoon, maybe send a few slightly racier pictures to indicate what he wanted later.

    The light whoosh of the door snatched his attention away from the screen. A figure he had never expected to appear walked through the doorway. It was a figure he did not like, nor did he ever want to see again.

    “Hi, SeokJin!” Lee JiEun waltzed up to the front desk. “Long time no see!”

    “IU, it’s nice to see you.” SeokJin lied, keeping his pleasant smile cemented on his face. “How can I help you? You didn't make an appointment.”

    JiEun leaned onto the counter, pouting and puffing her cheeks out.

    “I’m actually here for a favor, do you think I could talk to RapMon, Suga and Jhope for a little bit?” She gazed at him from underneath his eyelashes and he resisted the urge to cringe.

    “I can ask NamJoon, YoonGi and HoSeok. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable.” SeokJin corrected her softly. After Jordan had gone to prison, BTS played it safe and stepped away from hacking, establishing their own IT startup. They decided to stop using their old online handles and go by their real names in order to distance themselves from their past and to establish professionalism. He stepped out from the desk and entered the main office with the computers.

    “Joon?” He called out, approaching the main desk.

    “Yea, babe?” NamJoon leaned back on his chair, eyes looking away from a screenful of code. SeokJin brushed his fingers through NamJoon’s hair, through the silky strands.

    “IU is here. She says she needs a favor” SeokJin muttered, jerking his head towards the reception area. NamJoon’s eyes narrowed in confusion.

    “That’s weird,” He minimized the pages on his screen. “Let her in, I’ll talk to her.”

    “Are Hobi and Yoongi here?” SeokJin asked as he walked towards the door.

    “No, they stepped out for a snack.” SeokJin nodded in response and waved IU over to join them in the office. She skipped over, bright smile still cemented on her face. Closing the door behind her, Seokjin moved to stand behind Namjoon.

    “What’s up, IU? It’s been awhile since we last worked together.”

    “Hi, NamJoon!” IU opened her laptop, tapped on a few keys, and handed it to him. “I was just wondering if you recognized this pattern. YG is having some itsy bitsy problems right now, our servers went down a couple of hours ago. I’m a little bit in over my head.” SeokJin wanted to vomit at the sing-song quality of her voice.

    To an outsider, NamJoon’s pause could have been taken as a sign that the coding was difficult, that it was something extremely challenging. His lean in towards the laptop screen could have been taken as concentration.

    But SeokJin knew NamJoon. He knew that if NamJoon was presented with a challenge, he’d grin, wipe his lower lip with his thumb and immediately begin typing away. There was nothing that he liked more than a challenge. There was none of that here; NamJoon only looked confused, worried, almost. After scrolling through a few screens of the servers, NamJoon glanced up at SeokJin, a warning in his eyes, before turning back to IU.

    “I don’t know who this is,” he said with a shrug, “but whoever they are, they’re really good.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. This pattern’s pretty distinctive, I’d be able to recognize it if I’d seen it before.” IU’s shoulders sank in disappointment as she accepted the laptop.

    “This is driving me crazy. Looks like I’m just going to have to chip away at this on my own.”

    “I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.” NamJoon shrugged apologetically with a sigh. IU smiled brightly in response.

    “It’s okay. Asking other people was a stretch anyways.” She half-turned towards the door. “Oh.” She turned back towards the couple, who stared back at her. “I guess I have another question. I was wondering if you knew another person.”

    “Shoot.” NamJoon smiled. He glanced at SeokJin, who squeezed his shoulder gently.

    “You know the YG, JYP, and SM hacks two years ago?” IU wondered. SeokJin felt anxiety rush through him, making his arm tremble. It was well known in the hacking world that the three largest research institutions were still looking for the group of hackers responsible. NamJoon’s shoulders tensed imperceptibly under SeokJin’s fingers.

    “Of course I do. All hackers know about them.” NamJoon sighed. “It’s a shame, what was her name? Jordan, right? SeokJin, you said she went to the same highschool as you? She was talented.” IU eagerly leaned on his desk.

    “I know! She’s so talented! Was it possible for her to do that all by herself? She had to have worked with a team, right?” She turned towards SeokJin. "You went to school with her, do you think any of your classmates could have been in it?" SeokJin felt NamJoon freeze under his fingers.

    “Yes, she worked in a team, but no one knows who was in it.” SeokJin answered offhandedly. He tried to keep his voice steady. “The only person knew the other hackers was Jordan Chang herself, and she was sent to prison for protecting them.” His voice became colder nearing the end of the sentence; if IU noticed the sudden tension in the room, she didn’t give any indication.

    “Shame...” She sighed. “I was just getting into the hacking world when it happened, I think it’s so fascinating!” She straightened back up. “But anyways, thanks for your time!” She waved eagerly before flouncing out. NamJoon and SeokJin half-heartedly waved back. The heavy atmosphere surrounding them lightened as soon as the building door closed behind her.

    “Jin...” NamJoon whispered. “Jordan did it.” SeokJin’s head snapped towards him.

    “What?”

    “That problematic server that IU brought in? That pattern is Jordan’s. I’d recognize it anywhere; it’s her.”

    SeokJin’s head spun. He reached for the nearest rolling chair and sank down into it.

    “But Joon, she’s in jail.” He grasped for NamJoon’s hand. “There’s no way...”

    “It was her, Jin. No one else codes like her. There’s no way I’m wrong.” NamJoon shook his head. “Did she get out somehow? Has she contacted you?” He looked over at his boyfriend. SeokJin shook his head before resting it in his palms. He and Jordan had always been close, before and after their relationship. He knew that if she had gotten out of jail she would have contacted him first. It didn’t make sense.

    “Why would IU ask about it?” He muttered to himself. “She should know that Jordan worked on a team. Everyone knows that one of the team members ratted her out; there’s no way she wouldn’t know.”

    “She said she’s working with YG.” NamJoon brushed his hand against SeokJin’s wrist. “Do you think...” SeokJin jerked his head up.

    “Let’s not going to jump to conclusions.” He inhaled deeply. “Is there a way to track where Jordan is? If she was moved or anything?” NamJoon nodded.

    “Definitely, I’ll look into it as soon as Hobi and YoonGi get back. We can look into it together.” SeokJin got out of the chair, meaning to go back to the receptionist area. A hand on his halted his steps.

    “We’ll figure this out, Jin.” NamJoon said earnestly. “I promise.” SeokJin nodded with a smile, but nothing was settled inside. Anxiety riddled at him for the next few hours, even as HoSeok and Yoongi came in with his favorite ramen. Even as NamJoon and Hoseok investigated further into Jordan’s location, he couldn't stop his hands from shaking, couldn’t stop glancing over his shoulders to check their expressions. Their wrinkled brows and furious typing only heightened his anxiety.

    For BTS, Jordan going to prison for them was their greatest source of regret. They'd had to live through that pain for two years, and would live with it for the rest of their lives. Jordan’s coding style resurfacing in the YG servers terrified all of them. SeokJin couldn’t handle the thought of her suffering more.

    If Jordan was out, they needed to find her, for everyone’s sake.

***

Beta'd by: Shooka24. Shoutout for being an dork and accidentally unupvoting. XD

Wassup, guys!

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