Yixing swigs his whiskey as he prances in circles around his lair, deep in thoughts. 

Memories of drinking whiskey with Lana interrupt his thoughts briefly. But he quickly shakes off the distracting recollection and feelings of longingness and returns to reflecting back on the earlier events.

What happended back there? Why did I suddenly choke? It felt as if I was on an imminent cardiac arrest! All the air was wiped out of my lungs. The most plausible explanation is that I'm unwell. But that is an impossibilty for me. Because of my healing gift, I'm never unwell.

In fact, I'm back to the pink of health right this minute. I can self-heal and can thus recover from any possible contracted illness or sustained injury. And without a doubt, I do not have any con ailment.

But back then, that felt like a sudden attack! Possibly akin to a heart attack or a severe case of asthma, not that I had ever experienced either.

There can only be one explanation. Someone else was behind it.

***

"Ahhh!!!" Lana screams from her desk.

Yixing actually hesitates for a nanosecond to look up as he guessed it may just have been Lana reacting to Sehun's prank. And he simply can't bear to witness yet another of display of their affection. But his protective instincts get the better of him and he rises from his desk and sees a pale Lana looking aghast.

Soon, the office gathers around Lana. 

Sooyoung holds onto a visibly shaken Lana, her arm gently, trying her best to calm her down, "Don't worry Lana. It's...probably just a ... cuckoo reader? With...nothing better to do on his hand, than send hate mail? I'm sure it's just a one-time prank?"

"Yeah, We writers get ....crazy packages like these from time to time...ummm... nothing to worry about?" Wendy tries to reassure, albeit unconvincingly as the office regards the vile contents on Lana's desk ominously.

In the box Lana dropped on her desk from shock, is a bloody severed chicken head. With a note accompanying it. The malicious message, scrawled in blood, says: "! Gonna you & twist your head off too!"   

Behind Lana's back, Sooyoung and Wendy exchange worried looks. While other writers have received hate mail from readers before, usually it's obviously directed towards a particular article they've written. Often the messages simply curse them out for writing something unfavorable about their favorite actor, singer or celeb. Making blank threats of sorts.

But never in the history of The Scoop has anyone received a hate mail of this extent. With dead animals and blood. And the message seems personally directed. Without any reference to any article. 

Everyone either stare helplessly at the mess on Lana's desk or look away disgustedly from the putrid sight. All put off by the vile sight but no one dares to make a move to touch the dreadful box.

Kai, the intern, glances around and realises that being right at the bottom of the pecking order, he's probably the one who should be cleaning up. But just as he's grudgingly moving towards Lana's desk, Yixing swiftly steps forward and takes over, "Let..Let's get this c..cleaned up" and picks up the lid and some of its strewn contents and quickly puts them back in and covers the box. 

He silently shoots Baekhyun a look and the editor-in-chief understands immediately.

"Yes, we'll get this mess cleaned up. Meanwhile, Lannie dahhling, just take the day off. Go rest at home. Have some nice 'me' time for yourself. Umm...eat some ice cream? Watch some silly movie? Or..." Baekhyun's rambling gets cut off by Sehun's sudden arrival.

Sooyoung quickly fills Sehun in on the situa