At the Shinhwa Mansion.

Shinhwa and BTS were sitting in the den and looking through books from the library that is right next to the den. They were shocked and speechless after watching Mark kill a member of the Federation right in front of them. Not only that, the look in his eyes was frightening. It was almost like it wasn’t Mark standing there. After Mark, killed the man, the other members of the Federation ran away, and Mark fainted. Shinhwa and BTS brought him back and put him in his room. Now they are sitting in the den looking through the books and trying to figure out what is going on with Mark.

Just then Andy says, “Oh no. I think I found something.”

All eyes were on Andy and he looked up with a pale expression on his face. He says, “It says here, ‘Shape Shifters have been around for thousands of years. Each shape shifter is different. Their change is different. But, there are some shape shifters that can become one with their creature, and that could be dangerous.’”

Jin says, “Wait, shape shifting has been around for thousands of years? How is that possible? The Federation is using our people to create shape shifters. They’ve been doing this for thousands of years?”

Andy looks at the book and says, “No. Shape shifters have been secretly living a life of solitude because many people can’t stand the sight of a person changing into an animal or a thing. They are ridiculed and beaten if found. It wasn’t until the royalty of China was slowly becoming obsolete. The very first King of China was the first shape shifter. The line has been passed on to his sons and daughters. The last King of China was killed along with the Queen and any children they may have.”

Jimin says, “So, does that mean Jackson and Mark’s father, mother, and siblings are all dead? If that’s the case, then we need to keep them safe.”

Then J-Hope says, “I found something else. Listen, ‘There are two reasons for a shift to take over the body of its owner. 1) The owner falls asleep or becomes unconscious and the shift is eager to get out and explore or to fight. 2) The owner’s mood changes drastically, and the shift is getting impatient and wants to fight the people who is causing the owner problems. 3) The owner gives up its life and lets the shift completely take over its body, which means that once the shift takes over, the owner has passed on, and the shift will take on the body of the owner and the shift, and will do whatever it pleases.’”

Eric says, “So, wait, what happened in the forest? You guys said that Mark killed a member of the Federation, but his eyes shimmered as he the blood off some claws.”

Andy nodded and said, “Yeah. He didn’t look or act like Mark. Then he just collapsed.”

Eric looked at J-Hope and said, “After seeing what happened at the forest, which one is Mark right now?”

J-Hope says, “It sounded like #1. But, what I’m wondering is that Mark’s mood changes drastically. There are times where he’s happy. There are times where he’s sad. And then, like earlier today, he was angry. The shift came out of Mark and took care of the problem because Mark’s mood changed. Do you think we need to be careful around Mark?”

Eric sighed and said, “Is there anywhere in the books talking about the royal family at all, besides the small amount that we read?”

Everyone shook their head. Just then the doorbell rang. Everyone looked at Eric as he stood up. He picked up his gun that he had laying on the table and walked to the door. The doorbell rang again. He stood in front of the door and opened it. There standing was the most beautiful woman that Eric has ever seen. She had black hair, a fair complexion, and blood red lips. Not to mention her dress fit her curves to a tee.

She smiled and said, “Is this the Shinhwa residence?”

Eric cleared his throat and said, “Yes. What can I help you with?”

The woman smiled and walked into the house before Eric could close the door. He closed and locked the door and then ran in front of the woman, stopping her.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?”

The woman smiled again and looked around the living room and then turned to face Eric and said, “I’m here to make a proposition with you.”

Eric folded his arms over his chest and said, “Oh, and what would this be?”

The woman said, “Prince Ka Yee, and the slave boy Yi Eun.”

Eric looked at the woman and said, “We don’t have either of them.”

The woman tsked and said, “That’s not good to hear. I know that you have Yi Eun here. But, I want to see Prince Ka Yee.”

Eric opened his mouth, but another voice spoke. The woman turned around and saw Andy standing there and he said, “Prince Ka Yee isn’t here. We don’t know where he is. As for Yi Eun. We don’t know who that is.”

The woman shook her head and said, “You do know that it is pointless to lie to the Federation.”

Everyone took a step back except for Eric. The woman smirked and then turned back to Eric and said, “See. Everyone is afraid of the Federation. Now, our proposition.”

Eric stood there and said, “Okay. I’ll listen.”

The woman smiled and said, “If you hand over Prince Ka Yee, and Yi Eun. We will release the others that we have.”

Jun Jin walks out and says, “You’d release Jinyoung?”

The woman turned and looked at JunJin and said, “Ah, one of the Park brothers. Choongjae. What a nice surprise to see you. Is Jimin with you?”

JunJin stepped in front of Jimin and said, “It’s bad enough you took my brother, you’re not getting the other one.”

The woman shook her head and said, “I don’t want Jimin. I will release Jinyoung to you, if you hand over Yi Eun and Prince Ka Yee.”

Jun Jin stood there and was thinking about the options. They still don’t know much about Jackson or Mark, but if they gave the brothers up, he’d have Jinyoung back. Just then he felt a squeeze on his arm and he looked over at Jimin.

Jimin whispered, “Don’t. I know how much you want Jinyoung back, but we can’t give up Jackson or Mark.”

Jun Jin sighed. He knew the Jimin was right. But, he wanted Jinyoung back so badly, but Jimin was right. They can’t give up on the brothers, no matter what. They will protect the brothers, even if it kills them.

Jun Jin looked at the woman and said, “No deal. Jinyoung will find his way back to us eventually. But, we won’t give up Ka Yee or Yi Eun...even if we had them, we wouldn’t give them up.”

The woman shook her head and said, “Hmm. Not very good to hear. I guess then we have no choice but to hold the others until we get what we want.”

The woman turned to walk toward the door when she heard a voice. She turned and gasped. Everyone looked upstairs, and there was Mark. He was standing there in a short-sleeved white shirt with black pants.

“How long have I been out? Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know we had a guest.”

Everyone groaned and the woman turned and looked up. She was shocked at how handsome Mark looked after all the grime, dirt, and blood was washed away. The woman smiles.

“What is your name?”

Mark looked at the woman and then at the others. He saw them shaking their heads and then he looked at the woman and said, “Tuan. Mark Tuan. Who are you?”

The woman walked closer so that she was in line to see him and she said, “My name is Tobi.”

Mark’s eyes went wide and Tobi smiled.

Tobi turned to look at Eric and then back up to Mark and said, “Yi Eun.”

Mark suddenly moved backwards and they heard something fall, which they assumed was Mark. They heard him run down the upstairs hall and a door slammed shut. Tobi turned back to Eric.

“Giving him a new identity won’t be able to stop us from finding him.”

Eric walked over and opened the door and said, “You overstayed your welcome. Get out of my house, or I’ll throw you out.”

Tobi chuckled and said, “Funny that you would say that. Now that we know Yi Eun is here, you have nowhere to run.”

Eric pulled his gun from the back of his belt and aimed it at Tobi and said, “Don’t make me shoot a woman. Now you tell the Federation that I will NOT give Yi Eun or Ka Yee up.”

Tobi shrugged and said, “Pity.”

Tobi walked outside and turned to smile as Eric slammed the front door in her face. Tobi smiled and walked back to her car.

Andy said, “Oh God, Eric, what are we going to do? Now the Federation knows about Mark. How are we going to keep him safe?”

Eric sighed and walked away leaving everyone scratching their heads.

Andy said, “ERIC!” Andy went to run after Eric, but Dongwan pulled him back and said, “Don’t. You know how Eric is when he’s like that. He could end up blowing your head off.”

Minwoo said, “I’m going to check on Mark. If you saw, he was clearly frightened of her. That makes me wonder.”

Minwoo along with Andy ran up the stairs and down the hall. They found Mark’s door. Minwoo went to open the door, but found that it was locked. Minwoo started to pound on the door.

“MARK! LET US IN! IT’S MINWOO AND ANDY!”

Minwoo pounded on the door a few more times, until they heard the unmistakable sound of the door being unlocked. Minwoo opened the door and saw Mark pacing back and forth. Minwoo and Andy looked at each other and then at Mark.

Andy said, “Mark, are you alright?”

Mark didn’t say anything. He just paced back and forth.

Andy said, “Mark, talk to us. You know we’ll listen.”

Mark shook his head and started to mutter some sentences, but they couldn’t figure out what he was saying. He was talking in a language they were not familiar with. It must be his native tongue from China.

Andy sighed and wished that Jackson was here, then he would be able to tell them what Mark was saying.

Minwoo walked over and grabbed Mark but the arms and stopped him from pacing and said, “Mark. Stop. What is going on?”

Mark looked like a deer in the headlights and said, “I...I need Ka...Ka Yee.”

Minwoo sighed and said, “I know. But, we don’t know where he is.”

Mark shook his head and said, “I don’t care. I want my brother back! I don’t want to be alone.”

Andy walked over and put his hand on Mark’s shoulder and said, “You’re not alone. You have us.”

Mark pushed Andy away from him and said, “I don’t want anyone else. I want MY brother. He’s the only thing that is keeping me sane. I want MY brother!”

Minwoo and Andy tried desperately to get Mark to talk to them, but he kept calling for Jackson and then talking in another language. Minwoo and Andy walked downstairs and into the den. They were surprised to see Eric sitting in his chair.

Eric’s head lifted and he said, “Did you get anything from Mark?”

Minwoo shook his head and said, “No. He’s pretty much frightened and he keeps talking in his native tongue. I’m thinking it’s Chinese.”

Andy said, “He keeps asking for Jackson, but we don’t know where he is.”

Eric sighed and said, “While the both of you were upstairs talking to Mark, I’ve made a decision which I think is for the best, but it could also be the worst idea.”

Minwoo said, “What is it?”

Eric sighed and said, “Move to Seoul.”

Andy said, “Come again?”

Eric said, “We move to Korea.”

Andy said, “Are you crazy? With everything going on, you want to move everything to Korea? Why?”

Hyesung spoke up, “Think about it. If we are in Korea, we have a better chance in keeping Mark alive and safe, than here in the states.”

Andy scratched the back of his neck and said, “You know he won’t go for it.”

Eric nodded and said, “I know. I’m ready for that. But, it’s the only way to keep Mark alive. We have many allies in Korea that could help out.”

Jin spoke, “I agree with Eric. I think it would be for the best that Mark come with us to Korea.”

Minwoo said, “Are you aware that Mark doesn’t know Korean all that well?”

Dongwan nodded and said, “We were talking about that. We’ll teach him.”

Andy sighed and said, “I don’t know. It’s going to be a big step for Mark. He’s going to practically lose his brother.”

Eric shook his head and said, “Not necessarily. Jaebum and Yugyeom volunteered to stay here and wait for Jackson. Once he’s here, Jaebum and Yugyeom will bring him to Korea.”

Jin walked over to Andy and stood in front of him and said, “Don’t you want the best for Mark?”

Andy said, “Sure, I do. But, this could send him over the edge. He keeps asking for Jackson and we can’t do anything for him. Now we’ll have to tell him that we’re moving to Korea, and leave his brother behind. Do you even know how he’s going to react?”

Dongwan said, “Yes we do. That’s why, when Eric is ready, we are going to drug Mark so he’s out as long as we are on the flight to Korea. By the time we get there, he’ll be awake and if anything happens, we can deal with it. We don’t have the resources here. It’s all in Korea.”

Andy sighed and ran his hand over his face as he said, “I wish there was a better option for Mark.”

Dongwan said, “We all do. But, we can’t let either Princes be taken and/or killed.”

Andy looked up at JunJin and said, “How are you dealing with this? You’ll be leaving Jinyoung behind.”

JunJin shrugged as he held Jimin on his lap. Jimin had his head on JunJin’s shoulder and JunJin said, “I’m not happy with having to leave Jinyoung. But, it’s the only way. I’m going to find a way to get him and the others out of the facility.”

Andy sighed as Jin walked him over to a chair and sat him down. He said, “I just hate seeing Mark so broken. He’s just a child.”

Suga spoke and said, “Mark is an adult. He can’t always be hiding behind his brother’s shadow.”

Andy stood up quickly and exploded, “HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?! MARK IS GOING TO LOSE EVERYTHING ONCE WE LEAVE HERE! HAVE A HEART!”

Suga wasn’t fazed by the outburst. He figured an outburst like that would happen eventually.

J-Hope said, “I usually don’t agree with Suga, but I do this time.”

Andy said, “WHAT?! WHY?!”

J-Hope held up his hand and said, “Here me out. As Suga said. Mark is only a teenager, but he understands things. He’ll understand that he can’t always depend on his brother. So, he’ll have to start doing things on his own.”

Andy sat back down and said, “Everyone is against Mark now?”

Hyesung said, “That’s now what we are saying. We want to help Mark, but we also want him to help himself as well. He needs to stand up to the Federation, not back down.”

Andy said, “How does he do that, when he’s been tortured and abused the whole time he was there? He can’t stand the Federation, so it’s going to be hard for him to stand up to them. He doesn’t know if they’re going to try and kidnap him and torture him to the point of killing him.”

There was silence after what Andy said. Andy got up and walked out of the den. Everyone looked at Eric and he sighed.

Eric said, “I know we aren’t going to agree on this, but it’s the only way to keep the Wang brothers alive. Mark has a new identity, so we can use that as an advantage in Korea. We just need to wait for Jaebum and Yugyeom to get Jackson and bring him to Korea as well.”

Minwoo got up and said, “I’m going to talk to Andy.”

 

To be continued...

Author’s Note:

So, what did you think of this chapter?

Oh man, the Federation knows about Mark’s new identity now. Eric wants to move everything to Korea. How is Mark going to take having to leave Jackson in the states?

Just a side note, if anyone asks, BamBam isn’t in the picture yet, because they haven’t met him yet.

Do you think the Federation will be able to find Shinhwa, BTS, and Mark in Korea? Or will they be safe?

I wonder what Jackson is going to say or do when he finds out everyone moved to Korea, when Jaebum and Yugyeom tell him.

** Just so you know. Ever since I used the name Tobi in my other story "Remember your Smile." I don't know why, but I've always loved the name Tobi for a girl. So, you might see the name Tobi come up quite often if I make any other stories. **

 

Thanks for reading and as always....

 

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