It’s said that when a moment of great significance in your life occurs, time tends to slow down. That’s how it felt, anyway, when you watched with horror as your bodyguard and best friend crumpled to the ground in front of you. Time slowed down to the point where it felt like everything stopped.

“FELIX!”

Your knees buckle and you fall to the ground, crawling over to the unmoving boy. You pull his head into your lap, brushing his hair out of his face. Tears well up in your eyes, a full blown panic attack building up inside of you.

“Felix, no! Please Felix, please wake up!”

You gently shake his shoulders, desperately trying to wake up the boy you call family, your tears spilling down your flushed face. However, no matter how hard you shake him, he continues in his slumber. You once again hear the click of the gun in Taeyong’s hands, but nothing comes out. You realize that the bullet that took Felix was the last one.

Something inside you snapped. Your eyes no long held anything but hatred, a low growl building deep in your throat. You slowly look up at Taeyong, the boy who shot your Felix, a cold, icy look making him swallow the lump in his throat. You gently lay Felix back onto the floor and stand up. Suddenly, you lunge at Taeyong, all your current pain forgotten. You knock him to the ground and straddle his body and deck him in the face. That’s when all the humanity inside you left and was replaced with nothing but pure animal instinct. One punch after another, you land on that pretty face of his. He does his best to fight you off, but it’s to no avail as he was still delirious from his previous fight with your and Lee Know’s members.

“You. ing. Piece. Of. . I’ll kill you, do you hear me?! I’LL KILL YOU!” You scream into his face, landing punch after punch, tears streaming down your cheeks.

After about 5 seconds you feel hands grab onto your wrists, stopping you from beating the boy into the ground. “Y/N, stop! You need to stop!” It was Lee Know’s voice, his hands who held your wrists.

“He killed Felix! He needs to pay! HE DESERVES THE SAME FATE!” You scream, not taking your bloodshot eyes off the NCT leader underneath you.

“Please, stop!” He whirls you around to face him and immediately his heart shatters. He sees your face bright red with anger, sweat dripping down your forehead, breath short and fast, you were seething with nothing but pure anger. But the thing that made him wince was the tears that kept coming and coming, the tears that were like a river down your flushed cheeks. He could see nothing but pure pain and terror flashing in your eyes. For as long as he’s known you, he’s never seen or even heard of you breaking down like this. The strong, independent, fierce leader of District 9, the girl he fell madly in love with, was completely falling apart right in front of him. And he didn’t know what to do.

He pulled your trembling body into his, hugging you so tightly, no matter what you do, you can’t escape. “I know he deserves it. But if you kill him and the cops find out, you’ll be arrested. We wouldn’t be able to buy them off this time, your blood and DNA are all over.” He lowers his voice into a whisper. “Please, stop. I can’t lose you.”

With those words, your entire body freezes and then let’s go. You wrap your arms tightly around the Stray Kids leader, your choked back sobs now coming freely. He pulls you off of Taeyong and into his lap, letting you feel every emotion that’s inside you while you’re safe in his arms.

“Boss!” Lee Know hears Changbin’s voice. “Hey, he’s still breathing!”

Your head snaps up to look at Changbin, who was bent over Felix, his ear to the boy’s lips. Woojin runs over to Changbin and Felix, kneeling down to find the boy’s pulse. Once he did, his gaze finds yours, a slight look of relief filling his eyes.

“He’s still alive. For now. But his pulse is very faint, he needs to see a doctor right away.”

You gasp a little and try to wiggle out of Lee Know’s hold but a sharp pain in your shoulder and thigh causes you to hiss in pain. Lee Know shifts his arms so he’s carrying you and stands up. Changbin follows suit, gently picking up unconscious Felix.

“Please, be careful with him.” You half whimper, eyes focused on Changbin and Felix.

Changbin looks at you, his eyes softening. “I promise I will.” He’s not one to show emotion but admires how much you care about your members.

“He won’t let anything happen to Felix, hon. I can promise you that.” Lee Know kisses you on the cheek, making you blush. Once again, you glance at your bodyguard, worry circulating through your mind.

~~~

Hyunjin had called a friend of his who is a doctor on the way back home. By the time the 10 of you make it back to District 9’s hideout, Doctor Jinyoung and Youngjae had arrived just in time. Hyunjin had explained the situation to them over the phone, so they were prepared by the time you arrived.

As soon as everyone enters the hideout, Hyunjin, I.N, Seungmin, Chan and Han collapse onto the couch, exhausted from everything that had went down. Lee Know helps you inside, being careful of possibly hurting you again, while Woojin helps Changbin with Felix.

“Felix’s room is down the hall. Second door on the left. If you could lay him down in there and the doctors could take a look at him.” You squeak out, your voice hoarse and weak. Changbin nods and follows Woojin to Felix’s room.

You turn to Dr. Jinyoung and Youngjae. “Please, I don’t know how bad the wound is, but please help him. He’s my best friend. I don’t know what I’d do without him.” Tears once again well up in your eyes, Lee Know giving your shoulder a squeeze in reassurance.

Dr. Jinyoung nods and gives you a soft smile. “We will do everything we can. It’ll be a while, however, til we can stabilize him. But we won’t leave here til we’ve exhausted every option to save him.”

You smile weakly and nod, thanking the two doctors. Dr. Youngjae looks down at your cut thighs and back up to your bruised neck. “Miss, you’re also going to need medical attention.”

You shake your head, your voice turning slightly more authoritative. “I’ll be fine. I’ve dealt with worse. Just right now I need you two to focus on Felix.”

Dr. Youngjae looks uncertain but nods anyway. The two of them follow Woojin and Changbin. The two gang members returned shortly, the door to Felix’s room closed shut while the doctors work.

You sigh, running a hand through your hair. “At least it’s all over. We’re all safe.”

“For now. But NCT is still out there and they don’t forgive easily. We still need to be on our guard.” Woojin points out. You nod, agreeing to his statement.

The room is quiet for a moment, making you suddenly very aware of your current state. You clear your throat. “Well, I will be going to my room to patch myself up.” You eye the boys around the room. “I wish to not be disturbed. No one is to walk in without permission, understood?”

They nod in agreement. You turn to walk away when Lee Know speaks up. “I’m coming to help.”

“Did you not hear what I said? I don’t want to be disturbed!”

He waves a dismissive hand before taking yours and dragging you down the hall. “Yeah yeah. I’m coming anyway.”

You scoff, but your face turns bright red at his actions. Seungmin chuckles behind you. “Only he can make her so flustered.”

“Shut up!” You take your shoe off and throw it at the Drug Lord but miss as you are being tugged into your room. Lee Know shuts the door behind him and seats you onto the bed.

“You don’t have to be in here, you know. I can take care of myself.” You cross your arms.

He raises an eyebrow, “is that right? How is your neck? And your thighs? Oh and the brand on the back of your shoulder after you had to antagonize the psycho children?” You pout, choosing to keep your mouth shut. He rolls his eyes. “Where’s your first aid kit?”

You sigh and nod to the bathroom behind him, giving up this pointless fight. Lee Know walks into the bathroom and is back a second later with the large first aid kit. For the next few minutes, the gang leader cleans your cuts, both of you silent. You can’t help but stare down at his beautiful, concentrated face. The corners of your mouth twitch into a smile.

“I knew I was handsome, Y/N, but I didn’t know you liked me that much.” He raises his eyes, a smirk playing at his lips.

You let out a squeak and suddenly look anywhere else but him, making him chuckle. Another minute has passed before you open your mouth. “Did you mean what you said, about me being your girlfriend?”

Lee Know nods, “of course. I wouldn’t say anything of the sort unless I meant it, my dear.”

“How did you just assume I’d be okay with it?” Your eyes narrow slightly.

“Because you can’t resist me, my love.” He winks at you, causing your face to once again turn beat red.

“If you like me so much, why did you always mess with me and why did you kidnap me?”

He chuckles, “well, one, you’re fun as hell to mess with. You’re one of the only gang leaders who can keep up with me. Two, I really did want all of District 9 to myself.” He shrugs matter of factly.

You laugh slightly and run a hand through your hair, watching him finish bandaging up your legs. “So, what do we do now? Now that we’re together, it would be stupid to be rivals again.”

Lee Know stands up, handling both of your hands in his. “Well, I can move in. But wherever I go, so do my boys. So. You now have 5 new roommates, yaaaaay!”

You groan and fall back onto your bed. “Where am I going to put all of you? I only have enough rooms for my boys and I.”

Lee Know crawls onto the bed, hovering over you. He let’s a finger slowly flitter against your cheek, staring lovingly at you. “I’m sure they don’t mind the couch or the floors. They’ve had it much worse before. We should probably look for a new place soon anyway, since NCT is still out there and they know where both of our hideouts are. Chan can help I.N with a new security system, so we wouldn’t have to worry.”

You nod and mumble, “okay.” Your breath hitching. “But I’m still calling you Minho.” You don’t take your eyes off the gorgeous man hovering over you.

Lee Know slowly lowers himself down til he’s laying right on top of you. His lips gently brushes yours. “Fine. But you’re the only one who can.” A smirk plays at his lips as he captures yours with his. The kiss was hungry and possessive. The makeout session lasts for a long time, the two of you stopping once in awhile to catch your breaths. He’s been waiting for this moment for a long time, he’ll be damned if anyone takes it away from him.

However, like the world is working against him, you suddenly both hear the door to your room open. “Y/N? Boss?”

You both turn your heads to see Changbin with his hand on the door knob. You groan, “okay, so your boys don’t knock either?!”

“Ugh. I swear to god, this better be important!” Lee Know’s voice raises, causing Changbin to slightly flinch.

“It’s Felix. He’s awake.”

The two of you snap to attention upon hearing the news. Your heart pounds as you run out of the room and into Felix’s. As soon as you enter, your greeted with a half smiling Felix.

“Hey, Boss.”

Tears well up in your eyes as you pounce on the injured boy. He groans out in pain but doesn’t care. He wraps his good arm around your trembling body and pulls you in for a tight hug. The rest of the boys file in after you, relieved to see Felix is alive and awake.

“Hey, hey. It’s alright. I’m fine.” He rubs your back gently.

“What do you mean, it’s alright?!” You snap softly at the boy, pulling away slightly. You give him a chastising look. “Lee Felix, how dare you get shot and almost die for me! I’m so mad at you right now!”

He rolls his eyes. “Y/N, that’s my job. I swore I would protect you with my life and I stand by that promise.”

“Except you’re not supposed to die! You’re Felix! You’re the strongest, fastest body guard in the world! Nothing can happen to you!”

“Hey! What about me?!” Changbin complains.

“Shut up, Changbin.” you wave your hand dismissively.

Everyone laughs at your antics, making Changbin pout. Lee Know pats him on the head. “Awe, don’t worry Binnie. You’re still my favorite bodyguard.” Changbin swats his hand away with a frown.

You hear a throat clear, making the group of you turn your heads. Dr. Jinyoung smiles awkwardly. “I just wanted to explain that we were able to retrieve the bullet it had lodged itself in his left shoulder. He’ll be okay but he will have limited to no use in his left arm for awhile. If he wishes to heal properly, he needs to be resting as much as he can.”

You nod understandably. You send the two doctors a small smile. “Thank you.” They bow their heads and take their leave.

Once they’re gone, the boys mingle among themselves. You turn to Lee Know. “We should explain the situation at hand.”

He nods, suddenly snapping his fingers, accompanied by a sharp whistle. Immediately the room goes silent, all eyes on the two of you. “Alright, since it’s pretty clear a few things have changed within the dynamic of our two groups, we’ve come to a mutual decision.”

“We’ve decided that Stray Kids are going to move in with us.” The boys all groan, mumbling protests under their breath. Your expression turns dark, your voice low and menacing. “I know I didn’t just hear back talk out of any of you. Stray Kids will be moving in with District 9. We will ALL learn to get along or there will be severe consequences. Have I made myself clear?”

The boys swallow the lumps in their throats, nodding vigorously in agreement. After making sure they truly listened to you, you snap back into a cute smile. “Good!”

Chan leans closer to I.N, “damn, she’s scary.” I.N nods, eye wide.

“So, Han, Chan, Changbin and Hyunjin. You four have the freedom to choose where you’d like to sleep. Anywhere is fine.”

“Oh, I call dibs sleeping with Y/N!” Han excitedly jumps up and down, waving his hands.

You roll your eyes. “Hell no you don’t.”

“Awe but you said I get to choose!”

“Han, knock it off. You won’t be allowed to go anywhere near her room.” Lee Know growls. “I’ll be the one sleeping in there.”

Han groans and pouts. Seungmin pats the boy on the head. “Hey, do you wanna go check out my lab?”

Han raises a brow in curiosity. “You have a lab here? Can we blow something up?”

Seungmin shrugs. “Yeah, sure.”

Han lights up, a smile back on his face. “Sweet! Let’s go!” Seungmin leads Han out of the room and into the basement where he keeps all his supplies.

“Do you guys at least have a gun range so I can practice?” Hyunjin sighs, slightly upset he has to leave behind his range at home.

Woojin chuckles and pulls out his weapon, twirling it in his fingers. “Yes, we do. I also just got in the new Cold Steel 80PGTK Gi Tanto set, if you’re interested.”

Hyunjin let’s out a small gasp, “no ing way! Those are so hard to find in this District!” Hyunjin excitedly follows Woojin out of the door, eager to see the set of knives.

Lee Know turns to you and grabs your hands, a smile slipping onto his lips. “That seemed easier than I thought. Maybe this will work after all.”

You smile back, placing a kiss to the back of his hand. “I’m really glad. I was nervous for a bit there.”

I.N and Chan stand there, awkwardly watching this weird and cute exchange between the two of you. I.N leans over to chan. “Hey, do you want to go hack into the U.S air base system and change all the missile launch codes?”

Chan blinks. “Yes. Yes I do.” He follows I.N out of the door to cause some trouble.

That leaves You, Lee Know, Felix and Changbin standing in the room together. Changbin plops down on one of the comfy chairs in Felix’s room, leaning back. “I want to stay here.”

“What? Hell no! Go sleep on the couch.” Felix glares at the bodyguard.

You turn your own glare onto your own bodyguard. “Felix, play nice. Changbin was the one who discovered you weren’t dead yet and carried your unconscious back here.”

Felix’s face turns a bright red. “Oh. O-Okay then. Fine, stay here or whatever.” You notice the blush on his face and giggle to yourself.

Lee know leans into you, his voice almost a whisper. “Looks like everything is fine now. Shall we go to bed? I know we are both exhausted and could use some sleep.”

You groan at the sudden heaviness you feel in your limbs. “Yes, god, please.” Out of nowhere, Lee Know sweeps you off your feet and carries you bridal style into your room, kicking the door shut with his foot.

That night, all 10 of you had gotten the best sleep you’ve had in awhile, happy that everything worked out in the end.

~~

A groan is echoed in the large, metal room. Jaemin blinks as his consciousness comes to. He goes to hold his head in his hands but his arms won’t budge. He looks behind him to see him, Haechan and Jisung tied together.

“What the fu- how did we end up like this?”

He thinks hard for a moment when suddenly a vision of Lee Know punching him in the face flashes through his mind. He instantly growls, pissed he let that happen. Suddenly the door to the room busts open to reveal a bruised and battered Renjun, Jeno, Mark, Chenle and Lucas.

“What the happened in here?!” Lucas’ eyes widen.

“Well what the happened to you five?” Haechan’s voice speaks up in response, signaling him having woken up.

“ing Stray Kids and District 9, is what happened. Surprised the hell out of us.” Mark mumbles, rubbing his head.

“They are so ficking dead for this.” Jisung growls. He had also finally woken up.

Mark and Jeno go to untie Haechan, Jisung and Jaemin from their binds. Renjun kneels down onto the floor where a body lay. “Goddamn, they beat the hell out of Taeyong.” He checks his pulse to make sure he was still alive. It’s very faint, but it’s there.

Renjun lets out a low growl, his anger raising. “Oh, they are so not getting away with this. Those ers don’t know who they messed with. Not only beating the hell out of all of us, but taking what rightfully belongs to me.” A smirk spreads across his face. “This isn’t over, not by a long shot. We will take District 9 and their Lovey Leader Y/N along with it.”