I wouldn’t say that the following days were uneventful, but it was different. Every night I would go to bed with ear plugs and then I would be woken up by Chenle who would find joy at staring at me until I would realize that he was there. I would be picked up by Jeno and he seemed like he had decided to keep a close eye on me and I was pretty sure because Doyoung had told him to. I learned how to throw a dagger, stretched more than I was comfortable with with Ten, met the famous Lalisa they were talking about, ran around the vents with Hendery and slowly got myself accustomed to eating with them every lunch.

More often than not, Jisung from the shooter’s faction would join us and remind me oh so many times how pretty I was. Every night, I would stare at the ceiling and wish I would hear from Sehun, but to no avail. I was haunted by every possibility that he was dead, or even worse—somewhere alive and tortured. I talked to my oldest brother on some occasions, and he told me to stay in SM since he was busy from the backlash the corporation was facing due to Sehun’s disappearance and my parent’s death.

The stock prices had fallen and they were going to appoint a new chairman for SW Corporations and I could tell from Seojun’s voice that he was trying his best to keep the company above water.

Today was different, and the moment I stepped out of my room, I saw Yuta instead of Jeno. I raised my eyebrow at the Head of Transportation, the male not saying anything. Why was he here? Where was Jeno?

“Kyungsoo wants to see you,” Yuta told me and I noticed he had a helmet in his hands. “I’m supposed to bring you to him.”

“He found something about my brother?” my voice rose hopefully, and Yuta shuffled uncomfortably. I kept my gaze on him and Yuta dragged his eyes onto the ground.

“I don’t know. But I’m supposed to pick up Johnny after this so it’s best we hurry.” He told me truthfully before turning on his heel and began to walk. I found myself following him, the rhythm of my footsteps patting rapidly against the floor as I hurried after him. He brought me to a study and waited for me to go in before leaving.

When I entered the study, I saw the Director of Operations with his eyes on a computer screen. I closed the door behind me and the sound made him look up. He smiled when he saw me, motioning me over and I walked towards him.

On the screens, there was a photo and videos of a single male. He had pink hair and looked incredibly familiar. I frowned, trying to pin point where I have seen him when it dawned to me that it was the guy who stole the wallet in the police station.

“Na Jaemin. Johnny is bringing him in today,” Kyungsoo told me and he told me to take a seat. I sat down, crossing my legs as Kyungsoo began to talk. “Na Jaemin. 21. He had been adopted as a child by his adoptive parents and was known to be problematic. He went through countless therapy sessions, psychologists—”

“I’ve seen him before. In the police station. He stole a wallet,” I told Kyungsoo who nodded.

“I take you’ve heard of the term “I’ve been Nana-ed”? That’s his street name, Nana. Na Jaemin had been living in the streets for two years now along with his associate, Huang Renjun.”

“What’s wrong with him?” I asked, photos of Na Jaemin coming up onto the screen. He had crazy eyes and his smile was so wide, it was scary.

“His records show that he’s a pathological liar and a kleptomaniac. He was put in a mental hospital by his parents when it got so bad. His original term was supposed to be two years of treatment.” Kyungsoo paused, opening another video. “Na Jaemin acted his way through and was released early. Within six months, it seemed as if he was fine and he had befriended everyone in the hospital. This is the video of his release.”

The video showed Na Jaemin, no longer in hospital clothes, but normal ones. He seemed to have a good relationship with the nurses, smiling and bowing down to them excitedly. They waved to him as he turned to exit the hospital but before he did, he wrote something on the bulletin board. After he was done, he began to walk towards the exit—but not before he looked straight at the camera, and a smirk travelled up his face.

“What the ?” I whispered. “Sorry,” I mumbled, Kyungsoo chuckling.

“What the , indeed,” Kyungsoo mused. The camera switched to the camera outside of the hospital, in the parking lot. I watched the male exit the hospital and finally he gave a happy dance, running away from the hospital. He kicked a car, throwing his head back; cackling as he disappeared.

That guy was bat crazy.

“This is what he wrote on the bulletin board,” he told me, dragging up a photo. The photo showed writing, a message that was scrawled messily.

‘Gotcha! :D’

“Wait, how did no one make sure he was picked up from the hospital? I thought when someone gets discharged—”

“You need a guardian, yes. He lied his way through. He was discharged a day early and imagine the chaos that followed when they came the next day and found him gone,” Kyungsoo told me. “He had spent 2 years on the street, conning people with his associate—Huang Renjun. Johnny is bringing them in today. I think he’ll make a great addition to the forger department.”

If Na Jaemin was crazy, Kyungsoo was no where different.

“You want him to study in SM?” I asked in disbelief. “He’s crazy.”

“Aren’t we all, my child?” Kyungsoo asked back. He had a small smile on his face when a knock on the door sounded. My moment of asking him why I was there was interrupted by the arrival of a man.

“Tae-il,” Kyungsoo greeted, the man bowing politely. He had glasses and a kind smile. “This is Moon Tae-il. He’s the head of the Hackers and Profiling department. Come, join us.”

“You found him?” Tae-il asked Kyungsoo who nodded. “Let me see.”

“Huang Renjun. 20,” Kyungsoo said, motioning over to the screen. “Ended up in the streets. No digital trace. History unknown. Na Jaemin’s partner. He would hack and profile people and together with Na Jaemin, they would con people. Policemen, bankers, you name it. They are very well known in the underground world. Both of them have very good street rep.”

“How good do you think he is?” Tae-il asked. “Or are you only bringing him in because you want the Jaemin boy?”

“His skills may be of good use, though they have to be assessed. That too. I hardly think Huang Renjun will stay if Na Jaemin won’t. They are a package deal. Oh—Johnny.”

The door flew open and Johnny strode in, seething. He slammed his fist onto the table and Kyungsoo seemed unbothered by his anger.

“I told you—I told you!” Johnny thundered. “I told you no more wild cards. You brought in the whole ing circus!”

“You’re bleeding,” Tae-il observed and I saw that Johnny had a huge cut on his bicep.

“Na Jaemin stabbed me with a pen,” Johnny hissed, rolling up his sleeve.

“He hurt you?” Tae-il asked in disbelief. “You?”

“Yes, me,” Johnny emphasized, ripping the sleeve apart just to glare at Kyungsoo. “I’m not adding him into the forger department. He’ll be too much work. We are not accepting charity cases!”

“Johnny,” Kyungsoo said. “Sit down.”

Despite Johnny’s anger, he was compliant. I still had no idea what I was there for but with Johnny’s fuming and Tae-il’s concentration on the profile of the new comers—I felt like I was out of place and I would ask Kyungsoo later.

“Where are they?”

“In the testing rooms,” Johnny replied gruffly, pressing the cut on his arm. Kyungsoo nodded, pressing a button when the screens flickered. It then finally showed two men in different rooms, sitting down on a chair. They were blind folded but not handcuffed. It looked exactly like the cell I first woke up in.

“They’ll wake up soon,” Johnny said. “I gave Huang Renjun a lower dose since he’s smaller. I was able to inject Na Jaemin with it because he came close to stab me.”

And then, they began to stir. I watched Na Jaemin remove his blind fold, blinking. He looked confused, but not fazed. Looking around, a smile crept up his face and he stood up, observing his surroundings. Na Jaemin then began to circle the room, leaping around with energy and I wonder where he got it from.

He’s a lunatic, I found myself thinking.

Then he stopped, his eyes straining at the shelf. I remember what I saw when I was going through the test. There were computers, wires, a crow bar, and a button. I saw Na Jaemin tilt his head at the sight of the red button. Squinting closer, I saw that there was a sign by the button.

“Risk of Explosion.”

I felt Johnny stand up, and lean forward. He looked over my shoulder and I found myself moving away to make way for him, his chest pressed against my back as he focused on the screen. I froze, but Johnny didn’t seem to react, speaking almost to himself.

“If he presses the button, it’s an automatic fail,” Johnny told Kyungsoo. But he wouldn’t press the button, would he? He wasn’t that suicidal, was he?

Na Jaemin was on the floor, rocking himself back and forth when we all heard him mutter.

“To press? Or not to press?” he asked himself, humming a small song. “But it said explosion! How nice, how… theatrical! Ooooh, how loud would it be?” He asked himself, rubbing his hands together greedily as he stared at the button he wasn’t supposed to push.

No.

“How fun!” Jaemin could be heard saying and right then and there, his finger went closer to the button and he pushed it, quickly standing up to get ready for the explosion.

Jaemin waited, his eyes on the pushed button, hopeful. What kind of person was he? Who liked explosions?

But there was none.

And then Na Jaemin began to grow angry.

He stood low, pressing the button over and over again as if it would give him a reaction. The male stood up, looking around and when there was no explosion, he stamped his foot on the ground.

“Why!” he bellowed, grabbing the crow bar and flinging it to the side. “WHY NO BOOM BOOM?!”

Wow.

“Give ME THAT BOOM BOOM BOOM!” he roared, kicking the button and I saw Johnny look at Kyungsoo who was studying him carefully. I dragged my eyes over to the other screen that Tae-il was staring at, Huang Renjun beginning to stir.

Huang Renjun, unlike Jaemin’s current outburst, took off the blindfold and stood up. He too, looked calm like how Jaemin was when he first saw where he was; as if he was kidnapped a million times. While Jaemin was in the other room demanding an explosion, Renjun walked around the room, stopping by the entrance of the cell. He then began to call out.

“Anyone?” Huang Renjun said, his voice soft and sweet.

The walkie talkie that was by Tae-il activated and someone spoke. “He’s asking for someone. What should I do?”

Tae-il grabbed the walkie talkie before Kyungsoo reached for it, the Head of the Hacking and Profile Department bringing the device to his lips and speaking. “Send someone from security in. Find a way to scare him. Bring guns.”

We all watched when someone from the security faction made their way to the entrance, a gun in his hands.

“Move away!” the man ordered and Renjun stepped back, the cell opening up. The man walked in and he held the gun pointed at Renjun who simply looked at him. “Go on the floor or I will shoot.”

“You won’t,” Renjun replied. He sounded sweet and he smiled at the man. “Your hands are trembling. You haven’t shot a gun before, have you?”

Renjun didn’t seem like a threat. He simply stepped forward and began to circle the man.

“Why did you send one of the rookies?” Tae-il asked into the walkie-talkie when a voice replied.

“Lucas and Jackson are on a mission.”

“Poor you,” Renjun was saying, leaning closer and we all watched him raise a hand up in the air snapping his fingers softly. “You must be nervous.”

The male did look nervous, stepping away from an advancing Renjun who had finally placed a hand on his shoulder. Renjun was smaller than the male, but he didn’t act like it and finally he lowered his lips onto the ears of the sent-in agent before whispering.

“With the sound of my voice, you will… sleep,” he whispered, and with a snap, the man fell limply on the floor. I saw Tae-il’s jaw drop, his eyes widening at Renjun’s special skill. Renjun stared at the man, before grabbing the gun.

“I want him. No. I need him,” Tae-il said, his voice was drowned by Jaemin’s non-stop screaming from the next screen.

“LIAR! Liar!” Jaemin was yelling at the button, Kyungsoo finally muting him.

“I need Huang Renjun,” Tae-il insisted and Kyungsoo nodded. “I’ve never seen someone so skilled in hypnosis.”

“He won’t stay if Na Jaemin won’t,” Kyungsoo said, sneaking a look at a pissed off Johnny. Tae-il rounded up at Johnny who looked up at him.

“Make Na Jaemin stay,” Tae-il told Johnny. Not even waiting for Johnny’s answer, he dusted off his clothes. “I’m interviewing Huang Renjun. Whatever you do, make Na Jaemin stay.”

And with that, he left the room.

What was I there for again?

Johnny gave a huff at the idea of having someone as crazy as Na Jaemin in the forger