Pluralis Majestatis | Jeongchan

eight

Jeongin is up bright and early when Minho practically drags him out of bed and shoves him inside the bathroom, arguing with him about how he didn't care that Jeongin isn't a morning person because he brought this onto himself when he decided to do away with his life of luxury and doing whatever he wanted when he decided to throw their leader in jailㅡ waking up at noon, included.

Jeongin grumbles all the way through his morning routine even until he's seated in the dining table where Felix and Changbin were just about finished with preparing light breakfasts for them to eat before they set out and meet with the new groups of Capos that are now currently (and temporarily, but the only people that know that are in the same room as Jeongin) under Jeongin's leadership.

"Do you want one?" Felix asks him as he takes out a big container of brownies that he brought with him yesterday and stored in the fridge until now. There are only a few pieces left and Jeongin isn't sure if Felix had brought it filled to the brim or not but he does know that he and Minho had snacked on that yesterday when Jeongin and Changbin were out on the shooting ranges.

Jeongin shakes his head, halfway through chewing on a bite of buttered toast. "No thank you."

As much as he'd want something sweet for breakfast, he's learned to tell the difference between Felix's baked goods. The container Felix took out of the fridge has red lining instead of the safe blue that Jeongin would gladly take pastries out of, and even if Minho would argue that pot brownies are good for the nerves, Jeongin doesn't want to be buzzed when he, in Felix's words from last night, makes a claim for the throne.

And besides, Chan isn't here right now, and Chan had made him promise, that first time Felix had offered him suspicious food, to never drink or do drugs without him present, and Jeongin plans to keep that promise and every other promise he'd made with Chan.

The drive to the main base takes almost an hour (Changbin had once again noted how Jeongin had to move in an area between cities but Jeongin simply rolled his eyes at the newly-appointed Consigliere) and when they arrive, Jeongin's face is blank, devoid of any emotion the moment he steps out of the car. It reminded Felix, Changbin, and Minho of Chan, and wondered if Jeongin had always been like this or if he had picked it up from the older.

"You got this." Minho whispers to him as the other two lead them through the base that they all know like the back of their hands. They're going to what once was Chan's father's office, now Jeongin's, where three men are waiting for them to arrive.

Jeongin recognizes all three of them: Seungmin, who had been a Capo even from before Jeongin's quote-unquote takeover but they never interacted much during Jeongin's time with Chan; Jisung, who Minho would talk fondly of so Jeongin had learned to brush away his initial impression of him, and used to be a Soldier under Minho's crew but now is in charge of the crew Minho was once in charge of as well as a different crew since those two clusters have merged to be under Jisung's direction; and then Hyunjin, who Jeongin was never entirely friendly with because along with Jisung, Jeongin didn't have the best first impression of him, but unlike Jisung, Hyunjin's impression stayed with him even until now. It doesn't seem like Hyunjin is planning on making friends with Jeongin even with the current situation and Jeongin can only hope that the taller would stay professional with him and avoid dispute. He's not looking for any more trouble than he already stirred up.

Jeongin sits down behind the polished wooden desk, the spot very foreign to him because he's more familiar with Chan's office and even then, he barely sat in the seat, instead he was usually on the other side of the table, on one of Chan's sofas, or on Chan's lap, distracting the older from doing his work with kisses and cuddles and whining into his ear. Now, Jeongin is seated at the top and even when this is where he should be right now, it doesn't feel right without Chan's arms for him to fall back on.