Tiger Inside ||Stray Kids Mafia AU||

Chapter Six

My fist connected with the punching bag with each blow, my focus set on each movement and posture adjustment. A sharp exhale paired itself with every punch, maintaining force and zeroing in my focus on the accuracy of the blows.

In the blink of an eye, two weeks had already passed since I initially arrived in the house. Felix had shown me the training rooms in the basement and I wasted no time making good use of them. A miniature shooting range was a room in the back corner, only large enough for two people at once, but still effective nonetheless. Beside that sat a vault, housing a large arsenal of weapons ready at the drop of a hat. More storage rooms sat littered around, storing things ranging from as interesting as tactical gear, to as mundane as extra food storage. The final room being that of a large gym, providing an array of equipment for any form of training needed.

As expected, Minho and I had kept each other at a distance. The occasional side eye being the only form of contact between the two of us. I knew eventually one of us would have to crack, to approach the other and finally make progress with my training beside him, but my time spent without him in the training rooms felt like progress enough.

"You're too stiff, relax yourself a bit." Changbin leaned against the wall as he critiqued my form. The rest of the boys took turns in their areas of expertise at assisting me in my training, letting me dip my toe into each role within the team slowly. I rolled my shoulders back, taking a deep breath before my fist made another shot. "Not just the shoulders, bend your knees a bit. You're stiff as a board." With a huff I stepped back, grabbing my water from the bench and downing a drink. My eyes crossed to the door, now sitting open with Minho leaning against the frame in silence. The edge of his lip curled into a subtle smile, a slight attempt at hiding some form of entertainment he was getting from observing me trying to get my bearings back on hand to hand combat. I rested my hands on my hips as I tried to gain composure over my breathing.

"And what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?" I said through labored breaths. Minho stood upright, the slight smirk leaving his lips immediately.

"Chan sent me to come get you two, he's called a meeting." And with that, Minho turned on his heels and exited, quiet just as he entered. Changbin and I exchanged a glance before a shrug as I followed him out and up the stairs to the living room.

The other members were already formed around the couches, most sitting side by side with Felix standing behind one of the couches and leaning forward on his hands. His eyes seemed hollow, like he had not known the comfort of sleep in many days, quite opposite to his usually bubbly demeanor.

I took another swig of my water as I sat against an arm rest of one of the couches, observing as everyone sat in a painful silence. Tension bubbled in the air, Chan hadn't called any meetings since my initial arrival, and I seldom saw all of the guys together all at once. The silence put an unsettling feeling in my body, unsure of how to read everyone's expressions. They all seemed to be stone cold, no emotions showing whatsoever. I fiddled with my hands in my lap, my eyes scanning around the room in an attempt to ignore the awkward feeling coming from the still quiet that was in the room. I was still unsure of what situations could cause Chan to call a group meeting, not knowing to what importance this might be.

The silence is finally cut as Chan's footsteps approached the room, his hand running through his hair as he leaned against the wall, facing the group. He hesitated before speaking, sparing a glance to each of us almost as if to take head count and to ensure each of us were fully present.

"As you all know, we haven't had to have a direct hand in any shipments coming in as of late." Chan's voice was flat, matching the emotionless demeanor of the others in the room. "But something interesting has started to show up." His eyes glanced to Felix, still standing behind one of the couches. Another moment of silence followed before Felix realized that was his queue to take over. He cleared his throat before speaking.