Tiger Inside ||Stray Kids Mafia AU||

Chapter Ten

The clicking of keys echoed through the room, Felix settled in front of his computer, trying to piece together the large puzzle. The setting sun outside casted a warm light throughout the room, complimenting the purple glow of the LED's surrounding the top perimeter of his walls. Felix's triple monitors lit his face from all angles as his eyes flicked between the screens, scanning over each code repeatedly looking for any clues he had missed initially.

I finally pulled my eyes from my phone screen, endless time spent scrolling away in the silence. Rolling over in the bed, I watched the numbers scrolling by on his monitors. Felix was deep in thought, I wasn't even sure if he still remembered that I was in the room with him, too focused on the task before him. He leaned back in his chair, running his fingers through his hair with a huff before turning around to me with a strained smile.

"Any luck?" He shook his head defeated, unsure of how to make his next steps. He swiveled back to the screens, the click of his keys returning.

"I just keep running into the same firewalls. Everything is so jumbled." His huff of frustration was evident as the numbers scrolled on the screen. As my eyes glued back to my phone, the screen lit up with a notification.

Incoming call - Jiho

I glanced up to Felix, now fully back engrossed in his mission. I quietly slid out of the room into the hallway, answering the call and holding the receiver up to my ear.

"Hey, what's up?" A light chuckle came through the phone, Jiho's smile peeking through his words.

"It feels good to be able to call you like this again" I smiled at the sound of my brother's voice as I looked down to my feet, fingers playing with the hem of my shirt. Jiho hesitated before continuing. "I do think it's time you take a visit to the family home though, I'd like to have a proper meeting with you."

"I can see if one of the guys are willing to drive me there, when would you like me?" I leaned back against the doorframe, tucking my phone into my shoulder as I examined my nails, my face turning in disgust as I saw the peeling around my cuticles.

"Oh no, don't worry about that. I can send for my driver to come get you. How does later tonight sound? Maybe 7 o'clock?" I hummed in acknowledgement, glancing at my watch to check the current time, I had some time to get myself cleaned up and ready. "Sounds good then, I'll see you in a little bit." As we both hung up and I slipped my head back into Felix's room, catching him by surprise with my voice.

"Hey, Jiho wants to see me, so I'm gonna head out and go get ready." Felix's head tilted back in his chair, a soft grin across his cheeks.

"Oh alright, let boss man know I said hello" I nodded back to the poor, tired boy.

"Please don't be at this for too long, try and get some sleep tonight, okay?" My smile was one of concern, knowing Felix probably wouldn't be listening to my request.

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I pulled my towel around myself as I stepped out of the shower, the cold air hitting my skin and sending goosebumps down my spine. I wasted no time throwing on a hoodie and leggings, trying to search for some source of warmth after my long hot shower. I made haste in throwing on some makeup before styling my hair, attempting to make myself put together and clean, knowing where my plans were going to take me tonight.

"She rises from the dead." Seongho's voice rang through the phone, holding a bit of surprise behind his words. I held the receiver to my ear as I settled myself on the front steps of the house, waiting for the car to come pick me up.

"Glad to hear from you too, you dork." I grinned as I stared up to the sun setting in the clear sky. A sense of relaxation sinking over my body, freshly showered and everything started to feel like it was truly falling into place, that this all might actually work out. Getting to hear Seongho's voice again after our quick interaction in the alley brought me comfort, a warm hug of familiarity.