COLD ᝰ.ᐟ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐗

[ 14 ]

"I thought y'all were rich, you sell drugs for a living!" Chan said in disbelief as he stared at the bedroom in front of him. There was a double bed, a single bed and a mattress on the floor, all cramped together into a relatively large room. It looked as if all the boys lived on top of each other.

Jisung laughed, "Yeah, but we have to buy arsenal and stuff for ourselves. Plus, to be unsuspecting, it's easier to live in a smaller suburban home."

Chan shrugged, "Are we forgetting the elaborate concrete labyrinth and basement cells you got going on beneath us?"

The younger brunette rolled his eyes. "People don't see that."

"Sure."

"You can have the single or the double, that's if you're okay with sharing," Jisung offered. "It's me, Hyunjin, Minho and Jeongin in here. Felix and the rest are in the other room across the hall. There are some clothes for you too."

"I can just sleep on the mattress." 

Jisung looked at the older with disgust. Here he was offering up his own sleeping arrangements, and Chan would literally rather sleep on the floor. Chan, seeing the look on the younger's face, rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I'll sleep on the single. I'm guessing it's you and Minho in the double anyways."

Jisung smiled, satisfied. "You should have a warm shower, and then go to bed. You've been up for more than 24 hours. It's almost 12pm."

Some time later, Chan stepped out of the shower, and after drying himself, he pulled on the sweatpants and hoodie Jisung had given him. He draped a towel over a drying rack and went to his shared bedroom. The blonde was just climbing into bed when he heard the door swing open, in walked Felix holding a packet of instant ramen.

"Are you hungry? When did you last... oops, sorry," Felix noticed Chan sleeping and backed out of the room, quietly slipping the door shut.

Black Shag were not responding. Felix had instructed his youngest to contact them and rearrange a deal. But they were being ghosted.

Felix's forehead creased, he was worried. They had seen everything, and now they didn't seem open to another meeting. Jeongin was sat on the couch in front of the ginger's desk, typing furiously on his laptop, if he could break through Black Shag's firewall, then he might get access to whatever footage they had taken from that night.

Reams of code streamlined across the computer's screen, painting it black and green. Glasses perched on his nose, Jeongin worked diligently, but their security software was strong.

"I can't get through," he mumbled through gritted teeth, sounding pissed.

"Keep trying, Innie. I'm sure you'll figure it out," Felix reassured him.

"Hold on," he was getting a call.

Jeongin glanced up, hearing the older's phone ring. "It's them, isn't it?"

He watched him nod grimly.

"Hello?" a thick voice spoke, the voice of someone who smoked cigars.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Crow," Felix spoke, putting the call on speaker.

"You should just give up, I see someone trying to get into our camera footage."

Jeongin's hands fell away from the keyboard in disbelief. They'd cracked his own incognito software without him even knowing.

"Can I ask why you called me?" Felix avoided the statement. He didn't want to appear fazed.

"Who was the other guy? It was strictly a one-on-one deal."

Felix mouthed a curse and banged his fist on the table. It was exactly what he had expected. "He was just some drunk stumbling around."

"Really?" Mr. Crow teased, nothing in his voice believed the latter's lie.

Felix reassured him. "We got rid of him. Body's been dumped off one of our ships in the Pacific. Don't worry."

Jeongin stared at the dim phone screen, awaiting any form of reply, praying it was good. Felix spun in his chair, a cigarette between his fingers. He always smoked when he was stressed.

"Out of sight and out of mind, you say?"

"Yes, Crow. Now I have a request."

"What?"

"Can we rearrange a meet-up?" Felix crossed his fingers, clasping the cigar between his lips in anticipation. He could hear Mr. Crow chuckle. A brittle, colorless and mocking laugh.

"With hApPy or SKZ, Felix?'