"Four days ago an infiltration-mission gone-wrong took place in the old XUE apartment building in xxx district. A kidnapping had taken place and the suspect, Ha Min Teuk, was found to have already fired multiple bullets around the victim. As a precaution, the police at the scene strategized to shoot the gun out of the suspects hand, but failed to do so.

The police officer responsible turned out to be a new recruit. As a result, a bullet to the head was shot at ---"

I grabbed the remote control on the table and switched the TV off. I sighed.

I pushed the pastel blue colored curtains to the sides and tied them neatly with a ribbon. The pillows on the couch looked a bit messy that's why I fixed them a bit.

Walking over to the kitchen, I noticed how there were a lot of empty ramyun packs on the counter. I picked each one up and placed them where they should be.

"They're such a mess..." I said with a small smile.

I finally made my way over to my room.

Hyun Tae's Duplicate. I looked at the hanging sign on the door. I chuckled almost sadly as I entered the room.

The once occupied room filled with memories now looked sad. Everything was either taken out or was inside the stacked cardboard boxes. All that was left for me was my purple suit case. I walked over to the window and gazed at the view I knew I could never watch again.

Carrying my suit case, I made my way to the living room. There I saw eight kids.

Chan, the reliable and easy to talk to talented producer brother

Minho, the cold-outside-but-warm-inside cat lover with funny sarcasm

Changbin, the muscular fake maknae filled with love for dark but keeps doing aegyo

Hyunjin, the hyper and sometimes clumsy lovely charmer of the Got7 Jinyoung fanclub

Han, the crazy all-over the place humor bubble descendant of YoungK

Felix, the epitome of talented duality in Stray Kids who keeps up with the trends

Seungmin, the dandy puppy who is crazy scary when mad but is very friendly and warm

And Jeongin, the savage and lovable maknae-on-top that has every other member whipped for him

"Hey.." I smiled at them. No one said a word. It was a very depressing atmosphere, I would say.

They watched me move to the main door. I kept my eyes on them. I was about to turn around but...

"You don't have to leave y'know..." Seungmin said. I stopped.

"Do you need to leave?" Felix asked slightly stepping forward. I remained silent.

"I promise I won't bully you that much anymore.." Minho added looking away with a sad expression.

"We'll always be here when you need us..." Hyunjin gave a bittersweet smile.

"It's not like she can't take care of herself. We shouldn't be so worried..." Changbin scratched the back of his neck. He said that but it doesn't look like he believed himself.

"If you leave right now, you'll regret it..."Jeongin lowered his voice, he sniffled a bit.

"We won't miss you if you leave..."Han coninued with an empty threat. He frowned.

"Please Stay..."

My vision started to cloud up. I felt warm tears roll down my cheeks and my face grew red. I said I wouldn't cry... haha... geez...

"You're always welcome to come back" Chan smiled as he and the others moved forward.

I looked back at all of them, and mustered the best smile I could show, "Thank you for everything". More teardrops spilled and I felt my heart grow heavy. And just like that, I left the dorm-- no wait...

I left Stray Kids.

______

A Year later...

"I can't believe this is the place where I reunite with you guys" I grinned fainlty at the guys that gathered around me.

"Yeah, I can't believe we're meeting up in a place like this..." Chan replied.

It was the death anniversary of our mother. Hyun Tae and I stood before the tombstone with a bouquet in our arms. We placed them down with a smile.

"Mom, we're doing great...you wont have to worry"

Both of us joined the rest after that and went go eat in a restaurant.

"I feel bad for Min Teuk. He cause a lot of trouble for you, but still..." Hyun Tae wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"Yeah... the police officer shouldn't be blamed though" I sighed.

"As long as you're safe, everything's okay" Hyun Tae hugged me tightly then messed my hair up.

"That time, Min Teuk told me to go alone that's why the other members had to stay outside" He continued.

They came that day?

"I didn't ask about them though" I replied with pursed lips.

"You might get curious later on" he shrugged.

We entered the restaurant and ordered food. We spent the rest of the day by sharing stories of what happened to each other and more. The table we sat at was filled with loud laughter.

"I missed Stray Kids" I whispered to myself. But they all heard me and smiled as a response.

"We missed Alex too"