Centers of Fate - Stray Kids

Chapter 32 - Panic

Minho was flipping out, which wasn't all that surprising, since his brother and best friend just got kidnapped. He was clinging to Jisung like a koala to a tree while sitting on his couch, his chest pressed tightly to Jisung's back and all four limbs trapping his upper body.

After getting Hyunjin's message in the group chat, the remaining six friends decided to meet up at Jisung's apartment. Chan and Jeongin were the last ones to arrive since they just got off work, but they rushed as fast as they could considering the circumstances.

Seungmin opened the door, and Chan smiled at the sight on the couch. If any of Jeongin's brothers ever went missing, he would no doubt be doing something similar to Jeongin.

"How long have you been trapped?" Chan asked Jisung, trying to lighten the mood.

"Couple of hours." Jisung huffed out. "No big deal."

Minho put his chin on Jisung's shoulder and looked up at Chan and Jeongin. "I'm not losing him."

"You can't lose me if I'm right here."

"If they break in they have to take me too."

Jisung couldn't fight that point, so he rested against his boyfriend's chest and looked up at the others. They were all speechless at what happened. They caught Chan and Jeongin up on the events of the kidnappings, and also the Senate hearing.

"The man who took Binnie was there, and we think it's the same one who followed me the day we got our stuff from iStar." Minho explained. "He probably took Felix too, since he matched the description of the guy in the photo like Hyunjin said."

Seungmin, who liked being a detective, checked his phone to find the name on his ID. "Jin Mireu, Superior, 26, and his birthday is August 11th."

"Binnie's birthday..." Minho noted.

Seungmin scrolled through the group chat further. "Wait, Felix recognized him? Is he connected with the center?"

Jisung, still in Minho's clutches, and Hyunjin looked at each other and shrugged. They all went deep in thought, trying to place the name or face of the man who was stalking them for some time now.

"Do we have any idea where they might be?" Jeongin asked.

"They would probably use a Superior building, those jerks." Hyunjin said, less sarcastic than normal.

"Would they be stupid enough to use the iStar building?" Jisung asked.

Minho shrugged. "Maybe? I have some ideas of Superior buildings they would use."

"Why would they want to kidnap the Lee brothers?" Chan asked innocently.

"Ransom money?" Jeongin suggested.

"Showing Superiors are weak." Minho said confidently. "We should expect some kind of camera showing them freaking out over something. Some kind of torture."

Jisung sounded scared. "Seriously, Min?"

"If they wanted me instead of Binnie, that's what they would do to me. Show why I should be Sub-Standard to discredit my words."

"But if they're Superior, why make Superiors look bad?" Chan was confused at the logic.

"Because they're brainwashed!" Minho finally let go of Jisung and stomped his feet on the ground. Jisung shook his arms that had become numb from Minho's tight grip.

"They sound pretty stupid."

Hyunjin started laughing and released the tension in the room. Slowly the boys looked between each other and broke into smiles and laughter. For one small moment, they forgot about their predicament. The fear was gone for a moment, but returned just as quickly. Minho's phone suddenly buzzed, which made Jisung jump.

"It's a text from Felix's phone. It's a video."

"You're psychic!" Hyunjin tried to sound light, but his body language was clearly concerned.

"It's not going to be pretty." Minho warned, but the remaining four huddled behind the couch to get a view.

"It's okay," Chan reassured him with a gentle touch on his shoulder. "Whatever happens, we're here for you."

"Here we go."

Minho pressed the play button on the video and held his arm out so the others could see. He wanted to close his eyes, but he knew he needed to notice details to figure out where they were.

(Heads up, next chapter is just a straight trigger warning because Mireu is a gross and twisted man. I initially wanted the video to be at the end of this chapter until I realized that it needed its own easily skippable section.)