I'll Stand By You

Chapter 35

The whole room went silent as they heard RM mention that name. Woo Ji-ho, aka Zico used to be Whalien52's top assassin during Young-jae's time. However, when the then leader found out about his secret activities of smuggling drugs and weapons outside the country, also harming many innocent lives who caught him in the act, Young-jae immediately punished him and kicked him out of the group, even going as far as threatening him to never step foot in Bangtan ever again. RM however has never met the man, he just knew him from pictures when his father warned him about the man when he officially took over the group two years ago. Now, he's back in Bangtan again and he's after Kim Seokjin and to destroy RM and his group. 'He's the leader of BlockB, the group whose leader was killed,' Yuqi spoke up after a while and again everyone was shocked by the new information. 'So he's Z? That somehow makes sense,' Suho added and then the room was filled with a tense atmosphere. 'So that man has been stalking my son for half a year and he even went as far as going to his condo,' Hyun-woo said in a low voice, 'Son, it was really a blessing that you were there with him that night and that you decided to live together,' he added as he released a sigh of relief, Young-jae nodding along agreeing to what his friend had said. It really would have turned out very differently if Namjoon hadn't been there that day and if they still lived separately, especially as during those months they weren't aware that they were being watched. 'Yuqi how do you know he's the leader of BlockB?' V suddenly asked after Hyun-woo had voiced his thoughts and it seemed like everyone was also eager to know since they all turned towards her with curious eyes. 'Well since we're a fairly new group, there was a meeting among newer groups and I along with Minnie attended it to represent (G)I-dle. It was organised by BlockB to discuss about our various dealings and boundaries. We reached there earlier than others and saw the man talking to his men. When he saw us he immediately put on a mask and told us to forget we ever saw his face and we agreed since we haven't seen him before but later in the day, he introduced himself as Z to everyone, but he kept his face hidden.'

After a few minutes of everyone processing the information, RM cleared his throat and looked at everyone, 'Let's work on a plan to go against him. Even though BlockB has been in the underworld scene for just about seven years, their previous leader had worked hard to get them to where they are now. Their resources are not to be underestimated, heck they are also very powerful and have very capable men so we need to work together.' The allies nodded in agreement and promised RM that they would give their best, 'Don't worry RM, let's form a plan that'll definitely guarantee success,' Suho added. So, once again the group leaders along with their right hand men started working on a masterplan. They had decided to allot different tasks to different groups and with such teamwork they were sure to get the desired results within two weeks. You see, they could have easily attacked BlockB and capture Zico with force however, they wanted to avoid that because then the other groups will see it as a form of oppression of bigger groups on a smaller group. If that happens, the entire underworld will be shaken up and chaos is bound to prevail with other groups taking advantage of the situation and wreaking havoc everywhere. Hence RM had come up with the perfect plan- they would dig into Zico's life and also into BlockB's activities. If any of their works are against the rules of the underworld, then they can easily attack them. Thus- Whalien52 would look into Zico's life after he left Bangtan that was six years ago, Exo would look into BlockB's activities before the death of their old leader, I-dle would look into Zico's life after he came back to Bangtan, Kard would look into BlockB's activities during the three months before Zico took over, Mamamoo and Shinee would look into the finances of the group during the last seven years and Stray Kids would look into Zico's activities at present.

The plan was perfect but it also required trust and team work. It could all go wrong with just one small mistake or if any of the groups slip up. However, RM was confident it would work out because he knew how strong their bond with each other is- they do not in any way lack trust nor team work. By the time everything was finalized, it was already dark outside-the sun had set and the temperature has dropped, it being winter and all. RM checked for the time on his watch and he sighed, it was already past five in the evening and he wanted to be home with his babies soon. 'Alright guys, let's wrap everything up as it is getting pretty late. We'll update our progress tomorrow evening and whatever information we get should be sent to Hobi and his team,' RM said and all the others nodded, 'Let's hope we end this soon RM,' Onew said as he stood up, his right hand man Minho also following suit. 'Thank you for your cooperation everyone, I wouldn't have been able to figure this out on my own. I owe you a lot,' Whalien52's boss said as he bowed deeply to everyone, expressing his gratitude to them. 'It'd be wrong not to help you. You've always given us a hand in our problems and this is our chance to show our gratitude, so don't thank us RM,' Solar said with a genuine smile as she returned his bow. 'Don't worry RM, we'll protect your family like our own. I don't know if others feel the same way, but to Exo you are family. You've helped us through so much and we consider you as our leader too, so keep your head up. We'll not let the enemy win,' Suho said and the others clapped their hands and nodded in agreement making RM grateful and happy that he has such loyal comrades.