Okay, there's a lot of opportunity here, but also a lot to unpack.

Where did Felix and Minho grow up?  Parents?  Any other siblings?  What was early childhood (before Felix's "corruption") like?  Friends?  Economic status?  What professions did the parents have?

Felix, the event was a book.  You opened a book that was not supposed to be opened, and words in a language you didn't understand invaded your mind.  You burned the book, but the images, voices, and nightmares persist to this day detailed below.  Tell me how that happened.  Give me a microstory about it.

Both of you, tell me about life at home after the incident.  How did it manifest, and what problems did it cause?  What solutions were tried?

Minho, what led him to a life of petty crime?  What drives him to do it, even if he doesn't know himself?  Who did he associate with?

If you need help, I'd put you both in Rexxentrum in the Dwendalian Empire on Wildemount.  It's a massive city (the capital, actually) north of Zadash (where Rain ended up).  If you don't like what you read there, it's perfectly okay to choose somewhere else.

---

https://criticalrole.fandom.com/wiki/Rexxentrum
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:35, Sun 20 Mar 2022.

I like the idea of growing up in Rexxentrum.



Both of our parents are still alive and according to Minho spend too much of their time up in his business. He is the firstborn son to wealthy (dnd equivalent of Koreans, I'm thinking either Mulan, Rashemi, or Shou) and as such all their hopes and dreams are now placed on his shoulders. He had to do well in his studies to make a good internship/job when he came of age, he had to always be polite so as to not offend anyone, and most importantly he could never break the rules/law or shame would fall on the family.

Felix and Minho have no other siblings.

Their mother's name is Lee Isabelle and their father's name is Lee Han-Gyeol, but goes by Han for short. Isabelle is not her true name, but she goes by it since her actual name is too hard for most people to pronounce. (We haven't actually come up with that name might be though). The Lee family owns a gem mine (sapphires and emeralds) which is how they came about their wealth. Han polishes the stones after excavation and determines what their worth is. He also supervises the hired workers during the excavation process. Isabelle runs a shop in town that makes jewelry from the gems in the mine.

During his early childhood, Minho vividly remembers taking music lessons and how much enjoyment he found in that. He continued singing and playing the lute even after the lessons ended.

Minho and Felix have one mutual friend, Esmerelda, who was their neighbor growing up. She is 17 and both boys are interested in her, but she won't choose either of them. (We haven't determined if it's because she doesn't want to hurt the other's feelings or if she truly just wants to be friends with both and nothing more.) She doesn't know about Minho's thievery or the exact details from the incident, but she knows something happened when Felix was 8 due to his changed behavior. She was given the cover story that Felix tells to hide the fact that he has a demon inside him.



I will come back to life after the incident once Brian and I have talked about it more.



It's something that came about long after the incident. I'd say he was probably 14 or 15 when he started to run with the wrong crowd and began to learn the skills. He associated with a small gang from the Mudtop Ward. His first interaction with them was when they were caught trying to break into his mother's shop one morning, but they *rolled low on their thieves' tools check* and were having difficulty with the lock on the door. As they ran off, he followed them and they accepted him into the group. Once he joined up, the gang left his family's business' alone with the exchange that Minho would share a slightly larger profit with the group from the items he pinched. His reasoning for joining the gang, after the incident the pressure his family placed on him doing well and not being a blight on society grew larger and he needed something he could be in control of...in a sense.

I'll think more about the reasonings as to why he does it, it might not stay with being driven by his family's incessant nagging/pressure to do well.

When Felix was young, he loved to explore.  It didn’t matter if it was dangerous, he always thought it was worth the risk, because think what he MIGHT find!

One day, while exploring the local woods near his house, he stumbled and fell into a cave that was covered by vines and thick vegetation. (literally stumbled as he stepped on a rock, his ankle gave out, and he fell sideways into the cave hole)

Felix was excited at the find; too excited in fact, as he pushed forward even with his twisted ankle, which was not a great situation to be in while exploring a rocky cave.  As he delved further and further into the dark cave, going slow not only because of his ankle, but because he couldn’t see much of anything, the cave felt…old.  As in dusty and stale.  Luckily the cave only had a slight incline down, as it would have been much harder to traverse in the total darkness.

It was hard to tell how long he had been walking for, maybe a half hour or so, when he stumbled on a faint, muted light.  Almost like that of a light trying to push through a heavy fog.  Now that he was able to see, if only a little bit, he saw that the cavern walls had turned to stone blocks.  Dust covered the ground a half-inch thick and each step scattered it, causing Felix to cough violently;  his cough sounded so loud as it echoed off the ancient stone walls.

Felix turned a corner and the misty, muted light that was there, just suddenly snuffed out; before him stood a swirling vortex of darkness, which was only visible because somehow the edges of the vortex were even darker than the complete darkness in the center.  He walked towards it, wondering what it could possible be.  It swirled and swirled…and seemed to suck the very sound from his own footsteps as he crept forward.  Then suddenly, he was swept inside the vortex!

He closed his eyes, thinking this was the last thing he would ever see and thought fondly of his brother, but no…when he found the bravery to open them again, he was in a completely new…world it seemed.  Looking behind him, he could see the vortex was disguised as darkness leading into a mausoleum of sorts.  He thought he was in a graveyard, but the Mausoleum was the only building around and there were no graves present.  That’s when he saw the river.

At first, he couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing, so he walked closer to make sure they weren’t playing tricks on him.  But, the closer he got, the more real and horrifying it was.  A river filled with hundreds of thousands of tombstones, and bodies, and parts of bodies, of eviscerated bodies, of tortured bodies, or burnt or skinned alive bodies.  It was gruesome and grotesque, and Felix had a hard time processing it, especially…since he was only 8.

It was then that he saw a tombstone…a tombstone with his name on it and right next to it, splashing and trying to keep from drowning in the river of tombstones, was his face.

He tried to scream, but nothing came out.  His...other face screamed too, and it was only then that he heard his voice.  The face, HIS face, smiled back at him and then slowly stopped fighting the current, and was swept under.  Felix tried to scream again, but nothing came out again.  He tried talking and could hear his voice, but anytime he screamed, nothing came out.

He had lost the ability to scream.

So many questions were running through his head and that’s when he noticed that some of those questions were not his own.  He could feel the beginnings of an internal struggle, where he answered questions that were his, but also not.  He tried to block it out, but he could feel it wriggling around inside his head, like writhing tentacles trying to take hold.

When he couldn’t take it any longer…he ran.  He ran as fast as his little legs and twisted ankle could take him and he jumped right through the darkness of the mausoleum’s doorway, falling flat on the stone floor of the cave.  Standing up and with outstretched arms, he quickly muddled his way through the darkness, finally finding the corner he had turned to find the swirling vortex, and the dim white light was back.  Then he ran some more.  He ran out the cave and straight home, crying and unable to scream for help, the whole way home.

Whenever he closed his eyes, nightmares or talking or questions or answers, would come slamming into his head.  In the beginning, there was no relief.  There was no sleeping.  There was only insanity….   He was touched by the Shadowfell and he thought he would never be the same.

Minho saw him suffering.  His parents were too busy with their business to really understand what was going on with Felix.  Minho proved to be one of the few reliefs Felix could find in the coming days, months, and years to come.  Minho was always there for him; bringing him a blanket and warm tea when his body would start to shake uncontrollably.  Minho was there with a soothing song or the strum of a lute, when Felix couldn’t block out the sound of his own voice screaming in his head.  Minho was always there…and this worried Felix.  Worried him that one day, if not already, Minho would resent him for all the responsibility and burden of helping his younger brother.  It truly scared him.  He didn’t want to lose him.

But Minho never complained.  Never once let on that it bothered him and it gave Felix such comfort knowing that Minho was there for him, that the bond between them strengthened in ways no one else could truly understand.

Felix didn’t know how to give back to his brother, other than finding something else to occupy his thoughts, so that Minho could have the freedom he deserved as a child.  It was a long time coming, but Felix finally found something.  Poetry...and the occasional writing of a song for Minho.  For whatever reason, thinking about constructing verses or finding the right word for an emotion in one of his poems or songs, kept the creature at bay.  Maybe it was like soothing the savage beast in his head; Felix wasn’t sure.  To this day, every night, before he goes to bed, he constructs a new poem, in hopes that it quells the beast and nightmares for just one more night.

Finding this relief was just in time too, as Minho had started to not be around as much as he used to, after he took up bounty hunting.  While Felix wasn’t happy with Minho being in dangerous situations, he dare not say anything, as he knew that Minho needed to get away and if this was his way to blow off steam, Felix understood how badly he needed it.

He told his brother that he was always there for him if he needed help, sometimes even begging him.  A couple times Minho let him come with him, but Felix tried to not make it too regular, hence he have a breakdown in the middle of one of Minho’s hunts; he wouldn’t want Minho to have to abandon the job and tend to him.

It wasn’t until shortly after Felix’s 16th birthday that it happened.  He seemed to be losing the battle of wills, as if the creature had some renewed vigor.

Felix would suddenly fly off the handle, his temper getting the best of him.  The nightmares started to come back, no matter how much poetry he wrote or how many songs Minho sang to him.  He started to become more withdrawn and introverted…except with Minho.  He had a hard time finding happiness in everyday things like he used to. It wasn’t until he realized a pattern, that he was able to get some of the control back.  It seemed that whenever he was in a situation where there was a moral quandary between right and wrong, the battles of wills would leave him unable to make any decision.  A voice in his head would scream at him, making Felix unable to think straight and focus, and he would start speaking to himself, answering his own questions with more questions, having a conversation that bordered on lunacy.

It wasn’t long before Minho was able to anticipate these battles of will happening and would guide Felix to the right…or wrong decision.  Felix trusted Minho though, and wherever Minho led him, that was the path he would take.

Gah!  Doing two characters at the same time here is hard!  Don't worry, I love a challenge.

---

Minho

Minho's made an impression in the Mudtop Brownfeet (my impromptu name for the gang).  A younger member has truckled up to Minho, thinking he's the bee's knees.  S/he wants to be Minho's friend, but their help has always made his life harder.

Tell me a microstory.  Who's the kid?  How did Minho make an impression?  What's happened with it from time to time?  This is meant to be a complication, so lean into that fact.

---

Random bit of Chaos:

On their way out of town, Minho saved a riderless horse wearing full tack and harness from wolves. Minho now owns a riding horse and a saddle, and you have proficiency in the Animal Handling skill.

---

Felix

In his efforts to find a cure/fix for the problem, Felix spent many hours in research.  During theat time, he developed a *close* relationship with another researcher, and spent many quiet hours together, even if they researched different topics.

Who was s/he?  What were they researching?  How close did the relationship get?  Did they ever get into trouble together?

---
Random bit of Chaos:

Felix whilst exploring in the forest one day, Felix found a footprint of an enormous creature.  Looking closer, he discovered a runestone smashed into the ground within the print. He touched it, and felt power surge within him as he grew to tremendous size!  You shrunk moments later, but can still feel the power within you. You can cast Enlarge/Reduce once per day, using the enlarge option only.

One afternoon, Minho's tutor sent a letter to the manor that simply stated he was ill and wouldn't be able to attend their session. Having found himself with some sudden free time, Minho took Felix out into the city. Felix had felt rather glum all morning and Minho thought a walk would help cheer him up. The brothers rounded a corner in the Tangles and Felix ran straight into this hulking brute of a man. Even though it was still fairly early in the day, had obviously had a fair amount of drink and he was now furious. Unbeknownst to Minho, Sari, one of the younger members of the Mudtown Brownfeet gang, stood farther down the street watching him.

"Hey, kid, watch where you're going." the brute finally got a good look at Felix and something about the look on Felix's face seemed to set something off in the man. "Why you lookin' at me like that? I oughta teach ya a lesson." He started to raise his fist up to punch Felix when Minho stepped in front of his brother.

Minho placed his hand over the man's fist, to Sari he seemed utterly fearless. If the man had noticed Minho standing next to Felix before, he gave no indication of it, the sudden intrusion caught him off guard. With steel in his voice and an icy glare he reserved solely for when Felix was in trouble, Minho looked the man up and down, and scoffed. "You must think you're tough, picking fights with kids. If you weren't such a drunkard, you might have a lady at home waiting to dote upon you. I suggest you go home and pull yourself together before that attitude of yours picks a fight that tiny brain of yours can't finish. I sure would hate to see what would happen if the guardsman coming up behind you would say if he saw you punch one of the Lee boys. Father would have your head."

Before the man could even wrap his head around what Minho said, he pulled Felix along after him and continued to walk down the street as if nothing had happened. He nodded to the guardsman as he passed and the brothers disappeared into the crowd.

***

A few weeks later, Sari got her first up close and personal look at Minho. He walked into the ramshackle house the gang used as their base earlier in the day than he normally would. Most of the members that he regularly interacted with had yet to arrive. He sat down on the floor and leaned his head against the wall. A few minutes later, Minho opened his eyes, the feeling of being watched pulled him from his thoughts. His eye caught a young girl of roughly twelve years who upon meeting his gaze, quickly turned away. Minho smirked and closed his eyes again, not worried in the slightest over what the girl could do.

He was shaken awake when his roving partner walked into the room. "Minho, get up. How long have you been here?"

"Chan...I don't know, for a while. I needed a break at home and ran out of places to go. Is the meeting starting now?"

The other boy nodded. "Let's go." He held out his hand to help Minho to his feet and the two moved farther into the house.

The pair found a spot to lean against the wall, the gang's leaders already seated around the table that encompassed the center of the room. The beginning of the meeting started the same as it always did, as they discussed the previous heists' successes and failures. Immediately following, the members went around the room and turned over any items they were unable to fence and the percentage they owed the group from the ones they could. As Minho stepped forward to drop the coins in the jar, he once again felt the stare of the girl. Minho ignored the girl, for now, he had more important things to think about.

Jisung, the founder of the Mudtop Brownfeet, stood to his feet. "We're going to try something different for the next round of heists. We have several younger members that have graduated from their training stage and need to start getting some hands-on experience with senior members for guidance." Jisung paired off the first three graduates with senior partners he hadn't really had much interaction with. "Our last trainee, Sari, will be with Chan and Minho. And Minho, I don't suppose I have to tell you to be nice, do I?"

Minho didn't know who Sari was, but as soon as his name left Jisung's mouth, an audible gasp was heard in the room. Minho quickly turned toward the sound and found himself looking at the girl he caught staring earlier. Minho who looked extremely annoyed just turned heel and walked out of the room. "I can't deal with fangirls, Chan. You got this one on your own."

Chan quickly followed Minho outside, "What do you mean, fangirls?"

"She's been staring at me all day. Every time I look up, she's in a corner somewhere just watching me."

Chan laughed. "Have you not looked in a mirror lately? Everyone here stares at you, handsome boy."

"Ugh. Just go get the girl, Chan. I'll meet you at our spot. Talk to her. If I do it, I'll sound like an ass."

"And that's different from the way you normally talk, how?" Chan laughed at his own joke and practically skipped back inside to get Sari.

(Posting this for now. Lunch time soon and I'm sure Fred wants to read what I've written...will continue this story later.)

(Yep, love it, and that gives me insight on how Frilia gets her skills too)

How old are the brothers when that story with Sari happens? Trying to figure out when Frilia enters the scene... maybe Sari would try to bully Frilia... (hint, that's a VERY bad idea... XD)

Edit : actually she could be the one that abandons Frilia during the failed heist where my char gets captured and her father has to bail her out.... if she's such a pest, it could very well be in her character if she's jealous of Frilia... it's your NPC Minho, your call
This message was last edited by the player at 18:34, Sun 20 Mar 2022.

Sari is 12, not saying she wouldn't bully Frilia, but I don't think the party would think too highly of you if you beat up a kid. The brothers are probably 15 and 17 here. Not too long before they end up having to leave. And no, she wouldn't be the one to abandon you. You're both too new to get sent out together, she'd only be 13 by the time you show up.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:53, Sun 20 Mar 2022.

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 5):

Seraph

She sits in silence
as if already knowing my dilemma.
I turn the piece of the dusty tome
the harsh words echoing as I read them.
Then she speaks…
posing a simple question for most.
 What are you reading?
The battle of wills begins
an onslaught of conflict and confusion.
I stutter my words like a boy to his crush
spattering nonsense from flustered lips.
“It’s complicated” I say, eyes averted.
She nods, unjudging and yields.
The silence is welcomed as
I fight my internal struggle.
I emerge victorious.
“I’m Felix.” I say quietly.
“I’m Serena”, she says softly
as if sensing my discomfort.
She stands to leave,
but before she can,
I gently grab her wrist.
“Please…stay.”
We sit in peaceful silence
A calming serenity.
Serena…
an angel in disguise.

In reply to Lee Minho (msg # 6):

A verse of a song in progress:

There was a big drunken lout
who was walking about
and thought it best to pick a fight he couldn't lose
he was quickly deceived
by Minho with ease
leaving an confused fool and his bottle of booze.

Minho waited at the Grim Shelf Tavern. He abstained from drink, not because he was underage, he just despised the stuff. He had only waited for about ten minutes when Chan walked through the door, followed by Sari. Minho quickly finished the glass of cider he had in front of him and walked up to where the pair stood.

"Shall we go? I've been out all day, Felix will probably need my attention soon."

Sari looked between the two teenagers, "Who's Felix? He's not a member, is he?"

Chan could see Minho tense slightly but kept silent for now. Minho turned toward the girl, "Felix is my little brother. Know this now, I will not hesitate to leave you on a job if I find out he needs me. You had best learn and learn quickly. I know Chan can handle himself when you're no longer following us around." Then, as almost an afterthought, Minho mumbled to himself, "Jisung must be having himself one giant laugh right now."

Minho walked ahead of Chan and Sari, his posture clearly indicated he was not in the mood for conversation. It took the group roughly thirty minutes to walk to the building in the district their targets were located. Minho kept to the shadows, keeping low, his footsteps utterly silent. Hyperfocused is what Chan called him. Even when fresh out of training, Minho had never been caught on a heist. When Minho reached the door, he carefully looked around to make sure there was no passerby who watched them before he motioned to Sari to open the door.

Chan stood as the lookout, his eyes sharper than Minho's were, while Minho squatted so he was eye-level with the door. Sari pulled out her picks and inserted them into the lock, wiggling them around too quickly to achieve her goal.

"I know you do not wish to get caught, and you're nervous because this is your first time, but if you don't slow down we won't even get in the door."

Sari took a ragged breath and tried again.

The same results were achieved the next three times she tried to open the door. Finally, Minho took the tools from the girl, "Watch me." Another minute later, the latch on the door clicked and the three of them entered the building. Minho's eyes accustomed to work in the dark were already adjusted to the low light in the shop and he quickly found what he came here for. It was behind another locked case, which he easily opened and pocketed the item. He then turned to Chan and Sari.

Chan instructed the girl on the proper technique to pop the much smaller lock. He looked up as Minho approached and let him take over while he left in search of his target. Less than five minutes later, the three of them exited the shop.

Sari let out a small whoop, amazed that her first job had gone so well. Her excitement came too soon. A guardsman on his way home heard the whoop and curious of the sound, came to investigate. As the three of them saw him round the corner, they all took off in different directions, knowing he couldn't chase them all.

(I'm getting sleepy and am considering a nap before work, so I'll stop here for now)

Minho knew the city like the back of his hand since he had lived there his whole life. When the guardsman chose him to chase after, he knew the guardsman would have a difficult time keeping up with him. Minho knew of a mostly hidden doorway not far from where the shop was. He was far enough ahead of the guard, he should make it there before the guard could see where he had gone. Minho ran as hard as he could in that direction, the distance between him and the guardsman slowly lengthened.

Minho slipped around the corner to the alley where the doorway was located before the guard had reached the street where the alleyway ended. From the safety of the doorway, he could hear the man run past the alley altogether. Minho waited another minute to catch his breath before he doubled back to the street that would take him back to the hideout.

Chan and Sari were already back when Minho walked through the door, their backs were to him as they were deep in conversation with Jisung.

"Let me get this straight, Chan, an off-duty guardsman overheard Sari and is currently chasing down Minho?" Jisung looked uneasy but let out a small laugh. "Sari, do you realize that on your first heist..."

"She nearly splotched my perfect record, Jisung. Don't worry, I lost the guard fairly easily, but this is why I don't do trainees. Put her with someone else. I won't go out again if she has to tag along." He pulled something from his pocket and tossed it to Chan. "I'm going home. Chan come over when you're done, if you want."

As Minho turned to leave both Jisung and Chan called out.

"Minho."

"Minho."

He turned back to look at them, a dark expression written on his features.

Sari, upon seeing the fury in Minho's eyes and nearly in tears herself, uttered barely above a whisper, "I'm sorry."

"What? Is there something you want to say? Chan? Jisung?" Minho waited a moment to see if either of them would actually speak up.

Both boys blanched at the look on Minho's face and both shook their heads, letting him go.

***

Minho had been sitting in the Grim Shelf Tavern for several hours, frantically scribbling on loose sheets of paper. On the table in front of him were five crumpled-up pages, mocking him. It was still fairly early in the day and there were only three other patrons beside himself. Chan was meeting him later, to go over details of their next heist and he wanted this done before he showed up.

"It has to be perfect." He muttered to himself. He took another swig of his cider, emptying the glass. He motioned at the bartender for another and once again stared at the page in front of him.

When the bartender brought over the cider, the door to the tavern opened and a couple walked in. A bit of their conversation carried through the empty room, "I'm here, always."

Minho perked up, the words seemed to spark life back into him. The words flowed out of his hand onto the page almost seamlessly, as if from memory. He reread his handiwork and smiled. He had brought his lute with him and began to strum, experimenting with the melody.

Minho had been so absorbed in playing, he hadn't noticed the door of the tavern open once again, admitting a girl far too young to drink. She heard the music come from the corner booth and curious, went to see who was playing. Upon seeing Minho, Sari reached out to read the sheet in front of him, but Chan had come in just behind her and accidentally bumped into her as she reached her arm out, spilling the cider all over the sheet.

Minho heard the glass tip over and froze. He looked up and saw Sari, a shocked expression on her face, and his expression turned icy. "Is it not enough that you got me chased by a guard last week? I don't want to be your friend, Sari. Get that through your head. Go away."

Sari ran out of the tavern and Minho pulled the sheets from the table, staring at them as the cider started dripping on the floor. Chan called the bartender over to clean up the mess and looked at his partner, a softness crept into his gaze as he saw how Minho's expression had changed. "You were a little harsh on her, don't you think? It's just a piece of paper."

Minho looked up when Chan started talking, "I was writing a song for Felix. It's not just a piece of paper, it's everything."

"I didn't know you were the singing type. Well, let's hear it."

"I don't have the melody just right, yet."

"You can't bail out on me now. I want to hear it."

Minho started to strum again, and as he started to sing, the chatter in the tavern quieted. When the song ended, the other patrons, Chan included, stood to their feet, clapping for him. When the cheer died down, Chan exclaimed, "Man, you can sing! You wrote that for Felix. I knew he meant a lot to you, but not to that level. I want to be there when you play it for him."

"Tell anyone about this and I will break your fingers, Chan. I'm not playing."

Chan smiled, "Okay. Okay. I won't tell. I'll be back in a minute."

Minho watched Chan leave the tavern and shook his head, amused by his partner's antics.

Chan walked back in a few minutes later with fresh sheets of paper. He laid them on the table in front of Minho, "Here, so you don't forget."

"Thanks, Chan." It didn't take long to copy the lyrics down for the second time. "So, about our next job..."

Minho opened his eyes to find the sun shined brightly through the window, he blinked rapidly to adjust to the onslaught of light. He looked across the room to find his brother's bed empty and already made. Felix had always been an early riser, but it was not often that he didn't get bored and wake Minho to play with him. Minho left the comfort and warmth of his bed and remade the blankets. It was his mother's rule and not to be disobeyed. He would spend the next three days scrubbing out the cupboards if he forgot.

After he changed his clothes for the day, he walked downstairs to the kitchen, the smell of bacon reached him even before he saw the cook at the stove. He sat down at his usual place at the table and waited for the cook to finish. She smiled as she turned and saw Minho, "You just missed Felix, he ran outside screaming about adventure approximately ten minutes ago."

Minho smiled, Felix would be occupied for most of the day, "Mother gave me a list of tasks to complete before I can play." He finished the rest of his breakfast in silence and cleaned up his plate. He bowed to the cook, "Thank you for the meal," and left the kitchen.

He went to the library to do his studies. Mother would be most displeased of his failure to complete this over the other tasks. Minho knew it wasn't fair to his brother, but he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy towards him. Minho could constantly feel the pressure their parents placed upon him, while Felix seemed so carefree.

After about four hours, Minho had completed everything his mother expected of him. He had expected Felix to be back by now, but he still hadn't seen him. He went back to the kitchen to see if Mrs. Kim had seen him. "No, he hasn't been here since he left this morning. Are you missing him? You are usually whining about how early Felix wakes you up to play."

"No..." Minho said defensively, but could feel his ears reddening. "I'm going to go look for him. He might have gotten lost."

Minho walked outside and the latch had just clicked on the gate when he saw Felix running toward him. He started to smile reflexively, but as Felix barreled into him crying, the smile vanished from his face. Minho led him inside the gate, to the privacy of their garden and let him cry. He stroked Felix's hair and since he was only ten, he didn't know what to say to comfort him, chose to sing instead. Felix had always liked it when Minho sang. Eventually, Felix calmed enough to stop crying and Minho led him up to the room they shared.

When Felix finally saw home in sight, and more importantly, Minho outside, seemingly looking for him, Felix lost it and his tears came out like geysers.

"MINHOOOO!!", he tried to scream, but nothing came out; fear rose up in him, as if he wasn't sure he would make it home before something terrible happened and he couldn't even let Minho know he was right there.  He instinctively looked over his shoulder, as if some large demon was going to swallow him whole, but there was nothing there.  Just fear getting the best of him.

When he finally got close enough, he picked up a rock and threw it at the metal bin Minho usually helped Mother wash their clothes in, when mother was working late at the jewelry shop.  It hit the metal bin with a loud reverberating CLANG, finally getting Minho's attention.  Felix began waving his arms frantically, to make sure Minho saw exactly where he was.

Minho came running over and could immediately tell that something was very wrong.

"WHAT'S WRONG FELIX?" Minho screamed right as Felix ran into him, slamming into him with so much force, the two boys almost went tumbling into the grass.

Felix tried his best to tell Minho what happened, but it came out as muddled nonsense, as the tears ran down his cheeks.

"I fell into a cave, and hurt my ankle, and found a portal of darkness that sucked me into it, then I was in a graveyard next to a river that had a tombstone with MY name on it.  And there were lots of dead bodies, and then my face was screaming at me and now I can't scream anymore, and I'm not feeling good, like something inside me is tickling my brain in my head, and so I ran and I tried to yell for you, but I lost my scream, remember?!?!"

Then Felix started to just bawl, completely losing himself when recounting everything he had just been through.  Minho, completely confused, just sat there, rocking Felix until he fell asleep in his arms, exhausted.

Felix woke up in his bed, and wondered if it all had been a dream.  Then he felt it...that wriggling feeling in his brain again, searching...probing...looking for a weakness.  Felix shook his head, as if trying to get it out, but the feeling wouldn't subside.  He pulled the covers off, turned, placing his feet on the floor and that is when he felt it.  There was a makeshift split on his hurt ankle and as he put pressure on it, the splint held and allowed him to walk with less pain.  He'd have to thank Minho for taking care of him...as always.

Thick as Thieves
Part 1

The first time Minho laid eyes on one certain Han Jisung, the boy was crouched beside the door to his mother’s shop, holding two thin pieces of metal in the keyhole. Minho had heard of thieves but had never seen one firsthand.

“Hey!” Minho shouted, wanting nothing else but to scare the boy away from the door. “What do you think you’re doing?”

The boy’s eyes grew wide as saucers, fearing being caught by the shop owner, or worse, the guard. Before Minho could react further, the boy had stood up and began sprinting through the city streets away from him.

“Get back here!” Minho called at the boy’s retreating figure. It took another second for Minho to spring to action and begin chasing him through the district toward the poorer part of the capitol. He had always prided himself on eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise, but it had been a long time since Minho had done this much running in one sitting. He also knew he should have been paying closer attention to his surroundings or finding his way back was going to take considerably longer than he had time available.

The wide streets had narrowed to the point that a cart would be hard-pressed to travel if there was any other traffic on the street. Minho’s breathing was labored as he turned into an alley, hoping he would still have the boy in his sights as he rounded the corner. It would be most unfavorable to have run halfway across the sprawling city into what Minho thought of as the slums for him to lose the boy entirely, wasting an hour of his day on this excursion.

Oh my god, I think I might be dying. How is he able to run so long? This is the worst thing I’ve ever done.

Thankfully for Minho, and his lungs, as he turned the corner, he could see the boy sneaking through the doorway of a dilapidated two-story house.

Gotcha.

Minho slowed his pace, to even out his breathing and give himself time to think of what he was going to do when he walked into the house, full of a million ifs that he knew none of the answers to.

What if there were more people inside?

What if they had weapons?

Worse, what if they knew how to use said weapons and were waiting for him, knowing the boy hadn’t lost him?

Looking around the alley he was currently walking through, it was pretty threadbare, not even a broken piece of a wood pallet he could use to appear more threatening.

Damnit.

He paused in the opening of the alleyway that led to the street the house was on to take in any further details about the house that could prove useful.

While being two stories, there was a window overlooking a flat roof above the entrance, the one the boy ran into, Minho could see from his vantage, which might provide a non-traditional entry or exit point. The windows were partially boarded up, but the glass didn’t appear to be broken, so it likely was for aesthetics more so than anything else. If the house looks abandoned, people won’t think to look for thieves there, right?

Minho grimaced. Do not think higher of this boy because he may have made an intelligent decision either choosing this house or changing the décor. He was trying to steal from mother.

Think, Minho.

There are no paths beside the house, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there is no back entrance.

Minho took a deep breath, feeling as ready as he could be for what was about to occur. He glanced down the street in both directions and seeing no passerby, crossed to the opposite side where the house sat. He pressed himself up beside the house, in case the boy happened to be peering out an unseen window. Chancing a look of his own, Minho noted the dark room beyond with just a sliver of light coming through the doorway farther in.

Ducking below the frame of the window, regardless of the lack of movement he saw through the glass, Minho crept toward the door.

Internally, Minho chastised himself. I’m sneaking around like a goddamn thief. What is this boy doing to me?

He reached out for the knob and ever-so-slowly turned it, surprised it wasn’t locked, until he felt the tell-tale click that it was unlatched. Pushing the door open centimeter by centimeter, with only his eyes visible through the crack, he made his way into the house. He closed the door the same way he opened it, careful to make as little noise as possible. He could hear voices from farther in but was too far away to discern exactly what was being said.

Minho took a careful step forward, unsure of any creaking floorboards or their locations. Pressing his foot against the next board and not noticing any unwanted noise, Minho let his weight rest on this leg while he tested the next step. Even though he was paying extra attention to the way he walked through the house, Minho made sure to keep his eyes mostly up, watching for any signs of movement that might signify the presence of another person.

The room just past the entry to the house was set up with, for lack of a better term, doorless wardrobes along the far wall. Some of them had clothes or other personal effects stored in them but thankfully, Minho noted, there weren’t any weapons amongst the items he saw.

There was only one doorway out of this room that Minho could see, and it appeared, that the room beyond was the one that held the light he saw from the window.

The voices were clearer now, and Minho could begin to follow their conversation.

“Jisung, slow down. I can’t make sense of what you’re saying when you speak a hundred miles a minute. Start at the beginning, what exactly happened?”

The first voice spoke with an accent, signifying to Minho that he wasn’t originally from the capital.

“I was seen, Chan. You had been staking out the Lee’s jewelry store and told me that the owner doesn’t come to the shop before eight! I had one spring left to click into place when a boy our age showed up, shouting at me. I don’t know if he was their son or just some random person walking by, but then he started chasing me when I ran off. He followed me, Chan! No matter how many extra turns I made or how long I kept running, he didn’t get farther than a block behind me the entire time. I couldn’t see him anymore when I got to the house, but what if he was just hiding somewhere watching me walk inside? If he gets the guard, we’re done for. We don’t have money to rent a real house for headquarters. I can’t go back to sleeping on the streets, Chan.”

Minho pressed himself farther into the wall he was leaning on when he saw the shadow of one of the boys cross the light spilling into the doorway.

“Jisung, pull yourself together, mate. You brought us all together. You found us this place when we had nothing before. If this boy does turn us in, we’ll find a new place. A better place. You need to breathe or you’re going to pass out. I can see you shaking from here.”

“Chan don’t baby me. This boy may have ruined our plans to get our name out there. The Lee’s are rich, rich. I doubt they’ll even notice a piece or two missing and by the time they do, we’ll long since have fenced the pieces. No one has been able to steal from them before. Think of the jobs that notoriety could bring us.”

The longer Minho listened to this, Jisung character, the more heated he became. They weren’t stealing from him because they were starving or anything even remotely forgivable about the action. No, they were stealing to give their name more weight in the underground scene.

Minho braved a peek into the next room. The walls were bare of decoration, a large table with eight chairs taking up the center of the space. A meeting room, perhaps? There were only two boys sitting there, the others seeming to be out for the day, or at the very least the immediate future.

Minho gave a brief glance to each of their faces, trying to memorize as much about their appearance as possible in a few short seconds. The first boy appeared to be a year or so older than Minho himself, and was broad, muscles filling out the shirt he wore. While Minho hoped upon entry that he’d only come across the slight boy he saw attempting to burglar the shop, this Chan seemed to be the more threatening figure if a fight broke out. His eyes slipped past Chan and settled on the other boy, Jisung, who was extremely animated while he spoke. His shoulders were broader than Minho expected, but they didn’t look out of place on his frame. His cheeks were round and even though Minho was angry at the boy, he still wanted to squish them. His eyes were a warm brown and his hair brushed his eyelashes where it sat a little too long on his forehead.

Minho ducked back behind the wall separating him from the boys in the other room.

“Jisung, there will be other opportunities to get our name out there. We haven’t been doing this long, only a few months. Do you know how long it took for The Clasp to grow to the size it is now? They were barely anything when I was a kid. When I left to come here, the only guild bigger than them was Myriad and the two are separated by an ocean. I know you want the relative safety that comes with the notoriety those groups possess, but we still need to play it somewhat safe until we get there. Just because we were interrupted on our first attempt doesn’t mean that there won’t be other chances to get at the Lee’s shop.”

“But Chan…”

“No buts, Jisung. Patience is a virtue. When Changbin and Seungmin return we’ll go over what we learned from this and what we can do better with when we try again.”

They’re going to try again. What if I’m not there next time? I must stop this.

Minho stepped into the open doorframe, “What do you mean try again?”

Jisung flew out of his chair in a panic, “You! Chan, I told you he might have seen me come in the house!”

Chan put his hand on Jisung’s shoulder, in an attempt to calm him down, but Jisung brushed him off. “Who are you and why did you follow me?”

“I’m surprised you don’t know me considering it was my mother’s shop I caught you trying to break into.”

“You don’t look anything like your parents, how was I supposed to guess you were their kid?”

“I’m aware I’m much prettier than they are. Did you not do your research on my family properly? It’s no wonder you failed, you’re amateurs.”

Minho was sounding very smug for being in the middle of a stranger’s house, which from the sounds of the conversation he interrupted, was actually a thieves guild’s headquarters.

“You’re not.”

“I’m not what, pray tell?” Minho could tell he was making Jisung even more flustered.

“Pretty.” Jisung swallowed, probably harder than he intended. “That still doesn’t explain why you followed me.”

“Would you rather have had me go get the guard and let you get caught in the act instead? You know my father would have your head and we wouldn’t be having this conversation now. I still could go get one, you know. I know where you’re staying, I’m sure it wouldn’t take long for you to get caught doing something nefarious. You seem to be particularly careless if you let a teenager with no experience chasing criminals catch you.”

“I-”

“What is it, Jisung? Cat got your tongue?”

Before Jisung could continue digging himself farther into a hole in the presence of Lee Minho, Chan interjected, “What can we do to convince you not to turn us in?”

“For starters, you can stay away from my family and our business. Find your notoriety from someone else.”

“Is there anything else you want?”

“You’ll be hearing from me with the rest of my demands in due course. For now, I have places to be, and you’ve delayed me for quite long enough.” Looking directly in his eyes, Minho smirked, “See you around, Jisung,” then turned and walked out the door.

After hearing the door click shut, Jisung turned to Chan, “We’re not changing targets, Lee Minho be damned!”

“Han Jisung, he knows about us. Don’t you think security will increase at the shop because of that?”

Unbeknownst to Jisung, after Minho shut the door, he quietly opened the door just a crack, to gauge the reactions to his departure. He expected anger or panic, but the thought that they would not heed his warning never crossed his mind. Fine, let the boy get caught and face the wrath of his father. Shutting the door once again, Minho turned to go home, his anger clearly showing on his features.

Minho hated Han Jisung.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:26, Mon 12 Sept 2022.

Thick as Thieves
Part 2

Over the course of the next week, Minho spent the vast majority of his time at the shop. He hadn’t seen Chan or Jisung since the day he snuck into the meeting room, but he trusted both boys about as far as he could throw them, which admittedly wasn’t far.

This morning as Minho was leaving his house, Felix approached him. “Where do you keep disappearing to every morning, hyung?”

“Felix, I thought you were still asleep.”

“Soonie woke me up when he lost his pillow.”

“Put him back in my bed and you can go back to sleep.”

“Minho, stop avoiding my question. Where do you keep going? Today isn’t the first day I’ve woken up to you not being in your bed. Or elsewhere around the manor.”

“I don’t have time to explain, Felix.”

“Let me come with you.”

Minho rubbed his temples in exasperation. Not necessarily at Felix, but at the fact he was being delayed and it might make him too late to stop whatever Chan and Jisung had planned for the shop.

“Fine but keep up. If you fall behind, I won’t wait for you.”

As the brothers left through the gate, Minho began the tale of the incident from the week prior. Felix was the perfect audience, oohing and ahhing at the appropriate times.

“Minho, why don’t you just turn them in to the guard? You know father pays them extra to keep the manor, mine, and the shop protected and for additional rotations in the area.”

“I know he does, Felix. Father is not a forgiving man and for all their talk of being thieves, they’re still just kids. Chan is maybe a year older than me, putting him at most fifteen. The founder, Jisung, is probably your age. Twelve is far too young to lose a hand or worse, depending on the losses father suffered. I can’t have that guilt on my conscience.”

When Minho and Felix arrived at the shop, nothing outwardly seemed amiss. Both doors were still locked, the windows were all still intact, but Minho felt like they were being watched from the shadows in the street. Peering intently around him, Minho looked for any shadow that he thought might belong to either boy. Signaling to Felix to be quiet, Minho tried to listen for any sound that might give away the location the “eyes” might be coming from—the sharp intake of breath, the scuff of a foot against the cobblestones, a weapon being drawn from its sheath.

After a few minutes of listening intently and not coming up with anything, Minho whispered to Felix, “I’m going to look around, if I’m not back in five minutes, go find the guard and give them this address, then go straight home and inform mother of what happened. Promise me, Felix, that you won’t come after me, no matter what you hear.” Minho handed Felix a folded slip of paper.

Felix whispered back as he pocketed the address to the thieves’ hideout, “I promise, Minho.”

“Good. I’ll be back soon.”

If I were a thief, where would I hide to survey mother’s shop?

Scanning the buildings across the street, Minho couldn’t see anything that screamed, “I’m hiding here, come get me,” but he crossed to give himself a better chance of hearing any movement the boys made. There was a small alley two buildings down that held back entrances for upper-level housing, occupied by the owners of the shops on the ground level. Minho came to a halt just shy of the alleyway and peered around the corner.

The light from the main street spilled into the entrance, illuminating very little, but he could see no sign of either boy. He was about to turn around and go back to the shop where Felix was waiting when a faint sound reached his ears from above him.

Gods, how could I be so ignorant? Of course, they’re on the roof.

Setting off down the alley, taking care to keep his footsteps as silent as possible on the cobblestones beneath his feet, he began to search for how they were able to access the roof. When Minho came to the doors providing access to the upper floors of the shops on each side of the small alley, both doors were locked. A few paces down, Minho noticed an odd shadow on the wall. Upon closer inspection, Minho was pleased to find a ladder leading all the way up the side of the building.

Please don’t be armed.

Minho slowly raised his head above the roof’s ledge, hoping he wasn’t about to be ambushed by the four members of the guild he knew about, plus how ever many were still unknown to him. Glancing around, he thought he might have been mistaken that they were up here and the noise he heard was made by a common pigeon or cat known to prowl these streets at night looking for food, something on the far side caught his eye. It was mostly hidden by the chimney, but he caught a brief flash of light reflected where it oughtn’t be.

A mirror?

A moment later, the sight was gone again, and Minho quickly climbed the rest of the way up onto the roof and tiptoed to the opposite side of the chimney from the ladder.  The element of surprise having been lost; Minho had no desire to be snuck up on if he moved directly towards where the person likely saw him. Holding his breath, Minho crept forward until he was at the corner to where he hoped the boy holding the mirror still was.

Here goes nothing. You are not afraid. You are Lee Minho. Felix is waiting for you.

Minho sprung out from his hiding spot, instantly colliding with a boy of slight frame, before falling forward, barely remembering to throw his arms out to catch himself.

Looking at the face of the boy beneath him, Minho instantly recognized the squishy cheeks of Han Jisung.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“Well, whether I should be or not, here I am. Now get off me. You’re heavy.”

“I’m not heavy, you’re just abnormally tiny.”

Jisung shoved at Minho’s shoulders, trying to hasten the speed in which he climbed off the boy.

“I am perfectly average for my age.”

“Uh huh, keep telling yourself that, Jisung. I thought I told you to leave my mother’s shop alone. Do you desire meeting the guard that badly?”

“Maybe I just wanted to see your lovely, smiling face first thing in the morning.”

“So, you admit you think I’m pretty. I bet you didn’t come here to watch the shop at all, you came to see me, didn’t you?”

Even in the relative darkness, Minho could see the slight red tinge color Jisung’s ears. After the initial shock of running into Jisung had worn off, he had to admit, flustering Jisung was fun.

Through gritted teeth, Jisung spat out, “I didn’t come to see you. You’re so full of yourself.”

“Comes with the territory.”

Grabbing Jisung’s arm, Minho started walking towards the ladder leading to the alley, “Let’s go.”

“Hey! Let go of me! Why would I choose to go anywhere with you?”

“Because if I don’t get back to where Felix is standing in about thirty seconds, he’s going to go running to the guard and give them the address I found you at last week. But by all means, let’s stay up on this roof and chat some more. I would absolutely love to see Chan and whoever else is there right now in the gallows this afternoon.” Minho smirked, “You know what, I changed my mind, tell me your whole life story. I’ve got all the time in the world.”

Grumbling under his breath, Jisung pulled his arm out of Minho’s grasp, “Fine, let’s go.”

Before Jisung could protest the action, Minho threw the boy over his shoulder and walked to the edge of the roof.

“Was that really necessary?”

“I don’t trust you not to run off once were on the ground.”

“You caught me last time I ran off. Don’t think you’ll fare as well this time, Minho?”

Minho smacked Jisung’s ass where it rested next to his ear. “I don’t appreciate your snarky comments.”

“And I don’t appreciate your snarky attitude.”

Grabbing on the ladder with his free hand and swinging his left leg over so his foot rested on the first rung, Minho tested his balance before bringing his right foot to rest by the first. Satisfied that neither of them would fall if Jisung kept still, Minho began descending the ladder.

Minho did not immediately put Jisung down when they reached the alley. He adjusted the boy slightly to make it more comfortable for the both of them and began walking to the spot he knew Felix had last been. Reaching the street, Minho saw Felix begin to turn as if to head in the direction of the nearest guardhouse when Minho called out, “Felix, I’m here.”

Relief, followed by confusion crossed his dongsaeng’s features, “Minho, who’s that?”

“This is Jisung. Say hi to my brother Felix, Jisung.”

“Fuck you, Minho. If I say please and promise not to run off, will you put me down?”

“Ah, let me think. No. You were rude to Felix. Felix, I have some business to take care of with Han Jisung. I’ll meet you later.”

Without even waiting for a response, Minho began the long trudge through the capital toward the house he knew belonged to a bunch of delinquent kids. What he didn’t know was whether it was out of pure necessity or if they chose this life for themselves.

“Okay, I know you’re taking me back to the house, are you sure you can’t put me down?”

“I still don’t trust you. No matter what argument you plan to spew at me, it’s not going to convince me to put you down, so save your breath.”

“Whatever do you mean, Minho? What argument? I just think you’re going to get tired if you have to carry me all the way there,” Jisung said in a tone of voice sweeter than sugar.

Minho rolled his eyes and didn’t bother to respond to Jisung’s taunt. Once Jisung realized Minho wasn’t going to react, he switched tactics. “You’re no fun, Minho,” he pouted.

“On the contrary, dearest Jisung, I am having a splendid time.”

At the term, dearest, Jisung began squirming in Minho’s arms, trying fervently to free himself, to no avail. Minho chuckled at the attempt.

“We aren’t in that sort of relationship, Minho.”

“We aren’t in any sort of relationship, Jisung. I don’t particularly like you, I just knew it would make you flustered and you would react in an embarrassed manner. You did not disappoint.”

“Well, hardy har, har. Glad one of us is having a laugh.”

By the time Minho reached the alley leading to the house, he had broken out in a sweat. While Jisung wasn’t particularly heavy, it was a long walk, and he didn’t dare stop to switch the arm he was thrown over. As he crossed the street, Minho could see a light shining through the same window he had looked in the week before. Hopefully, that meant at least one of the other boys was awake inside.

He opened the door, not bothering to be quiet since he had Jisung with him and sauntered inside.

“Hello. Anyone awake? It’s your favorite rich boy, come to make more demands.”

“Jisung isn’t here right now, Minho. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a while,” Minho could hear movement from the meeting room and was soon graced with the image of Chan.

“Luckily for you, I brought him with me.”

“Jisung, what have you gotten yourself into?”

“Oh, you know, this and that. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

Chan rubbed at his eyes, clearly having been awake the entire time Jisung was out on his excursion.

“I caught him on the roof of one of the buildings across the street from my mother’s shop. It’s really a pity I didn’t bother turning you in last week or I might not have needed to wake up early and make the arduous trek down here.”

Minho finally set Jisung down and began stretching out his arm and shoulder, “Teach your dongsaeng some manners, Chan. Next time I catch him even remotely close to one of my family’s businesses, I won’t be nice enough to return him to you.”

Chan groaned.

“It’s not as bad as he’s making it sound, Chan.”

“I’m finding that hard to believe, Jisung, or he wouldn’t be here.”

Just then, a thundering of footsteps could be heard from farther in the house and two more boys appeared in the doorway.

“Oo-oh, boss is in trouble.”

“Jeongin, go back to bed and take Seungmin with you.”

“If Changbin and Hyunjin come back soon, are you going to make them go to bed, too?”

“Enough, Jeongin. Go upstairs.”

“Fine.”

Chan waited until he heard the younger boys’ footsteps going up the stairs before he turned to Minho, “Sorry about them.”

“Are there any adults in this house?”

Chan and Jisung looked between themselves and Minho, before Chan replied, “No. I’m the eldest and I still have a few years left until I’m legally an adult.”

“I had a feeling.”

“So, what did you wish to discuss with us?”

“I’ll cut to the chase, next time I catch Jisung, or anyone else from this house for that matter, anywhere near my mother’s shop, I will carry them straight to the guard house. And before you ask, because I’m sure curiosity is getting the better of you—yes, my father pays off the guard, and no you won’t get lucky enough to get the charges against you dropped.”

Chan groaned, “Jisung, we just got done talking about this. We’ll find some other way to gain notoriety. It’s obvious that Minho is not going to let this go and someone could end up paying some serious consequences or get hurt. Is it worth it?”

“So, I’ve been thinking. Recently, since I didn’t have much else to do, but think, with you carrying me all the way here for nearly an hour. Join us.” Jisung had a serious, yet playful look on his face when he turned his attention to Chan. “Minho was able to track me when I ran away from him last week, even though I had a decent head start. That proves his endurance is up to snuff in case something goes wrong, and we must run from a job. I don’t know how he knew, but as soon as he got to the shop this morning, he felt that I was there and began hunting for me. I was sitting on the roof of a shop several buildings over and he found where I was hiding in less than five minutes. Not only that, as I was circling around to try and leave without him noticing, he snuck around to the opposite side and caught me. And get this Chan, he threw me over his shoulder, carried me down the ladder from the roof and then all the way across town.”

“And what is that supposed to prove, Jisung? That you’re tiny? We can tell that just by looking at you. No need to manhandle you for proof. What makes you think I want to join your little thief gang? If there’s something I desire, I can just go buy it. No need for sneaking around and potentially getting caught, thus ruining my good name.”

“He has a point, Jisung.”

“I don’t care if he has a point, Chan. He clearly shows aptitude for it. And it would be mutually beneficial for him to join us. We get a new member, one who carries weight in the community and could help us out if things got a little, shall we say, sticky. He gets the knowledge and peace of mind that we’ll never steal from his family’s businesses.”

“Aren’t you already supposed to be giving me that peace of mind?”

“I never agreed to that.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t, but I’ll let you think whatever you want.”

Minho looked at Chan, who just shrugged—seeming to say, he’s my boss, what do you expect me to do here?

“I’ll let you know if I change my mind.”

“That’s the spirit. I’ll give you a week to decide. If I haven’t heard a ‘Yes, Jisung, I will gladly be your lacky’ by then, I proceed with my original plan.”

“Great. I’d better go make sure Felix got home safe.”

“Tell your brother, Jisung says hi.”

Minho rolled his eyes, “So, now you’ll say it?”

“Yep.”

Minho stood outside the door after he had shut it behind himself for longer than was considered normal.

How can he expect me to join a thieves’ guild? What if mother finds out?

Minho groaned and began the long walk home.

The cook greeted him as he walked in the side door, off the garden, “Good morning, Minho. Felix has been asking about you. I believe he's in the library working on his studies.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Kim.”

Minho opened the library to find Felix face first in a history book. He glanced up when he heard the door open and smiled before marking his place and shutting the book.

“I don’t know how you find this so easy. History is the most boring subject mother makes us learn.”

“Jisung says hi. He couldn’t be bothered to say it to your face but sent me with the message.” Minho paused, contemplating what exactly he wanted to say to Felix, now that he was faced with the boy. “He wants me to join his little guild or whatever they call themselves.”

“Oh.” Felix sat and thought for a moment before a smile crept back to his face. “Do you want to?”

“I have no need for it and Jisung drives me crazy. The boy is annoying.”

Felix giggled, “I think you like him.”

If Minho had been drinking something he would have spit out from the absurdity of the statement. “There is absolutely no way I like Han Jisung. The boy has given me nothing but headaches since we met.”

Felix just shrugged, “Do what you want, Minho. I won’t tell mother if you decide to do it. Just make sure you get your list of tasks done so she has no reason to suspect you’re up to anything different.”

“I’m going to go take a nap. I can feel a headache building.”

“Sleep well, Minho.”

Minho lay in bed but had a hard time falling asleep.

Is Felix, right? Do I like, Jisung? Impossible. The boy has given me nothing but problems since we met.

Thoughts swirling through his head about Jisung, Minho fell asleep. Unbeknownst to him, a smile had crept onto his face as images of squishy cheeks flashed through his dreams.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:02, Fri 16 Sept 2022.