When I make it into the hallway, the boys are already awake and dashing around.

They make their way from one room to another, argue over who gets to go to the bathroom first or participate in idle conversations at the end of the hallway. In the few seconds that I had, while opening and closing the door to the workshop, I quickly composed myself to seem calm and not overwhelmed at all.

But inside, I am freaking the fuck out.

What did I just find? In the heat of the moment, the blueprint almost looked like a joke—like the codes were just made up out of boredom and some idiot came up with the stupid name 'Dragon's Blood'.

To be honest, Soonyoung's reaction set me on edge as well. I never knew he could yell like that, and even though I've been here for about twelve hours, he didn't strike me as the kind of person to lose his temper so quickly. I'm going to have to apologize to him eventually, but as of right now, I'm too embarrassed to even think of doing that.

All of the liveliness in the hallway fades away as soon as they all see me. The conversations and arguments stop, and nobody is smiling anymore. I gulp down the sudden lump in my throat, trying to ignore the unwanted attention and focus on the task at hand. My eyes scan rapidly through the frozen faces until they land on Chan, who is about to walk into the bathroom.

"Chan!" I call. "Soonyoung wants to see you in the workshop."

No matter how calm I want myself to seem, there's still a slight trembling in my voice.

He furrows his brows. "Why does he want to see me?"

"He just. . .just needs to see you. Please hurry."

I watch him disappear into the workshop and suddenly realize that any chance we once had at a friendship exists no more. If Soonyoung lost his shit towards me, I can't imagine how he's going to react to Chan—especially since that blueprint was definitely not supposed to be in his toolbox.

I turn to face everyone. As per usual, most of them are staring at me—like Seungkwan, Wonwoo, Minghao, and Junhui—as if I'm a freak show. I flash them a glare and then they go on acting as if I do not exist.

Another wave of shame washes over me.

Junhui. I completely forgot about our fight last night. I guess I need to apologize to him too. Pretty soon, I'm going to need to make a list of people I have to say sorry to.

I'm too deep in my thoughts of guilt that I don't even realize Jisoo standing in front of me for a moment. He hands me a fresh pair of clothes and a towel with a smile.

"Morning, Angel." Jisoo greets me. "Did you sleep well last night?"

I nod and take the clothes from him. "It was probably the best sleep I've had in years if I have to be honest."

He chuckles—probably unsure of what to say towards that—and points to the lineup outside of the bathroom.

"You should get in line there. Breakfast is going to be ready in about thirty minutes, so don't take too long."

He pats my shoulder in a sort of goodbye and rushes off into the main area.

I move to stand in the line. It's already kind of long, with five boys ahead of me and another three behind me. The line moves incredibly slow, and, one by one, the boys come out of the bathroom, looking fresher coming out than when they went in.

Then it's my turn.

The bathroom is honestly the worst part of Seventeen's dorms. It's so small that it's hard for even one person to be inside. There are combs, containers of hair gel, deodorant and toothbrushes scattered all over the counter. Also, the sink faucet is rusty and there are yellow spots inside of the toilet bowl.

At least the shower is clean with the exception of a few stray hairs here and there. I strip from my clothes and jump excitedly into the shower.

I sigh in relief as the warm water soothes my taut muscles. I grin like a madman and gather up a puddle of water in my hands to splash it on my face. Everything immediately feels better, as if my pain and all of my worries are being washed away.

The showers in the Facility were never like this. They were always filthy from the excessive hair, blood, and even puss of the many Rogue Soldiers before me. The water raining from the rusty showerheads felt like icy bullets against my back. Every time I came out, my skin was stinging and aching even more than it had been before I went in. The most time I could spend in those showers were two minutes.

But here, I can spend as much time as I like. If the other members weren't lined up outside of the bathroom door and becoming impatient, I would stay here for an eternity.

I turn off the shower head and climb out to dry myself with the towel. I'm pretty sure Jisoo gave me more of Jihoon's clothes judging by the size. The long sleeved yellow shirt doesn't go past my wrists too much, and the sweatpants are extremely close to a perfect match.

I look into the mirror and busy myself with combing through my damp hair with my fingers, which is quite difficult to do since each strand is tangled. In the middle of my struggle, I suddenly stop, getting lost in the face of the person in the mirror.

My eyes wander around the scraggly black hair and get lost in the hazel eyes that were once innocent; they trace along the hollowness of my cheeks and at the heart-shaped birthmark on my left cheek, which is the only thing that remains of who I was. As my gaze finally lands on the collar, I wrap a hand around it and tug ever so slightly.

I guess Junhui was right last night when he said that I am the Government's mutt. I'm the twisted result of their creation, and I'm trapped living in the shadow of their authority with no power whatsoever.

With a heavy sigh, I finish up and head towards the kitchen for breakfast.

Just like the night before, the kitchen table is still crowded. I was lucky enough to get a spot at the edge of the table—with Junghan to my left—since the other boys were too busy getting ready for another day.

And, just like the night before, everything is still chaotic. The boys shove each other, poke each other, and yell and laugh at the top of their lungs. How can they even be this energetic in the morning? I am so grumpy and stuck in a haze of fatigue that the thought of a smile makes me want to tear my hair out.

I want to eat, as I know that once we start everything will be quiet and relaxing again. The only thing standing between me and peace is the fact that three people are missing: Sungcheol, Soonyoung, and Chan.

I wonder what's happening to Chan. How badly is Soonyoung yelling at him? Is he even yelling at him at all? Was Sungcheol dragged into the whole thing? 

I swallow down the festering guilt and turn my attention to the food in an attempt to drown everything out. There is a bowl of cereal sitting in front of each person, with milk, tea, toast, and freshly cut fruit on the centre of the table. Even though Mingyu's breakfast isn't as flashy as his dinner last night, it is sweet and simple and I love it.

Someone suddenly dashes into the kitchen and I look up in surprise.

It's Chan.

He keeps his head down as he quickly seats himself on the cushion that is adjacent to mine. His bangs cast a shadow over his face but I can still see tears that stick to his nose and a weak scowl on his lips. Junghan and I share concerned looks, and the other boys notice Chan's upset state as well. As soon as they try to comfort him, Soonyoung and Sungcheol walk into the room, and their attempts stop.

Judging by the frowns etched onto the leader's faces, we can tell that something went down between the three of them and that we shouldn't intervene.

Sungcheol plops down at the end of the table next to me while Soonyoung takes the opposite end. Chan flinches the second that Sungcheol sits down.

"Sorry for the wait," Sunghceol says to us. "There was some business to take care of, but we got it out of the way. You can eat now, so feel free to dig i—"

The second he gives us the go ahead to start eating everyone grabs their spoons and drives the cereal into their mouths. Although, before anyone can chew, the phone on the wooden counter rings. I jump in surprise along with half of the boys while the rest groan in frustration. Jihoon stands up to answer it.

The conversation is surprisingly quick, leaving Jihoon to only say a quick "Hello?" and "That's fantastic! I'll tell them the news. Thank you!" and nothing else.

He puts down the phone and grins from ear to ear.

"What is it?" Sungcheol asks.

"We've got a mission, boys."